Moms English Friendship Group Supports International Families
A language and friendship club at Sandra Day O’Connor High School created by a fellow Norterra area SDOHS mom in partnership with the high school aims to ease the transition into the local school community for moms who have relocated from Taiwan as well as other countries.
“I know that often the women, in situations where families are moving here for work like with the TSMC, have to pause their lives, leave their careers and friend groups, and start everything over from scratch. Then the husbands and kids have natural plug-in points with work and school, but unless the mom’s English is really strong it can be hard to find work or other activities for themselves,” said SDOHS mom Beth Baker, who helped develop the OC English friendship club this past school year to help support the new moms.
She describes the club as an English class that feels like a weekly coffee date with friends, and it’s exactly how she envisioned it from the beginning when she approached SDOHS Principal Dr. Lynn Miller about the idea.
“I very specifically wanted to create a space, not just where they felt welcomed and safe to practice their English and learn tips on navigating American culture, but I wanted this to become a group of friends who look forward to meeting together to hang out,” Baker told Valley Vibe.
Before she had children, Baker volunteered and facilitated an English class and a Bible study for the wives of students at the Keller School of International Business Management. Looking for ways to better connect with and support the school community, Baker saw this as an opportunity to help strengthen the connection between school and the international families.
The OC club is composed of about 16 international women in addition to American volunteers. Weekly meetings began in February on Wednesday mornings from 9–10:30 a.m. at the high school. A typical morning looks like coming together in the library with coffee and tea, a brief presentation on a requested topic by the moms followed by smaller group discussions. Topics have ranged from doctor’s visits and navigating American healthcare to road trips and nearby state attractions and teenage activities. And it’s a place where they can get their questions answered to situations they’re currently facing.
“It’s fun to learn about what things were like back home and I think it can be super helpful to them when we explain some of why we do things this way or how to navigate around some of the infrastructure we have set up that we all get so used to that we don’t even think about,” Baker said.
Valley Vibe visited with the moms during a regular meeting last month, and all of the women in attendance exuded positive energy and an eagerness to soak in more cultural tips.
“We talk a lot and laugh a lot here and I learned a lot about your life here, SDOHS Mom Kimberly Chiu told Valley Vibe, adding, “I love this class so much.”
Chiu is employed as a vendor at TSMC and speaks with American engineers frequently as part of her job, so she said she’s fairly comfortable speaking English. Everyone is at a different level, but most of them only learned English in Taiwan by listening and through writing, so feeling comfortable speaking in conversation here has been their biggest hurdle. But most of the women love the fact that the group offers them a safe space to practice their English.
As for their children and their adjustment here, Chiu described it as a culture shock at first, but now “They don’t want to go back to Taiwan,” she said laughing. She said her kids enjoy the extracurricular activities here that they never had time for in Taiwan because of the demands of school there. “They study very hard, but they can still do Dragon Boat races just like they did in Taiwan, YMCA volunteer work and hospital volunteer work,” Chiu added.
With the school as the anchor for the group, Baker said it serves as a natural point of connection for all the moms as they are all in the same life stage with many common activities and interests and the club has really helped foster new friendships. They’ve added brunch after their weekly meetings and are hoping to continue to add game nights and other meet-ups outside the school setting. Many of the families have plans to travel back to Taiwan this summer, but Baker is hoping to host some casual summer hangouts, before resuming weekly club meetings in the fall.
How to Get Involved
All volunteer moms are connected to O’Connor either with current or past students so they are able to offer direct insights into life here, as the goal is to help them navigate living within the school environment, Baker said. It is her hope for other schools to form similarly structured groups as more international students enroll. O’Connor moms wishing to help or join to practice English can email [email protected]
By Karen Goveia