麻豆原创鈥檚 STARTALK program, under the direction of Alla Kourova, an assistant professor of Russian, will be offered weekdays July 11-29 for 60 people in the community, but priority will be given to high school and 麻豆原创 students 16 and older. Classes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will provide the opportunity to talk and practice the language in real-life situations, including during lunch from Russian caf茅 Lacomka.

Participants will have extra-curricular activities including field trips to American-Russian business companies, and cultural venues such as museums and religious centers.

鈥淭he benefits of foreign-language education are greater than a surface level analysis will yield,鈥� Kourova said. 鈥淟anguage skills build a better future for鈥tudents in a way that many other avenues of education may not.鈥�

The program focuses on giving students the level of skills that would be needed for a successful business trip to Russia.

鈥淭his will help students explore the use of the Russian language in the professional environment, learn about contemporary business opportunities in Russia, and understand the norms that are prevalent in Russian business culture today,鈥� Kourova said.

Participants will be divided into beginners and students who know how to read and speak on the beginning level of Russian.

Exposure to other cultures is especially meaningful to underprivileged students who may not have had the opportunity to go abroad.

鈥淟earning a language provides a cultural education,鈥� Kourova said. 鈥淎 student from a poor neighborhood more than likely has not traveled extensively and would not be exposed to other cultures; so learning Russian language for free in the summer program, breaks that barrier in a cost-efficient manner. This can change the mentalities of individuals in poor neighborhoods, and it is likely that many social issues would be remedied, as the expanded cultural scope provided by learning a language will allow for greater compassion for different peoples.鈥�

This is the second summer of 麻豆原创鈥檚 STARTALK program, which is backed by the National Security Language Initiative. The U.S. government has listed Russian as a “critical need” language in today’s world.

New for this year will be the use of digital stories created by previous STARTALK participants and students in the study-abroad program to Russia. This year, 20 麻豆原创 students will go on the program to Russia to study language and culture.

Applications for the free program are being accepted through June 11. An orientation meeting will be June 30 at a location to be determined. For more information and to apply, contact Kourova at STARTALK@ucf.edu or 407-823-2472, ext. 2472.

The federal STARTALK Program is the result of an $89,000 grant secured by Alla Kourova, a 麻豆原创 assistant professor of Russian, and is available to anyone at least 15 years old. The program, sponsored by The National Security Language Initiative and U.S. Department of Defense, was established to expand and improve the teaching of strategically important world languages that are not widely taught in the U.S.

鈥淭his is very important because many students have never left Florida, and they need to learn another culture,鈥� Kourova said.

The morning language sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch provided by Lacomka, a Russian bakery and deli in Winter Park, and Russian cultural activities from 1 to 3 p.m.

The course will be in the Modern Languages and Literature Department of the College of Arts & Humanities with the support of the Russian-American Community Center in Orlando.

June 20 is the deadline to register for the limited number of spaces. To sign up, go to .

Kourova has a Ph.D. from Moscow State University in teaching English as a foreign language and cross-cultural studies, as well as a master鈥檚 degree in speech therapy and teaching foreign languages. She came to 麻豆原创 in 2007 as a visiting instructor and became an assistant professor in 2011.

She also is implementing a grant of nearly $100,000 from the U.S. Department of State as part of the U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Program. Her project combines teaching foreign languages to U.S. students and blind/visually impaired students in Russia.

The project involving six other faculty and 10 麻豆原创 students traveling to St. Petersburg, Russia, next month is designed to strengthen mutual understanding and raise U.S.-Russian relations.

She has launched several projects through the years to show students the connection between the Russian language and culture, including hosting regular Russian tea gatherings and organizing a monthly Russian culture night.

In addition, she translates for the U.S. Secretary of Defense鈥檚 office in the area of International Security Policy-Eurasia, and last year she was awarded the University of Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award for the College of Arts & Humanities.

For further information about her programs, contact Kourova at alla.kourova@ucf.edu.