Valdivia - Chile

Coming up on 11 November, the second Southern Public Speaking Competition, under the auspices of ESU Chile, will be held in Valdivia.

The Windsor School will be hosting this event for 13 schools in the southern region and we should like to give special recognition to the sponsors: the Windsor School, EF language academy, Oxford University Press and Books and Bits.

This event could not happen without the boundless enthusiasm of the organizers, Ms. Cindy Cifuentes and Ms.Veronica Stronach, together with the hard work of many teachers and parents.

Name

School

Title of Speech

1. Gaston Bruna

Wenlock School

Words, Words, Words

2. Agustina Zegers

Nido de Aguilas

Face to Face

3. Maria Jose Garib

Everest Femenino

Give a Boost

*Jeronimo Zabala

Cumbres Masculino

The Power of Words

* Mariana Bernasconi

Lincoln International

Swallowing Pills Swallowing Words

* Kathrine Maxwell

Caernarfon

Harken to my Words

* Valentina Morales

San Luis de Alba

Much More than Words

Pia Zaninetti

Windsor School

More than Words, a Tasty Language

The 7th ESU Chile Public Speaking Competition for schools took place on Wednesday 13 April 2011 at the Universidad de Los Andes.

Order of the Day

The banners from our sponsors - Books and Bits, HSBC, Librería Inglesa, EF (Education First) and the British Council - were displayed in the lobby of the Humanities Building, together with beautiful flower arrangements at the entrance to the Aula Magna and on the stage.

There were two tables with information and resources produced by EF and the British Council. These were very well received, not only by the attending participants, but also by the university students.

The competition took place in four different halls: the Aula Magna in the Library Building, Aula Magna and Room H-2 in the Humanities Building, and Room R-14 in the Clock Building. On arrival, the teachers registered, receiving a file containing the day’s programme, lunch tickets, an evaluation form, a DVD from the 2010 finals in London, and participation certificates for their students, individually signed by the Chairperson.

The session was opened by the founder and previous chairman of ESU Chile, Mr Richard Collingwood-Selby, OBE.   He welcomed the audience and introduced Mrs Veronica Stronach as the new Chairperson.   Mr Andrew Chadwick, Director of the British Council in Chile, gave a short talk to inform teachers and students about the activities of this entity.  Mrs Stronach then addressed the teachers, students, judges and the general public. She thanked the sponsors of the event, Universidad de Los Andes, HSBC, Books and Bits, Librería Inglesa, English First, and Caledonian International. She gave strong recognition to the judges, questioners and coordinators of the event.

The 30 schools were represented by a total of 52 students. 35 schools had originally registered, but for various reasons some were unable to participate.  5 schools only sent one speaker.  Colegio San Luis de Alba and Windsor School from Valdivia brought the winners from the Southern Public Speaking Competition.

The winners and the titles of their speeches were:

• 1 st place: Gastón Bruna , Wenlock School, “Words, Words, Words”
• 2 nd place: Agustina Zegers, Nido de Aguilas,  “Face to Face”
• 3 rd place: María José Garib, Everest Femenino, “Give a Boost”.

The British Council made a video recording of the afternoon speeches.  They closed the video with an interview of the winner and the runner up. This film will be edited and used by the British Council for promotional purposes for both themselves and ESU Chile.

Mr Richard Collingwood-Selby, OBE, gave a presentation on the value of Public Speaking and presented consolation prizes of $15 000 vouchers donated by Librería Inglesa to the 5 unplaced finalists.  Teachers from the three winning schools, Wenlock, Nido de Aguilas and Everest Femenino, received books for the school library, also donated by Librería Inglesa and presented by Mr Russell Baker, Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy. Mrs Stronach then announced the third place and invited the representative from EF (Education First), Mr Pedro Flores, to present the prize - a scholarship for two weeks, including tuition, board and lodging, in one of their language schools in the UK.   The runner up, Agustina Zegers received a certificate with her prize, a ticket to London to participate in the International Public Speaking Competition and related events in May, from the representative from HSBC, Maria Alicia Cuiñas. Gastón Bruna received the first prize from Mrs Veronica Cotton of Books and Bits, who had co-sponsored the cost of the airfare with ESU Chile. He also received the silver trophy.

The winning students and their teachers will be contacted by Veronica Stronach to suggest and help with further coaching to improve their presentations at the IPSC in London, and to practise impromptu speeches, which have been introduced this year for the semi-finals there.

Organization

Mrs Heather Davies and Mrs Veronica Stronach coordinated this event with the support of Sra Marta Viviani and Anita Orellana from Universidad de los Andes. The organization of the event started in October 2010.  A Gantt chart was followed at all times.

To initiate the Public Speaking Competition, a letter was sent October 2010 to all schools with strong English programmes:

• Explanatory letter
• Rules of the Competition
• Application Form

The deadline for receiving application forms was December 3, 2010.  

On November 2010 another communication was sent with the complete International Public Speaking Competition Handbook attached. The next communication was sent on March 2011 asking for the completion of the Names of Contestants Forms together with instructions to pay ESU membership dues by the 25 of March.  As expected, this date was extended in some instances.

The last communication was sent on April with the following documents for revision:

• List of the contestants, the titles of their speeches and a request for corrections in case it was necessary
• The order of the heats
• Programme with the order of the day and the list of participating schools
• Universidad de Los Andes map

Publicity

The judges were contacted and a week before the competition 12 of them attended a training session lead by Mrs Veronica Stronach.  Training is of particular benefit for first-time judges.   All judges had previously received copies of the ESU Chile Rules of the Competition and the International Public Speaking Competition Handbook.   They were also sent the training notes.  On arrival at the Aula Magna, they received folders with marking sheets, judging criteria in brief, rough paper and pencil.  The chairs of judging panels received specific instructions on the layout and conduct of their heats.  The questioners also received folders, with rough paper and a suggested list of questions if nothing specific arose from the speech.  This system needs revision next year, as there was too much dependence on the list and repetition of questions.

Accommodation was provided by host families for three schools coming from the provinces.  Parents, grandparents, teachers and guests were part of the event, together with friends and peers, who attended the different heats and the final session.

One school had problems with a student’s nationality.  Based on previous experience and investigation of similar situations in Argentina and Brazil, this issue was thoroughly revised and it was determined by the coordinators of the event to continue with the decision taken the previous year, namely, that students should hold a Chilean passport in order to compete.  According to Chilean Law, foreign citizens are allowed to take Chilean nationality if they have permanent residence status in Chile and after 5 years from the date of obtaining a temporary residence permit.