OUR MISSION
The mission of Parlangi
Parlangi® connects people from different generations, cultures, nationalities and backgrounds.
We believe in the strength of social contact, in learning ánd in life.
Connect and learn
We connect people who want to learn a language with native language speaking mentors. We build bridges.
The five 'Parlangi rules'
Parlangi is based on the theory of the American Professor and linguist Stephen Krashen, who has done globally recognised research on second language acquisition.
We translated his five hypotheses into the “Parlangi rules”.
Following them is the best way to learn a language.
1
Enjoy
People learn faster when they feel relaxed and are comfortable. Be kind. Give compliments. Be polite. And enjoy listening and talking to each other.
2
Use comprehensible language
Try to understand each other. Use sign language, drawings, text… Be expressive.
3
Dare to make mistakes
Making mistakes is normal in a language learning process. Try. Fail. Try again… Until you get it right.
4
Be patient
Learning a language takes time. Take it step by step. Listening and reading a lot are the first steps. When you know a few words start using them.
5
Learn by doing
Learning is fun. Learn like a child learns its first language. Don’t focus on the rules. Communicate a lot: listen, read, talk and write. Practice is key.
Why?
Meaningful social contact:
– is the number one defining factor for a healthy life
– facilitates (language) learning
Our main goals:
– to (re)activate people, and especially seniors, by putting trust in their knowledge, life wisdom and skills
– to improve language learning. Learning by doing, that’s the way to make it fun and meaningful
– to create a social learning network where people can connect and learn
We aim for sustainability
That’s why we are building a cooperative community. Individuals as well as organizations have the opportunity to become a partner by purchasing one or more shares.
Partners are supporters, co-owners and/or co-creators of the Parlangi network.
The United Nations SDGs
The sustainable development goals of the United Nations are our guideline and we are proud to focus on six of them:
- Quality education: We learn by doing and by connecting learners to people with a lot of experience, life wisdom, knowledge and skills.
- Gender equality: All people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, nationality, age or background are equal.
- Reduced inequalities: By connecting people from different backgrounds, ages, cultures and nationalities we aim for an equal society.
- Sustainable cities and communities: We have deliberately chosen the legal structure of a cooperative venture because of its sustainable nature.
- Peace, justice and strong institutions: The best way to prevent prejudices and injustice is to connect people. Once people get to know ‘the other’ they are not afraid anymore of the unknown.
- Partnerships for the goals: We build partnerships to achieve our goals in a sustainable way
PARLANGI ... CONNECTING GENERATIONS
