Students in Xalapa are members of the elite children’s chorus at the Universidad Veracruzana Centro de Iniciación Musical Infantil. They sang in English and videotaped a performance of music composed by Jim Abernethy at Emerald Park Elementary School in Kent Washington. Spanish-speaking students in Kent, WA, worked with Jim Abernethy, the composer and music teacher at Emerald Park Elementary, to write in Spanish and videotape a friendship song for his music class in Kent to sing for their Mexican peers telling them about their lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Spanish-speaking students are not encouraged to speak their native language in school. ESL (we call them ELL for English Language Learner) instructors note that they often struggle to overcome language and cultural barriers with their English-speaking peers. During the exchange program, Spanish-speaking student were recorded telling their Mexican friends about their American lives. Thomas notes that some students seemed to find a place within their school community for the first time. The experience also helped English-speaking students see them in a new light. According to Thomas, the benefits of this exchange were immediately apparent to parents and teachers of the students involved.