Rooted in San Leandro. Serving the wider Bay Area.
We bring people together to learn languages, share experience and explore the questions that shape community life. Discover resources that help us understand one another and take part.
Which languages connect our neighbors? Explore language use at home, second-language learning and access to community life across the nine-county Bay Area.
The full report and data explorer are currently in English.
A region of many languages
44%speak a language other than English at home
English only at home
56.1%
Another language at home
43.9%
Nine-county Bay Area · Residents age 5+ · 2020–2024 ACS. Source and methods.
Home language is one part of the picture. It does not tell us every language someone knows, their first language or which language they prefer for services.
Practical Mandarin lessons, listening practice, and tools for everyday communication. Explore Chinese as a Second Language, our growing collection of learning materials.
What does very hot weather change at home, at work, and around town? Explore a public report grounded in an August 2026 conversation with Cantonese-speaking community members in San Leandro.
We’re preparing new listening sessions on the issues that shape everyday life, including housing, healthcare, transportation, work, and belonging. Help us decide where to begin.
What languages do people use with family and household members?
Learning
What languages do people want to learn or practice?
Taking part
What helps people communicate at work and in community life?
Better questions help us design more welcoming learning opportunities, conversations and services.
Good conversations deserve a useful next chapter.
A conversation can help us hear something we had missed. A clear report can help others understand it. A learning resource can give someone the confidence to join in.
Our work connects these possibilities. We create opportunities to learn and exchange experience, then develop materials that carry that understanding beyond the room.
Support learning, conversation and informed choices.
Local experience belongs in the conversation.
People experience the same place differently. Language, culture, age, disability, work, and family responsibilities can all affect what we notice and how easily we take part.
We begin with those experiences. We make room for different perspectives and take care when interpreting and sharing what people contribute.
