'Lao Wai' launches Mandarin-speaking club in Southern California

Toastmasters International, a US headquartered nonprofit educational organization with purpose of promoting communication, public speaking and leadership, launched its latest club this week in El Monte, a community near Los Angeles, formed by a group of Americans who referred to themselves as "Lao Wai," or "foreigners" in Chinese.

The club, called "Lao Wai Jiang Zhongwen" Toastmasters, or Chinese-speaking foreigners Toastmasters, is a Mandarin language club for advanced Chinese language learners who want to practice their Chinese and public speaking.

"When we first started this club on our own in 2017, the idea was just to get together with like-minded individuals, and people who have been to China or who were doing business there and to speak Chinese together," Angela Efros, vice president of New Business Development for HG Plus Consulting, and club president and co-founder of the Chinese language club, explained to Xinhua Friday. "It's such a big part of our lives."

More than fifty members and guests gathered to celebrate the new club's launch and were joined by prominent elected officials, including US Congresswoman Judy Chu. Mike Eng, member of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, and member of San Gabriel City Council Jason Pu also attended the ceremony to congratulate the members for their civic spirit and present Certificates of Merit to club founders and officers.

"Tastemasters has a glorious tradition of getting people to speak publicly in all kinds of challenging settings - people who have become CEOs, non-profit executives and even elected officials," Congresswoman Chu told the assembled club members.

Toastmasters International started with young people and extends to all ages. It was founded in 1924 in California by Ralph C. Smedley and today, through its 16,200 clubs, serves over 364,000 diverse members in 145 countries and regions worldwide.

Club members of "Lao Wai Jiang Zhongwen" Toastmasters "wanted to improve their Chinese language public speaking skills and being part of Toastmasters would push us all to the next level," Efros explained.

"Even though I'm fluent in Mandarin, like a lot of us are, I've held back from taking more gigs or giving speeches in public," Efros told Xinhua. "Toastmasters will change that for all of us."

Many members felt there are exciting cultural benefits that could only be shared and appreciated when one learned the native language of another country, like China.

"I think learning a new language helps to understand people on an entirely different level," club member Natalie Ronquillo, a South California-based marketing manager, told Xinhua. "There is something really special about communicating in someone's else's native language that makes the effort well worth it!"

It doesn't just help with communication, she contended, but also "It helps understand a culture - whether it's understanding a joke or a fun 'saying,'" and things like China's many interesting proverbs.

Wayne Lee, president of Powertec and club treasurer agreed. He added that though translations are adequate for everyday use, communication in the original Chinese provides "a window into the culture and minimizes misunderstandings" that can be caused by meanings getting lost in translation.

"Learning Chinese is important as China and the Far East become a more central epicenter of social and economic growth," he told Xinhua.

The Chinese language toastmasters new club leadership team consists of some of the original club founders from 2017 as well as other new members. Their once modest networking goals had evolved to something far more timely and significant, the members said, and they intend to put their toastmaster training to good use.

As tension grows between the West and China, it's essential for more people to learn Mandarin as many of the Chinese have learned English. This will help diffuse any confusing rhetoric, said club treasurer Lee.

"In a time of such turmoil, those of us who are fluent in Mandarin and in a position to help improve communication and cross-cultural understanding need to step up our game and become better bridges between our two cultures and communities," asserted Efros.

"What you are doing with this club is truly special," Congresswoman Chu told the assembled members. "You are getting people to come in to practice together, with native speakers, and in the process you will be able to maintain better ties between the US and China."