28 July 2009

2009 IPC English Speech Contest: The Start of An Annual Event

A Contest to Encourage the Use and Development of English Speaking Skills

By Shirley Ghozalli. Edited by Moira Blake.

Olivia Taofifenua reciting a poem about hope

A comedy dialogue between Tim Bunting (left) and Nathan Prince (right)

Vittaya Leangchokchai (left) and Jidlada Lertprasittiphon (right) in a dialogue about Thailand

On Wednesday, 22nd July, an English Speech Contest was held at IPC. This speech contest was the first of what it is planned to be an annual event. The idea was developed by the English Language Progress Development Group, a group of Deans of Faculty and staff members, led by IPC President, Prof. Wayne Edwards. This group's aim is to motivate students to use English more and better.

The contest was divided into 4 categories with cash prizes for the winners. There were 25 students participating in the contest, over 70% of them non-native speakers. Non-native speakers could choose one of 3 options. These were: A Monologue on the topic 'Hopes and/or Fears'; a speech or reading from an external source (not original) about any topic; or a Dialogue on any topic. Native Speakers could choose any of the 3 options, but they competed in a separate category. The time limit in each category was 3 minutes.

A panel of judges comprised of IPC President Prof. Wayne Edwards; Assistant Dean Mr Donal Crawford; IPC lecturers Dr Maurice Judd and Mr. Derek McGovern; and a guest judge, Palmerston North Girls' High School Principal Ms. Melba Scott, made their judgements based on the speaker's enthusiasm and ability to engage the audience, interest and clarity, speaking voice and presentation skills.

There were noteworthy presentations from the first year students and the exchange students from IPU, Ayuko Otsuka and Ayaka Fujita, were also among the participants. As well several multi-category participants impressed the audience and the judges with their versatility on the stage. Some of the speeches made the audience laugh, some provoked thoughts about life, and some replayed unforgettable childhood memories. After each participant finished, she/he received a participation certificate.

While the judges' mark sheets were being collated, the guest judge, Ms. Melba Scott, shared her impressions with the participants and audience. She was very impressed with what she had heard and seen, and she encouraged all the participants when she commented, "I think we have some budding speech makers. I really enjoyed your presentations, learnt a lot, and was inspired by your talents, courage, and commitment to give it a go. Very well done and it's a pleasure to be here."

When the winners from each category had been decided, each winner was called up to the stage to receive an award certificate and cash prize from IPC President, Prof. Wayne Edwards.

After that, in his closing remarks IPC President Prof. Wayne Edwards encouraged the students to look forward to participating in another (different) contest next term and the same speech contest next year.

Mr. Donal Crawford, one of the contest organizers commented, "I was extremely impressed by them all (the participants). The Foundation students made a great showing and some of the senior students were very expressive. They should all be proud of themselves."

The winners of the 2009 IPC English Speech Contest:

Category 1: Monologue for non-native speakers, original speech (or poem, etc.) on the topic 'Hopes and/or Fears'
1st place: Fasai Puengudom (2009)
2nd place: Yukie Oki (2006)
3rd place: Kento Otsubo (2007)

Category 2: Monologue for non-native speakers, speech or reading from external source (any topic)
1st place: Yukie Oki (2006)
2nd place: Olivia Taofifenua (2007)
3rd place: Vittaya Leangchokchai (2007)

Category 3: Dialogue for non-native speakers, original or external dialogue/acted speech
1st place: Vittaya Leangchokchai (2007) and Jidlada Lertprasittiphon (2008)

Category 4: Native Speakers
1st place: Rose Cruden (2008)
2nd place: Tim Bunting and Nathan Prince (both 2007)
3rd place: Justin Stafford (2009)

Best Performance by a Foundation Student:
Emiko Okumura (2009)

The audience enjoying the speeches	The panel of judges, from left to right: Dr Maurice Judd, Prof. Wayne Edwards, Mr Donal Crawford, Ms. Melba Scott and Mr. Derek McGovern	Justin Stafford expressing his views about hope and fear
Kento Otsubo delivering his speech about fear	IPC President Prof. Wayne Edwards giving the first prize award for Category 1 to Fasai Puengudom	Yukie Oki, the winner of the first prize for Category 2
Vittaya Leangchokchai, joint winner of the first prize for Category 3 (with Jidlada Lertprasittiphon, not in the photo)	Rose Cruden, the winner of the first prize for Category 4	The award for 'Best Performance by a Foundation Student' went to Emiko Okumura

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