In 2017 STARTALK will offer a new pilot program titled STARTALK World Language Support Grants. Up to 10 grants will be awarded, each having a value of up to $10,000. The goals of this initiative include the following:
- Expand flexibility for support to schools or other institutions that seek to offer educational opportunities in less-commonly taught languages but are not equipped to sponsor full-scale STARTALK programs
- Remain consistent with STARTALK’s mission of expanding national capacity in critical languages, through programs that maintain high academic standards and offer wide access to students and teachers across the nation
- Open up opportunities to support programs with widely spoken languages that are not yet commonly taught in the United States
- Provide a new venue to support innovative ideas in world language education
Guidelines
- These grants will not be offered to programs that are already receiving a STARTALK summer camp grant.
- These grants may be used to support either student or teacher programs.
- Grant applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the main concepts underlying STARTALK programs, including the STARTALK-endorsed principles, and to make an effort to incorporate these principles into their proposals.
- Proposals may include requests for support to either summer or academic year programs that are within the STARTALK grant period (April 2017 to February 2018).
- Grants may be used to enhance an existing educational program or to launch a new activity.
- Examples of appropriate use of these grants may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Purchase of teaching materials including textbooks, authentic materials, or software
- Paying for the salary of a part-time teacher to augment existing staff
- Providing culturally enriching activities for students in language classes
- Professional development for teachers who are currently teaching eligible languages (see list below), such as bringing in a STARTALK-trained teacher to provide a seminar
- Other innovative ideas not listed above if appropriate
- Grant recipients will be required to submit a written report when the program is complete describing how the funds were used and the impact of the grant, covering such topics as the numbers of students or teachers who benefited from the grant and how the grant supported language learning or teacher professional development. The written report may be augmented by video if appropriate.
Eligible Languages
- The STARTALK World Language Support Grant Program is intended to enhance support to widely spoken languages that are not commonly taught in the United States, especially those that have few teaching resources. Examples of eligible languages include Hausa, Yoruba, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai but are not limited to that set. Among the existing STARTALK languages, proposals for Persian, Turkish, Swahili, and Dari will be considered. More widely taught STARTALK languages, such as Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Russian, Portuguese, and Korean will not be eligible for this pilot program.
Application Requirements
A proposal form will be available online starting on September 26, 2016.
Please review the following requirements in preparation for your submission:
- Any institution hosting educational programs, such as a public or private school, college, or university, heritage school, or educational camp may submit a proposal.
- The proposal should clearly state the following:
- Objectives for the use of grant funds
- The amount of the requested grant
- How grant funds will be used
- Name and location of the institution that is requesting the grant
- Name and qualifications of the individual who will be responsible for administering the grant
- Location where the grant will be used
- The time period during which the grant will be used
- Number of students and/or teachers who are expected to benefit from the grant
- Expected impact of the grant
Criteria for Acceptance
- Is the grant proposal consistent with the STARTALK mission of expanding the teaching and learning of less-commonly taught languages?
- Is the proposal realistic, that is, can the proposed objectives be achieved with the requested funds within the time frame of the grant period?
- Does the individual who will be responsible for administering the grant have experience in language teaching?
- What is the short-term and long-term impact of the grant on the community?
For more information click "Further official information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://startalk.umd.edu/public/resources/WorldLanguageSupportGrants