TLC News

Jenny Rish, Director of English Programs, and Erin Keafer, Assistant Director, recently represented TLC at the TESOL 2026 International Convention & Expo in Salt Lake City.

Dr. C. Brian Barnett, Director of World Languages at TLC, was in Washington, D.C. last week advocating for language education as part of the three-member Tennessee delegation at JNCL-NCLIS Language Advocacy Days. 

Law enforcement officers in Bristol recently completed the Tennessee Language Center’s Spanish for Law Enforcement training—a hands-on course built specifically for real-world policing situations. Offered in partnership with the Law Enforcement Innovation Center, the class equips officers with practical Spanish vocabulary and communication strategies they can immediately apply during traffic stops, interviews, emergencies, and de-escalation efforts.

When the Education Freedom Scholarship program launched, TLC translated the application and Family Handbook into Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese to help families across the state understand this new opportunity. After the program’s first year, updates were made—and we were proud to once again partner with the Tennessee Department of Education to translate the 2026–2027 materials into Spanish and Arabic.

We’re proud to celebrate the completion of TLC’s 70th Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) cohort—70 cohorts of educators committed to language access, opportunity, and impact.

The Tennessee Language Center is excited to welcome Rebecca Todd Garvin, Ph.D., as our new research associate through a partnership with UT Southern. Dr. Garvin, who also serves as an assistant professor at UT Southern in Pulaski, will be leading research on languages, usage and accessibility across Tennessee. 

This new role furthers one of TLC’s founding goals: conducting original research on effective language instruction and sharing that knowledge to strengthen language access statewide.

TLC is pleased to announce our new Director of Interpretation and Translation Services (ITS), Richard Ponce-de-Leon.

Richard joined TLC in 2019 as a project manager for ITS and most recently served as a training specialist. In that role, he coordinated several key programs, including our Medical Interpreter Training Course, Court Interpreter Workshop, Spanish for Medical Personnel program and Spanish Toolkit program.

We recently hosted our second Spanish for Law Enforcement class at the Gallatin Police Department in partnership with our sister agency, the UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center, thanks to funding from the TN Office of Criminal Justice Programs.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is making history—this time in multiple languages! Known as the “Smithsonian of Country Music,” the Museum partnered with the Tennessee Language Center (TLC) to translate and record its Sing Me Back Home audio tour into French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.

TLC is partnering with GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), a federally funded college and career readiness program, to offer our Medical Interpreter Training Course to bilingual high school students at Maplewood High School in Nashville. By participating in this training, students will gain valuable experience and certification, opening doors to career opportunities in healthcare and community services.