The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students and recent high school graduates to learn less commonly taught languages in summer and academic-year overseas immersion programs. The languages include Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajiki), Russian, and Turkish.

iEARN-USA has been implementing the NSLI-Y program since 2009. With its focus on international collaboration and citizen diplomacy, the NSLI-Y program is a natural progression of iEARN’s core work. The NSLI-Y program makes the world a better place by inspiring its participants to a lifelong commitment to global citizenship and language learning.

In 2016, iEARN-USA implemented summer programs in Morocco, India, China, and Korea. iEARN-USA is currently implementing academic-year programs in Taiwan and Korea.

How To Get Involved

iEARN-USA has implemented the NSLI-Y program for 885 program participants. The NSLI-Y program’s secondary beneficiaries include host family members, language teachers, and program coordinators. Overall, the NSLI-Y program implemented by iEARN-USA has had a lasting impact in the lives of over 3000 primary and secondary beneficiaries.

iEARN-USA believes the most sustainable long-term impact from the NSLI-Y program is an increased sense of empathy and humility that comes with learning a language in an immersive environment.

Program Impact

Learn more about the NSLI-Y program and apply at http://www.nsliforyouth.org. Applications for the 2022-2023 Academic Year and Summer programs are due on November 4, 2021.