Shortly after college, Richard Ramker got the first of what he suspects will be many jobs in which language — specifically the ability to communicate in English and Spanish — would be ideal. Three decades ago, the Indiana-born Ramker went to work at a Florida refugee service center, but the only Spanish he knew at the time had been picked up on the streets. So, Ramker had to make arrangements with his bilingual secretary. Basic English & Esl (2 Pk) / Instructional

Today, he is helping his language partner, a stay-at-home mother and former cashier from Mexico, do the same in English. They are two of about 100 participants in Conversemos!, a language-exchange program created by the Nashville nonprofit, Conexion Americas. Participants enhance their language skills and sometimes their careers, program director Maria Clara Mejia said. Others win something more, developing the most significant cross-cultural relationships of their lives, Mejia said. “What we wanted to do was create an opportunity for adults to learn in a way that fits their schedules, that acknowledges they have busy lives,” Mejia said. “Those skills may make it easier for a mother to understand a child who is speaking English.

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