Administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE), The Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program was created in 1968 under a grant from the United States Information Agency. From the beginning, the program’s goal has been to strengthen foreign language instruction in the United States and to provide the opportunity for both native-speaking Teaching Assistants and Americans to learn about each others’ cultures and customs, thereby enhancing mutual understanding. Originally the FLTA program was composed of a small group of student teachers primarily from France, the program developed slowly and, over time has added student teachers from Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam, Russia and Taiwan. With periodic down-turns in government funding, receiving U.S. institutions were expected to provide all of the funding required to host an FLTA. Participating schools primarily funded Spanish, German and French language Teaching Assistants, and therefore, the majority of participants came from countries where these languages were spoken. In 2001, the FLTA Program received increased funding from the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Additional financial support has followed each year since to meet the growing need for instruction in less commonly taught languages. As funding increased, the FLTA Program added countries and languages to those already being offered. The program has now extended to 56 countries and supports the instruction of 32 languages at host schools in nearly all 50 U.S. states and Washington, DC. As we approach the end of this first decade of the new millennium, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs continues to develop a number of objectives and activities related to the FLTA Program, including special orientation and enrichment workshops. The program continues its work to increase the knowledge of foreign languages and cultures by Americans and offers an unique opportunity for native-speaking teachers to increase their knowledge of the customs and cultures of the U.S. In the near term, the FLTA Program is poised to become a more significant resource for foreign language instruction in the United States; over the long term, it will have been a more effective avenue of mutual understanding.
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