On the evening of May 20th, the Wang & Wu Foundation’s Fast Fluency International Tutoring Program (FFITP) hosted an English speech contest for the fifth-grade elementary school students at Luzhou Elementary School in New Taipei City, Taiwan. While it was nighttime for the FFITP teachers and student tutors in California, it was midday for the students in Taiwan. Close to fifty teachers and students participated in the event.
Each contestant would get up and walk to the center stage when it was their turn, then give a speech in English about themselves. Many started off their speeches with their name and age, then shared about their favorite colors, foods, or hobbies. Several students were more expressive, using their hands to gesture or bringing props, such as family pictures, to share with the audience.
While the contestants were speaking, FFITP student tutors were hard at work grading them on a multitude of aspects. These included tone, expressiveness, grammar, and more. There was not a first, second, or third place winner, but rather winners in different categories, such as Rising Star, Best Speaker, Best Voice, and the Golden Mic Award. The Rising Star category was the only category with multiple awardees.
The Luzhou Elementary School Principal shared his thoughts about the event: “It is inspiring to see so many bright young students being brave and stepping forward to participate in this event. There is so much potential in our students, and I know everyone will keep working hard to improve their English speaking skills. This was a rare opportunity for Luzhou Elementary School students to practice both public speaking and their English speaking skills.
One of the participants said, “My teacher encouraged me to participate in this speech competition. I was very nervous at first. I was surprised that I was one of the winners. I really enjoyed the online conversation class offered by high school big brothers and big sisters. I learned a lot in conversation and I want to join this class again next year.
Wang & Wu Foundation’s Teacher Katy reflected on the speeches that were presented that night: “It was wonderful watching how far the students have come since the beginning of the school year. Seeing their confidence and pronunciation shine when they delivered their speeches was the very best part.”
Overall, this was a very successful first English speech competition hosted by the Fast Fluency International Tutoring Program and Luzhou Elementary School. We look forward to seeing more exciting events like these!
