NCOLCTL Affiliation

National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages http://www.councilnet.org

CLTA is a dues-paying member of the National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL) since 1990, with voting representation at NCOLCTL's annual Council Meeting. NCOLCTL addresses issue of national capacity in the Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL's) by facilitating communication among member organizations, and with the governmental, private, heritage, and overseas sectors of the language community, with the ultimate goal that of increasing the collective impact of LCTL constituencies on America's ability to communicate with peoples from all parts of the world.

Among its activities is a three-year project, The Chinese Language Field Initiative. This is a field-wide research and development program to strengthen Chinese language instruction in the United States. Funded by the Henry Luce Foundation and awarded to the National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL), with Scott McGinnis the Principal Investigator. The CFLI is led by the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA) and the Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS), with administrative support provided by NCOLCTL and with consultative expertise from the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC). Also represented are the two national Chinese-heritage school associations, the National Council of Associations of Chinese Language Schools (NCACLS) and the Chinese School Association in the United States (CSAUS).