These short pieces report what the research shows about key topics, like the importance of early world language study, the impact of world language study on cognitive or academic outcomes, and more.

Written for educators, administrators, policymakers, and community members, the ACTFL Research Briefs focus on world (non-English) language education in the United States. They address the questions that we are commonly asked about language teaching and learning. They center on questions that can be answered by research that has already been conducted in the field.

Current Briefs

All ACTFL Research Briefs are publicly available here, and some may also be featured in ACTFL publications Foreign Language Annals and The Language Educator. New briefs will be published periodically throughout the year.

ACTFL Research Briefs Call for Proposals

The ACTFL Research Briefs Task Force is seeking authors for the ACTFL Research Briefs. The ACTFL Research Briefs are short reports intended to provide an accessible summary of current research relating to world language education in the United States. The intended audience is stakeholders like administrators, legislators, state boards of education, school board members, students, and parents. Please see the Author Guidelines for more information on what to include in the Research Briefs.

The ACTFL Research Briefs will be published online on the ACTFL website, with a possibility of parallel publication in the ACTFL flagship publications: Foreign Language Annals and/or The Language Educator.

Currently, we are accepting proposals for Research Briefs written on the following topics.

Please address one of these topics in your proposal; proposals written addressing other topics will not be considered at present.

What level of proficiency is attained after X years of world language study
Academic outcomes of world language study
Cognitive outcomes of world language study

Please fill out the form below to submit your proposal. The deadline date to submit your proposal will be May 15, 2023. Proposals will be considered starting on May 15, 2023.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Pamela Wesely - pamela-wesely@uiowa.edu or Dr. Margaret Malone -mmalone@actfl.org

Please fill out the form below to submit your proposal. The deadline date to submit your proposal will be May 15, 2023. Proposals will be considered starting on May 15, 2023.

Your Email Address: *

Title: *

In 20 words or less, please describe your title. This field has a 20 word limit.

20 words left

Name(s) of authors: *

Please list all authors who will be contributing to the Research Brief. The first author should also be the corresponding author.

Description of the Brief: *

In 100 words or less, please provide an overview of the main content and topic of the brief that you are proposing to write. This field has a 100 word limit.

100 words left

Explanation of Relevance: *

In 100 words or less, explain why you see this topic as relevant to an audience of non-specialists such as administrators and policymakers. This field has a 100 word limit.

100 words left

Key References: *

In 50 words or less, identify four or five salient pieces of research and provide a brief annotation for each, explaining how each is relevant to the topic.

50 words left

Short CV (4 pages) *

Provide the CV of the corresponding (first) author, focusing on recent scholarship and experiences related to the topic of the Research Brief (when applicable). File format accepted: PDF, .doc/docx, and .txt. This field has a maximum upload of 2 MB.

The Impact of Early Language Learning

Learning language has positive impacts both in the language classroom and beyond.

Research Findings

Advanced Language Proficiency

Advanced language proficiency is beneficial for cross-cultural understanding.

Research Findings

- The Impact of Early Language Learning, Fernando Rubio, University of Utah, 2022
- How to Reach Advanced Language Proficiency. Paula Winke, Michigan State University, 2022.

Resources by Topic

Research Briefs

Current Briefs

ACTFL Research Briefs Call for Proposals

Please fill out the form below to submit your proposal. The deadline date to submit your proposal will be May 15, 2023. Proposals will be considered starting on May 15, 2023.