Bard Language Lab

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Tinatin Bezhanidze

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since the beginning of my senior year of college. I went to a British-Georgian high school that promoted inclusivity and interest in different cultures. 

Language Experience: I learned my first foreign language at the age of two, as my family would speak in both Georgian and Russian in order for me to learn early on. I started learning English in the first grade, French in fifth and Spanish in ninth. Bard gave me an amazing opportunity to keep on my language studies and apply my knowledge in French in a literature class. I greatly enjoyed reading literature in its original language, which to me is the best benefit knowing foreign languages bring! The class helped hone my writing skills, especially because I have not written college-level essays in French before. I also got to practice speaking by engaging in interesting conversations about literature.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!
 

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Jahari Fraser

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since the beginning of my sophomore year. I attended a Jesuit high school in Atlanta that held strong values in being men and women for and with others. This focus on service and caring for the entire person influenced my decision to attend Bard because of their strong commitment to civic engagement. I am interested in Latin American short stories and their connections to the societal or political atmosphere at the time the authors wrote them. I hope one day to work in International Development or Non-profit Leadership in a Spanish speaking country.

Language Experience: Learning Latin at my high school was highly encouraged so I began in my first year and eventually took honors classes until the end of my junior year. I was very excited to learn a language at Bard that I could use more often in discourse so I chose Spanish. I started in my first semester with a beginner 8-credit language intensive that met 10 hours a week. After completing the course, our class traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico for one month during the winter intercession where we took another Spanish course, taught English in an after school program, and learned how to salsa! I have since then taken two intermediate courses and am now taking an advanced 200-level literature course. I plan to study abroad in Ecuador this fall. I look forward to further language exploration through education and travel!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!

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Charlotte Geissler

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since my freshman year of college. In 2008, my family and I moved to the United States from Germany. Because of my move, I have been interested in politics since high school and hope to contribute to globalization in some cultural or artistic manner.

Language Experience: When I started to learn English in 2008, I truly struggled to express my thoughts, needs, and emotions. I didn’t know how to ask to use the bathroom during class or how to compliment someone without accidentally making some offensive remarks. Although I became fluent in English throughout middle school, I always struggled with writing. After returning home for winter break during my first year of college, I was helping my parents proofread an email when they told me how much my writing skills had improved. This form of improvement in a language inspires me to help others learn to be comfortable in a language.  

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!

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Vivian Han

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since the beginning of my sophomore year. I went to the States and attended a Catholic girl school for my four-year high school in Lake Forest, Illinois. During the summer each year, I would spend at least a month or two living in Japan to strengthen my Japanese and experience their unique culture. I have received a highly multicultural education and achieved a solid multilingual skill.  I enjoy having long-term travel and reading classic literary works, which I consider the best ways to really learn the histories from the aspect of humanity and local cultures.

Language Experience: I have started learning English early since the beginning of primary school in Beijing, having a British professor as my one-on-one English teacher, and then moved to live in the English-speaking environment when I was 15. I passed the TOEFL exam during middle school. Understanding the difficulty in language and cultural differences, when entered college, I became not only a stuff of the language center but also a writing tutor and an ESL tutor. I have, at the same time, started to learn Japanese. Besides, as a literature major student who concentrate on medieval English works, I have become acquainted with reading Middle English. 

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!

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Augusta Spiro Jaeger

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since my sophomore year of college. I’m Swiss-Brazilian and went to an Italian primary school, and then to an international middle and high school. I’m hoping to one day work in the field of worker and immigration rights, and am focusing on political ecological theory within my major.

Language Experience: I grew up in a multilingual household and have always enjoyed learning languages, but I found that the experiences became much harder as I tried to learn foreign languages at Bard. As a child I always felt motivated and excited by the thought of speaking a new language, even when I made mistakes, and I struggled to enjoy the process of learning from my mistakes when I became older. However, through the language program at Bard I’ve been able to rekindle my love of learning and am always looking for ways to practice this skill.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!
 

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Nadia Russell

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since the beginning of my freshman year of college. My mother immigrated to the United States from Russia, so I grew up with Russian and English as native languages.
 
Language Experience: Though I have not pursued further formal study of foreign language here at Bard, I have spent time learning how to be an ESL Tutor. I completed an ESL tutorial in the fall of 2018, and have been a one-on-one tutor for ESL students here at Bard in each subsequent semester. I find this role to be very fulfilling and engaging. It is a pleasure to learn from my students about their hometowns and their cultures, and I am happy to use my native English skills to help them achieve at Bard. I speak Russian at home with my mother, and with my extended family, the majority of which lives in St. Petersburg. I always look forward to the opportunity to visit my family in Russia, which is when my language skills are at their strongest.
 
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]! 
 

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Yuhan Song

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since the beginning of my sophomore year. I went to a Foreign Language High School where emphasizes cross-discipline study in Beijing. I am interest in arts and I really like to study various areas of art, including architecture, visual art, literary art, etc..

Language Experience: English as my secondary language and Japanese as the third. I started learning English from 2005 and Japanese from 2017.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!
 

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Marlaina Yost

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since my sophomore year of college. I went to a Quaker high school that strongly emphasized the importance of global engagement and foreign language proficiency, which has definitely driven my studies. I am especially interested in environmental history and the anthropology of infrastructure. I am writing my senior project on the history of cotton and irrigation in Sudan between 1865 and 1950, and am interested in utilizing language to access diverse archival material. Apart from research, I love reading and listening to Arabic poetry.

Language Experience: My high school had an exchange with a school in Palestine, so I made many friends who spoke Arabic and I was able to travel there in my senior year. I began my first semester at Bard with an interest in learning Arabic, however my Arabic class quickly transformed into the community that has most defined my Bard experience through the support of my peers, professors, and tutors. With students from my Arabic class, I founded a language suite, and travelled one summer to Beirut, Lebanon to study. I have also taken a summer French intensive in Strasbourg, completed intermediate French at Bard, and travelled to England to conduct archival research. I completed my TESOL certification in the Fall of 2018, and I have been working for 2 years as an ESL and Arabic tutor through the Bard Learning Commons. I also co-run the MES department writing circle. Being a foreign language student has also made me a stronger English speaker and writer. I love to help people find the excitement and confidence my language education has given me!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!

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Yimiao Zhang

Biography: I have been working at the Language Center since the beginning of my sophomore year. I went to a Foreign Language High School in my home city that strongly focused on the multicultural education. I love reading Japanese literature and studying about different cultures. I hope to participate in the field that combines visual art and foreign culture.

Language Experience: I have started learning English since primary school. During high school, I passed TOEFL and SAT exams. I was always interested in the connection between foreign languages and culture so I decided to study Japanese at Bard. The Japanese Program in Bard helped me find my passion for Japanese literature and inspired me to study about visual art and its relation to culture.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at [email protected]!