Our Vision

Last Updated: 5 years ago

The purpose of Speak Banana, a registered charity in Canada (778591479RR0001), is to advance language education by operating an online language practising platform for the general public, new Canadians, and youth who want to improve their English or French communication skills to support their livelihood and to gain employment.

Speak Banana was founded and developed by Rachel Li in 2019.  Rachel created Speak Banana as she recognizes the need to have a strong command of the English and French languages for successful integration with the Canadian culture.  Moreover, the communication style, tone and pronunciation is paramount for the successful interaction with Canadians and the  working culture.  Speak Banana serves all groups who want to improve their language skills and communication styles.  Speak Banana relies on the generosity of its donors, as well as volunteer instructors, to maintain its operations.

“Having experienced learning English as a second language, I have faced the challenges of learning English from self study, literacy programs, and as well as from watching movies, and from reading.  These mechanisms lacked the coaching, and feedback on usage of words, style and pronunciation which Speak Banana can provide. 

Also being a stay at home parent for several years, I’ve experienced the impact of being detached from the workforce mentally and professionally.  Speak Banana can recruit volunteers from this and similar segments to provide a sense of community, the feeling of being able to contribute to society, as well as caring for their families and children.  By doing so, it can provide more confidence to its volunteers when they (re)enter the workplace.”

- Rachel Li, MA, Speak Banana Founder