Research and Assessment
Monolingualism is the illiteracy of the 21st century. As many nations are rearing children with bi- and trilingual abilities, we need to step it up because we're in a world competitive arena.
- Utah State Senator Howard Stephenson
The American Councils Research Center (ARC) provides data and research on language learning and language use in education and in the workplace. ARC’s goal is to provide relevant data to policymakers at all levels.
ARC builds on the accomplishments of American Councils in the areas of language assessment, advanced language acquisition, immersion learning, and intercultural development. The staff has produced nationally and internationally recognized materials.
Among ARC’s most important accomplishments are its multiple large-scale empirical studies of second language acquisition by American students in the overseas immersion setting, the impact of dual language (DLI) on academic performance in US K-12 education, the development of comprehensive surveys of US K-12 foreign language enrollments, and other policy-relevant research.
ARC is supported by major grants from the Institute of Educational Sciences, the National Foreign Language Center/STARTALK Program, the Spencer Foundation, the Teagle Foundation, and private donors.
Second Language Proficiency Development
For many years, ARC has rigorously monitored the language proficiency development of participants on major, federally-supported programs in overseas language and cultural training.
Scroll down to read recently published ARC studies on language gains within the NSLI, CLS and Flagship Programs and a comparison of the development of both language proficiency and intercultural development.
Dual Language Immersion Research Alliance
The Alliance is a new network of K-12 practitioners and education researchers in the United States with a mission to prepare students to be bilingual, biliterate, bicultural, and career and college-ready. Learn more.
National K-12 Foreign Language Enrollment Report
ARC analyzed K-12 foreign language enrollment data as it currently stands in the US, where more than 21 percent of households speak a language other than English at home. Learn more.
The Effect of DLI on Student Achievement: Utah Public Schools Study
This two-year study of dual-language immersion in Utah is funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the US Department of Education. Learn more.
America’s Languages: American Academy of Arts & Sciences
The Commission on Language Learning released the first comprehensive report on US language education in decades. Read the report.