On September 27, Michelle Verbitskaya, a PhD student and graduate teaching assistant, received the Teacher of the Year award from the Florida Foreign Language Association (FFLA). Michelle has worked with STARTALK at the University of Central Florida’s Russian Intensive Program since 2018, serving as a teaching assistant, instructor, and curriculum developer. Over the past three years, they have focused on developing an online proverb-based curriculum with an emphasis on Russian for business purposes and media literacy. Michelle has also taught advanced heritage students online and during summer residential camps. As the treasurer for the Critical Languages of the Southeast Region Organization, an affiliate of the FFLA, Michelle was recognized for their contributions to the development of Russian language programs in Florida.

Congratulations!

The board members of the Critical Languages of the Southeast Region (CLOSER) presented at the 2024 Florida Foreign Language Association conference, which took place in Kissimmee, FL. 

Dr. Alla Kourova in her presentation titled "Developing Media Literacy Through Multi-Modal Instruction and Projects" reported on the effective practices of developing media literacy in a language classroom. Based on the example of a Russian-language classroom, Kourova presented practical ideas for fostering critical thinking and media literacy that can be adapted to any language classroom.

In her presentation "Using Extracurricular Activities to Supplement World Language Classes," Yulia Dochtchennikov discussed the underreported practice of incorporating physical or movement-based games into language classrooms. Dochtchennikov discussed the benefits of such games ranging from cognitive breaks between classes and the improvement of the affective filter to being sources of cultural learning. Her presentation provided examples of how popular Eastern European physical games can be used in a residential language program.

Associate Professor of Russian Dr. Kourova, along with her former students, Irina Pidberejna and Michelle Verbitskaya, delivered a captivating presentation on “How Words Shape People: Business Russian Through Proverbs” at the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages conference in Las Vegas. The presentation delved into the significant impact of language on cultural and business practices.

To read more, visit https://news.cah.ucf.edu/news/american-association-of-teachers-of-slavic-and-east-european-languages-conference/. 

University of Central Florida hosted Zhenya Evtushenko for a Night of Poetry. On November 11, the guest presented the poetry of his world-famous father Evgeniy Evtushenko.

Evgeniy Evtushenko was a Soviet and Russian poet. He was also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, publisher, actor, editor, university professor, and director of several films. In 1961, he became famous for his poem Babi Yar that revealed the forgotten tragedy — in September 1941, Nazi occupying forces murdered more than 33,000 Jews in the ravine near Kyiv, Ukraine. Yevtushenko’s deeply moving poem was first published in the Literaturnaya Gazeta.

h

The event was organized by Dr. Alla Kourova as a part of the annual International Education Week at the University of Central Florida. International Education Week (IEW) is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education that celebrates the benefits of international education and exchange across campuses worldwide. 

CLOSER board members, Dr. Alla Kourova and Irina Pidberejna, presented at the annual FFLA conference on October 26-28. They hosted a sessions titled "How to Start Talking: Practical Ideas for Classroom and Extracurricular Activities."

Irina Pidberejna was nominated for the Teacher of the Year award. Congratulations!

For the Day of Giving, the Russian-American Community Center of Florida, Inc. gifted a $10k fund to support and advance Russian language studies at the University of Central Florida. 

The long-lasting partnership between the university and Russian-American Community Center included a number of collaborations, including cultural events and Russian language learners education through the STARTALK grant. 

The Russian Program thanks its partner for this generous donation!

During the 2023 FFLA conference that took place in Kissimmee, FL, members of the Critical Languages of the Southeast Region presented their work at several sessions:

• Connecting Classrooms to Learn Language and Culture (presented by Dr. Alla Kourova and Larisa Filimonenko)
  
• Designing and Customizing Educational Videos to Teach Russian as a Foreign Language (presented by Tatiana Makarova and Maria Molchanova)
• Russian Immersion Program: "STARTALK" (presented by Sabina Amanbayeva)
• Re-Shaping Stereotypical Cultural Representations in an Introductory Russian Program (presented by Michelle Verbitskaya, Yulia Dochtennikov, Alla Kourova, and Irina Pidberejna)

CLOSER also hosted a round table dedicated to discussing the issues of Teaching Critical Languages in Impossible Times (and Places). During the round table discussion, teachers, professors, districts employees, and language-oriented professionals shared their experiences, concerns, and ideas. As a result, new connections were formed across several districts of the southeast which will focus on bridging language teacher at K-12 and post-secondary levels. 

The director of the Critical Languages of the Southeast Region, Dr. Alla Kourova received two awards: Teacher of the Year 2022 and Most Valuable Teacher. Congratulations! 

An important message for high school seniors, college freshmen, and their parents!

The University of Central Florida (UCF) wants to invite you to participate in the STARTALK (Start Talking), Russian Language Program sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA), "How Words Shape People: Understanding Business Russian through Proverbs"

The program consists of 4 parts:

Part 1: January 23rd - May 23rd, 2023, 90-minute online lessons once a week.

Part 2: June 12th-June 30th Russian Language camp. The camp will take place at UCF. Living expenses and food will be covered.

Part 3: September 19th-April 9th, 2024. 60-minute online lessons once a week.

Part 4: April 23, 2024. Exam and graduation.

Russian Lessons will be led by experienced language instructors who were part of the UCF STARTALK Program for the last 6 years.

The program is open to high school students and college freshmen in every state. Students who have successfully completed Part 1 and Part 2 of the program will have the opportunity to receive college credit hours at UCF.

Register here (until Dec. 5, 2022): https://cah.ucf.edu/languages/startalk/ 

If you have any questions, please contact the director of the program Dr. Kourova at Alla.Kourova@ucf.edu

We have all expressed our unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s war on Ukraine. In solidarity with those who are in Ukraine and living in fear of attack, we stand firm with the organizations who call for cutting formal ties with institutions and with those who are actively supporting the Russian war effort.   

We want to do everything we can to show our support for Ukrainian scholars and students. At the same time, we are concerned about calls for blanket bans on the participation of individual Russians and Belarusians in scholarly events and scholarly exchanges.  

We strongly oppose the vilification and exclusion of our Russian and Belarusian students. Banning Russians and Belarusians based solely on their citizenship or place of birth goes against our fundamental principles of scholarship, open communication, and dialogue. Such sanctions have the potential to harm those living in authoritarian regimes who are opposed to the war and are powerless to change their oppressive governments. We encourage all members of our community who stand against the war in Ukraine to come together and support all the students who are in this situation.  

We encourage language educators and learners to watch the videos below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TohPxkiO2II

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfSZtV6qgMA

#НетВойне