Mission statement

The mission of Language Connect is to bring people together to practice their language skills over conversation and experiential learning. We believe in the profound power that shared language has to connect us all.

About the Founder

Jeevan Bhatia is a senior at Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois. Since he was young, Jeevan has been fascinated by the way that language can bridge divides across cultures. As such he has devoted much of his time to studying different languages. Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, and Hindi are some of the languages he is currently studying. This summer, Jeevan studied Arabic in Jordan as part of the State Department's s NSLI-Y program. Also, in past summers he attended the competitive summer language StarTalk program. 

Jeevan started Languages Connect because he knows firsthand the power that languages have to create a shared humanity and understanding. He hopes to spread this power through Languages Connect.

Language Experience

Spanish

  • Immersion Spanish experiences in childhood

  • Summer 2018 Cadiz, Spain Immersion Language School

  • Summer 2019 Concordia Immersion Spanish Overnight Camp

  • 2020-2021 Spanish 2 Beacon Academy

  • 2021-2022 Spanish 3 Advanced, Lake Forest Academy

    2022 Bronze Medal National Spanish Exam Competition

  • 2022-2023 Spanish 4 Advanced, Lake Forest Academy

Mandarin

  • AuPair Immersion experience in childhood for 4 years 

  • 2010 Mandarin Immersion DayCare in Toronto

  • 2012, and 2013 China visits for almost 4 weeks with AuPair and family

  • Ongoing Independent Study of Mandarin as an extracurricular with an AP Mandarin teacher

Arabic

  • 2020-2021 Beacon Academy - took class as an extra class on my own initiative.  3 classes a week, and only attended 1ish/week and met with the teacher. I was interested in class and did not have room in my schedule so the teacher worked with me because she saw I was very enthusiastic

  • July 2021 

    • Startalk Arabic 3-week virtual program at New Mexico Virtual

    • Penn State Arabic 2 Virtual

  • 2021-2022 Language Bird online virtual accredited language school  Arabic 3

Hindi

  • Summer 2017, StarTalk Hindi in Illinois

  • Summer 2020 SIT (School for International Training) Immersion Virtual Exchange Program 

  • 2020-2021 on-line tutor for Hindi