English Contest

As foreign teachers, we have had the honour of judging a few English contests here. They are very popular as a way to encourage students to challenge themselves and to give them a heck of a way to practice their English skills.

Each contestant has to spend 7 minutes on stage in front of a panel of judges and an entire audience of fellow English students. The judging panel consist of the three of us (Don, Rob and I) and a few Chinese English teachers. In the first part, they have 3 minutes max. to deliver a prepared speech. The next section is the impromptu speech. Shortly before the contest began this morning, they were given a few minutes to prepare to describe an image for 2 minutes when they arrive on stage later. The last part is the most challenging for them. It's the part when one of the three of us asks them a question or two on what they have talked about so far. We have 2 minutes for this short interview. It can be a very long 2 minutes if they have difficulties answering the question, excruciating for both of us!

Today was a bit more personal than the others have been because both of us knew students in the contest. In fact, Don had helped his students quite a lot in the last few weeks. Being English majors creates added pressure for these kids and they worked so hard to do well today. We held our breaths as they delivered their speeches and answered our questions. We didn't have to worry. They did such a fantastic job and expressed themselves so well. We were both quite proud of them all.

I have such respect for all of the students. They look at this experience as an opportunity to do something different and challenging and were willing to face their fears. Never mind the fear of public speaking (we all know how difficult that can be), they have the additional challenge of expressing themselves in a second language - on the spot.

I have had a challenging time myself so far in China. Many of my students have been less than enthusiastic about being in English class. Unfortunately, there can be a huge difference in English levels in a class so some of them really can't follow my lessons and so they lose interest (at least that's what I'm sticking with). Teaching unreceptive students has been discouraging at times. Thank goodness for these kinds of events! These English contests, the English Corners and talking with Don's students have helped balance this for me. When I meet students who are so enthusiastic about learning English, it refills my well and helps me to see that we have a place here, a purpose.