The Learning Resource Centre and the English Language Centre jointly organised the 1st UIC MyET (My English Tutor) English Speaking Contest from 23 November to 5 December. Over 160 UIC students participated and 77% of the participants received a score of 80% or above. This contest served as an unprecedented experience for the contestants and many of whom were inspired by the fun challenge of the contest.
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| The awardees and presenters |
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| The Award Presentation Ceremony is held at the LRC |
During the Award Presentation Ceremony held on Wednesday 16 December at the LRC, Vice-President Professor Zee Sze Yong shared his English learning experience with the students. He recalled that during his student days he practiced his English articulation in front of a mirror without advanced learning programmes such as MyET. He encouraged the students to continue learning English by using MyET and watching CCTV English news at least half an hour every day, as well as reading the editorials in newspapers such as the online China Daily. He emphasised that English proficiency is a competitive edge in the search for a good career. Dr Viola Wong, Director of the English Language Centre, also encouraged students to make good use of the English resources available to learn and to improve their English skills.
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| Prof Zee Sze Yong presents the first place to Zou Jinhao |
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| The second place winners |
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| Dr Viola Wong with the students who are awarded the third place |
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| Students receive Honourable Mention awards |
MyET is one of the best pieces of software for learning to speak English in the market. Its unique and award-winning technology “Automatic Speech Analysis System (ASAS©)” analyses speech on four aspects, which are Pronunciation, Pitch, Timing and Emphasis. It also provides tips for improvements.
Currently, LRC subscribes to over 30 courses under the MyET platform, including BBC News, CNN News Listening, IELTS, TOEFL and the MBA English series.
For additional information on MyET, please visit the LRC’s website or contact a librarian at the LRC.
List of the awardees at the contest:
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Ranking
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Name
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Score
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Division
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Programme
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Year
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Place
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1
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Zou Jinhao (邹晋昊)
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93.4
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DBM
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Applied Economics
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4
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First Place (Kindle Paperwhite)
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2
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Du Shasha (杜莎莎)
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92.53
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DHSS
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International Journalism
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3
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Second Place (Kindle)
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3
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Feng Zhiqian (冯芷芊)
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92.47
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DHSS
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Public Relations and Advertising
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1
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4
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Wang Yuezhu (王悦竹)
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91.4
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DBM
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Finance
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4
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Third Place (Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary)
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5
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Zhang Wanlin (张琬琳)
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91
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DHSS
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Cinema and Television
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3
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6
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He Jiamin (何嘉敏)
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90.27
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DBM
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Finance
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2
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7
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Yang Yuzhe (杨宇哲)
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90
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DHSS
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Contemporary Language and Literature
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1
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Honourable Mention (Gift)
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8
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Yang Zixi (杨子茜)
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89.9
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DHSS
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Applied Translation Studies
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3
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9
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Yao Shiqi (姚诗琪)
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89.8
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DST
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Financial Mathematics
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1
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10
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Feng Zechu (冯泽出)
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89.67
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DST
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Financial Mathematics
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3
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Excerpts of contestants’ testimonials:
Zou Jinhao: “I got interested in speaking through continuous practice with MyET day by day… Practicing speaking is not boring anymore; it is a game for me. And this thanks to LRC and ELC in UIC, which organised the MyET contest.”
Du Shasha: “Through the imitation, I have noticed how your speaking speed, tone and pronunciation make a difference… I need to thank the Learning Resource Centre, which informed us about the programme and made it available.”
Feng Zhiqian: “The competition gave me an opportunity to practice my oral English and a motivation to win a prize only by utilizing my ability… As for MyET, I had never heard of it before I came to UIC. After using it, I was impressed by its accessibility and abundance of learning resources.”
Wang Yuezhu: “I feel MyET is a fantastic app to practice speaking English.”
He Jiamin: “This competition allows us to practice our spoken English while we are competing with other students… I can know my shortcomings and pronunciation issues immediately and correct my mistakes in time.”
Yang Yuzhe: “Through the using of MyET this time, my spoken English has improved to some degree, and I know where I should focus on when practicing. To me, MyET is great software.”
Yang Zixi: “Through this contest, I have realised that my speaking ability is still not good enough. The feedback given by MyET helps a lot. It enables me to target my speaking problems and make progress… This is a wonderful experience because it encourages me to further improve my speaking skills and to face challenges with an open mind… MyET is great software with abundant and valuable resources. It is very easy to handle and the assessment system is well designed. The assessment might not be perfect as software cannot be exactly the same as a teacher, but on the whole, MyET is the best choice for English learners to practice spoken English.”
Yao Shiqi: “I think MyET is great software and it should be used by more people. With MyET, I encountered some problems about which I never thought before, such as pronunciation and intonation.”
Feng Zechu: “MyET, in my opinion, is really good software to help students to practice their speaking because it’s convenient for us all to use at any time and any place. Honestly I really appreciate it.”
(from the LRC, with special thanks to the ELC)
