Short-term Peer-led Enrichment Language Lessons (SPELL)
Short-term Peer-led Enrichment Language Lessons (SPELL) is a multilingual and multicultural program piloted at Bates College to raise awareness and promote appreciation for linguistic and cultural diversity on a college campus.
On college campuses where English is the majority language, the home and community languages and cultures that students bring often remain hidden. Even when colleges affirms linguistic diversity, spaces and occasions for languages other than English are used are limited, particularly for languages that are not taught there.
This pilot program, funded by the Bates Faculty Development Fund through the project Piloting and Documenting the Effects of a Multilingual Program, hires multilingual college students, who will prepare and teach their home or community language during the Short Term (April 28 - May 9, 2025).
Read more about the program on the Background page, which outlines the program rationale, the study that inspired this initiative, and the language teaching and learning theories underpinning SPELL.
Interested in teaching?
If you are a Bates College student interested in teaching your language, visit the Apply to Teach page. Application is no longer accepted for Short Term 2025.
Interested in learning?
The enrichment one-time, one-hour language lessons will enroll up to 15 participants from the Bates College community per class, free of charge. If you are a Bates College community member (college student, staff, faculty) interested in taking classes, visit the Class Schedule and the Class Registration page. Registration starts on April 4.