What Is It and What Does It Offer Me?

Cheryl Johnson, OFLA Parliamentarian and Bylaws
Instructional Technologist for the Dept of Modern Languages, Denison University (Retired)

The Language Connects Foundation (LCF) is a national non-profit conceived in partnership with its parent organization ACTFL. Since the foundation is relatively new, launching in November of 2022, I hope to make the reader aware of its existence. 

As stated on their webpage, the foundation’s mission is “to elevate the language education profession and promote the transformative power of language learning.” Their three-fold vision is to provide: 

1) greater support for language educators. 
2) broader access to language learning. 
3) deeper connections across communities and cultures.

Their webpage states that in order to address the critical challenges currently facing the language education profession, their work focuses on the following areas,

• Professional Development – Supporting educators’ growth by expanding access to mentoring and continuing education
• Scholarships & Awards – Recognizing the incredible accomplishments of educators and students, especially from traditionally underserved communities
• Research – Supporting and sharing with the world the results of cutting-edge language education research initiatives
• Public Education – Ensuring that those outside the profession understand the importance of language education”

With regards to the area of professional development, the foundation currently is working on identifying needs and expanding offerings. They invite you to submit your ideas on this contact form.

It is definitely worth your time to take a look at the scholarships and award page. These awards include the Lead with Languages Teacher Scholarship Program, LCF/Vista Classroom Microgrants for Language Educators, ACTFL/LCF Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Classroom, and LCF/Klett Award for Sustainable Development Education in the World Language Classroom.

On their research page they have posted a report entitled Making Languages Our Business: Addressing Foreign Language Demand Among U.S. Employers. The highlights from this report include the following data points:

• 9 out of 10 U.S. employers rely on employees with language skills other than English.
• 56% say their language demand will increase in the next 5 years.
• 47% state a need for language skills exclusively for the domestic market.
• 1 in 3 language-dependent U.S. employers report a language skills gap.
• 1 in 4 U.S. employers lost business due to a lack of language skills.

I encourage you to download this report and use it to advocate for world language study.

Their work in the area of public education not only includes advocacy resources, but also information about the LCF Student Ambassadors Program. This program is a volunteer group of passionate student language learners at the postsecondary level. Their charge is to help spread LCF’s “mission, provide insights, and inspire other young people to celebrate their language accomplishments and dreams.” I encourage you to make your graduating high school seniors and undergraduate students aware of this opportunity. They could end up being highlighted on the foundation’s blog!