Faculty Foreign Language Grant
Interim: Faculty Foreign Language Grant
Both in the academy and in society at large, levels of foreign language competency have been steadily decreasing in recent decades, at a time when a global economy and a complex geopolitical situation make cross-cultural understanding more important than ever before. In recognition of the essential role that foreign language learning plays in the attainment of cross-cultural competency, and to promote faculty's modeling of foreign language study to students, ISLA invites regular faculty members to apply for interim grants to support their study of a foreign language that will enhance their teaching or research.
Faculty members’ interest in this program could take many forms:
They might be embarking on a new area of research or teaching and need to acquire the basics of a foreign language;
They might want to refresh existing or dormant knowledge of a foreign language for professional purposes and perhaps relate this to the Languages Across the Curriculum initiative;
They might want to extend their range of disciplinary expertise - for example, someone who studies Spanish Latin America might want to learn Portuguese.
Applications can be made on an interim basis, and should consist of:
- a hard copy letter to the ISLA Director, outlining what the purpose of the language study is. Does this introduce the applicant to a new language or does it restore or enhance existing language facility? How does the proposed language study relate to the applicant’s teaching and/ or research agenda?
- an explanation of when, where and how is the applicant proposing to engage in the study? A justification of why this is the best course of study and a rationale for its locale are required;
-a program description (e.g., a brochure or print-out of a webpage); in the absence of a formally existing program, a description of the planned course of study is required, including teachers' names and qualifications, number of hours per week, and textbooks or other course materials to be used;
- a budget, explaining the cost of the language training;
- an abbreviated CV.
The funding category used will depend on the nature of the application - both the rationale and the amount requested. In some cases it could be funded via a course development grant; in some cases via the Miscellaneous Materials grant; in some cases via a mid career enhancement grant etc.