Over the course of the summer, around 250 Asian students will take English as a Second Language (ESL) workshop classes offered by the BYU-Hawaii Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Outreach (CITO). The students, ages 12 to 18, come mainly from China, Japan and Korea for one to two weeks to learn English and explore the island of Oahu, including Pearl Harbor and the beach. CITO is currently looking for help from the community to help with the most unique part of the ESL program: host families.
J.J. Huang, CITO Director of Development for Asia who coordinates the ESL workshops, said host families are a central part to the workshops because they give the students a safe place to live. More importantly, "through the host families, the students are given the opportunity to learn culture, language, interact with children, and have a good experience with American family life." He added the families are an integral part of the program because if the students don't have somewhere to live, they can't come.
"The families that host benefit as well in many ways. The children and families are able to learn from the Asian students about their cultures, beliefs and families, and because of the unique international population of the Laie area, students are able to live with families and experience cultures from all over the world."
Huang also mentioned that because BYU-Hawaii is a Christian university with strong moral values, Asian parents feel more comfortable about sending their children here. "Some of the families over in Asia, especially China, are only allowed one or two children," said Huang. "So, naturally, they are apprehensive and protective of their children. Because they know this is a safe, church environment, they are more open to the idea of their children coming here."
Huang's associate and the Program Administrator for CITO, Edna Owan, said this was a great way for many of the Asian students to become more familiar with the Church.
Last summer and earlier this year, the Mozo Family of Hauula hosted a number of ESL workshops students, and said they enjoyed it and are looking forward to doing it again.
Nikki Mozo [above], mother of four, said she started hosting the students because she learned there was a need, and "it went smoothly and the kids enjoyed it, so we did it again." She also said that her kids enjoyed having the students live with them because they "enjoyed teaching the students new things that they haven't experienced before, like foosball. They would always laugh and have a good time."
Mozo's oldest, Makana, a sophomore at Kahuku High, said he enjoyed "whooping them at foosball." She also commented on the effect that the students had on her children. "They brought chopsticks, taught us how to use them, and taught us this special braiding. We had a group during the Chinese New Year and they brought things they would put around the house, lanterns and stuff, to hang on the door. They also brought food, some of it was good, and some of it wasn't."
As for the work involved with hosting, Mozo said, "It's not a difficult thing to do. They are in school a lot. We just pick them up and bring them home and they spend the evening with us. We show them what we eat, and how we run the household. On Sunday they are with us the whole day, so they come to church with us." She added that most of the time the students enjoy church, especially the older ones.
Mozo was also eager to discuss the many benefits for families that host, outside of the interactions with the students. "It's good for your family because it helps us to focus on doing things as a family, spending more time together as a family. We do things like going to the beach and playing games. You also grow closer together because you are sharing your family with other people, and you strengthen your own cultural identity because you are showing things to people that are part of your everyday life, but they have never seen or experienced it."
Huang mentioned that having extra room, being clean and having good living conditions were all requirements for host families, among other things. There is financial compensation for the host families, but Huang added that they are "looking for host families who are willing to host students from Asia, not just money." The maximum number of students a family can host is four, and the families have the option of choosing what kinds of students they want. Huang said that he wanted it to be a good experience for everyone.
CITO is also looking for individuals who would be willing to be activity leaders and language instructors. Both positions require native English speakers and 15-19 hours a week, from the end of June to mid-August. The instructors are required to have previous teaching experience.
Anyone interested in hosting students should contact Diedra at (808) 675-3784 and those interested in working as English instructors or activity leaders should call the CITO office at (808) 675-3780 for an application.
-Photo compliments of Nikki Mozo