FEATURED NEWS

March 12, 2021 | JNCL Announcement

Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) announced the reintroduction of the Biliteracy Education Seal and Teaching Act (BEST) Act. The bill establishes a federal grant program to help states create and implement a Seal of Biliteracy program that encourages and recognizes high school students who achieve proficiency in both English and at least one other language to better enable young people to compete in the global workforce. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate. 

“Our national security, and our economy, rely on language proficiency,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “Biliteracy prepares our students to succeed in today’s globalized and competitive economy. By ensuring states establish and carry out a Seal of Biliteracy program, we can properly equip our students with language proficiency while also better safeguarding our future national security.” 


March 12, 2021 | American Translators Association

"The Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, also known as PRO Act, represents a dramatic change in U.S. labor law, including the adoption of the ABC worker classification test at the federal level. This will make it more difficult for individuals to claim independent contractor status. A similar ABC test proved disastrous for most professional translators and interpreters in California when the state's Assembly Bill 5 went into effect in 2020. PRO Act is now under consideration in the U.S Senate after being passed by the House of Representatives on March 9.  

We are calling on language advocates to contact their senators as soon as possible to inform them of the serious unintended consequences of PRO Act on our industry. Not only is the ability of professional linguists to practice as independent contractors threatened, but continued access to language services by those with limited English proficiency is also at risk."

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March 8, 2021 | The Guardian

I’ve come to know an extraordinary global network of readers, writers, translators, publishers, librarians, booksellers and editors dedicated to championing books by women in translation. And what’s more, the power of collectives was found everywhere within the literature, too.

Three years ago, when I set out to read writing by a woman from every country in the world, I had no idea of the ways in which this journey would surprise me, challenge me and, as life became smaller, sustain me.

What I did know was that I needed to broaden my bookcase far beyond the canon. So in June 2018, I started a blog where I would chart my way, gather tips from readers and review all 199 books, poems and stories."

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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Date: March 17, 2021

Join the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters for their new installment of their Conversation series! This Women’s History Month we honor the countless women across the United States who, for decades, have fought for language access and the advancement of the healthcare interpreting profession. Despite countless challenges, women in all four corners of this nation worked tirelessly to advocate for people with limited English proficiency and for quality language services in health care. Today, tens of thousands of interpreters stand on their shoulders. 


March 5, 2021 | JNCL Announcement

The World Language Advancement and Readiness Grants Program is now accepting applications! The deadline to apply is May 7, 2021. This program defines a new and essential pathway for the growth of programs that empower students to become multilingual, globally prepared citizens. Your dedication and advocacy efforts over the past several years helped make this program a reality!

The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) seeks innovative applications for the establishment, improvement, or expansion of world language programs targeting elementary and secondary students in order to enable successful students, as they advance from elementary school through secondary school, to achieve advanced level of proficiency in those languages. Each individual grant award will be a minimum of $500,000.00 and may be up to a maximum of $3,000,000, for a period of up to five (5) years. 

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PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline to apply: March 15, 2021

The GPA program is a discretionary grant program designed to contribute to the development and improvement of the study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the United States by providing training opportunities for faculty, teachers, and upperclassmen and/or graduate students in foreign countries outside of Western Europe and where the United States has diplomatic representation. Awards are made under the program to conduct overseas group projects in research, training, curriculum development, and advanced foreign language study.

Institutions of higher education (IHE), state departments of education, private nonprofit educational organizations, and consortia of institutions, departments, and organizations are eligible to apply.

Date: March 20, 2021

The 2021 MFLA Spring Conference is virtual this year with 4 concurrent time slots and 20 sessions in both live and pre-recorded formats.

$30 - MFLA members or $65 - non-members.
FEDERAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Notice ID: N/A
Agency: JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF
Office: DIVISION 1900
Location: US
Response Date: March 19th, 2021
Notice ID: W81K04-20-R-0033
Agency: DEPT OF DEFENSE
Office: W40M USA HLTH CONTRACTING ACT
Location: JBSA Ft Sam Houston , TX 78234 USA
Response Date: March 26th, 2021
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FRIDAY, MARCH 12TH, 2021 ISSUE
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