In a Washington Post Letter to the Editor published yesterday, Maura Pally, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, discusses a growing trend in U.S. students’ interest in Russia and the Russian language. She states that “[b]oth trends bode well for U.S. engagement in the world because foreign language skills and the inter-cultural awareness they bring pave the way for mutual understanding and better relations.”

Pally goes on to discuss the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program, administered by the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS and funded by the State Department. NSLI-Y will provide 140 scholarships to American high school students to study Russian in Russia in 2010-11, with 450 scholarships allocated among other priority languages. Pally closes her letting by emphasizing that “[t]he overseas intensive language experience is life-changing for students.”