Indiana Language Roadmap: 2025 Updates
In 2025, the Indiana Language Roadmap was refreshed with new data and shared widely across the state. This update was made possible through the efforts of the Global Development Consultants Group, led by Dr. Elisheva Cohen at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. As members of this group, six students dedicated their spring semester to conducting research and surveys, providing a clearer picture of Indiana’s linguistic landscape. Visit the Roadmap website to explore an updated data infographic, which includes statistics on foreign investment, and learn more about how migration is shaping language use statewide.
Student members of the Hamilton Lugar School Global Development Consultants share their research updating data in the Indiana Language Roadmap plan.
The Language Roadmap’s Governing Board also welcomed a new member this year: Dr. Nicole Leach. Dr. Leach was honored with the IFLTA Walter Bartz World Language Administrator Award at the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association (IFLTA) conference in November. The Global Center proudly continues to sponsor this annual event and, in partnership with IFLTA, hosted three teacher training webinars over the summer. These sessions, led by previous IFLTA Teacher of the Year awardees, focused on topics such as “Crafting Service-Learning Experiences that Inspire.”
Dr. Ana María Ferreira from the Department of Global Languages and Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of Indianapolis shares a slide via Zoom with pictures of dancers performing and certificates awarded at Global Talent Showcase which celebrates the cultural and linguistic diversity of their student body and was funded by the Indiana Language Roadmap Community Grant program.
In addition, the Indiana Language Roadmap awarded eight Community Project Grants to nonprofits, businesses, and educational institutions across the state. On December 16, we held a Virtual Showcase featuring presentations from nine grant recipients whose projects were awarded funding from 2022–2025. You can watch the inspiring presentations here. Awardees shared how these funds helped launch projects that continue to make an impact today. For example, the Ukrainian Society of Indiana began a book club in 2022 that remains active and is expanding. Similarly, the World Language Festival wasfunded for their transition to an online format in 2022, offering self-paced lessons in 13 languages. Today, the virtual academy has expanded to offer 28 lessons, which are a free resource for all. One of the new projects funded this year was International Kiswahili Day which was celebrated on July 5th at the Bloomington Farmers Market in partnership with IU’s African Studies Center. The celebration included live music and booths with information on language and culture as well as recipes to practice dishes from eastern Africa.
Student members of the Hamilton Lugar School Global Development Consultants share their research updating data in the Indiana Language Roadmap plan.
This year also marked a record number of funded language tests for high school students statewide. A total of 166 students from 21 schools benefited from the Language Roadmap testing fee grant. Obtaining an Intermediate High level of proficiency on a standardized test is a requirement of the Certificate of Multilingual Proficiency, an internationally recognized award that will appear on these students’ transcripts. Learn more about the Indiana Language Roadmap.
The College of Arts