Meet Our Language Tutors

Language Tutors are here to support all modern and ancient languages offered at Bates, including Latin, Ancient Greek, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German, and French. We try to have both language-learner tutors (meaning they are not typically native speakers and have studied the language as a student at Bates) and, where applicable, native speaker tutors who typically work as Speaking Buddies. Our Language Tutors can help students with vocabulary, grammar, and translation questions. They also have experience in organizing notes or studying before a presentation, quiz or exam, or can assist you with speaking and writing practice! Our Speaking Buddies are Writing Tutors or W-CATs who are native or fluent speakers that are available by request to improve conversational skills and can provide students with insight into the cultural aspect of their languages.

Language Tutors will introduce themselves in the classes they support at the beginning of each semester, but may be able to help support classes at other levels, too. Drop by and see a Language Tutor anytime the SWLC is open–or search Penji to find and book an appointment with the best tutor for your needs and let them know what you would like to work on. All Language Tutors provide an empathetic and non-judgmental, collaborative environment that is centered around your questions and goals.

In SWLC, we also seek to foster and promote the use of diverse languages at Bates while also providing support in English to improve academic writing and speaking skills.  Our Language Tutors are trained in foundational approaches to support English Language Learners and multilingual speakers. If possible, we can arrange a one-time appointment–or regular weekly appointments–with a tutor who is also fluent in your first language. Please email swlc@bates.edu to get set up with a specific tutor for your English language learning needs!

If you are interested in becoming a Language Tutor and working for SWLC, please visit this page for information about hiring, training, and employment.

Chinese Language Tutor

Zachary Jawor ’26 (he/him)

Hello! My name is Zac Jawor, and I am the Mandarin Chinese language tutor this year. I am a philosophy major and a Chinese minor. My time studying Mandarin Chinese is made of classes at Bates, Middlebury Chinese School, and a year abroad in Beijing, China. I’m coming back from my time abroad ready and excited to help with readings, sentence structures, test prep, and conversation practice! Something I’ve learned from the tutors who’ve helped me along the way is that meeting students where they’re at in the language learning process is essential. Every person’s background in Mandarin study is different, and I’m excited to be a part of the learning journey with you guys! 欢迎你们来我的办公室时间并练习你们的中文！我非常期待跟你们去中文桌子和一起商量你们的作业等等。加油！I’m super excited to see you all at my drop-in hours, appointments, and especially at Chinese Table! 

Chinese Language Speaking Buddies

Tong Ning ’26 (she/her)

Hi! My name is Tong Ning (she/her), and I’m from Beijing, China. I am a senior majoring in Economics with minors in Japanese and DCS. I am a writing tutor, and this is my third year working in the SWLC! I’m multilingual, and Chinese is my first language. I also support Chinese language learning, so if you have any questions, you are welcome to join my drop-in session or make an appointment with me! I also study Japanese at Bates, and I would love to exchange tips on language learning.
In my spare time, I enjoy crocheting, and I can’t wait for the snow so I can go snowboarding!
This semester, I will be writing my thesis, so I think it will be exciting to read, collaborate, and learn from students’ thesis writing. I’m also looking forward to receiving advice from you!

Owen Wang ’26 (he/him)

你好(Hi), My name is Owen Wang. I use He/Him pronouns. I am a senior majoring in psychology and minoring in education studies. I am from Beijing, China, and therefore fluent in Mandarin. I am excited to be a speaking buddy for the Chinese language, so if you’d like to practice with me, I am happy to do so. We respect and admire multilingual speakers here at SWLC. As someone who speaks 2.5 languages (did Japanese a year here at Bates), I am comfortable tutoring in English and Chinese, whichever you prefer. English is my second language, so I am glad that SWLC is inclusive and welcoming to multilingual students. So don’t be shy and come to us. Knowing a different language means having a different way of thinking, so I might be able to provide some unique perspectives, and you may provide another insight as well. So let’s collaborate and work together on your writing. Also ,this is my third and last year working as a writing tutor, but I am still actively learning from all of you, so if I make any mistakes during our session, feel free to point them out! I hope to meet all of you soon 🙂

French Language Tutor

Verina Tinashe Chatata-Rao ’26 (she/her)

Hi! My name’s Verina and I’m an international student from Blantyre, Malawi. I’m a senior double-majoring in Neuroscience and French & Francophone Studies. This year, I’m a French writing and speaking tutor at SWLC. Although I live in Malawi, I’ve done school in Singapore, the UK, and the US. During my junior year, I studied abroad in Paris and Maastricht. My favourite team in the Premier League is Liverpool and I’ve been a fan since I was born (thanks, dad!). I have 4 dogs, and I also really love elephants. I speak 3 languages, so I understand the struggles and achievements of language-learning. I’m excited to meet and work with everyone, as well as help to acheive your goals for learning French!! 🙂

French Language Speaking Buddies

Trinity Poon ’26 (she/her)

Hello! My name is Trinity Poon (she/her) and I’m a senior from Cape Cod, MA. I’m an English, French & Francophone Studies double major and this is my second year working as a W-CAT in the SWLC. I’m thrilled to be working here again and can’t wait to meet and help first-year students this year. English is my native language but I’ve improved my French fluency while studying abroad last year in Montpellier, France.

I believe that everyone has a story to tell and is fully capable of producing great written work. My job is to help clarify ideas and reflect what I’m hearing from students in order to help realize their writing potential. I find that the best connections and most productive writing help occurs through intentional inquiry and active listening.

I am excited to be helping first-year students this year navigate their first semester at Bates academically and personally, sharing whatever advice and knowledge I can to help make their transition to college life more smooth. I hope students can see me as both an academic and peer resource. When I’m not in the PLC, reading, or convincing students to write for The Bates Student, I can usually be found chatting in Commons, hanging out with friends on the quad, or on my way to get more coffee.

Jil Moukarzel ’28 (she/her)

My name is Jil (she/her), I’m a sophomore from Beirut, Lebanon, and I’m a W-CAT for the FYS 423, Humor and Laughter in Literature and Visual Media with professor Kazecki, and a support language tutor for French and Japanese.
I speak English, French, Arabic, Japanese and am learning German, and I am really excited to be working for SWLC this year, and work together with students to achieve their goals!
I lived in different countries and attended an international high school where I studied alongside students from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. That prompted my interest in international politics, which is why I am majoring in Politics at Bates!
The Ronj is my favorite place on campus, to study or just to hang out with friends. Especially in winter, when it’s cold outside, I always get a warm cozy latte!
I am looking forward to meet new people and be a writing support to students at Bates!

German Language Tutor

Luciana Zaiet ’26 (she/her)

Hallo! I’m Luciana (she/ her), a senior at Bates majoring in both English and German. I’m from New York, though I lived in Brazil for four years and speak Portuguese. After spending my junior year in Glasgow and Berlin, I’m excited to apply the experiences and knowledge I gained abroad as a German peer tutor at SWLC this year. Having learned German for the last six years, taken Spanish in high school, and now trying to learn some Dutch, I understand the various joys and challenges that come with learning a new language. I hope to both learn together with you and support you learning German at Bates!

Greek Language Tutor

Tosca Neumann ’26 (they/them)

Hi everyone! My name is Tosca Neumann (they/them) and I’m a senior studying Classical and Medieval Studies. Originally I am from Germany, and this is my first year working for SWLC as the Ancient Greek tutor. Aside from English, I know German, French, Ancient Greek and Latin. I hope to pursue archaeology in graduate school, and the summer after my sophomore year I spent a month in Greece excavating parts of a Roman town. During this, I found and excavated a Roman amphora which is now exhibited in the local museum. (I got it tattooed, too!)
For my tutoring this year I’m excited to work on all kinds of assignments, but especially helping detangle the mess that Greek can often be. Whether it’s declensions, particles, or the Genitive Absolute, I’m happy to help you figure it out! Χαιρε!

Japanese Language Tutors

Micah Shimizu’26 (he/him)

Hello, I’m Micah, a senior from Batavia, IL. I’m majoring in Japanese and minoring in DCS with the intention of going to medical school. This is my second year working in the SWLC, but my first year tutoring Japanese. I’m involved with EMS and Rowing on campus. I have previously worked on the ResLife team and as a W-CAT in the SWLC. My tutoring philosophy is based on meeting students where they are. The speed at which we acquire languages is always varied, so this aspect of language instruction is very important to me. I also believe that an enjoyable learning system creates consistency that pays dividends. Looking forward to working on assignments together and conversing in Japanese.

Latin Language Tutors

Evan Boxer-Cook ’26 (he/him)

My name is Evan Boxer-Cook (he/him), and I’m from Scarborough, Maine. I’m a Classical & Medieval Studies Major, Anthropology Minor, and I have a particular fascination with astronomical history and the development of time-measurement. Through the hands-on use of sundials and similar instruments, I encourage others to stop and acquaint themselves with the predictability of shadows, the relationship of the clock to the sun, and the annual patterns of the celestial sphere. As I enter my second year of Latin tutoring, I’m committed to helping you find your personal rhythm, collaborating with you to explore familiar and unfamiliar concepts from multiple angles. I look forward to learning alongside you, supplementing my own approach with the unique perspectives and habits you bring to the PLC.

Zoe Schaedle ’26 (she/her)

Hi, my name is Zoe Schaedle (she/her). I am a senior from Philly (go birds) and am a double major in History and Classical and Medieval Studies. I am one of two latin tutors this year and this will be my third year working at the SWLC. I have taken Latin throughout high school and college and spent my 2024 Fall Semester studying Classics in Rome. I am so excited to work with you and share my love of the language with you!

I love spending time with family and friends, reading, going to the beach, cooking and playing and watching sports.

Russian Language Tutor

Tamara Dudko ’27 (she/her)

Hi! My name is Tamara (she/her), and I am a junior from Kyiv, Ukraine. I am pursuing a Biochemistry major and a minor in German. My non-academic interests are photography, hiking, dancing, and painting. I also LOVE traveling and listening to many-many kinds of music. After graduation, I hope to attend med school or pursue a PhD in Biochemistry. I speak English, Ukrainian, and Russian, and am currently at an intermediate level in German and Italian. The most exciting part about tutoring for me is seeing people succeed and enjoy what they are learning (brings me so much joy to see that!!!). P.S. – I work for both SWLC and SASC.
I look forward to meeting you all!

Spanish Language Tutor

Celia Horowitz ’28 (she/her)

My name is Celia (she/her) and I am from Salt Lake City, Utah. This is my first year as a Spanish tutor for SWLC! I am hoping to minor in Spanish and study abroad next year. I am excited to ask a lot of questions and encourage students to do the same as well as spread stoke for Spanish. I want to be open to all people who come into SWLC and learn alongside them. I am interested in whatever people get really nerdy about! Beware of me singing songs I learned at summer camp.

Spanish Language Speaking Buddy

Aleisha Martinez Sandoval ’26 (she/her)

Hi everyone! My name is Aleisha (she/her) and I am a senior from Mexico City, Mexico. I am a double major in Biochemistry and Politics and a proud STEM Scholar. This is my third year involved in SWLC and I am so excited to be a returning W-CAT for Professor Diaz Eaton’s Bates STEM Scholars. I am also thrilled to be supporting Spanish-speaking language learners as a native Spanish speaker myself. Outside of academics I love traveling, trying new foods, listening to music, and very recently started rock climbing. After college, I aspire to go to medical school and one day become a trauma surgeon. I speak English, Spanish, and French. My tutoring style is one in which there is lots of open communication and trust, I love getting to know the students I work with. I also love meeting new people, so I could not be more excited to see you in the PLC this semester!!! Some fun facts about me are that I have a very complicated relationship with bananas, love getting tattoos, and have a cat back at home named pumpkin. Excited to meet you!!