JUDGING 40th NATIONAL INTER CHINESE INDEPENDENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS TRILINGUAL SPEECH CONTEST - DAY 2

19th AUGUST 2018 ~ On the second day of the competition, I had to judge the final round of the senior category. It was very similar to what happened the day before for the junior category [READ HERE], except this time they had to deliver Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu [Malay Language] and English speeches in 4 minutes for each language and a 10-second break in between.

The competition was tougher to judge. Everybody displayed high standard of presentation. I even wonder how could this even be possible. These people should consider becoming polyglots in the future.

closing speeches from judges and the organizing committee

panel of judges and the committee members

lunch time

bumped into an ex-student of SMKTUN
Mr, Amar Faiz (SPM batch 2002)

I wish I could just judge based on good looks which should be easier.

That should be a very good experience for me and other judges as well. The results would only be announced during the dinner event later that evening and I was not attending. May the best speakers win.

JUDGING 40th NATIONAL INTER CHINESE INDEPENDENT SECONDARY SCHOOLS TRILINGUAL SPEECH CONTEST - DAY 1

18th AUGUST 2018 ~ I was at Southern University College, Johor Bahru, to carry out my duty as a judge (for English) for the 40th National Inter Chinese Independent Secondary Schools Trilingual Speech Contest. That should be a mouthful of a competition's name.

briefing for judges

There were just a few familiar faces who were there so I got to meet many new people on that day.

Pn. Mazzelina and Mr. Ramesh

I had to do the judging for the junior category, so there was the senior category too. There were three groups in three venues and each venue there were 9 judges, 3 judges each for Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language) and English. This was only the preliminary round. From each group, three winners would be selected to go to the final round the next day.

ready to judge

Basically this was how the competitions were done: First, a contestant would be given a title and they had to prepare the speech on the spot and present it within a 3-minute session. There would be JUST a 10-second break, then he/she would present his speech in Bahasa Melayu for 3 minutes. There would be another 10-second break, and the contestant would then have to present his/her prepared speech in English.

I was truly impressed by these students oratory skills. The Mandarin speech was done impromptu style. Even though I don't understand Mandarin, but I just listened to all their speeches and I knew they were good. They all come from Chinese schools which medium of instructions should be Mandarin but their Bahasa Melayu delivery was unbelievably good, and as for their English presentations, how I wish they are my own students.

Choosing the best among them was not an easy job but judging still had to be done. It was like judging Miss Universe beauty pageant where all the contestants are all beautiful - it is so difficult to distinguish the one who should be crowned as the most beautiful one.

All the marks from all the 9 judges would determine five speakers who would be contesting in the finals. May the best speaker win.

And I would have to go back again for the finals the following day.

T O   B E   C O N T I N U E D . . .

PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION AT AUSTIN HEIGHTS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

A Public Speaking Competition was organized by Austin Heights International School today. The participants came from both the government and private schools from Johor Bahru and Pasir Gudang districts. There were also two students from Batu Pahat and Segamat. My friends and I were appointed as judges for the event.

As there were too many contestants and we did not want the competition to be too long in this month of Ramadhan, so we just had the impromptu speeches to be contested. 

SDJ's students and teacher as the audience

Most of the competitors were good and deciding who should be the winners was not an easy thing to do.

Everything went very smoothly and the event ended by 12:00 p.m.

As usual, the were friends and ex-students at the venue.

It was good to be able to see new faces and new places once in a while, as well as meeting old friends. Apart from that, this should also be a new experience for both the students and teachers as participants came from non-government schools. Hopefully more activities involving students from private and government schools could be planned in the future.

JUDGING DISTRICT LEVEL CHORAL SPEAKING COMPETITION

The Choral Speaking Competition for Johor Bahru District was held today at SMK Damansara Alif. I was there with Puan Jamiah Zainal and Mr. Bobby Chan to judge the choral speakers from 18 participating schools. 

Listening to and observing to 18 competing teams was not an easy task. I was already having a migraine while judging and thank God, most of teams finished their performances earlier than the allocated time. I think I should just stick to Public Speaking competitions after this.

Luckily, the unbearable headache was cured soon enough by eating a buffet lunch at Seoul Garden Plaza Angsana, a treat given by Mr. Haiqal Johari. All's well that ends well. :)

PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION FOR PUTERI ISLAM MOVEMENT STATE LEVEL

23rd JULY 2016 ~ I went to judge another Public Speaking Competition organized by the Puteri Islam Movement, but this time for state level. I adjudicated the same competition at district level a few days before [Read HERE]. The competition was held at Sekolah Kebangsaan (P) Sultan Ibrahim (SIGS), Johor Bahru. There were 11 participants and the whole thing ended by 11:00 a.m.

All in all, I was impressed with the participants' gifts of the gab. This would definitely NOT be something I would do when I was still in school. Congratulations everybody for the effort, courage and determination.to be there at the state level. This should already be an achievement for everyone.

PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION FOR PUTERI ISLAM MOVEMENT DISTRICT LEVEL

  The Pergerakan Puteri Islam Johor Bahru District, a society for Muslim girls - something like Girl Guides, held some sort of a carnival of its members. One of the competitions was Public Speaking and I was there at SK Taman Tampoi Utama as a judge. For one thing, there were only women and girls everywhere, as if they had conquered planet Earth.

Add caption

The girls had done well I must say and the winner will represent Johor Bahru district to the state level after this. Congratulations to everyone who had taken part.