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Fulbright Program for U.S. Students

U.S. Fulbright Applicant
Newsletter

Issue 14 | October 2007

Critical Language Enhancement Awards
table of contents

 Program Updates

Critical Language Enhancement Awards

by IIE Staff

The Critical Language Enhancement Award provides an opportunity for Fulbright U.S. grantees to receive an additional three to six months of funding to study critical languages prior to and/or during their Fulbright awards. Currently the award is available in 15 languages including Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Turkish. The full list of languages and application details can be found online under “Types of Grants” on the Fulbright U.S. Student website (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/).

The Award is part of the National Security Language Initiative, a coordinated federal government effort to increase the number of Americans speaking critical languages. It is also designed to develop a cohort of individuals who are able to speak critical languages in order to encourage reform, promote understanding and convey respect for other cultures. The Critical Language Enhancement Award seeks individuals that have at least the equivalent of an academic year of study in that language by the start date of their Critical Language Enhancement Award.

Nearly 150 Fulbright U.S. Student grantees will receive the Critical Language Enhancement Award in 2007-2008 and will use this funding to enroll in language programs in over 20 countries. The Fulbright experience has always been centered on cross-cultural exchange and dialogue and the language program has a tremendously useful role in promoting these aims. Fulbright grantees capable of speaking the language of their host society are likely to form stronger bonds with their peers, conduct more meaningful research, and develop a greater understanding of a foreign culture and society. Such experiences undoubtedly serve to encourage and foster better relations between the U.S. and other nations in the long-run. The experience that the grantees bring back to the U.S. after their Critical Language Enhancement Award and Fulbright Award is likely to serve them well when entering careers in the U.S. government, academia, business, and other chosen professions.

New Critical Language Enhancement Award Policies for 2008-2009

Several major changes have been made to the policies and procedures for the 2008-2009 Fulbright Program. Please read these carefully prior to applying:

1) a. Recipients may do a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months of intensive language training prior to and separate from the Fulbright Award. 

b. Up to four of six months of a Critical Language Enhancement Award may occur concurrently with the Fulbright Award. Funding will be provided for no less than 10 hours of weekly private tutoring during this period. A minimum of two months of intensive language study must take place prior to beginning the Fulbright award. (Please note that, based on the country of study, certain restrictions may apply.)

c. Fulbright students whose projects are focused primarily on language study may take up the CLEA award following completion of their Fulbright projects.

2) Recipients must have a minimum of one year, or its equivalent, of study in the proposed language prior to the point of departure for the Critical Language Enhancement Award. This can be accomplished through a summer of intensive language study, two semesters of study, or a year of private tutoring. If the language study is planned for the time after application for the Fulbright is made, but prior to departure for the Critical Language Enhancement Award, it is important that the applicant detail these language study plans in section 8A of the application. None of the Critical Language Enhancement Award study can be counted as part of the year of study.

3) All Critical Language Enhancement Awards are granted only to those grantees who will be conducting a Fulbright in a country where the language is an official or primary language. For instance, it is not possible for someone to propose studying Arabic or Turkish to work with an ethnic minority in a European country.

Anyone applying for a Fulbright Award to a country where a critical language is spoken ought to consider the Critical Language Enhancement Award. The application and process are the same as for the Fulbright Full Award. One must receive a Fulbright U.S. student award in order to be considered for a Critical Language Enhancement Award. Applicants with additional questions about the Award or to inquire about country-specific details, please contact Colleen Moffatt, (212) 984-5366 cmoffatt@iie.org.

Additional Language Training Opportunity

Additional overseas language study opportunities are offered under the National Security Language Initiative, including Intensive Summer Language Institutes. Please note that it will not be possible to receive both a Critical Language Enhancement Award and a scholarship for an Intensive Summer Language Institute in the same year.

The Intensive Summer Language Institutes are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and are administered by the Council for American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) in Summer 2007. Please visit http://caorc.org/language for additional information.



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My Advice to Applicants

by Kenneth Gundle, Japan 2005-2006

I believe that the Fulbright Selection Committee is interested in choosing people who can make the most of the experience. During my year as a Fulbright Fellow in Japan I faced challenges that, in talking with Fellows from a variety of countries, seem to be rather common. If I were selecting future Fellows, I would look favorably on those who, by word and action, displayed an ability to excel in this environment.

 

The central dilemma I faced each day in Japan was: what should I do, today? I admit this was an enviable problem. Allow me a moment to express my gratitude; especially now that I am a first-year medical student, where I am told how the majority of the next week, month, and year(s) will be spent, I recognize the unique nature of the Fulbright experience. That being said, I also admit that the power to choose comes with a sense of isolation. Overwhelming choice can induce paralysis.

 

The question I have to an applicant is: do you have experience with this sort of freedom? Have you helped run an organization or event? Ever displayed the discipline it takes to push yourself when no one is watching? If so, what lessons did you learn that might prove useful on a Fulbright? That last question is likely the most important. In college I became a board member of a volunteer organization. Early on, an older student told me about the value of weekly, face-to-face meetings as a way to keep things moving. The simple truth of this, of how reporting in inspires action, only became clear when the group temporarily decided to forego the weekly check-in. The habitual meeting engendered habitual productivity, and the latter could not sustain itself without the former.

 

Once I had settled in a bit in Japan, and realized how easy it would be to let days slip away, I thought about this lesson: make a meeting. Perhaps I took the easy way out by imposing structure; I joined the Kobe University men’s lacrosse team, where 7-11 am practice five days a week at least got me out of bed. The lacrosse team fit well with many of my goals: make friends with a group of Japanese guys, improve my Japanese, and even stay in shape. These clubs are a big part of the University experience in Japan, as they become not only a hobby but also the central part of a student’s social life. As the only foreigner ever to be on the team, I felt lucky for the chance to break in. I also realized how nice it was to have a reason to set my alarm each night.

 

Of course there is the research project. But research, or at least mine, tends not to proceed in a straightforward manner. Punctuated flurries of activity, like for a conference or interview trip, are not “regular” even if they are numerous – meaning that it can be difficult to find a routine. The cyclone of unique opportunities whipping around you, from festivals and Fulbright alumni events (do go!) to lectures and exhibitions, also seem to inject the sort of disorder that allows weeks to pass quickly. For me it was the lacrosse club that brought a little regularity to my Fulbright year, and I was happy to have it.

 

It isn’t a weakness to admit the difficulty of motivating oneself. The weakness comes in denying the problem or in not addressing it. As you prepare your application, try to predict the challenges of a Fulbright. Then, see how your own experiences have prepared you to face them. I think this makes for a strong applicant because I believe it makes for a strong Fulbrighter.



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Reflections from Syria

by Mara Kronenfeld, Syria 2001-2002

I was a Fulbrighter in Damascus, Syria from September 2001 until December of 2002 and then I stayed on in Damascus for an additional half-year to coordinate an English Language Teacher Training program administered by the Cultural Affairs section of the US Embassy and to manage the English Language Club at UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) in Damascus.

In both positions, the young Syrians and Palestinians that I met confronted me with questions about the United States. As one would expect, the students expressed concern about US political and military involvement in the Middle East. I was more surprised, however, to face so many questions about cultural issues: particularly questions about relations between American children and their parents. Many of the young students I came across were very concerned about deteriorating family relations in the United States and what they saw as a lack of respect on the part of American children toward their parents. When this subject came up, students asked me (on more than one occasion) why I had not divorced my parents yet. Many of the students I met were under the impression that the divorce of parents by their children was an everyday occurrence in the United States.

It has long been clear to me that Americans also have deep misconceptions about Arab culture. When I returned to the US in June of 2003, these misconceptions had strengthened and focused to the point (in the post-September 11th environment) that, to many Americans, anything connected to the Arab world had taken on sinister overtones. I often think of one anecdote in particular. When I returned to New York City and started a new job, I began my housing search. I found an affordable room in the house of a middle-aged woman and her young son in upper Manhattan. In the interview, she asked me the usual questions a landlord would ask a prospective tenant: she inquired about my background (including what kind of work I was involved in my last two years in Syria), my ability to pay the bill on time, my level of tidiness, etc. She also brought up how important her son was to her and that she was very careful about the kind of people she allowed in her house. Finally, she stated that she would not allow drinking nor overnight visitors. I agreed to all of her stipulations (I was broke and the rent was well-below market value), but she still seemed nervous. Near tears she told me once again, “my son is my life … you have to understand” and she mentioned she had one more question to ask: “You spoke of how much you enjoyed your two years in Damascus. Are you a member of Al-Quaida?”

I like to think of my Fulbright experience as one that allowed me to reach out to these two communities (Americans and Syrians/Palestinians) and shake up their stereotypes of each other. On the one hand, I spoke to the Syrians and Palestinians I lived with and worked among for almost two years in Damascus about aspects of American culture they knew little about: I told them how close the families were that I knew even if American children generally have a more independent role with their parents than Syrian children do. On the other hand, I related my positive experience in Syria to the Americans whom I came home to: I spoke of the warmth and hospitality I encountered in Syria and the tolerance (for religious and cultural differences) of the people I met there. Although the former role--reaching out to Syrians--was in some ways what the Fulbright experience is ostensibly all about, I find my most fulfilling role has been as an educator in the United States: sharing my experiences in the Middle East with Americans who have not had the opportunity to travel there themselves.



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Video Focus: David Satterwhite

by IIE Staff

Amiel Melnick in Slovenia, 2005-2006 
David Satterwhite, Executive Director, Japan-United States Educational Commission. 

In the video featuring David Satterwhite, Executive Director, Japan-United States Educational Commission, we have asked David to: (1) describe what Fulbright is like in Japan; (2) explain the application and selection process; and, (3) offer advice to future applicants. The link below features David sharing some practical advice based on his own experiences. We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with the application process by reviewing several of the videos available on some country pages throughout our website.

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/program_country.php?id=56



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