The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is offering more than 600 full scholarships to U.S. high school students to study abroad and learn Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian, and Turkish. Programs begin in Summer 2010.

The Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in cooperation with American Councils for International Education, AFS-USA, iEARN-USA, and Concordia Language Villages, is awarding U.S. government funding to high school and just-graduated students (ages 15–18) to participate in summer, one-semester and full-year language programs in countries where these languages are widely spoken.

Programs immerse participants in the cultural and political life of their host country, giving them invaluable formal and informal language practice and sparking a lifetime interest in foreign languages and cultures. While abroad, students will have the opportunity to possibly live with a host family, attend intensive language classes or enroll in a local high school, and participate in cultural and community service programs.

As program partner, iEARN is administering programs in India. In addition, iEARN will be providing students with access to the Language Lounges -- an online interactive space where students can practice reading and writing their language of study before, during, and after their physical exchange. Through the Language Lounges, NSLI-Y students have access to thousands of native speakers of each of the seven NSLI-Y languages, who are part of the iEARN network around the world.