A Program of the 
The CLS Program is pleased to announce another cycle of CLS Refresh, a funded language learning opportunity for CLS alumni. To support alumni in their continued commitment to critical languages, one-on-one virtual language instruction will be offered between October 2024 – March 2025 at no cost to participating CLS Program alumni.
Alumni who are selected to participate in CLS Refresh will receive:
- Up to five hours per week of instruction (with flexibility for U.S. and host country holidays); and
- No more than 20 hours total of virtual language instruction during their tutoring term (Term 1 or Term 2).
Eligibility:
All alumni of the CLS Program across program years, languages, and modalities are eligible to apply for this opportunity, including those who completed the 2024 CLS Program. To be considered in good standing, 2024 participants must have completed all post-program requirements, which will be verified by the CLS Program.
Alumni may only apply to study one CLS Refresh language, and it must be a language they previously studied on the CLS Program.*
*CLS Russian alumni are eligible to apply to study Russian or Ukrainian as their tutoring language. Debuting in 2023, Ukrainian tutoring has been offered as an exciting virtual language learning opportunity that helps equip CLS Russian alumni with the Ukrainian language skills needed to pursue critical cross-cultural partnerships, research, and industry work.
Please note that the following persons are ineligible:
- Employees of the U.S. Department of State who work in offices under the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs, in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), for a period ending one year following the termination of such employment;
- Employees of private and public agencies under contract or grant with the U.S. Department of State who perform services related to the Critical Language Scholarship Program, for a period ending one year following the termination of their services; or
- Immediate family members (i.e., spouses and dependent children) of the individuals described in the above paragraphs, for a period ending one year following the termination of such employment or service. This provision does not disqualify self-supporting members of families who live apart from their parents.
These provisions do not extend to part-time or temporary employees, consultants, or interns of the U.S. Department of State (including at U.S. Embassies and Consulates), or to contract employees of the U.S. Department of State, unless such persons perform services related to the Critical Language Scholarship Program.
Selection:
Eligible alumni who submit completed applications will be selected to participate according to the capacity of each language institute. The CLS Program will give preference to veterans of the United States armed forces and those who have not previously participated in CLS Refresh or CLS Ukrainian Bridge.
Application:
The application deadline is Monday, September 16, 2024 at 11:59 pm ET. Selected alumni will be notified of their acceptance by the start of October and will be expected to work with their assigned host institute to confirm a schedule for instruction after acceptance.
- Alumni will be asked to indicate which tutoring terms (Term 1: 10/21/24 - 12/20/24 or Term 2: 1/6/25 - 3/28/25) and weekly times they are generally available when applying.
- Language instruction may take place during the early morning or late evening hours in the U.S. due to differences in time zones. Please review the general timeframes during which your CLS language is offered before completing the application to ensure that your availability overlaps with that of the institute partner(s): Language Hours. Please note that times may be later after adjusting for U.S. Daylight Saving Time in November.
Interested alumni should apply HERE by Monday, September 16, 2024 at 11:59 pm ET.
Contact Information: Please direct any questions you have regarding CLS Refresh or the application process to clsalumni@americancouncils.org.