University News

Join us July 22 for a Community Gathering! A huge thank you to all the wonderful people who have been donating their language books to us. We appreciate your generosity -- and so does the rest of our community! In fact, we have an abundance of language learning materials and would like to give some away. Join us Tuesday, July 22 for a Language Resource Giveaway Gathering from 4:30-6:30pm at BLI. At this free, community event we'll have books and other materials set up for you to peruse and take with you, as well as snacks and beverages to celebrate. Stop [...]

How Will Learning a Second Language Change My Worldview? By Sarah Eckert | 5-minute read People often decide to learn a new language for work, travel, or the many brain health benefits it provides. But what you may not pay as much attention to is the ways that learning a second language (or third or fourth, for that matter) changes your outlook on the world. In this article, we will explore what the research says about how learning a new language can alter your worldview in a positive way. Deeper Understanding of the World and its Diversity of People One commonly [...]

Learning a Language for Travel Christina Cappy, PhD | 3-minute read At Bend Language Institute (BLI), thousands of Central Oregon residents have learned new languages with us. Our students learn languages for various reasons: professional development, connecting with friends or family, stimulating their brains, meeting others in Bend, and frequently, for travel. Travel is one of the primary reasons adults learn the basics of a new language with us! “But why learn a language for travel? Isn’t English spoken at hotels and major tourist destinations?” As the Founder of Bend Language Institute, I hear these questions often. And the short answer [...]

Featured Student of the Week: Tyler Sylvester By Sarah Eckert | 2-minute read Tyler Sylvester works for a Japanese company called Yokohama Tires. Currently, he is the national account manager for major corporate accounts in the United States, but his ambitions lie internationally. His dream would be to relocate to Japan, even if only for a year or two, with his wife and two year old daughter. Yokohama Tires is paying for Tyler’s Japanese lessons through the Bend Language Institute to help him advance his career. For the past six months, he has been taking online private tutoring classes with Naoko [...]