Media Contact
Kristy Winkler
Managing Director
Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research
[email protected]
The Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research
Promotes Global Education and ‘Languages for all’
ATLANTA—The Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research (CULTR) at Georgia State University has received nearly $700,000 in renewed grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education to continue its work to promote career readiness through language study and the development of global skills vital to academic and career preparation for 21st-century students.
CULTR is one of 16 National Foreign Language Resource Centers (NFLRCs) funded by the U.S. Department of Education and is the only one in the Southeast. The renewed grant allows the center at Georgia State to continue its language advocacy and educational activities through 2026.
CULTR was established in 2014. The renewed funding will allow CULTR to extend its mission of “Languages for all!” by expanding the reach of its annual events: the Global Language Leadership Meeting in May, World Languages Week in October and the Summer Teacher Professional Development Workshops.
CULTR will pursue initiatives and collaborations informed by the focus of this grant cycle — less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) — under the leadership of its new director, Hakyoon Lee, who is an assistant professor and coordinator of the Korean Program in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Georgia State.
Other members of the team are Kristy Winkler, managing director; Roy Swygert, multimedia communications specialist; Tim Jansa, who will serve as the international education consultant; and William Nichols, founding director and now a member of the CULTR Advisory Board.
Directed by its core values of access, advocacy, outreach and research, CULTR has developed innovative approaches to promoting access to language education for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic and ethnic background. Advocacy initiatives aim to increase awareness of the national need for support of language education and global skills preparation among parents, schools, communities and the private sector.
In addition to the primary objective of supporting the teaching, learning and assessment of LCTLs, CULTR supports teachers with professional development opportunities. CULTR also assists new teachers by providing access to professional conferences, targeting the issue of teacher retention by advocating for educator selfcare and continuously expanding its video library — a resource for teachers and students — to build communities of practice among language educators and learners. In providing various resources, CULTR has created downloadable free infographics, as well as Family and Community Toolkits, podcasts and videos to build communities of practice among language educators.
For more information about CULTR and how to support its initiatives, contact Kristy Winkler at 404-413-5683 or [email protected].