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William Nichols is the Department Chair and an Associate Professor for the World Languages and Cultures department of Georgia State University and the Director of CULTR, the Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research. Trish Nolde is the Coordinator of the Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) for the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Georgia State University and the Associate Director of CULTR.

Access to educational opportunities often diverges along socio-economic status, and consequently, racial, ethnic, and gender lines.  Minority–serving schools in urban areas and in every location are frequently under-resourced, and quality language education is challenged by difficulties in retaining qualified instructors, reductions in offerings of languages courses, (often deemed “nonessential”) and the discouraging of minority students from enrolling in languages courses.  These elements contribute to creating difficult conditions for language education to excel. As a result, urban and minority students are underrepresented in language education and international study experiences, putting them at a greater disadvantage when competing in an increasingly globalized marketplace.

The Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research (CULTR) seeks to address issues of access to language education in two key areas: language program availability and student participation.  As one of sixteen National Language Research Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education, CULTR endeavors to enhance the opportunities of urban and underrepresented students to achieve the language proficiency and cultural competence required to succeed in the modern global marketplace.

First, opportunities for all students to learn languages, regardless of geographic location or socio-economic status, must be made available, and where they are already available, these opportunities should be supported, strengthened, and expanded to address the needs of every student. CULTR addresses this critical need to expand access to all students for international opportunities through advocacy efforts among both policy makers and members of local school communities, encouraging the support and expansion of language programs.  In addition, CULTR creates and expands local and national partnerships and collaborations between the business community, non-profits, policy-makers, and educators to address the needs of language teachers and students. Each spring, the Global Languages Leadership Meeting brings together leaders in the language community, whether in policy, commerce or education to explore and strategize the role of languages in society.  In addition to advocacy efforts, CULTR reaches out directly to language teachers to support them and address the challenges of teacher retention by offering professional development workshops and resources.

With regard to students, CULTR works to ensure that from all socio-economic backgrounds are encouraged, not only to enroll in language courses, but to value language education as an important component of personal, academic and professional development.  World Languages Day, CULTR’s largest project to date, is an annual event created specifically to bring this message to students in grades 9-12. Similar to a career fair, representatives of non-profit organizations, government and security agencies, and the business community speak directly to students to not only relate how languages factor into their enterprises, but to encourage high school students to pursue languages at higher levels of proficiency.  Through this event, CULTR has reached thousands of students with this important message and is currently working to provide a replicable model of this event for other locations.