WASHINGTON D.C., June 18th, 2024 - The Joint National Committee for Languages and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS) is pleased to announce the addition of Kaleb Houle-Lawrence, Communications and Policy Intern, to the JNCL-NCLIS team.
Houle-Lawrence is a rising sophomore at Stanford University, where he is pursuing a major in Public Policy with a concentration in education and a minor in French. Having found a love for the French language throughout his high school studies, Houle-Lawrence hopes to spread awareness about the benefits of second-language acquisition as well as the importance of heritage languages in education.
As the Communications and Policy Intern, Houle-Lawrence will work closely with Alissa Rutkowski, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Membership. In his role, Houle-Lawrence will research federal legislation regarding language education, keep members engaged in advocacy through updates to the JNCL-NCLIS Legislative Action Centers, and pilot projects to help monitor funding levels for language programs across the country. Additionally, Houle-Lawrence will collaborate on creating tailored social media and newsletter content to enhance information-sharing with language educators, policy advocates, and decision-makers.
Houle-Lawrence is extremely passionate about the power of multilingualism and the right to language learning in the United States and abroad. “Language is a defining personal characteristic,” says Houle-Lawrence, “and access to language acquisition and the right to education in one’s heritage tongue is critical.” In his work at Stanford, he has been studying the implications of language education across the globe, especially in postcolonial, Francophone West Africa. “Education in a native language is a critical right, one that many citizens of postcolonial nations are not granted unbarred access to,” says Houle-Lawrence. He is also passionate about applying this interest in international systems to a domestic context, especially in the case of Spanish heritage speakers.
Outside of the JNCL-NCLIS experience, Houle-Lawrence is also continuing a long-running internship with the Franco-American Centre of New Hampshire (FACNH), a nonprofit organization that promotes the French language in New England – and beyond. There, he writes for their blog, which captures a myriad of Francophone cultures, events, and stories. He is also a member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF); he has previously presented at their conference as well as several other language teacher conferences around the country.
Next year, Houle-Lawrence hopes to continue following his passions in the area of language education by starting his own research project on post-colonial education in Senegal. Additionally, he will continue to study both French and Spanish. If you would like to reach out to Houle-Lawrence or inquire about any of his work with JNCL-NCLIS, please contact him at intern@languagepolicy.org.
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About JNCL-NCLIS
Established in 1972, the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (NCLIS) represent the Language Enterprise to the US government and business community. Our membership includes over 130 organizations, which employ more than 300,000 language professionals globally. Together, we form an all-inclusive network and encompass all areas of the language field: exchanges, research, technology, translation, interpretation, localization, testing and more. Our mission is to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to learn English and at least one other language.
Contact: info@languagepolicy.org
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