Once a week, in the crowded Zoom rooms of Ladies Let’s Talk, an Austin-based nonprofit, female refugees and immigrants living across the U.S. meet to practice English and build community. Here, Thanksgiving excitement is quickly overtaken by fond memories of other holidays that remind them of home. Shannon, a graduate student from Taiwan, reminisced about the Mid-Autumn Festival honoring the full moon, while Selene, an immigrant from Mexico, recalled the bright makeup and intricate pastries of Día de los Muertos. Through conversation, they explore the differences that make us unique and the similarities that connect us. For these women, the spirit of the season is sisterhood.
That’s been the organization’s goal since 2018, when co-founder Chichi Armstrong, touched by stories of challenges refugee families at her church were facing, asked what she could do to help. The answer? Help the women practice English. So, over the next month, they got together 12 English-speaking volunteers and 12 English learners and started talking.
“I just fell in love with that process,” Armstrong said. “We were making it up as we went along, and it was just to give the women a chance to make an American friend, to use their English that they were studying.”
Today, Ladies Let’s Talk has expanded nationwide, with 1,900 registered learners and 1,500 volunteers in 49 states. Since COVID, both their English conversation program, where they meet in small breakout groups for guided conversations, and their partner practice program, where learners and volunteers are paired for one-on-one practice, are all conducted virtually. This has not only allowed the organization to serve more people, but has also solved issues of child care and transportation. For women new to English, it can be a transformative experience.
“The goal of the breakout rooms is to give the learners a safe, welcoming place to speak English with a native English-speaking woman, try out new words, practice expressing herself, make mistakes, and gain confidence in her speaking skills,” program manager Sheri Pepper said in an email.
But English practice isn’t their only focus – a large part of their mission is to help women find a new sense of belonging.
“Our volunteers do not teach English,” said Pepper, “but are there as a partner for conversation and to offer support to the learner in her language-learning journey.”
Mary Turova, a Russian musician, joined Ladies Let’s Talk a year ago after she moved to the U.S. with her husband. With no friends or family in the country, she found it very difficult to be home alone all day with her young son and only speak Russian. The English practice program introduced her to new people with the push of a button, and the volunteers helped her build confidence in her English skills.
“It’s not just about grammar or topics,” Turova said. “They want to know ‘how are you,’ and just ask you about your days and your mood, so it was really good. And every time I was scared to talk, they just try to ask more questions.”
This article appears in November 28 • 2025.