HOOSIER
LANGUAGE
INITIATIVE
Who We Are
Our Mission
At the Hoosier Language Initiative, we envision a community strengthened by members’ ability and willingness to communicate across linguistic and cultural differences. Through community-centered programming, partnerships, and research-informed teaching, we foster communication, connection, and community by positioning language learning as a pathway to empathy, curiosity, and meaningful participation in our local and global communities.
Communication
Language is more than vocabulary and grammar—it's a way to communicate, build relationships, and participate more fully in the world around us. We emphasize learning through meaningful interaction and embrace the natural messiness of communication, recognizing that every conversation is an opportunity to learn.
Connection
We believe language learning builds meaningful connections across cultures and communities. By engaging with diverse ways of speaking and living, learners develop empathy, perspective, and the confidence to communicate with others.
Community
We believe communities are strengthened when people can communicate across languages and cultures. Through welcoming programs and community partnerships, we encourage opportunities for learners to use language beyond the classroom while contributing to Bloomington’s multilingual community.
Our Values
Our
Story
As language educators, researchers, and longtime teachers, we've spent decades studying how people learn additional languages and designing learning experiences that help people communicate with confidence.
HLI began with a simple idea-- that language learning should be meaningful, focused on communication rather than just rules and forms, and grounded in the best available research. Every HLI class is intentionally designed around meaningful communication, authentic interaction, and real-world tasks that help learners build relationships while learning a new language. Our goal is simple: to help people use language to communicate, connect, and participate more fully in their communities.
Our Team
Laura Gurzynski-Weiss, PhD
Co-Founder,
Director of Curriculum
Megan Solon,
PhD
Co-Founder,
Director of Operations
Laura is Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Indiana University. Her research focuses on instructed second language acquisition and task-based language teaching, and she has published extensively on the benefits of learning additional languages. At HLI, Laura leads curriculum development with a focus on creating joyful, research-informed learning experiences grounded in authentic communication.
Megan has been teaching Spanish since 2006 and is the co-author of The Acquisition of Spanish as a Second Language: Foundations and New Developments (Routledge, 2021). At HLI, Megan leads the administrative side of things while staying involved in teaching and learning. She enjoys working with learners of all ages.