Department of State National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) Evaluation Alumni Survey

Department of State National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) Evaluation

Alumni Survey

Note: Survey will be online in Dexis’ SurveyGizmo system. Therefore, formatting of specific questions may differ in the final presentation.

Entry Screen:

Thank you for taking the time to participate in the NSLI-Y evaluation! 

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), which has contracted the Dexis Consulting Group to conduct an independent evaluation of NSLI-Y between 2008 and 2017. You have received an invitation to participate in this survey because ECA’s records show that you participated in the NSLI-Y program in that period.  

The purpose of this evaluation is to assess NSLI-Y’s progress to date and to provide ECA and its implementing partners with lessons learned and recommendations to improve the impact and effectiveness of programs in the future. You have a unique perspective to contribute to this evaluation. We would like to learn about your observations of and experience during and since your NSLI-Y program in order to better understand the progress, successes, and challenges of NSLI-Y. This survey will take approximately 12-15 minutes to complete.  

Please note that your participation in this survey is voluntary, and you are free to end the survey at any time. By clicking the “Consent and enter survey” button below, you are consenting to the following terms: 

• Any response you provide may be reported in the final report as part of the aggregated quantitative analysis or the de-identified qualitative analysis from open-ended responses.  

• Responses may be reported by specific demographic category, program year, or program site. The only identifying information used will be the demographic information provided in the final section of the survey. 

• De-identified data files will be submitted to ECA at the completion of the evaluation (without names or any contact information).

• The data you provide may be reanalyzed at a later date for a follow-up study or other purpose as approved by ECA.  

If you have any questions about this survey or the NSLI-Y evaluation more broadly, you can contact the Dexis evaluation team at [[email protected]].  

Please answer the questions to the best of your ability and use the comment boxes to provide fuller answers and more insight on your experiences with NSLI-Y. Thank you in advance for your time and input!  

CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE

By clicking the button to enter the survey below, you are giving your consent to participate in this evaluation. If you do not wish to participate, please click the exit survey link below.

Consent and Enter Survey ⃝ Refuse and Exit Survey ⃝

Thank you for taking the time to complete this U.S. Department of State NSLI-Y Alumni survey. There are no right or wrong answers, and no personal information will be released by Dexis Consulting Group. Please answer each question to the best of your ability. Thank you.

SECTION I: NSLI-Y Experiences

This section of the survey focuses on aspects of your NSLI-Y Program.

1. Which response best reflects your participation in the NSLI-Y program?

Summer only Participant (one summer) (01)

Summer only Participant (multiple years) (02)

Academic Year only Participant (03)

Semester only Participant (04)

Summer and Academic Year Participant (05)

Summer and Semester Participant (06)

Aca

2. What motivated you to apply for the NSLI-Y program? [select all that apply]

	Option
a.	Interest based on information from someone else who had applied/ participated.	
b.	Interest based on information from high school advisor/ teacher.	
c.	Interest based on online advertising.	
d.	Interest in pursuing language study.	
e.	Interest in country culture.	
f.	Interest in general travel.	
g.	Professional development.	
h.	Other (specify)	

3. In which location did you study on your NSLI-Y program? (If you participated more than once, please answer for your first program here)

China	Taiwan	South Korea	Russia	Estonia	Latvia	Moldova
India	Morocco	Egypt	Jordan	Oman	Tajikistan	Turkey

1. In which year did you begin the NSLI-Y program? [dropdown 2008-2017]

2. What did you think about the length of the program?

Options
Too short	
Just right	
Too long	

3. Why did you choose this language? (Select all options that apply)

	Options
a.	Previous experience with language	
b.	Previous travel to country	
c.	Intent to study language in the future	
d.	Intent to pursue area studies for that region in the future	
e.	Interest in working in that region in the future	
f.	Other (specify)	

4. Please specify where you stayed during the program.

	Options
a.	Dorm (skip to Q4)	
b.	Host Family	
c.	Both	

5. How long did you stay with your host family/host families?

	Options
a.	Less than one week	
b.	One to two weeks	
c.	Three to four weeks	
d.	Six weeks	
e.	Semester	
f.	Academic year	

4. Overall, how did the NSLI-Y program compare to your expectations?

Better than expected (01) 

Met my expectations (02) 

Worse than expected (03) 

5. Please rank the top five aspects of the NSLI-Y program that you found to be the most beneficial or useful. Please drag and drop your top five in order.

	Program Element
		1	2	3	4	5
a.	Language immersion (living in the program location with a host family)
b.	Language instruction (classroom instruction in language)
c.	Pre-departure orientation
d.	Pre-program language instruction
e.	Pre-program online courses
f.	Weekly meetings with resident director/local coordinator
g.	Attending a high school in your program location (academic year only)
h.	Mid-year check-in (academic year only)
i.	Home stay
j.	Instruction on history and culture of program location
k.	Community service activities
l.	Cultural enrichment activities
m.	Travel component (academic year only)
n.	Re-entry orientation

6. Were any of the following aspects of your NSLI-Y program not beneficial or useful? [Select any that apply. If your program did not include that element, please leave it blank.]

	Program Element	Selection
a.	Language immersion (living in the program location with a host family)
b.	Language instruction (classroom instruction in language)
c.	Pre-departure orientation
d.	Pre-program language instruction
e.	Pre-program online courses
f.	Weekly meetings with resident director/local coordinator
g.	Attending a high school in your program location (academic year only)
h.	Mid-year check-in (academic year only)
i.	Home stay
j.	Instruction on history and culture of program location
k.	Community service activities
l.	Cultural enrichment activities
m.	Travel component (academic year only)
n.	Re-entry orientation

7. Did you participate in a second NSLI-Y program?

Yes (01)  (continue to Q5)

No (02)  (Skip to Q12)

8. In which location did you study on your second NSLI-Y program? (Please answer for your second program here)

China	Taiwan	South Korea	Russia	Estonia	Latvia	Moldova
India	Morocco	Egypt	Jordan	Oman	Tajikistan	Turkey

1. In which year did you begin your second NSLI-Y program? [dropdown 2008-2017]

2. What did you think about the length of the program?

Options
Too short
Just right
Too long

3. Why did you choose this language? (Select all options that apply)

	Options
a.	Previous experience with language	
b.	Previous travel to country	
c.	Intent to study language in the future	
d.	Intent to pursue area studies for that region in the future	
e.	Interest in working in that region in the future	
f.	Other (specify)	

4. Please specify where you stayed during the program.

	Options
a.	Dorm (Skip to Q6)	
b.	Host Family	
c.	Both	

5. How long did you stay with your host family/host families?

	Options
a.	Less than one week	
b.	One to two weeks	
c.	Three to four weeks	
d.	Six weeks	
e.	Semester	
f.	Academic year	

9. Overall, how did the NSLI-Y program compare to your expectations?

Better than expected (01) 

Met my expectations (02) 

Worse than expected (03) 

10. Please rank the top five aspects of the NSLI-Y program that you found to be the most beneficial or useful. Please drag and drop your top five in order.

	Program Element
		1	2	3	4	5
a.	Language immersion (living in the program location with a host family)
b.	Language instruction (classroom instruction in language)
c.	Pre-departure orientation
d.	Pre-program language instruction
e.	Pre-program online courses
f.	Weekly meetings with resident director/local coordinator
g.	Attending a high school in your program location (academic year only)
h.	Mid-year check-in (academic year only)
i.	Home stay
j.	Instruction on history and culture of program location
k.	Community service activities
l.	Cultural enrichment activities
m.	Travel component (academic year only)
n.	Re-entry orientation

11. Were any of the following aspects of your NSLI-Y program not beneficial or useful? [Select any that apply. If your program did not include that element, please leave it blank.]

	Program Element	Selection
a.	Language immersion (living in the program location with a host family)
b.	Language instruction (classroom instruction in language)
c.	Pre-departure orientation
d.	Pre-program language instruction
e.	Pre-program online courses
f.	Weekly meetings with resident director/local coordinator
g.	Attending a high school in your program location (academic year only)
h.	Mid-year check-in (academic year only)
i.	Home stay
j.	Instruction on history and culture of program location
k.	Community service activities
l.	Cultural enrichment activities
m.	Travel component (academic year only)
n.	Re-entry orientation

12. Please indicate your agreement or disagreement with the following statements: [Please check only one response for each statement.]

	Statement	Disagree (01)	Somewhat Disagree (02)	Neither Agree Nor Disagree (03)	Somewhat Agree (04)	Agree (05)	N/A (09)
a.	All in all, I found my NSLI-Y experiences to be valuable.					
b.	I am proud to have been a NSLI-Y Exchange Student.					
c.	My NSLI-Y experiences led to an academic interest I otherwise would not have developed.					
d.	My NSLI-Y experiences led to a professional expertise I otherwise would not have developed.						
e.	My NSLI-Y experiences are/have been relevant to my educational pursuits after the program.					
f.	My NSLI-Y experiences are/have been relevant to employment opportunities after the program.						

13. What recommendations or suggestions (adding, modifying, or deleting an aspect of the program) would you make to improve the NSLI-Y program in the future? [Open-ended, write in]

SECTION II: Mutual Understanding

In this part of the survey, we would like to gain an understanding of your experiences learning about your program location(s) – the people and culture, as well as what you may have shared with others there about the U.S. In addition, we would also like to find out if you had opportunities to share information and experiences about your program location(s) with Americans after the program.

14. Please rate your current knowledge of the following topics. [Please check only one response for each topic.]

15. How much did participation in the program change your understanding, perception, or knowledge of the following topics? [Please check only one response for each topic.]

14.	Topics	No Knowledge (01)	Basic Knowledge (02)	Advanced Knowledge (03)	15.	No Change (01)	Minimal Change (02)	Moderate Change (03)	Substantial Change (04)	Unsure/ Do Not Know (09)
a.	Daily life in your program location(s)				a.					
b.	Education system in your program location(s)				b.					
c.	Culture in your program location(s)				c.					
d.	Religious and ethnic diversity in your program location(s)				d.					
e.	Predominant national values in your program location(s)				e.					
f.	Political system in your program location(s)				f.					
g.	Political relations between your program location(s) and the U.S.				g.					
h.	Economy in your program location(s)				h.					
i.	Economic relations and trade between your program location(s) and the U.S.				i.					

16. Based on your experience in the program, would you encourage others to study abroad in your program location?

Yes  (01)

No  (02)

17. On the scale below, please indicate how easy or difficult it was to make friends or social connections with host family members, other students, neighbors, or others whom you met in your program location.

Very Difficult  (01)

Difficult  (02)

Moderate  (03)

Easy  (04)

Very Easy  (05)

18. What percentage of your free time (outside of the classroom and program activities) did you spend with each of the following groups of people during your NSLI-Y program? [Note, the total cannot add up to more than 100%.]

a. Locals (including your host family, if applicable): _________%

b. Other NSLI-Y participants: ________%

c. Other international students and other international visitors:________%

Total: _______%

19. To what extent did you share information with people in your program location(s) regarding the U.S.? [Please check only one response for each topic.]

	Topics	No Sharing (01)	Minimal Sharing (02)	Moderate Sharing (03)	Substantial Sharing (04)
a.	Daily life in the U.S.				
b.	U.S. education system				
c.	U.S. culture				
d.	Religious and ethnic diversity in the U.S.				
e.	Attitudes towards and perceptions of community service				
f.	American values				
g.	U.S. political system				
h.	U.S. economy				

20. Approximately how many people in your program location(s) would you estimate you shared information with about the United States during your NSLI-Y program? _________

21. Thinking about the person with whom you shared the most information about the U.S., to what extent do you think the information you shared may have changed her/his attitudes toward and knowledge of the U.S.?

No Change  (01)

Minimal Change  (02)

Moderate Change  (03)

Significant Change  (04)

22. To what extent did you share information with people in your personal network (family, friends, peers, etc.) in the U.S. regarding your program location(s)? [Please check only one response for each topic.]

	Topics	No Sharing (01)	Minimal Sharing (02)	Moderate Sharing (03)	Substantial Sharing (04)
a.	Daily life in your program location(s)				
b.	Education system in your program location(s)				
c.	Culture in your program location(s)				
d.	Religious and ethnic diversity in your program location(s)				
e.	Attitudes towards and perceptions of community service				
f.	Predominant national values in your program location(s)				
g.	Political system in your program location(s)				
h.	Economy in your program location(s)				

23. Approximately how many people in your personal network of family, friends, and peers would you estimate you shared information with about your program location during and after returning from your NSLI-Y program? _________

24. On the map below, please click the states where the people you shared information with reside.

[Insert US map – image heatmap question]

25. Thinking about the person in the U.S. with whom you shared the most information about your program location(s), to what extent do you think the information you shared may have changed her/his attitudes toward and knowledge of your program location(s)?

No Change  (01)

Minimal Change  (02)

Moderate Change  (03)

Significant Change  (04)

SECTION III: Personal Development

In this section of the survey, we would like you to reflect on how the NSLI-Y program furthered your development as an individual.

26. How would you rate the effect of your NSLI-Y experience on the following inter- and intra-personal skills?

	Skills/Traits	Substantial Weakening (01)	Some Weakening (02)	No Change (03)	Some Improvement (04)	Substantial Improvement (05)
a.	Self-confidence					
b.	General communication					
c.	Cross-cultural communication
d.	Empathy					
e.	Goal-orientation (motivation to achieve goals you set)					
f.	Critical thinking and problem-solving skills					
h.	Decision-making					
i.	Responsibility					
j.	Self-control / stress management					
k.	Flexibility to adapt to environment					
l.	Conflict resolution / negotiation					
m.	Perspective taking (looking at a situation from other people’s perspectives)					

27. Can you provide a concrete example of how you have used one of the skills you improved? [open-ended, write in]

___________________________________________________________________________

28. Please indicate the degree to which you agree with each of the statements below.

	Statement	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly agree
a.	I tend to bounce back quickly after hard times.
b.	I have a hard time making it through stressful events.
c.	It does not take me long to recover from a stressful event.
d.	It is hard for me to snap back when something bad happens.
e.	I usually come through difficult times with little trouble.
f.	I tend to take a long time to get over setbacks in my life.

SECTION IV: Academic Pursuits

In this section, we would like to know more about your academic pursuits upon your return from your NSLI-Y program.

29. Which of the following options best describes your current schooling situation?

Full-time student pursuing a high school diploma (01) (skip to Q32)	Full-time or part-time student pursuing an undergraduate degree (02)	Full-time or part-time student pursuing a graduate degree (03)
Not in school, incomplete high school (04) (skip to Q32)	Not in school, completed high school (05) (skip to Q32)	Not in school, incomplete undergraduate degree (06)	Not in school, completed undergraduate degree (07)	Not in school, completed graduate degree (08)

30. To what extent do you think your participation in NSLI-Y made your university application more competitive?

Not at all (01)

To a small extent (02)

To a moderate extent (03)

To a great extent (04)

Not applicable (did NSLI-Y after university applications were submitted) (05)

Don’t know (06)

31. To what extent do you think your participation in NSLI-Y experience made your applications for university scholarships more competitive?

Not at all (01)

To a small extent (02)

To a moderate extent (03)

To a great extent (04)

Don’t know (05)

Did not apply for scholarships (06)

32. To what extent did your NSLI-Y experience influence your studies after returning from your program?

Not at all (01) (Go to 33)

To a small extent (02) (Go to 32a)

To a moderate extent (03) (Go to 32a)

To a great extent (04) (Go to 32a)

Don’t know (05) (Go to 33)

32a. Please describe how your experience influenced your studies.

_______________________________________________________________________

33. Which of the following knowledge and skills that you gained through the NSLI-Y program have you been able to apply in your studies? [Please check only one response for each item listed.]

	KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS	Yes	No	Not Applicable
a.	Knowledge of the language I studied			
b.	Knowledge of the culture I was immersed in			
c.	Contacts with my host institution or people in my host community			
d.	Study skills and habits			
e.	Leadership skills			
f.	General intercultural competency			

34. Please rate the extent to which you do/did the following in your school setting after returning from the NSLI-Y program: [Please check only one response for each statement.]

	Statement	Never (01)	Not very frequently (02)	About half the time (03)	Frequently (04)	Always (05)
a.	I assume a leadership role.
b.	I lead the conversation in a group setting.
c.	I influence group goals and decisions.

35. Did you continue your foreign language study after returning from your NSLI-Y experience (in either formal or informal settings)?

Yes (01)

No because there are no classes or opportunities available to study that language in my community (02) (skip to Q36)

No because I chose not to continue studying that language (03) (skip to Q36)

35a. How many months of additional study did you complete after the NSLI-Y program? (Note: a semester at university should be counted as 4 months) _________

36. To what extent are your academic studies related to the language and cultural study you undertook through NSLI-Y?

Not at all related (01) (Skip to Q37)

Somewhat related (02)

Strongly related (03)

36a. Please describe how your studies are related to your NSLI-Y program.

_____________________________________________________________________

37. Have you studied abroad since returning from your NSLI-Y experience?

Yes, to my NSLI-Y program location (01)

Yes, to another country (02)

Yes, to my NSLI-Y program location and other(s). (03)

No (04)

SECTION V: Professional Pursuits

In this section, we would like to know more about your professional career track.

38. Which of the following options best describes your current primary work situation?

Working full-time for an employer (01)

Self-employed full-time (02)

Working part-time for an employer (including part-time campus jobs) (03)

Self-employed part-time (04)

Unemployed, looking for work (05) (skip to Q45)

Unemployed, not looking for work or full-time student (06) (skip to Q45)

39. Which sector are you working in? (select one)

    	Sector
    a.	Government/Military	
    b.	Business/Corporate	
    c.	Non-Profit	
    d.	Academia	
    e.	Other	___

40. To what extent do you think your participation in NSLI-Y experience made your job applications more competitive?

Not at all (01)

To a small extent (02)

To a moderate extent (03)

To a great extent (04)

Don’t know (05)

41. Are your job responsibilities related to your NSLI-Y language training?

Not at all related (01)

Somewhat related (02)

Strongly related (03)

41a. Please describe how your job responsibilities are related to your NSLI-Y program.

_______________________________________________________________

42. Are your job responsibilities related to your NSLI-Y culture training?

Not at all related (01)

Somewhat related (02)

Strongly related (03)

42a. Please describe how your job responsibilities are related to your NSLI-Y program.

_____________________________________________________________________

43. Which of the following knowledge and skills that you gained through the NSLI-Y program have you been able to apply in your professional work? [Please check only one response for each area.]

	Knowledge and Skills	Yes	No	N/A
a.	Knowledge of the language I studied			
b.	Knowledge of the culture I was immersed in			
c.	Contacts with people in my host community			
d.	Leadership skills			
e.	General intercultural competency			

44. Please rate the extent to which you do the following in your work setting: [Please check only one response for each statement.]

	Statement	Never (01)	Not very frequently (02)	About half the time (03)	Frequently (04)	Always (05)
a.	I assume a leadership role.
b.	I lead the conversation in a group setting.
c.	I influence group goals and decisions.

SECTION VI: Community Service

In this section, we would like to know more about any community service activities that you may be involved in.

45. Please rate the extent of your current involvement in community service activities.

More than 5 hours per week on average

Between 3 and 5 hours per week on average

Between 1 and 2 hours per week on average

Less than 1 hour per week on average

No volunteer activities (skip to Q47)

46. Are any of your current community service activities related to your NSLI-Y experience?

Not at all related (01) (Skip to Q47)

Somewhat related (02)

Strongly related (03)

46a. Please describe how your community service activities are related to your NSLI-Y or study abroad experience. [Open-ended, write in]

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

SECTION VII: Continuing Contact

In this section of the survey, we would like to understand the extent to which you have maintained contact with others you met on program and your participation in alumni activities.

47. Since you returned from your NSLI-Y program, how frequently have you communicated with your host family, friends you made there, or others from your NSLI-Y program location (by email, social media, Skype/Viber/WhatsApp, text, telephone, etc.)?

Never (01) (skip to Q49)

Once only (02) (skip to Q49)

Occasionally (1-8 times per year) (03)

Frequently (at least once per month) (04)

Very frequently (weekly or more often) (05)

48. Has the frequency of your contact changed from when you first returned until now?

Decreased (01)

Stayed the same (02)

Increased (03)

49. Have you remained in contact with any of the other NSLI-Y alumni with whom you were not friends prior to the program?

Yes (01)

No (02)

50. During your NSLI-Y experience, did you engage with participants of other ECA programs (e.g., Access, YES, YES Abroad, FLEX, Fulbright, Humphrey, etc.)?

Never (01) (skip to Q52)

Once only (02) (skip to Q52)

Occasionally (1-8 times per year) (03)

Frequently (at least once per month) (04)

Very frequently (weekly or more often) (05)

Don’t know (06) (skip to Q52)

51. Have you remained in contact with any of the other ECA program participants with whom you were not friends prior to the program?

Yes (01)

No (02)

52. Since you returned from your NSLI-Y program, to what extent have you engaged with ECA’s Exchange Alumni Network?

Never (01)

Once only (02)

Occasionally (1-8 times per year) (03) (skip to Q54)

Frequently (at least once per month) (04) (skip to Q54)

Very frequently (weekly or more often) (05) (skip to Q54)

53. Are there any events/activities that would encourage and/or enable you to be more engaged?

___________________________________ (Skip to Q55)

54. What activities have you found to be most useful within the ECA Exchange Alumni network? [open-ended, write in]

_______________________________________________________________________

SECTION VIII: Demographics

In the final part of the survey, we would like to gather some demographic information.

55. Sex:

Male (01)

Female (02)

Other (03)

56. Age: ­­_______________

57. What is your race or ethnicity? (Select one or more)

a.	American Indian or Alaskan Native	
b.	Asian	
c.	Black or African American	
d.	Hispanic or Latino	
e.	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	
f.	White	
g.	Prefer not to say	

58. Had you participated in a study abroad or exchange program prior to your participation in NSLI-Y?

Yes (01)

No (02)

59. Have you been/were you inducted as a member of the National Honor Society in high school?

Yes (01)

No (02)

Thank you for completing the NSLI-Y Alumni survey!

OMB Control Number: 1405-XXXX Burden Estimate:  11.3 minutes Expiration Date: XX-XX-XXXX

PRA Statement Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 11.3 minutes per response, including time required for searching existing data sources, gathering the necessary documentation, providing the information and/or documents required, and reviewing the final collection.  You do not have to supply this information unless this collection displays a currently valid OMB control number.  If you have comments on the accuracy of this burden estimate and/or recommendations for reducing it, please send them to: Evaluation Division, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, 2200 C St NW Washington, DC 20037.