Valeriya Chekalina

Dr. Valeriya Chekalina is a Lecturer of Russian at the School of Modern Languages, Georgia Institute of Technology. She holds a PhD in Philology from Lomonosov Moscow State University (2003), where she focused on functional grammar. Previously, she served as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer of Russian as a Foreign Language at Moscow State University, teaching undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students. Her research interests span functional grammar theories, pedagogy for teaching Russian, and curriculum development. She has authored/co-authored over 40 works, including textbooks like Russian for Lawyers and a study on Ukrainian prepositions.

• Education: PhD in Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University (2003)
• Certifications: Certified Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (TORFL) Examiner

Dr. Chekalina has extensive international experience, including roles as Director of the Russian Language Department at the Baltic Center for Educational and Academic Development and teacher at Exupery International School in Latvia, where she developed K-12 Russian curricula aligned with the International Baccalaureate framework. She is fluent in Russian, English, and Latvian, and has presented at global conferences such as AATSEEL (2020) and MAPRYAL Congresses. Her work includes cross-linguistic studies on spatial cognition in Russian and Latvian.

In addition to academic contributions, she is an enthusiast of gardening and maintains a notable rose collection.