ACTFL and the Language Connects Foundation (LCF) are delighted to announce the selection of the 2025 cohort of the Future Teacher Scholarship Program.
This program provides merit-based funding to graduating high school seniors or current undergraduate students who are committed to pursuing the language teaching profession in languages other than English. Scholars receive an annual award of $1,500 per academic year, renewable to a cumulative total of $6,000 per recipient and a complimentary ACTFL membership during and for one year following their participation in the program.
The seventh class of Future Teacher Scholars includes 20 awardees who hail from 12 home states and plan to teach seven languages including English as a Second Language—including American Sign Language, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish.
Demonstrative of our commitment to expanding existing support for current and future educators who enter the profession from diverse pathways, the Future Teacher Scholarship Program now actively invites candidates currently enrolled in four-year undergraduate programs as well as two-year or community college programs.
These future educators have already begun to use their skills as tutors, classroom assistants, babysitters, interpreters, and more. They count among their many achievements creating their own language learning organizations and nonprofits, many earning their State's Seal of Biliteracy in five different languages (French, German, Latin, Spanish, Russian) and being recognized as participants in programs like the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) Summer Scholars Program (for Korean).
One scholar explained:
"I want my students to see language not as a requirement, but as a tool to explore, connect, and understand the world more deeply.”
As our country continues to face the challenge of a language educator shortage in nearly every state, ACTFL and LCF continue to prioritize efforts to recruit, retain, and support a diverse, well-trained, and passionate teacher workforce.
For those wishing to support future awardees of this scholarship program, more information is available at Language Connects Foundation.