As the United States continued to grow as a world power throughout the later part of the twentieth century, government funding for international education grew more closely connected to its national security needs. Federal funds have contributed to the growth of Area Studies and studying Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs). Within the last ten…

Language learners and educators have subscribed to the belief that those who go abroad will have many opportunities to use the target language and will naturally become proficient. They also assume that language learners will develop relationships with native speakers allowing them to use the language and become more fluent, an assumption…