⇒ “Icy” diplomatic relations with Iran make it difficult for Farsi learners to hone their language skills abroad, the Washington Post reported. Dan Davidson, president of the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, noted in the article that Russian language learners faced similar difficulties during the Cold War—and that once diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union thawed and those students were able to study in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and elsewhere, it paid “huge dividends.” “Sooner or later, the student has to break into the real world and the real culture,” Davidson said.
[Note: this item has expanded content since the original posting.]

⇒ In other foreign language news, a language tutor responded to Washington Post columnist Jay Mathew’s assertion that foreign language study is a “waste of time.”

⇒ President Obama announced the creation of several new exchanges with Muslim majority countries at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship, including “Partners for a New Beginning.”

⇒ On Capitol Hill, Congressional leaders (along with eight former secretaries of state) showed their support for a robust international affairs budget, while the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a State Department authorization bill for the first time in five years.

⇒ The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on a new trend in university internationalization: “liason offices abroad.”

⇒ As usual, your Weekly Federal Register listing.

⇒ And finally, please note that the Alliance is moving! Effective May 10, 2010, our new address will be:

1828 L Street, NW, Suite 1150
Washington, DC 20036

Phone, fax, and email will remain the same.