Illinois Language Student of the Year Award
Sponsored by CIEE and ICTFL
Nominate Your Best Students!
Recognize your most dedicated language learners by nominating them for the CIEE / ICTFL Illinois Student of the Year award. The winning student will be awarded a $3,000 scholarship to study abroad in the summer on a 4-week CIEE Language and Culture program! Two runners-up will also be awarded $1,000 scholarships.
Chance to Win an Expenses-Paid Professional Development Trip When You Nominate Students!
For every student you nominate and who completes an application, you will be entered for a chance to win an expenses-paid trip to attend the CIEE High School Study Abroad Conference next fall. Hosted in a different US city each year, this is an opportunity for you to network with like-minded peers and connect with CIEE staff from around the world.
To enter, you simply need to:
- Nominate at least one student who completes an application. You'll get an entry for each new student you nominate and who completes an application. The more students you nominate, the more chances you get to win!
- Be a 2026-2027 ICTFL member. If you’re not a member or need to renew your membership, click here.
Nominations Start Here
Thank you for advocating for your students!
Frequently Asked Questions
CIEE partners with the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ICTFL) to celebrate outstanding world language students, who are eager to bring their language skills to the real world through study abroad. The winner will be awarded a $3,000 scholarship to study abroad next summer with CIEE and be honored at the following ICTFL conference. Two runners-up will also be awarded $1,000 summer abroad scholarships.
Founded in 1947, CIEE is the largest nonprofit study abroad organization in the United States. Every year, close to 40,000 students study abroad on a CIEE program, in over 45 locations worldwide. CIEE also administrates the CIEE Global Navigator Scholarship Program, the largest of its kind, awarding more than $10 million to over 1,200 U.S. high school students every year. Learn more
To nominate a student, participating world language teachers need to be currently teaching high school students in the state of Illinois and be an ICTFL member in good standing.
You can nominate any of your world language students, past or present, as long as they are in 9th, 10th or 11th grade during the current school year. They also need to be excited about studying abroad and eager to see the world! Talk to the students you have in mind before nominating them to make sure they are on board and available to travel next summer. Once nominated, it’ll be the student’s responsibility to complete a CIEE High School Summer Abroad application for a Language and Culture program.
For a nomination to be valid, you’ll need to fill out the nomination form below by December 10, and your nominee will need to complete a CIEE program and scholarship application by January 21, 2026.
Simply fill out the nomination form above for each student you wish to nominate and CIEE will be in touch with them to help explain their program options.
Nominees can apply to any CIEE High School Summer Abroad Language & Culture program. The language of the program does not need to be the same one you taught them. We want to foster a love of language learning!