Improve school foreign language programs

Adults struggle to learn a foreign language, whereas children are like sponges and can learn languages much more easily. However, there is a great gap between how children learn foreign languages in school and how they are then able to use that in practical, everyday life. Parlamerica was founded to improve and develop children’s foreign language skills through the public educational system as it is the most democratic way of reaching all children.

Parlamerica is piloting a conversational language exchange program between high school students in the Seattle area and low-income students in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Both the Mexican and American students will regularly practice using their foreign language skills with their contemporaries in the target country.

We are raising funds for the headphones that include microphones—each priced around $25—that the students will use during the language exchange. Our goal is to raise about $1,250 for the headsets. Half the headsets will be used by the students in Seattle, the other half by the students in Mexico. Any amount raised towards the total will go to purchase the headsets.

With the conversational language exchange, all the students will have opportunities to regularly practice language concepts taught in school. Language will be more of a living thing that is useful for communication with people from different cultures around the world. Everyone will have equal opportunities to not only learn a foreign language but also to become more culturally aware and competent in our multicultural and multiethnic society.

If you cannot contribute at this time, let your family and friends know what Parlamerica is doing. We are a new nonprofit wanting to make a difference in our world.