<p>planner03 and everyone else,</p>
<p>The website says that they are very interested in heritage speakers. Often, heritage speakers know foreign language as good as native speakers. Thus, I assume that many kids join the program for other reasons than “to learn language”.</p>
<p>What is an incentive for a heritage speaker to join the program? Why NSA advertise to this audience?</p>
<p>When programs refer to heritage speakers they mean the children of immigrants who may speak the language a little but may not have a large vocabulary or may not be able to read and write the language. These students still need instruction to become proficient in the language. Many universities have two tracks of Chinese classes, one for beginners and one for Heritage speakers.</p>
<p>The China program is allegedly HUGELY more competitive than some of the other countries’ programs. One of my kids did this program and our experience (and this is just anecdotal) was that the kids she met during the interview process who were uber-intimidatingly impressive were all after China. Not that the rest were slouches. They were all Ivy-eligible with numerous other “resume items”. also we heard that the essays were extremely important for NSLIY to determine who would be the best fit in all the programs. Again, only anecdotal evidence. My kid loved the program and would have gladly done it again.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone.</p>
<p>It looks like this program is not for a kid, who speaks language at the native level.</p>
<p>@californiaaa, where did you get the idea that they reject Ivy-qualified kids on purpose? A huge chunk of the kids I knew on the program went on to Ivies.</p>
<p>Yeah, my NSLI-Y child knows program participants at Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton and selective liberal arts colleges(Middlebury and Amherst.). It is also common for NSLI-Y participants to pursue the government supported language flagship programs at particular universities. These programs support students wishing to attain a professional level of fluency regardless of major.</p>
<p>"NSA is probably looking for a kid, who may be interested in government career in the future.</p>
<h2>If your child is an Ivy, NSA may consider him “overqualified”. "</h2>
<p>Where did NSA come from? The NSLI-Y program is sponsored by the State Department. The NSA does have summer language programs/internships but they’re for college students who have studied the language.</p>
<p>P.S. NSA takes will take from any college - even the Ivies.</p>
<p>Theoretically, NSA and CIA are pushing these programs and it is their goals which are being promoted through NSLIY. </p>
<p>In practicality both NSA and CIA recruit from the best schools in the country because they need the best to work on some of the most complex technical systems they operate today. So for us to assume someone is too bright for NSA would be silly.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how much work the teacher recommendation for this program is? Is it similar to the parent statement?</p>
<p>It’s just a statement, as far as I know - whatever the teacher wants to write. No grids to fill in, and no fill-in-the-blanks stuff.</p>
<p>"If your child is an Ivy, NSA may consider him “overqualified”. ___________________________________________________________
The purpose of the NSLI-Y program is to expose American students to study of languages that are of “critical need” to U.S.-International relations. It is an expensive investment and something of a gamble that these students will, after exposure to the culture and language, become committed to further study of the language. Of course NSLI-Y is looking for strong students who are capable of learning these challenging languages, but they are also looking for students who show serious interest in the language and a background that demonstrates cultural adaptability and the likelihood that they will represent the U.S. well. Not every “Ivy qualified” student fits that bill. Students like my D13 (China 2012) who had experience both as cultural exchange students and as NSLI-Y summer program participants have commented that the summer program does tend to attract more “resume builders” than young people who have the attributes necessary for long-term cultural exchange. According to my S15 (China 2012-13), the year program is a bigger commitment so that program does not attract as many strivers. If your child is really interested in language learning, the summer StarTalk programs are a great place to start (most programs begin accepting applications in February or later) and the Flagship university programs are great places to continue studying after StarTalk or NSLI-Y. For those interested in cultural exchange, there is more discussion on Cultures Shocked Forum or the state department’s Exchanges Connect. My D13 didn’t apply to Ivy league schools but turned down top LACs to attend the Chinese flagship and Croft Institute of International Studies at Ole Miss.</p>
<p>Apollo6 ,</p>
<p>There are tens of thousands of heritage speakers, especially in Chinese. I am living in California. Most Chinese parents sent their kids to Chinese schools on weekends to master language. Over 50,000 Chinese immigrate to US every year! Many public schools have immersion in Mandarin, all classes are in Mandarin only, for many years. Honestly, there are tens of thousands kids in US, graduating American HSs, every year, that speak Mandarin. </p>
<p>Why NSA is interested in promoting Chinese among American students? If they need employees fluent in Mandarin, they have endless supply of such employees, already.</p>
<p>Am I missing something?</p>
<p>Can anyone comment on the Arabic component of this program? My son just submitted an application for next summer. Any sense of how competitive the program is for those interested in learning Arabic? Also, any feedback on students’ experiences in the program in Morocco or Oman? How were the academics, sightseeing excursions, etc? How many students generally go for the Arabic-summer program? Were they placed with a host family, or did they stay in a dorm? </p>
<p>He hastily put together his application this week, as he just discovered the program while researching colleges offering a good Arabic and Arabic Studies curriculum.</p>
<p>I was a summmer 2012 NSLI-Y participant. I am a heritage speaker of Chinese, in that I am conversationally fluent. However, I am not able to read very well. On my NSLI-Y trip, there were rising first-years going to Princeton, Vassar, and Emory. Another participant is currently a first-year at Stanford.</p>
<p>I would say that for Chinese heritage speakers (a little late, perhaps, as the app deadline is later today) who were on the level I was, the program was not particularly fulfilling. I was pleased with the experience of fairly-independent living in an urban area, but the classes were actually a little too easy. To their credit, the program tried to rectify this in the last two weeks of classes, but I was one of only three heritage speakers who were /quite/ that fluent with the language-- in a twenty-person site, one of four that American Councils ran as one of many implementing organizations that summer.</p>