President Bush first announced ELLS at the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Shanghai, China, in October 2001. China and the United States signed a Memo of Understanding in October 2002, committing both countries to testing the viability of a web-based second language acquisition system. This MOU is the most extensive governmental education cooperation between China and the United States since the countries established formal diplomatic ties in 1979. Secretary of State Colin Powell has also supported ELLS at the two most recent APEC leaders' conferences, commending the Department of Education for work on this project. In addition, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations has honored the Department of Education for its partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Education.

Why ELLS is Needed:

U.S. schools need assistance in teaching English:

• Limited English proficient Hispanic students born outside the United States have a dropout rate of 44 percent, about four times the national average for U.S. born students. ELLS can help U.S. schools address the needs of these students by expanding exposure to meaningful English language instruction that engages a middle or high school population through gaming techniques.
• ELLS can help relieve the ESL and foreign language-teaching crisis confronting American schools, especially secondary schools. We do not have enough qualified ESL or foreign language teachers to serve our youth. Technology provides the opportunity to alleviate this crisis.

U.S. schools need to teach Chinese:
Language instruction in the U.S. does not reflect today's trade realities. Fewer than 50 percent of high school students study any foreign language; 70 percent of those study Spanish, mostly at introductory levels. While Spanish is clearly an important language for U.S. students, Asian languages are also important given high levels of trade between the U.S. and Asia. At present, only 30,000 U.S. high school students study Chinese. ELLS can help address this deficiency.

Exchange of Cultural Information:
ELLS provides Chinese students with information about life, values, and civic responsibility in the United States and U.S. students with cultural information about China.

What ELLS Does:

ELLS is a unique research and developmental effort to test the viability of a web-based second language acquisition system that teaches English and Chinese in a gaming environment. ELLS has the following integrated features: