My primary area focuses on the impact of cross-cultural projects and

international exchange in teaching foreign languages in the US and

Russia. International exchange and cross-cultural projects play a s

ignificant role in the development of international cooperation. Cross-

cultural projects and exchange programs are growing in popularity as

teachers implements new curricular and instructional practices. My

qualitative and quantitative research explores the impact of international

exchanges and cross-cultural projects on teaching practices and how

students of international programs implements, transfer, share and

sustain the experiences, skills, and knowledge which they obtain during

their projects.

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My secondary area is exploring how to incorporate culture into foreign language curriculum effectively . My research focuses on an online collaborative cultural model that can be used in any classroom to allow meaningful, authentic interaction between American students and Russian high school students studying English as a foreign language. The model uses technology to bridge the gap between the need of students from both countries to interact with native speakers to successfully learn language culture simultaneously. This takes advantage of modern technology to carry on cross-cultural communication and to reduce expenses.

 

As the sole critical language faculty member within the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, I aim to not only expand curricula and activities for Russian language, but also further the university’s prestige in pedagogy research, lesser-commonly taught languages, and cross-cultural communication. My research and funding acquisitions aim to establish UCF as the university of choice for foreign language and area studies. Students and faculty at UCF have been able to develop their global competency, in order to engage the international community in a cross-cultural context. Participation in creative activities and research projects create lasting impact for the lives and careers of our alumni and faculty. Thus, the global impact of UCF is expanded by enhancing the linguistic and cultural competency of our community through research. My efforts in curricula development, critical language acquisition, and intercultural communication have brought national and international recognition to UCF. Expanding UCF’s prominence in the arts helps facilitate integration of the humanities across the curricula, which leads to a more diverse and inclusive campus.