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How Effective are Language Apps? If you’ve been asking yourself this question, you are not alone. This is one of the most common questions I have received in recent months, along with questions about the best language learning apps, limitations of language apps, and how best to use them. In this article I will explore some of these topics with perspectives from researchers, language teachers, and our students. Benefits of [...]

Join Us for Virtual Happy Hour! Ready to meet some new faces and brush up on your language skills? Join us for virtual happy hours next week! This is a great opportunity to connect with your language community in Central Oregon in a fun and relaxed environment. You can invite your friends, meet native speakers, teachers, and language learners from the comfort of your home. Bring whatever beverage you like [...]

Ready to help your kids learn a new language? Recently a lot of parents have been interested in language classes for groups of 2-5 students. We've been having them all outside or remotely and it has been really fun! This fall we are organizing more small youth language groups to meet for outdoor learning. We are planning groups of 3-5 students according to their language level and age. If you are [...]

Do you remember being in school and trying to convince your teacher to have class outside? Well now the teachers are coming together to give everyone the opportunity to learn in the open air. We’ve set up an outdoor classroom just around the corner from BLI on a quieter street so we can practice our language skills when the weather is nice – so basically 90% of July and August [...]

Small Group Private Classes Want to learn another language with two of your good friends? We've had a few of these requests for adults as well as kids from the same class and they are a lot of fun. This is a great way to develop your skills and socialize - we can host them digitally so you don't even have to live in the same state! Send an email [...]

New Environment, New Learning Opportunities! In this rapidly changing environment, the teachers at Bend Language Institute are working together to adjust to our community’s language learning needs. Due to concerns over COVID-19, we will not be holding in-person classes or workshops for the months of March and April. We take social distancing very seriously and want to help protect the health of our community members. However, this doesn’t mean that [...]

New Year's Gathering at BendTECH on January 9th at 4pm Come stop by and meet the teachers! At this event you can hear more about our language workshops — Italian winemaking, Arabic cooking, yoga in Spanish, as well as our eight-week courses and new youth immersion program. Join us for snacks and refreshments, as well as some engaging conversation. We would love to see you there! See more about the event [...]

Scholarship announcement! We are offering scholarships for winter term to individuals who work with local nonprofits. Scholarships can be used to cover an eight-week course at BLI, or two five-week youth classes for a nonprofit worker’s dependent/child. We want to give back to the people who are supporting our community! You can see a press release about our scholarships on CBN: http://cascadebusnews.com/bend-language-institute-offering…/ If you are interested or know someone who [...]

Wondering what to get your family and friends for the holidays? Try a fun, cultural experience! Our language of food workshops -- such as German baking, French quiche, or Chinese potstickers -- make for a great gift and an enjoyable evening. Or, you can help support your family as they attend a language class to prepare for an upcoming trip! We have gift cards available so you and your loved [...]

This last week we were featured in Central Oregon Daily's Origin Story Series. Thank you to Samantha O'Connor for such a fun interview! Check out the full interview here: https://centraloregondaily.com/origin-story-bend-language-institute/?fbclid=IwAR3eGOQJiiIBP1IzrsCn-2JpbqcIO8hLkIrGGvJAK0fLsj2OZadR_tsL3Lw 

Fall Workshops are starting this week! We have a number of workshops that allow you to learn languages in fun and interactive ways – such as through cooking, yoga, painting and more. Be sure to sign up at least two days in advance to reserve your spot. Our upcoming workshops include: Italian The Language of Italian Food, October 18 4:30-7:30pm The Language of Italian Wine, November 16 4:30-6:30pm Spanish Yoga [...]

We are happy to announce our Grand Opening on Friday, September 27th from 5-8pm. This is an opportunity to meet the Bend Language Institute team and other members of the Central Oregon community who are interested in different languages. You can check out our new classroom space while enjoying tasty food and drinks. Our space is just inside the Mactek building at 416 NE Greenwood Ave. Please invite friends and [...]

Check out an article we are featured in about language groups in Central Oregon. This article is about an Italian conversation group that has been meeting in Sisters, Oregon. We eat, drink wine, and chat in Italian throughout the night. Bruce Williams, long-time resident of Sisters, has helped organize the group for many years. Give a shout and we'll get you connected!   https://nuggetnews.com/Content/Current-News/Current-News/Article/Sisters-folks-gather-to-share-language-learning/5/5/28597

Making pasta from scratch requires a great deal of communication. It's the perfect way to learn Italian in a group setting. With our Advanced Italian class we took up the task to make pasta, salads, bruschetta, tiramisu and more!