CARLA's Language Resource Center Funding

The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition at the University of Minnesota was awarded four years of grant funding (2022–2026) by the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI Language Resource Centers (LRC) program to improve the nation's capacity to teach and learn foreign languages effectively.

CARLA is one of sixteen Language Resource Centers based at universities across the United States. LRCs create language learning and teaching materials, offer professional development opportunities for language instructors, and conduct and disseminate research on foreign language learning. All LRCs engage in efforts that enable U.S. citizens to better work, serve, and lead. This is the eighth round of LRC funding awarded to the center since it began in 1993.

Learn more about the LRCs by downloading our joint brochure and visiting the joint LRC website.

CARLA’s LRC Initiatives (2022–2026)

As a federally-funded Title VI Language Resource Center, the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota is carrying out seven initiatives and ongoing dissemination in two focal areas: Language-Content Integration and Teacher Education and Advocacy.

Language-Content Integration

These three CARLA initiatives are designed to enhance language learning through cultural and academic content:

Literacies in Language Education will strengthen language teachers’ understanding and use of multiliteracies pedagogy by creating a database of instructional activities and enactment videos; organizing cohort-model workshops and lesson plan development for less commonly taught language (LCTL) teachers; and disseminating templates, tools, and teaching materials.

Secondary Dual Language Immersion (DLI): Materials Development & Research will support the increase in secondary DLI programs by developing a repository of content-and-language integrated teaching materials; conducting design-based research on the creation of these materials; and offering workshops for immersion teacher educators at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI).

Social Justice in Language Education will improve understanding and application of critical pedagogies by researching student and teacher learning in social justice-oriented language classrooms and offering a suite of professional development activities.

Teacher Education & Advocacy

These four CARLA initiatives are designed to enhance teachers’ instructional capacity, support for their students, and communication with stakeholders:

Equity & Access to State Seals of Biliteracy will provide more equitable access to seals of biliteracy by conducting a national needs analysis; creating customizable toolkits for students, parents, and employers in ten LCTLs; developing assessment supports in six LCTLs; and disseminating materials through social media, the CARLA website, and national partnerships.

International Language Teacher Education Conference (ILTE) will provide a forum for language teacher educators to share research and practice by hosting the 12th ILTE; organizing symposia for LCTL, MSI, community college (CC) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) educators; and publishing a conference proceedings.

Language Program Direction (LPD) will support novice and aspiring LPDs by publishing interactive, web-based learning modules; facilitating a professional learning community; and supporting the publication of Second Language Research & Practice.

Practical Program Evaluation, in collaboration with ACTFL, will improve understanding and implementation of program evaluation by offering summer institutes and workshops for teachers in LCTL, CC, HBCU, MSI, and heritage language programs; creating Open Educational Resources to support program evaluation; and disseminating materials through the CARLA and ACTFL websites and CARLA presentation series.

Past LRC Projects

CARLA was funded through the LRC program from 1993–2018 for the periods between 1993–1996 and 1996–1999, 1999–2002, 2002–2006, 2006–2010, 2010–2014 and 2014–2018. LRC projects have included: