Students’ Voice Returning to Campus After COVID-19: The Success of the 17th FJCU English Speech Contest
- Mandy Mok
Organised by the Department of English Language and Literature, Fu Jen Catholic University (FJCU) successfully held the 17th English Speech Contest, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, at LB301 on November 9, 2022. This contest aiming to enhance students’ English learning progress and oral expression abilities, attracted seven students from different academic majors to compete; a junior student, Tseng Tzumin, took first place.
All seven contestants gave impressive speeches and debated various issues during the competition. After the judges’ discussion, the champion was Tseng Tzumin. The 1st Runner-Up was Kan Chialin. They are junior and sophomore students, respectively, in the Department of English Language and Literature. The 2nd Runner-Up was Chiang Yuhsuan; she was a sophomore in the Department of Nursing.
This year’s judges were Professor Cecilia Hsueh Chen Liu, Professor John Basourakos, and Teacher Katy Lee. The competition comprised two rounds. In the first round, the contestants gave a prepared speech on the given topic of the competition. This year’s theme was “Dulce et Decorum Est,” a poem by Wilfred Owen during World War I. Contestants presented their interpretations and demonstrated their understanding of the poem for three-minute. Then they gave two-minute impromptu speeches on a randomly selected topic in the second round. Three judges graded the contestants regarding their speech content and structure (40%), grammar and lexical choices (30%), delivery skills which include intonation, pronunciation, and body language (20%), and time management (10%).
“I like to challenge myself. I consider the speech contest to be an opportunity to develop my self-confidence by elaborating my ideas to large groups,” said the champion Aubrey Tseng Tzumin. Last year, she studied in Teacher Katy Lee’s class and was inspired to participate in the campus-wide English speech contest. Unfortunately, the contest was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. “I’m glad we have it back this year,” said Aubrey.
Aubrey believed the competition was beneficial for improving her analytical reasoning skills. Moreover, she said, “When it comes to pressure, everything becomes more challenging. After the competition, I was able to identify my weaknesses. I learned from this experience and will try to tackle them for better performance in the future.”
The contestants appreciated having Professor Cecilia Hsueh Chen Liu as a judge in the competition. Professor Liu retired last semester; nevertheless, she has always been enthusiastic and devoted to departmental activities. “The Department of English has always been a big family to me. I’m glad to see the students doing well and so impressed by the contestants’ performance,” said Professor Liu.
Professor Liu presented 2nd place awards to Kan Chialin.
Teacher Lee presented 1st place awards to Tseng Tzumin.
Professor Liu believes this competition is a wonderful experience for FJCU students to improve their delivery skills, polish their English language skills, and enhance their English language competence. “The speech contest opens up more room for students to speak out and widens their visions, regardless of their academic majors,” said Professor Liu.
The competition aims to enhance FJCU students’ English learning progress, help improve their oral expression abilities, and create a mutual learning environment. Usually, this annual competition is scholarship based. It awards certificates and cash prizes to the top three students. This year, the student who won 1st place received an NT$8000 prize, NT$6000 for 2nd place, and NT$3500 for 3rd place.