This week I was invited to judge the National Finals of the Public Speaking contest hosted by NS Vocational College. The Public speaking contest was actually in 2 parts - the national finals and also the ASEAN countries' finals. Speakers from Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand were in the finals, with a total of 22 speakers vying for top spot.
The topic, in simple English, was to promote the value of studying at a Vocational College and the sufficiency of the education at these institutions. It's a common misconception that this level of education is usually considered to be less beneficial for job opportunities in general, and more especially for global / international opportunities.
A very real problem in Thailand is the limited English proficiency, and statistics show that Thailand is at the lowest rung of the ladder when compared to the other 9 countries in the ASEAN community. I was pretty sure that the Thai competitors would be at a disadvantage when competing against the other countries. The speakers were required to speak, without prompts or cues, for 3 -5 minutes, and scoring encompassed all aspects (pronunciation, open and closing statements, validity of content, body language, time management etc,) to reach a total score of 100 points. Quite something for Thais to accomplish as there are many sounds they are unable to pronounce correctly - "r" and "v", consonant clusters, vowel sounds and beginning and ending sounds among others. It's worth mentioning here that none of the contestants are studying English, but rather mechanical , accounting, public health etc, so we didn't know what to expect.
After the 1st contestant from Malaysia took the podium, I thought that she would be a sure winner. She was very well spoken, and it was evident that she has competed in a number of competitions, and in fact must have been number 1 in Malaysia to be attending the finals here. She was extremely confident, and didn't falter once, except that she spoke a little too fast for someone with experience on a podium.
A young man from Indonesia was second on the podium, and although his content was good, he spoke very quickly, pronunciation got lost somewhere, and all in all it was quite difficult to understand him. So much so that we (the 3 judges) quickly checked the transcripts to get the drift of what he was saying.
The first few Thai speakers were up next, with a mix of Cambodia and Laos speakers in between. Between ourselves, the judges, we did not discuss or compare our individual scores with each other. We probably focused on different scoring categories; the other 2 ladies teach at schools - one is Thai and the other is from the USA, and I don't know what their criteria entailed. Then there was me .... the grammar and pronunciation pain in the butt.
So, we did what we were there to do, and a couple of hours later, it was time to tally the scores of the 22 contestants. I knew that I had been more impressed by the Thai contestants. They were spot on with the time allowance, they were well prepared, spoke clearly, addressed the audience with respect, body language, eye contact ..... they had it all together. My top 3 were Thai contestants, with miss Malaysia in 4th place. Clearly, the other judges had the same impression, except that they had scored the Malaysian contestant a little higher than my 3rd place choice.
To sum it up, In the ASEAN contest Thailand took 1st and 2nd place and Malaysia 3rd place.
Well done to all the contestants, the first 10 places' scores were so close. A hearty congratulations to Thailand for snapping up 1st and 2nd, and for doing an outstanding job.
The National Finals winner is from Surin Province, and also the overall winner of the competition.
The second session of voting was at a different venue, but part of the same competition. This second part was the Demonstration contest, and it was the final for the National winner. The contestants in this section had the most innovative ideas, especially with regards Recycling, Re-using and Re-purposing waste materials. There were some cooks making regional dishes, rather clever idea jello wedges, cocktails and beauty scrubs made from pineapple. The most rewarding demonstrations, in my opinion, were the RRR creations. Clocks made from motorcycle disc brakes, pretty "organisers" from plastic bottles, photo frames from cardboard and cd's. Real creative talent, with a few contestants already making some "study money" from the sale of their products in their local communities. There were 15 contestants, and each had something really special to demonstrate whilst giving commentary and instructions in English. All in all a very impressive bunch of students, enthusiastic tutors and excited audiences. Again, Surin Province took the first prize.
It was a great pleasure being part of this competition, and to see that there is some true talent right here.
Good Job everyone!!
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