Language Resource Centers

What are Language Resource Centers?

The Title VI Language Resource Centers program “provides grants for establishing, strengthening, and operating centers that serve as resources for improving the nation’s capacity for teaching and learning foreign languages through teacher training, research, materials development, and dissemination projects” (US Department of Education). There are now a total of sixteen LRCs.

Where are the current Language Resource Centers?

The list below has links to each of the 16 language resource centers funded for the 2022-2026 grant cycle and a description of their center activities and focus areas (taken directly from their wording on their respective websites).

• AELRC—Assessment and Evaluation Language Resource Center, Georgetown University

“The AELRC’s primary mission is to facilitate useful assessment and evaluation practices that help foreign language educators innovate and improve their programs, ensure accountability to students and society, and articulate the value of foreign language studies in the world today.”

• CALPER—Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research, The Pennsylvania State University

“The mission of CALPER is to strengthen and promote language learning at the advanced levels of proficiency.”

• CARLA—Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota

“The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition is a research and resource center devoted to improving language teaching and learning.”

• CASLS—Center for Applied Second Language Studies, University of Oregon

“(CASLS) develops research-based curricula, professional development resources, and assessments to support infrastructure and innovation.”

• CEDAR—Curricular Enhancement, Development, Access, and Research, University of Cincinnati

“CEDAR will serve the nation through the development, provision and research of leading-edge curricular materials for language learners from kindergarten through postsecondary levels.”

• CeLCAR—Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region, Indiana University

“(The) mission at CeLCAR is to foster interest in and knowledge of Central Asian languages and their cultures while meeting strategic national needs.”

• CERCLL—Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language, and Literacy, University of Arizona

“The Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy …  supports research related to language teaching and learning and provides educators with quality resources for teaching as well as professional development for the meaningful integration of culture, literacy, and world language study.”

• CULTR—Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research, Georgia State University

“The Title VI Center for Urban Language Teaching and Research at Georgia State University endeavors to enhance the opportunities of urban and underrepresented students to achieve the language proficiency and cultural competence required for success in the modern global marketplace.”

• ILETC–Institute for Language Education in Transcultural Context, City University of New York Graduate Center

“The mission of the Institute for Language Education in Transcultural Context (ILETC) is to support and promote the teaching and learning of languages at CUNY in the context of New York City’s multilingual communities.”

• NALRC—National African Language Resource Center, Indiana University

“The Center’s mission is to serve the entire community of African language educators and learners in the United States by sponsoring a wide range of educational and professional activities designed to improve the accessibility and quality of African language instruction.”

• NFLRC—National Foreign Language Resource Center, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

“The goal of the National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) is to expand the nation’s capacity to teach and learn foreign languages effectively through research and materials development projects, especially the less commonly taught languages of Asia and the Pacific.”

• NHLRC—National Heritage Language Resource Center, University of California, Los Angeles

“The National Heritage Language Resource Center … develops effective pedagogical approaches to teaching heritage language learners, both by creating a research base and by pursuing curriculum design, materials development, and teacher education.”

• NLRC—National Less Commonly Taught Languages Resource Center, Michigan State University

“The mission of the NLRC is to support and develop LCTL education by 1) offering high-quality opportunities for professional learning, 2) creating open and innovative instructional resources, and 3) forging strategic collaborations at the inter-institutional level.”

• NRCAL—National Resource Center for Asian Languages, California State University, Fullerton

“National Resource Center for Asian Languages (NRCAL) was established … to improve the nation’s capacity for the teaching and learning of Asian languages including Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Khmer.”

• PEARLL–Professionals in Education Advancing Research and Language Learning, University of Maryland, College Park

“PEARLL seeks to create a common vision for high-quality world language learning and develop new models of professional development and support materials for language educators.”

• SEELRC—Slavic and Eurasian Language Resource Center, Duke University

“The Slavic and East European Language Resource Center (SEELRC) has as its mission the improvement of the national capacity to teach and learn Slavic and East European languages.”