diff --git a/core/java/com/android/internal/inputmethod/InputMethodUtils.java b/core/java/com/android/internal/inputmethod/InputMethodUtils.java
index 098342bae641c..d80157145531d 100644
--- a/core/java/com/android/internal/inputmethod/InputMethodUtils.java
+++ b/core/java/com/android/internal/inputmethod/InputMethodUtils.java
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ public class InputMethodUtils {
     /**
      * Returns the language component of a given locale string.
      */
-    private static String getLanguageFromLocaleString(String locale) {
+    public static String getLanguageFromLocaleString(String locale) {
         final int idx = locale.indexOf('_');
         if (idx < 0) {
             return locale;