W&L Introduces New Language Partner Program A new student-initiated program at Washington and Lee invites the campus and wider Rockbridge area communities into informal world language practice.

Celeste Alvarez ’26 (right) works with mentee Emily Jung ’28 in Spanish.

Brandon Bishop ’26, a computer science major and Arabic minor from Bettendorf, Iowa, spent last year abroad in Germany and returned to W&L with one concern. Bishop was proud to have attained an advanced level of German during his study abroad experience and was worried he might begin to lose the language once he returned to the U.S.

“I still engage with media and read some German-language news sources, but nothing beats speaking practice,” Bishop says. Luckily, his senior year has coincided with the introduction of a new program at W&L, the Language Partner Program, an initiative from Washington and Lee University’s Global Discovery Laboratories (GDL) that pairs students, faculty, staff and area community members who share a desire to practice a common language — whether they’re native speakers, lifelong learners or just getting started with a new language. Bishop says he knew he had to take advantage of the program and now meets once a week with German World Language Teaching Assistant Johanna Lenhert to chat in German.

“Practicing a language informally is so good for the brain and for language retention,” he says. “To learn and keep a language, you really need to interact with it in informal situations, and the Language Partner Program is perfect for this.”

“Lowering inhibitions is key when learning a language,” Lenhert says. “In informal conversations, learners often feel less pressure because they are not being evaluated or graded. It makes it easier to experiment with new words and structures without worrying too much about making mistakes.” Her recent meetings with Bishop have drifted between slang, spring break plans and observations about Germany and the U.S. “It reminds me that language is ultimately about connecting with people.”

“It’s about learning to live and socialize together,” says Dick Kuettner, the program’s faculty coordinator and director of the Global Discovery Laboratories. “It involves not only the students at the university, but community members as well as staff and faculty on campus. We’re trying to reach everybody.”

The program’s structure is deliberately flexible: Once paired, language partners decide how often and where to meet and what they want to talk about. A cup of coffee, an afternoon tea at the Tea House, a video call or a shared meal are all fair game.

“It’s very self-driven,” says Celeste Alvarez ’26, a sociology and anthropology major minoring in art history and Latin American and Caribbean studies from Hereford, Texas, who volunteers as a Spanish mentor. Alvarez meets with a classmate to watch films together and discuss them.

“I personally would rather learn a language from someone else than just repeating what is said to me,” she says.

What you can’t get from an app, she argues, is the messiness of human conversation.

“If you’re speaking to a person, you can guide the conversation in multiple different directions,” Alvarez says. “It also gives you the opportunity to talk with people of multiple accents or multiple dialects.”

“Practicing a language informally is so good for the brain and for language retention. To learn and keep a language, you really need to interact with it in informal situations, and the Language Partner Program is perfect for this.”

~ Brandon Bishop ’26

The program was, fittingly, dreamed up by students themselves. Ciel Morrill ’26, a double major in Japanese and computer science who has studied abroad in both Japan and South Korea, says Kuettner posed a challenge last spring to his student team of technology and learning specialists to come up with creative ways to improve language learning opportunities at W&L. According to Kuettner, “The GDL technology and learning specialists are an exceptionally creative team, deeply proficient in diverse technologies and pedagogical strategies aimed at uplifting the entire community.”

Having benefited from similar exchanges at a previous school and while abroad, Morrill made the pitch for the program. For her, it fills a gap that even excellent classroom instruction can leave behind. Morrill meets with one partner for French — a language she’s been speaking since age 10 but says she has grown rusty in — and another for Chinese.

“There’s nothing like a one-on-one conversation to keep you on your toes,” she says. She also notes that the program can open doors to languages not offered through the W&L curriculum, pairing self-studiers with native speakers for everything from Korean to sign language.

The informal, ungraded nature of the program is a deliberate choice.

“They’re free to make mistakes without fear,” Kuettner says. “Motivation is a key to success in language learning, and when inhibitions are set aside, students blossom in producing language that sometimes surprises even themselves.” Kuettner teaches a course on language methods and acquisition, which some students have nicknamed “Methods for Life.”

Kuettner says the program is poised to expand into the broader Rockbridge community. He has already fielded interest from W&L retirees preparing for trips abroad and hopes more Rockbridge community members, alumni, faculty and staff will sign on, whether as learners, native-speaking mentors or simply as conversationalists wanting to keep their language skills sharp. Kuettner says flyers will be distributed shortly in local businesses to better inform the Rockbridge community about the program, and his team has reached out to other local universities to engage with students, faculty and staff who might be interested in getting involved.

“Options for language partner conversations and discussions are in person, video calls, voice calls, messaging — whatever they want to do,” Kuettner says. “We get them together, and then if they’re serious about the program, we hope that they pursue it.”

Community members, faculty, staff and students interested in joining the Language Partner Program can learn more and complete a pairing survey on the Global Discovery Laboratories website. The program is listed with other GDL Special Projects on the GDL homepage.