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Sign Up For Fall Classes Today! Fall is just around the corner and our classes are starting to fill up! We have a range of offerings in Spanish, Japanese, German, French, English, American Sign Language and Italian starting late September. Our classes offer a fun way to meet new people, work on your professional development skills, prepare for travel, exercise your brain, and more. Check out our offering below. We look forward to seeing you next month! American Sign Language Introductory American Sign Language I American Sign Language II English Everyday English for Beginners French French Travel Essentials French II French III [...]

Featured Student of the Week: Beth Mazza Robertson By Sarah Eckert | 2-minute read Beth Mazza Robertson radiates gratitude and excitement as she tells me about her journey of connecting with her family’s Italian heritage. Her great grandparents emigrated from Italy to the United States in 1903 and 1905. It was Christina Cappy, BLI’s founder, who first told Beth that she may be eligible for dual citizenship. Since that conversation two and a half years ago, she has delved deeply into her family tree, met with the Italian consulate in San Francisco, and is now waiting to be officially recognized and [...]

Featured Student of the Week: David Wahl By Sarah Eckert | 2-minute read For David Wahl, deciding to start learning German at age 73 is part of a much larger journey. When I asked him what had led to that decision, he smiled and asked how much time we had. What followed was a story that took me out of myself, a story about the power of human connection, pain that reaches through generations, and how meaningful language learning can truly be. I am so grateful to have the honor of sharing a piece of David’s story with you all. Throughout [...]

Register today for fun, interactive summer classes in French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese! Summer Courses Italian Italian Travel Essentials Italian III Italian IV Italian Food by Region (NEW beginner session!) French French Travel Essentials Workshop (June 22) Introductory French I French III Conversation  French IV Spanish Spanish III Spanish IV Spanish Thursday Conversation Group (June) Japanese Introductory Japanese I German Playing Games in German (May 22)

Featured Student of the Week: Neil Marchington By Sarah Eckert | 2-minute read Neil Marchington is an explorer, and venturing through the depths of the Spanish language is only part of the story. In the rural mountains of Mexico, he participates in regular caving expeditions as part of a non-profit group, helping to discover what is there and acting as one of the group’s translators. “We’ve found some really awesome new caves down there, some of them very deep and complicated,” Neil says. On caving expeditions, roads are limited and the local ranching communities are like family. Hardly anyone speaks English, [...]

Sally Pressler: A Local Bendite on the Go Sally Pressler has lived in Bend for 34 years and like many Bendites, enjoys the great outdoors including cross-country skiing, mountain biking and swimming. She is a petite and lively person who also loves to travel and learning. You can see her on the right in the photo. Sally first learned French when she moved to Ontario as a child and had to learn French in school as a second language. From there she was off to Michigan and then college at Montana State University. In Montana she did an exchange program in [...]

Featured Student of the Week: Frank Ammirata By Charlie Miller | 2-minute read Frank Ammirata wears a lot of hats: husband, traveler, gravel biker, and most recently, a student of the Italian language. He moved to Bend four years ago from Santa Rosa, California. And while Frank didn’t originally have becoming a polyglot on his bucket list, he stresses how lucky he felt when he stumbled upon Bend Language Institute. “It’s a gift that we have [BLI] right here in the Central Oregon High Desert. You can learn so many languages all here in Bend.” Frank is a fan of outdoor recreation, [...]

American Sign Language, French, Italian, German, Spanish and English classes start in April! American Sign Language Introductory American Sign Language I American Sign Language II English Everyday English for Beginners Intermediate English Grammar (NEW!) French French II Advanced French German German Nights (beginner, adult, and youth sessions) Second Year German III (COCC Credit Option) Filmabend: Goodbye Lenin (NEW!) Spieleabend: Playing Games in German (NEW!) Italian Introductory Italian I Italian II Italian III Italian IV Advanced Italian Italian Food by Region (NEW! Intermediate and beginner sessions) Spanish Spanish Travel Essentials Accelerated Introductory Spanish I Spanish II Spanish Short Story Reading Club (NEW! Remote) [...]

Who We Are at Bend Language Institute Christina Cappy, PhD | 5-minute read “Who typically takes your language classes at Bend Language Institute?” This is a question that I hear time and time again. Sometimes the person asking the question dives into more detail. “Why are they learning a language? Is it because they are about to travel somewhere, or do they want to learn a language for work? Are they older adults or kids?” People are curious and sometimes baffled by the concept of a language institute in Bend, Oregon. They didn’t think that one existed, let alone that one [...]