總決賽名次

個人獎

團體獎

個人榮譽獎

評審總評

C組

  • 每位參賽者都表現出自信的一面,可圈可點。
  • 演說不是演戲,適當的肢體動作與手勢可以讓演說更生動,但過多的肢體動作與手勢會妨礙演說的流暢度,也會讓聽眾分心,過與不及需拿捏妥當。
  • 句子與句子間,以及主要重點間請稍微停頓,不然整個演講聽起來會很倉促,令人抓不到重點。
  • 演說音調(pitch) 需適中,不宜過高。
  • I really enjoyed watching the videos and appreciate all the obvious hard work the students put in. They all did a good job. Well done. If I were to give advice, I'd say that some should tone down the gestures and work to make them appear more natural. Similarly with the voice, the trick is to make the intonation feel natural and fit the narrative. Often, though I understand why, they exaggerate just a bit too much. One more thing, slow down. It's not a race to get to the end of your presentation. And use pauses. Slowing things down also enables you to appear more confident!
  • A few pointers for your future speeches. Don't forget to open your mouths wide (like o for octopus) and close them (like m for team) for specific sounds. And always remember to make long vowel sounds especially long and short vowel sounds especially short. That makes you sound more natural. And when you make a speech, try not to speak with so much effort, putting accents on every sentence. It makes the speech sound choppy and the flow is not as nice. I really enjoyed all your speeches and learned so much from you on these animals.
  • Since the topic is “My favorite animal,” the content should better focus on why that animal is the favorite one and its characteristics.
  • The pronunciation and the intonation should be natural and clear but not exaggerated. Some speakers’ pronunciation and intonation were too dramatic to effectively convey the speech content.
  • As for the presentation, most of the speakers overused the gestures, facial expressions, body languages, and voice.
  • All in all, the speeches were well done and all the speakers should be proud of themselves to accomplish this challenging task.

D組

  • Think about the following questions first:
    Why am I giving this speech about my dream vacation?
    What do I believe that I want to share?
    Why should my audience care?
    For a prepared speech, the content matters the most.
    Always identify your purpose of the talk first. If you talked about something fictitious, i.e. a vacation in space, perhaps your purpose was to entertain or inspire. If you cannot achieve that purpose, then maybe you need to approach the topic differently. If you talked about a certain place to travel, perhaps your purpose was to inform or persuade the audience that this might be their dream travel as well.
  • Do not talk about a sequence of events chronologically or your personal preference unless it is a suggestion that everyone should follow for an optimal experience for a vacation. Have in mind “why should my audience care?” or have a clear message that your audience should remember when you prepare for the speech.
  • Structure your speech to help your audience remember your speech. When planning and delivering your speech, you need to think of a way to help your audience ‘see’ the structure of your speech (Just like what you would do when writing a well-structured essay). Relevant to this, you need to carefully plan for the time you want to spare/spend for each segment (Introduction, body, and conclusion) of your speech.
  • Avoid unnecessary text on your slides; keep the text to a minimum.
  • Make sure that the visuals (photos, figures) you include are either attention-getting or thought-provoking, because those visual elements are included as part of your speech to help you convey the message or tell the story.
  • Make good use of your intonation and pace (of delivery) to highlight/enhance the key idea(s) of your speech.
  • Stay focused—talking about your favorite singers or athletes may be (somehow) relevant to the place you want/hope to visit; but it is not directly relevant to the topic—your dream vacation.
  • You need to think of and include a punch line or a key message/example that can stay in the minds of your audience/judges (see an example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ab9JOLqck).
  • It’s important to make a distinction between “acting” and “public speaking”; too much acting in public speaking is not desirable, which may take your audience’s attention from your speech.
  • Creativity matters!
  • I applaud you for doing such a great job! To stand out from such a fantastic group of contestants, try a few things:
    1. While all of you appeared to be very fluent, varying speech rate between fast (to show excitement) and slow (to show emphasis) from time to time would make you sound much more natural.
    2. Do interact with your slides instead of just clicking through them or not looking at them at all. After all, it’s a PowerPoint presentation, where your speech and slides should go hand in hand.
    3. Do everything moderately. Having some gestures is nice, but gesture everyone word in a sentence can be a little overwhelming. Sounding and looking excited is good, but saying every word with a high pitch and dramatic expression would easily oversaturate the audience’s senses.
  • You all have come a long way and deserve another round of applause for yourselves. Keep up the good work!
  • Note for stress and intonation: only stress the keyword or key point in the sentence. No need to stress every word. Note the flow of the speech and make sure you're using your voice well and sharing your points smoothly and sincerely (not too exaggerating but keep it in a calm and sincere tone).
  • All of the contestants gave an impressive speech, with good usage of English, vocal variety, clear visual aids, and interesting content. The openings and closings were not bad. Speakers should avoid stating the topic at the start and instead simply jump into the talk. Instead of saying that one has finished speaking, a better way to end is to echo the beginning or to make a positive statement to inspire the audience. With a little more practice and experience, these points will become second nature. I look forward to hearing these students speak again in the near future!

E組

  • 多數參賽者皆能在極短時間內給予完整敘述, 有些甚至能展現其豐富的想像及表演能力, 值得讚許!
  • 請注意說故事時的時態,最好統一以過去式描述,或者使用一致的時態。
  • 因為所有餐賽者的前三個圖片都一樣,因此如何讓故事不落於俗套,創意與想像力非常重要,必需要能跳脫圖片所呈現的東西。
  • Well done everybody. It must be really stressful to come up with a story and memories it in such a short time. Some of the stories were really creative and I enjoyed the students who put some energy and action into their presentations. I think confidence is really important in this situation, so remember to take a deep breath and slow down! Dramatic pauses also help with story telling. Again, it's not a race.
  • Remember when you were little, you read picture books. Picture books had lots of pictures and few words. As you grew up, the books you read have less and less pictures and more and more words. No longer is everything represented in the illustrations. This is where you are in this competition. Your job is to write a story, a story that follows the pictures given, periodically, but a story that contains so much more than just what is represented in the pictures! Some of you are already showing signs, heading in the right direction. You created your own storyline, added events, and most importantly, lots of descriptions of what’s happening in your stories. You’ve come a long way in your English education and I’m so proud of you!!
  • Most of the speech contents were creative! It is good to see young speakers full of imagination.
  • Most of the speakers performed well with understandable pronunciation and natural intonation without over exaggeration. Some speakers even pronounced very clearly with each sound, which definitely earned more credits for them.
  • Since this is an impromptu speech, a bit slow pace of speech delivery would be acceptable, but too long pauses might damage the fluency.
  • Most of the speakers performed properly with the optimal use of gestures, facial expressions, body languages, and voice. However, some speakers overused these strategies so that their speeches seemed to be messed up. It is indeed a pity!!
  • All in all, the speeches were well done and all the speakers should be proud of themselves for this accomplishment.

F組

  • There are three questions in the prompt. “Would you like to travel alone or with others? Where would you like to travel? And Who would you like to travel with?” You do not have to answer these question in the order it’s presented. Instead, go with what’s most important first. You about what might be able to excite the audience. Of course it wouldn’t be the three reasons why I’d like to travel alone or with others. So, definitely go for where you would like to travel first and then explain if you are visiting these places, who you’d definitely go with and why.
  • Avoid rhetorical questions; Go straight to the point
  • Do not try to open a talk by stating the obvious, explain why we travel, or reiterating the questions again “do you like to travel?” “Some people like visiting cities, some like visiting country side….” Go straight to the point instead. So, instead of asking “Do you like to travel?,” “Traveling is a good way to relax and chill. I especially enjoy different local delicacies/food when I travel.” This will give your audience a heads up as to what you will focus on in your talk.
  • With active gestures you come across as warm and engaged but if your hands remain still or hang stiffly by your side, you’re more likely be seen as indifferent or cold. So, as a speaker, always keep your hands visible. Your body language projects your confidence. Your gestures, postures, and the signs in your face tell us a lot about how ready you are in giving this talk.
  • It's important to understand the question and stay focused when answering the question. When you do not completely understand the question, you are strongly encouraged to confirm your understanding by asking: """"Are you asking me....?""""
  • Even for a Q&A session, it’s still important to make it as interactive as possible. Showing your audience that you are listening (by nodding) and/or smiling to your audience both help enhance that interactive dynamic in your conversation with the audience (or judges).
  • Always keep your answers short and sweet. People can easily get off-target when they talk too much.
  • Make good use of your intonation variation to highlight your key ideas or messages.
  • Overall, you all did a fantastic job. As I mentioned in the video, try to take it easy with your intonation. Remember, you're giving a impromptu speech, not a read speech. So you should sound like you're having a conversation instead of reciting a text. As for the Q&A part, yes, it's a nerve-wracking experience. But remember, if you don't know what to say, instead of just leaving things in silence, ask for clarification or repetition of the question to earn you some time. This will help ease your nervousness and the awkwardness in the air.
  • Thanks for the joyful speeches! I can feel your confidence and passion in expressing yourself in English and giving an impromptu speech like this, especially on the Sunday morning! You should be really proud of yourself. I believe you have great teachers that are supportive and encouraging during the journey! Giving a good presentation is a lifelong lesson and it's very helpful for you to start doing this at a young age. As a linguist, I believe language can be powerful! Use your voice well, perhaps someday you'll make a change and make this world a better place by giving a great talk! Keep up with your good work.
  • All the speakers expressed their ideas well through their short talk. The level of English was high, and it was impressive to hear the students answer questions with such confidence and poise. To enhance speech quality, speakers can vary their speaking rate, volume, and emphasis throughout the talk. This takes practice, but it is worth the effort. Also, for the question section, it is good to personalize the answer and add details so that the audience can have a clear picture of the response. Overall, everyone did a great job, and I look forward to hearing them speak again in the near future.