(Language Teachers at Bend Language Institute’s Grand Opening Event | Photo Courtesy of Bend Language Institute)
Bend Language Institute (BLI), a newly opened Bend-based business, is offering scholarships for winter term language courses to individuals who work with local nonprofits. Scholarships can be applied to any eight-week language course, or for any two five-week youth classes for the nonprofit worker’s children.
BLI was founded this past September in order to address the language learning needs of the Central Oregon community. Teachers at the institute come from around the world and are working together to help build a strong, multicultural community. They would like to support individuals who are working toward this mission through the scholarship program. Eight-week courses such as Accelerated Introductory Spanish are designed for people who need to refresh their Spanish skills for volunteering and work in order to help build bridges across Bend’s language communities.
Saskia Lilley, a Spanish and German teacher at BLI, explained her motivations for teaching languages. “Being able to speak more than one language is an important step toward local and global understanding, which is increasingly important in an ever-more-connected world,” she said. She is hoping that the new scholarships will open this opportunity up to individuals who create positive change in our community.
In addition to offering adult courses and interactive workshops, BLI is launching a new youth program in January 2020. After-school classes will be offered in Spanish, Mandarin and French.
The goal of the youth program is to expose children to another language in a fun and engaging environment. By using languages through games, storytelling, reading and songs, youth can develop an appreciation of cultural diversity within our community and beyond.
If you would like more information about Bend Language Institute’s scholarship opportunity, please email bendlanguageinstitute@gmail.com for more information. Applicants should work at least 20 hours a week at a local nonprofit to qualify.
