Since 1988 we have established or enhanced over 230 university Asian language programs — training more than 1,200 individuals whose careers now span three continents.

OUR STORY

In 1988 the nation's preeminent scholars of Japanese pedagogy came together to form Exchange:Japan — driven by a shared conviction that the strongest bridges between nations are built through education, one teacher at a time.

The founders were Dr. Eleanor Jorden, Professor of Linguistics at Cornell University and widely regarded as the founder of the field of Japanese language pedagogy; and Akio Terumasa, a visionary in international education and, as Director of the Minsai International Center, one of Japan's most influential voices in people-to-people exchange.

In 2003 Tom Mason and Kazunori Ueno founded the ALLEX Foundation to continue the important work of Exchange:Japan while expanding its scope and influence.

The vision of the founders has certainly been realized. Exchange:Japan/ALLEX has been a transformational force in instituting East Asian language courses at American universities, and in recruiting and training bright young Japanese, Chinese, and Korean students to become professional language teachers — building, one classroom at a time, the human connections that lie at the heart of people-to-people diplomacy.

OUR IMPACT

Since the organization's inception, universities across North America — from large state universities to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and majority-minority institutions — have used our teachers to start new language programs or to sustain and enhance established language offerings. We have awarded more than $60 million in tuition waivers, stipends, and in-kind support to program participants, and a large percentage of our instructors have completed Masters degrees while teaching. Our graduates have attained professorships or lectureships at MIT, Princeton, Cornell, Stanford, Columbia, Yale, Penn, Berkeley, Northwestern, Colby, Middlebury, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, and dozens of other universities, state colleges, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges worldwide. In 2025, all seven members of Harvard's Japanese-language teaching faculty were ALLEX alumni.

In recognition of this impact, the Government of Japan honored our work with the Foreign Minister's Commendation in 2024.

OUR PROGRAM

The flagship program of ALLEX, the Teaching Associate Program, is at the very heart of our founding mission. We enable universities to begin and maintain high quality Chinese, Korean, and Japanese language programs by providing them with professionally trained language instructors who teach in exchange for the opportunity to study. We recruit the candidates, screen them, and send them for training through the ALLEX Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Teacher Training Institute held annually at Cornell University. The nation's preeminent experts in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean pedagogy teach in the intensive teacher training program — the foundation for all of ALLEX's academic exchanges.

Since 2014 ALLEX has held designation by the US Department of State as an official J-1 Exchange Visitor Program sponsor — federal recognition of the organization's integrity, international reach, and commitment to people-to-people exchange.

WHERE WE ARE GOING

Building on more than four decades of human connections between the West and Asia, ALLEX is refocusing its work on people-to-people diplomacy — deepening relationships and forging new ones across North America, Europe, and Northeast Asia. We convene universities, foundations, and civic institutions across three continents; support a growing global network of alumni and educators; publish research on international exchange and subnational diplomacy; and build the lasting human connections that bring nations closer one relationship at a time.