Educators

Participating in NSLI-Y is a challenging but rewarding endeavor. Participants must demonstrate maturity, open-mindedness, flexibility, communication skills, and initiative. Participants must understand the importance of following program rules and guidelines, especially for health and safety in programs abroad.

Successful NSLI-Y participants dedicate themselves to language acquisition and cultural learning. Participants embrace their role as citizen youth ambassadors and recognize the significance of developing cultural sensitivity. 

NSLI-Y programs abroad are structured language-learning experiences; participants do not travel independently. NSLI-Y is focused on language acquisition, not tourism. Students interested in academic year programs should consider the long-term commitment and challenges. For many reasons, not all students may be prepared for such an extended period away from home.

NSLI-Y is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The Department of State funds the program, establishes the program goals and objectives, selects the host locations and languages offered, and provides oversight of all program activities. ECA collaborates with American Councils for International Education and other international exchange organizations to implement NSLI-Y programs. Cities and regions for NSLI-Y programs are selected in cooperation with the U.S. Embassies and Consulates in the host country. The Department of State and the implementing organizations continuously monitor current events in each NSLI-Y location. All NSLI-Y study abroad participants are registered with the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which provides safety and health alerts and ensures that the Embassy can quickly contact students if needed.

Additional resources and information are available at travel.state.gov and studyabroad.state.gov.

The confidential recommendation is used to determine an applicant’s motivation and potential to be a successful participant in an intensive language and cultural exchange program. The recommendation form includes multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions. Recommenders are asked to comment on the applicant’s communication skills, behavior, work ethic, peer relationships, and ability to work in groups, as well as general suitability for an exchange experience. Before completing the recommendation, it can be helpful to talk with the applicant about their motivation for applying and how it relates to their future academic and professional goals.

Candid feedback about the applicant is critical to the selection process. Including specific examples is particularly helpful.

Applicants will add the recommender’s email address in their application which will intiate an email  to the recommender to complete an online form.  

Recommenders should:

• Add [email protected] and [email protected] to their safe sender or contact list so that the notification does not go to a spam or junk folder. 
• Provide a contact email to the applicant that is not a K-12 address, as K-12 addresses often block email messages from unknown sources such as the NSLI-Y application system.

For study abroad programs, please email [email protected] or call (800) 380-6552. For Virtual NSLI-Y, please email [email protected] or call (202) 773-0764. 

NSLI-Y staff are available to assist callers between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. Due to the heavy volume of inquiries around application and recommendation deadlines, NSLI-Y staff may not be able to respond to all email or call inquiries on those days. Please contact us for assistance well in advance of any deadline.