English for Heritage Language Speakers Program at Georgetown University

The English for Heritage Language Speakers (EHLS) Scholarship Program is a partnership among the National Security Education Program, the Center for Applied Linguistics, and Georgetown University.

Funding for program development and scholarships is provided by the National Security Education Program. In 2004, federal law pertaining to the NSEP was amended to provide scholarships for native speakers of languages critical to national security. Scholarship recipients attend special programs to raise their English proficiency from advanced level to professional level (ILR 3).

The Center for Applied Linguistics manages the program which is hosted by Georgetown University. More information about the EHLS Program can be found on the CAL website.

The GU-EHLS Scholarship Program was launched in March 2006 with nine students. Their native languages were Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Russian. All had advanced degrees, many with more than one professional diploma. The inaugural class graduated on August 25, 2006.

The 2007 class was composed of 16 scholars whose native languages included Chinese, Arabic, Dari and Urdu. Native countries included China, Taiwan, Iraq, Morocco, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Professional areas of interest ranged from Medicine and Molecular Biology, to Computer Science, Geophysics, and French Literature. The class celebrated their graduation on June 29, 2007.