PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary can give grants or make contracts with colleges or groups of colleges to create, strengthen, and run a small number of national language resource and training centers. These centers must help improve how foreign languages are taught and learned. The centers must share their work when it makes sense and may do things like research better teaching methods and use of technology, make and spread new teaching materials, create and use language performance tests and train teachers to use them, focus on languages taught less often (including studying U.S. needs and publishing materials), make resources for K–12 teachers, and run intensive summer institutes for advanced students and teacher training. Grants must meet the goals of the program and follow any terms the Secretary requires.

Title 20, §1123

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Language resource centers authorized

The Secretary is authorized to make grants to and enter into contracts with institutions of higher education, or consortia of such institutions, for the purpose of establishing, strengthening, and operating a small number of national language resource and training centers, which shall serve as resources to improve the capacity to teach and learn foreign languages effectively.

(b)Authorized activities

The activities carried out by the centers described in subsection (a)—

(1)shall include effective dissemination efforts, whenever appropriate; and

(2)may include—

(A)the conduct and dissemination of research on new and improved teaching methods, including the use of advanced educational technology;

(B)the development and dissemination of new teaching materials reflecting the use of such research in effective teaching strategies;

(C)the development, application, and dissemination of performance testing appropriate to an educational setting for use as a standard and comparable measurement of skill levels in all languages;

(D)the training of teachers in the administration and interpretation of performance tests, the use of effective teaching strategies, and the use of new technologies;

(E)a significant focus on the teaching and learning needs of the less commonly taught languages, including an assessment of the strategic needs of the United States, the determination of ways to meet those needs nationally, and the publication and dissemination of instructional materials in the less commonly taught languages;

(F)the development and dissemination of materials designed to serve as a resource for foreign language teachers at the elementary and secondary school levels; and

(G)the operation of intensive summer language institutes to train advanced foreign language students, to provide professional development, and to improve language instruction through preservice and inservice language training for teachers.

(c)Conditions for grants

Grants under this section shall reflect the purposes of this part and be made on such conditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 1123, Pub. L. 89–329, title VI, § 603, as added Pub. L. 96–374, title VI, § 601(a), Oct. 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 1466; amended Pub. L. 99–498, title VI, § 603, Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1515; Pub. L. 102–325, title VI, § 601, July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 722; Pub. L. 103–208, § 2(j)(12), Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2481, authorized grants for language resource centers, prior to the general amendment of this part by Pub. L. 105–244. Another prior section 1123, Pub. L. 89–329, title VI, § 603, Nov. 8, 1965, 79 Stat. 1262, related to the State plans for carrying out the program of equipment grants to institutions of higher education, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 96–374.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–315, § 610(a), substituted “consortia” for “combinations”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–315, § 603, inserted “reflect the purposes of this part and” after “section shall”.

§1123 Language Resource Centers