Ursula Engelbrecht earned a degree in German and Spanish languages and literature at Otto-Friedrich-Universität in Bamberg, Germany. The focus of her program was teaching German as a Foreign Language (DaF) and Contrastive Linguistics. She received her M.A. in German Studies (1987) and a Certificate of Graduate Studies in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (1991) from the University of South Carolina. Her interests include Second Language Acquisition Theory, in particular the development of oral skills in learners of German as a foreign language. She is passionate about incorporating cultural aspects of the German speaking countries in the foreign language classroom and encouraging students to develop insights into their own language and culture through comparison.  She has taught a wide array of language courses in both German and English, is the coordinator for Basic German language courses, and is responsible for German language placement testing (Phase II). In addition to teaching German at the undergraduate level, she has developed and taught courses for the German track of the International Master of Business Administration (IMBA) program at the Darla More School of Business.