Our Story 

Our Mission

 

Facilitate cultural integration through the promotion of linguistic and cultural understanding.

 

 

History

 

AES World Languages and Cultures Institute (AWLCI) was founded in 2010 to address the lack of communication and understanding between community members that leads to poor medical attention and legal representation, underemployment, and cultural conflict within communities. In 2012, the organization launched a flagship series of language classes for community members that focused on Mandarin Chinese, Italian, and Spanish. Since the launch of these programs, AWLCI has taught over 500 students, hosted more than 90 multicultural events, and built a network of over 2,000 language learners and cultural enthusiasts.

 

In 2015, AWLCI changed the focus of its programs from community foreign language courses towards major initiatives in collaboration with community partners. Currently we host free ESOL courses, medical Spanish courses, and TEFL certification courses.

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2010

AES World Languages and Cultures Institute, Inc was established!

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2011

• Ciao! ¡Hola! The first Italian and Spanish Boot-Camp Classes were taught.

• Launched the Languages in Healthcare Program. This program was the precursor to the Boston Medical Spanish Center.

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2012

• Introduced our 300th student to a new language.

• Nihao! Added Mandarin program to our course offerings.

• Began the Foreign Language Instructor Development program for new teachers. This intensive training program for individuals with little to no teaching experience was the precursor to our Boston TEFL Classes. 

• Initiated first internship program for nonprofit management and administration.

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2013

• Established the Boston Community ESOL Center initiative to bring affordable English classes to Boston area residents.

• Offered our first free English courses to Boston community members at the Tierney Learning Center in South Boston.

• Initiated first internship program for language teaching and language program management.

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2014

• Established the Boston Medical Spanish Center initiative to bring accessible Spanish classes to Boston's healthcare providers.

• Trained our 100th teacher through the Foreign Language Instructor Development program.

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2015

• Introduced the Boston TEFL Classes initiative to train individuals to teach locally and abroad.

• Collaborated with the Boston Public Library to establish the ‘Baby Babbles’ program, a Mandarin Chinese reading time for children under the age of 2.

• Taught English to our 100th ESOL student. 

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2016

• Introduced the Boston TEFL Classes initiative to train individuals to teach locally and abroad. This became the third and final initiative of AWLCI to date.

• Began development of adult literacy curricula for the Boston Community ESOL Center. 

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2017

• Initiated our 15th partnership with a community organization to bring ongoing classes to their staff, students, residents, clients, or community members.

• Graduated our 200th class!

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2018

​We are looking forward to a productive year strengthening Boston's communities!  Our upcoming programs will be made possible thanks to the hard work of our dedicated students, staff, teachers, community partners, volunteers, donors, and funders.  

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