ELLA Award Nominations

The Excellence in Less Commonly Taught Languages Award (ELLA) recognizes outstanding educators who demonstrate innovation, impact, and commitment to teaching less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) across diverse educational settings. The LCTLs comprise all languages other than English, French, German, and Spanish, which were/are taught widely in mainly Western contexts.

The award highlights educators whose work strengthens language learning, cultural understanding, and community engagement and elevates the visibility of LCTL instruction from K–12 through to adult education. LCTL educators work in different educational contexts, such as community-based schools and programs (heritage language schools, nonprofit organizations, cultural centers, and other community-driven educational settings), K–12 schools (in-school or after-school programs), higher education, and adult education.

This inaugural award reflects SAILN’s long-standing commitment to advancing equitable access to high-quality language education and supporting educators whose work strengthens multilingual communities.