Ryan Joyce, an assistant professor of French and francophone studies in the Department of French and Italian, is using his expertise in creole studies to expand access to Haitian Creole language education.

Kickstart Kreyòl: Introduction to Haitian Language and Culture launched in the summer of 2025 as an introductory course designed to help students build a strong foundation in Haitian Creole language, which is not widely taught. The class, which is free and open to any individual over the age of 18, was designed by Joyce.

“This is a course that I designed and organized with primary support from the Center for Latin American Studies, and additional support from the Department of French and Italian, the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and Ohio State’s Office of Outreach and Engagement,” he said. “It’s responding to the needs that I see in our Ohio State community and more broadly, across central Ohio. The goal is to strengthen cultural understanding and community engagement in Ohio.”

Approximately 50,000 Haitians live across Ohio. Joyce said that the biggest group of students taking Kickstart Kreyòl are K-12 educators who want to be able to better converse and understand their students, many of whom speak the Haitian Creole taught in the course. The course highlights the practical benefits of language learning, providing educators and other participants with skills they can apply in their professional and everyday interactions.

“So many of our participants last year were K-12 educators, who reported during and after the course that there was not actually a lot of training or resources for them to understand Haitian culture or Haitian language,” Joyce said. “I understand that there’s a significant number of Haitian students enrolled in Columbus City Schools alone, and many of those students might have varying degrees of English proficiency. So being able to understand and speak some Creole is important.”

Being able to speak the language is especially important at Mifflin High School, where Nikki Matson teaches French. An educator of 28 years, Matson said she has already recommended the course to fellow educators after completing it over the summer.

“At Mifflin, many students speak Creole, so there was strong interest in learning the language’s basics. Learning a language means more than memorizing words,” Matson said. “It also teaches you about that culture and its social customs. By learning a language, you connect with people more deeply, which helps teachers build the meaningful relationships that are central to effective teaching.”

The course extends beyond language instruction by inviting Haitian community leaders and educators into the classroom, helping participants understand the traditions and history behind the language.

“Every speaker was engaging and informative, and the collegial discussions were especially valuable,” Matson said. “The speakers that Ryan had were excellent and so knowledgeable about the Haitian world. I am looking forward to this aspect in his next class this summer.”

In year two of the course, Joyce is adding a second tier to the language portion.

“Once people have foundational tools, like basic vocabulary and expressions, then we want to build on that toward having more complete, fluent conversations,” Joyce said. “My goal is to ground these lessons in practical, everyday situations. For example, if you went into a Haitian restaurant or had a Haitian neighbor, how could you communicate? These aren’t abstract ideas, but concrete, real-life strategies.”

Joyce said that while the free Kickstart Kreyòl course is still in its infancy, he has ideas of how to expand it down the road.

“This could be developed into for-credit summer class that students can enroll in,” he said. “It would certainly involve more programming around Haiti and Haitian studies. Things like film screenings, conferences or symposiums that would put these histories and Haitian voices at the center of the course.”