SPEAKERS CLUB DOES DOUBLE DUTY.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

Cecilia Huang was always able to look just about anyone in the eye and speak her mind - except when she was staring into a room filled with people.

``My mind would go blank, my saliva would dry up. I couldn't even talk like a second-grader,'' said Huang. ``Then there were a whole different set of problems because I am not a native speaker.''

For some people, the fear of public speaking ranks right up there with the fear of death.

And for non-native English speakers, public speaking can assume a whole new level of anxiety, said Huang, a Chinese native and the president of the newest - and a most unusual - Toastmasters chapter in the Conejo Valley.

``A lot of people, when they come here, write better than they can speak. They feel they are being rushed to have the words come out. But all it takes is practice,'' said Huang.

The club, called the Orient Express Toastmasters, started out with a small group coming mostly from Asian countries. But Huang said the club's mission is to reach out to local residents from around the world and help them to overcome their insecurities - about speaking English and about speaking in public.

On Saturday, Toastmasters International honored that mission with a charter ceremony in Agoura Hills and formally accepted the new group as an official part of the international group that spans 70 countries.

``The whole mission of the Toastmasters is to provide an opportunity for people to do public speaking in a controlled and comfortable environment where they can receive some feedback and have some fun,'' said Toastmasters International District Governor George Lund from his Las Vegas office.

``The unique fact about this club is that it's for people trying to improve their ability to do public speaking in their second language,'' he said.

The Orient Express started about a year ago, the brainchild of Thousand Oaks resident Tom Hsiang who wanted to get some of his fellow non-native speakers to try out their English at the podium and to improve their communication skills.

``I felt there was a need, especially for the parents. Many are immigrants and English is not their first language,'' said Hsiang, who was a member of another Toastmasters chapter before founding the Orient Express.

``But most of them are working here and could benefit from the kinds of communication and leadership skills that a public speaking club offers,'' said Hsiang, who also brought four experienced Toastmasters to the new club as mentors.

For Westlake Village resident Leslie Chu, the biweekly sessions have helped her to overcome her anxieties and improve her communication skills.

``Obviously we have some kind of a language barrier since English is not our mother language, so sometimes speaking can feel uncomfortable. It is pretty difficult when you try to express something properly,'' said Chu, who has since taken her newfound confidence into local classrooms where she helps teach Chinese to area Chinese-American children.

``I think if I have more of a chance to listen and discuss and have a chance to talk, then it would help me. And it has - very much. Right now I'm not so embarrassed to speak publicly like before,'' she said.

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PHOTO (Color in Conejo Edition only) Toastmasters President Cecilia Huang hopes to encourage more Conejo Valley residents to take up public speaking.

Joe Binoya/Daily News