National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations
@nfmlta.bsky.social
The NFMLTA promotes the rich diversity of languages by supporting scholars and educators at every level, and by connecting research to teaching practice. https://nfmlta.org/
In September 2026. the University of Edinburgh informed staff more than 90 degree programmes would be “taught out”, including 48 courses from the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures which have “historically attracted low numbers of students”. #languagelearning thetab.com/2026/10/16/t...
Three UK universities announced language course closures in 2026 - including Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh is scrapping 90 programmes
thetab.com
Congratulations to Yoonseo Kim of University of Hawaii at Manoa, recipient of a 2026 NFMLTA Dissertation Writing Support grant. For more information about NFMLTA grants, visit nfmlta.org. #languages #languageresearch #languageeducation #langchat #languagelearning
"While the Members urge HHS to withdraw the proposed rule in its entirety, their letter focuses specifically on its harmful changes to language-access protections." #languages #languagelearning #languageresearch #languageeducation #langchat chu.house.gov/media-center...
Rep. Chu, Tri-Caucus Leaders Demand HHS Withdraw Harmful English-Only Head Start Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Chair Emerita of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), CAPAC Chair Grace Meng (NY-06), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Adr...
chu.house.gov
Congratulations to Yunjung Yunie Ku of Georgetown University, winner of the 2026 Emma Marie Birkmaier Award, given annually by NFMLTA and ACTFL in recognition of exceptional doctoral dissertation research in world language education!
Congratulations to Nicole Tracy-Ventura, Amanda Huensch, Jonah Katz, and Rosamond Mitchell, winners of this year's NFMLTA Paul Pimsleur Award for Research in World Language Education, given in partnership with ACTFL. We look forward to seeing you in San Antonio!
Our webinar with Avant on the Seal of Bilteracy is available below and at our YouTube channel (@ nfmtla) #languages #languageeducation #languagelearning #langchat youtu.be/3EVZZRNx7tw?...
Making Languages Count: The Power of Credentialing as Advocacy
YouTube video by NFMLTA
youtu.be
"This dramatic collapse isn’t happening because Utah students suddenly lost interest in connecting with their neighbors or exploring new cultures. It is the direct, predictable outcome of a state educational policy that has quietly sidelined world languages ." www.sltrib.com/opinion/comm...
Voices: When Utah schools lose language classes like mine, students lose more than words
“It is time for state leaders to reinstate language requirements in our schools before the global superpower we built is lost for good,” Kylie Howe writes in an op-ed.
sltrib.com
"In a live exchange, a learner has to understand what another person said, choose a response, watch how it lands, and adjust when the conversation changes. The listening, speaking, cultural knowledge, and social cues all happen at once." #languagelearning fortune.com/2026/09/12/t...
Technology can supply the words. But language proficiency begins when another person answers | Fortune
Fluency describes how smoothly someone speaks. Proficiency depends on what happens once a real conversation moves off script.
fortune.com
"The argument came to life again after Tang Jiafeng...said on social media that children, parents and schools had devoted disproportionate amounts of time and resources to English, a subject he argued had little relevance to the jobs most people eventually did." www.scmp.com/news/china/p...
Stop ‘worshipping foreign things’: calls to demote English in China stir debate
A teacher’s call to end ‘worshipping foreign things’ reignites debate over the language’s role in schools.
scmp.com
"Experts say the revival in some of them is driven partly by second- and third-generation Africans in the diaspora finding it easier to reconnect with their roots and communicate with older relatives, thanks to social media." www.taylorvilledailynews.com/africas-moth...
Africa’s mother tongues are finding new life as youth connect with roots and relatives - Taylorville Daily News
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – A television game show in Nigeria’s commercial hub of Lagos has an unforgiving rule: Speak English and you lose. For a U.S.-born millennial in the audience and a student of her...
taylorvilledailynews.com
Big news from NFMLTA! Our grant offerings will be significantly increased in 2027. We are so proud to be able to support the field in this way, promoting the rich diversity of languages, supporting scholars and educators at every level, and connecting research to teaching practice.
"I had feared my admission would make students trust me less. The opposite happened. They became more willing to ask questions, offer unfinished answers, and speak before they were certain." #languages #languagelearning #languageeducation #langchat www.science.org/content/arti...
When I told my students I’m still learning their language, they started to open up about their challenges, too
“I want them to know the classroom is a place where learning can be visible,” this professor writes
science.org
Big news from NFMLTA! Our grant offerings will be significantly increased in 2027. We are so proud to be able to support the field in this way, promoting the rich diversity of languages, supporting scholars and educators at every level, and connecting research to teaching practice.
"The university said these program cuts were made after analyzing their 'time to value,' measuring how many years it takes graduates to economically benefit from their degree." #languages #languageeducation #languageresearch #languagelearning #langchat www.ntdaily.com/news/my-prog...
‘My program’s going to sh-t’: Linguistics students move forward knowing major is being ‘phased out’
A small program at the university, the linguistics department has taken pride in documenting endangered languages and preparing the next generation to research language.
ntdaily.com
"Australia ranks fifth globally for linguistic diversity, with more than 400 languages spoken or signed by more than six million people." #languages #languageresearch #languageeducation #languagelearning #langchat www.anu.edu.au/news/all-new...
New national survey asks Australians to help map the nation’s languages
A new survey led by The Australian National University (ANU) is inviting multilingual Australians to help researchers build a more complete picture of the languages spoken and signed across the country.Australia may be one of the world’s most multilingual nations, but researchers say the full extent of the country’s linguistic diversity is still not known.Researchers are launching the Languages in Australia Survey, inviting multilingual people across the country to share information about the languages they speak or sign and when they learned them.
anu.edu.au
"Mark Carney said on Monday that while American negotiators saw the French language in Canada as an 'irritant … in Quebec, these are rights.'" #languages #languageeducation #languagelearning #languageresearch #langchat www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Mark Carney says Canada can’t accept US trade deal that would weaken French language
Prime minister praised for rejecting US trade proposal as Trump shows little interest in retreating from dispute
theguardian.com
"Researchers have known since the 1950s that language loss involves an element of choice. The problem is figuring out how much choice." #languages #languagelearning #languageeducation #languageresearch #langchat theconversation.com/languages-ar...
Languages are disappearing, and the problem is political
Language loss is often a reluctant choice made to escape violence, not a willing choice made to gain benefits.
theconversation.com
An excerpt of our NFMLTA/Avant webinar, “From Snapshots to Stories: Making Sense of Longitudinal Enrollment Patterns in Languages,” with Erin Fell. You can find the entire event on our YouTube channel. Subscribe now! youtube.com/shorts/dikTc...
Teaching Languages in Non-Language Classes: A New Frontier, with Erin Fell
YouTube video by NFMLTA
youtube.com
"The department said the changes would minimize 'non essential multilingual services and redirect toward English-language education and assimilation.'" milwaukeenns.org/2026/08/10/f... #languages #languageeducation #languagelearning #languageresearch #langchat
Federal government proposes sweeping Head Start changes that modify standards on class sizes, require English-only instruction
The new proposed standards promise flexibility while projecting roughly 162,000 additional Head Start and Early Head Start slots nationally. Advocates say changes would undermine the quality of curren...
milwaukeenns.org
"For allophones receiving care in their preferred language, the risk was 27 per cent lower than for those who did not." #languages #languagelearning #languageresearch #languageeducation #langchat www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Patients who speak same language as their doctor live longer, study suggests | CBC News
Patients who talk with their doctors in the same language they use at home generally tend to live longer, suggests a recent study by researchers at the University of Ottawa and the University of Mani...
cbc.ca
"We’re only assessing what they don’t know rather than what they do know in their home language." #languages #languageeducation #languageresearch #languagelearning #langchat www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...
Why Standardized Tests in English Fall Short for English Learners
The Migration Policy Institute found 35 states and the District of Columbia offer native language assessments.
edweek.org
"Talented educators shouldn’t face excessive barriers to entry when Colorado is already facing a teacher shortage. This new law streamlines access to a teaching career in Colorado for educators who are already experienced in a trusted state.” #languageeducation www.cohousedems.com/news/laws-to...
Laws to Address Teacher Shortage, Recognize Multilingual Students Go into Effect
New laws to improve educational outcomes go into effect August 12, 2026. SB26-126 addresses Colorado’s teacher shortage by easing licensure requirements for qualified out-of-state teachers, and HB26-1...
cohousedems.com
"A linguistic “golden age” flourished between 1,000 to 3,000 years ago when tens of thousands of languages were spoken throughout the world." #languages #languageeducation #languageresearch #languagelearning #langchat news.yale.edu/2026/07/23/s...
Study uncovers lost ‘golden age’ of languages
A new study coauthored by Yale linguist Claire Bowern suggests that tens of thousands of languages were spoken between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago.
news.yale.edu
"The expanded support reflects Seoul’s broader foreign policy effort to deepen ties with its global diaspora and cultivate cultural literacy among second- and third-generation Korean Americans." #languages #langaugeeducation #languagelearning #langchat www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/southkor...
Korea expands support for Korean language education in US communities - The Korea Times
Inside hundreds of church basements, civic halls and rented classrooms across America, Saturday morning means one thing for young Korean Americans:...
koreatimes.co.kr
Congratulations to Ayako Anderson of @northeasternu.bsky.social, recipient of an NFMLTA Conference Presentation Support Grant to attend the recent American Association of Teachers of Japanese conference. For more information about our grants, visit nfmlta.org.
Congratulations to Lu Xi of The University of Georgia! For more information about our grants, visit nfmlta.org.
"African languages are not peripheral to global literary culture but active participants in it, capable of carrying, reshaping and reinterpreting some of the most demanding works ever written." #languages #languagelearning #languageresearch #langchat theconversation.com/ulysses-in-i...
Ulysses in isiZulu: why an African translation of the classic Irish novel matters in today’s world
Writers from very different places can grapple with the same questions.
theconversation.com
