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| Texas performing at the 2014 Choral Speaking Competition Final. |
The 2014 Choral Speaking Competition Final was held on Tuesday, 28 October in F Zone. 10 teams of Year One and Year Two contestants took over the centrepiece of UIC’s teaching building to recite their poems. Denmark won first place; Salford and Indiana took second and third places. Aberdeen, Bournemouth, East Anglia, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas and York were also excellent competitors.
Almost every floor was filled with spectators who skipped lunch to feed their eyes. Mr Tony Lais (Lecturer, the English Language Centre) opened the proceedings by welcoming everyone, including a team of guests comprising Prof Lillian Kwan (Associate Vice President), Dr Viola Wong (Director of the ELC), Mr John Halstead (Assistant Director of the ELC) and Ms Sze Ying Cheong (Executive Editor of UIC Beacon). He then introduced the judges (Susan James, Alma Tesorero, Jack Merrington, Joel Sundstrom, John Ulrich, Bruce Destefano, Imran Butt and Michael Mavloni) who are all ELC Lecturers. Susan James, the head judge, described the fifth choral speaking competition as “a highly successful event largely due to the hard work and effort of all the participants. I have heard you practising and laughing, so, as well as improving your English and team-building skills, I believe you’ve also had fun during the process.”
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| Susan James described the fifth choral speaking competition as "a highly successful event largely due to the hard work and effort of all the participants." |
Contestants have shown lots of creativity in props, uniforms and stage arrangements this year in particular. Aberdeen was the first team to perform Benjamin Zephaniah’s Nature Trail. Some dressed as a frog, some held a stuffed snail, and some held handmade signs of an apple and a worm, all in the same uniform while simultaneously reciting the poem: “My garden is a lively place/ There's always something happening… When you have a garden/ You will never be alone/ And I believe we all deserve/ A garden of our own…”
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| Aberdeen |
Bournemouth did She Walks in Beauty by Lord George Byron. Members looked like they were in mourning, wearing black suits, trousers and dresses, as in the opening lines: “She walks in beauty, like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies.”
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| Bournemouth |
Denmark started out with a ringing alarm clock and roared: “Wake up. Day calls you to your life: your duty. And to live, nothing more,” Chinese characters “time to wake up” was printed on the back of their uniforms to highlight the spirit of Pedro Salinas y Serrano’s Wake up, Day calls you.
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| Denmark |
East Anglia, Mississippi and Texas spoke The Moment by Margaret Atwood in their own versions. Mississippi had a team member, dressed as a self-proclaimed magnate, standing in the middle looking so arrogant as the rest said: “You stand in the centre of your room, house, half-acre, square mile, island, country, knowing at last how you got there, and say, I own this!” East Anglia also dressed in black and white uniforms whereas the Texas girls wore longuettes.
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| East Anglia |
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| Mississippi |
Katherine Mansfield’s Autumn Song was performed by Oregon and York. Oregon posed handmade noses on their faces as they opened with “Now's the time when children's noses all become as red as roses,” whilst York was wearing red pink and yellow shirts as they went loud and clear: “Makes me think of orchard places/ Where the juicy apples grow/ And tomatoes in a row.”
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| Oregon |
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| York |
Both Indiana and Salford did I Have Loved Flowers that Fade by Robert Bridges. The Indiana team leader held a pink rose between his lips while conducting and Salford styled a sad but stirring form to the poem.
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| Indiana |
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| Salford |
While the judges, comprising the Choral Speaking Committee, were busy counting their votes, Mr John Ulrich came to the front and soloed Buddy Holly’s
Everyday with his guitar and harmonica.
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| The jury of the competition |
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| John Ulrich performing Buddy Holly’s Everyday with his guitar and harmonica. |
In her speech, Prof Lillian Kwan commented that she happened to like Buddy Holly a lot and expressed her view that the choral speaking competition “helps you improve your English, your pronunciation, how to perform on stage, teamwork, and encourages good team spirit. All of you have been very creative in designing uniforms, gestures to go with the words and to give more emphasis in what you are saying.” As if Prof Kwan predicted the result before the champion got announced, she continued: “Denmark in particular, where they showed part of their poem in Chinese at the back of their shirts, I really liked that idea. I had a wonderful lunch hour.”
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| Prof Lillian Kwan presents the first to third places to Denmark, Salford and Indiana. |
The excitement of the winning teams, and the entertainment they provided to the audience, certainly made this a worthwhile event. Let’s look forward to the 2015 competition!
Reporter: Sze Ying Cheong
Photographers: Feng Lingzi, Vivi Xie, Deen He
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO, with special thanks to the ELC and the IJ Programme)
