Mango Languages

April is Month of the Military Child

Did you know there are 1.7 million American children and youth under 18 with a parent serving in the military and about 900,000 with one or both parents deployed multiple times?

April is designated as the Month of the Military Child, underscoring the important role military children play in the armed forces community.

The Month of the Military Child is an opportunity to recognize military children and youth for their heroism, character, courage, sacrifices, and continued resilience.

Mango Languages supports the Troops and their families by working with United States Marine Corps and the United Air Force.  Mango Languages is an online Language Learning Resource tool offered at Military Base Libraries all around the world.  The online language learning experience is critical to Military personnel during peacekeeping efforts.  Language learning for military families is something that the entire family can share.

For instance a military family member deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq might need to learn Arabic in order to function in a foreign setting on behalf of United States peace keeping exercises.  Learning a new language through a tool like Mango can put everyone on the same page.  Mango offers language learning courses for children ages 0-6 via its Little Pim product.   Accessible and engaging for young children, the Little Pim method incorporates words and themes that are relevant to the child’s daily life, and research shows that early language learning enhances verbal development, social, and cognitive skills. Click here for more information about language courses for your Military Library.

Mango Languages celebrates the brave little souls this month in their support of families on the front line, and says thank you (in 49+ languages) to all the Troops and those family members supporting them at home.

Celebrate Diversity Month

April marks the beginning of new experiences and new transitions, being the first full month of spring. April is also Celebrate Diversity Month. Diversity is understanding, appreciating, and ultimately managing difference and similarities at the same time. Its reach is all-inclusive and may represent categories such as class, race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, nationalities, political beliefs, and many other categories.

We, at Mango Languages, are fascinated and inspired by people’s diversity. Our company and products all came about from the interest in learning more and connecting people all over the world. Our staff is incredibly diverse, giving each of us an opportunity to learn someone new each day about different nationalities, religions, cultures, languages, etc. We take every opportunity we can to celebrate the eclectic bunch that we are, realizing that Mango Languages wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the different views and ideas from our diverse fans, staff, partners, and vendors.

We bring in ethnic foods for everyone to try, share international holiday and traditions with each other, and learn new words and phrases in different languages that inspire us to create language courses to share with the rest of you. To learn more about us and watch some fun videos, check our About Us page.

Everyone should take the time to learn, understand, and appreciate the amazing and diverse people that you are surrounded by every day. I came across a great site by Carole Copeland Thomas, the founder of Diversity Awareness Month, which is in October. She writes about the importance of diversity and the best ways to appreciate and learn about diversity. On her site she has 25 Ways to Promote Diversity, which I thought was a great list to use for your company or organization.

Here are a couple of ideas to promote diversity:

-Design a diversity calendar for your organization.

-Develop or enhance an intense diversity training program.

-Establish diversity days in your company’s cafeteria by serving different ethnic dishes.

-Give diverse books to your local school library.

-Read at least two or three newspapers each week to broaden your perspective.

We shouldn’t just celebrate diversity a couple months at a time, we should be appreciating the fascinating and unique people who make up this world every day of the year.

What does diversity mean to YOU? How are YOU going to promote diversity?