By Youssef Allam
Are you interested in foreign languages and cultures? Do you want to experience what the world has to offer firsthand? If so, NSLI-Y is the program for you. If you are accepted, you can fly abroad and interact directly with your target language.
NSLI for Youth (National Security Language Initiative for Youth) is a scholarship based, government sponsored program that lets students travel abroad to locations such as China, Egypt, Russia, India, and more, where they spend five weeks learning the language, culture, and customs of the people around them. Last year, two Tempe Prep seniors, Noah Frazier and Clara Moffitt, were accepted into the program, where they enjoyed a variety of eye-opening experiences. Unfortunately, they were not able to go abroad due to Covid-19. This does not mean, however, that they did not get the chance to experience what NSLI-Y had to offer.
Everyone’s NSLI-Y experience differs. Chiefly, the language you choose and the sponsor for your group will determine what you get to experience. For example, Noah chose Russian, his experience being sponsored by the Russian American Foundation (RAF). During his online classes, he had the opportunity to speak to Russian journalists, field professionals, and even a diplomat once. In addition to studying the pronunciation and rules of the language, he read poetry with Russian students to get a better grasp on Russian literature.
Clara’s experience with the Indonesian program focused a bit more on culture. For one activity, they were sent ingredients for an Indonesian dish, which they cooked themselves. In another, they did batik, a form of wax dyeing, a process in which wax is used to “resist” dye on a cloth. She talked with Indonesian officials and a host family many times in Bahasa Indonesian, the standard dialect of the language. She found Indonesian grammar relatively simple, as most sentence orders will convey your meaning perfectly clear, which is in contrast to Russian.
The benefits of NSLI-Y can extend past only language as well. Awareness of foreign cultures is important in today’s contemporary world. Clara notes that civility and respect were very big parts of Indonesian culture. Much of a conversation’s meaning is conveyed through nuance, where a person can say one thing and mean the opposite in order to remain polite. Knowing another language can also open up career paths you didn’t know existed. As Noah put it, “That’s the great thing about Russian: it takes you to so many different places. You can speak it in Eastern Europe… [and] central Asia and many people will still understand you.” He plans to continue his study of Russian during college and apply this skill to future job opportunities.
Unexpected connections can also happen during your course at NSLI-Y. Clara discovered that a friend of one of her Indonesian contacts runs Girl Up—a United Nations Foundation that Clara is heavily involved in—at her university in Indonesia. After NSLI-Y concluded, Clara and the woman created a partnership from across the globe.
Both Noah and Clara highly recommend anyone with an interest in a foreign language sign up immediately. They rate it as one of the best academic experiences they have participated in. As Clara said, “There’s something really fulfilling and rewarding about someone asking you a question in your target language, and you fully understanding and responding to it.” They have a few tips for the application process. (1) sign up as early as possible. It is an extremely lengthy and thorough application. (2) if you are rejected once, apply again; you have a higher chance of getting in the second time. (3) think about why you want to do the program. What future goals will NSLI-Y help you achieve? Having an answer prepared as you do the program will keep you on track.
NSLI-Y is a challenging yet rewarding program that you should try out. Be it for curiosity, future opportunities, or making connections, there is something for everyone.