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Following the success of last year’s event, Republic Polytechnic and Kranji Secondary School once again joined hands to organise the 2nd National Bilingual Speech Contest. The final round was held on 25 August 2007. In attendance was Ms Ellen Lee, MP for Sembawang GRC. Also in attendance were more than a hundred student supporters.
The contest aimed at promoting bilingualism among students with judging criteria to include language mastery and presentation skills.
The preliminary rounds conducted on 18 August saw 30 participants from 24 secondary schools competing for a place in the finals. Schools that made it to the finals were Anglican High School, Chua Chu Kang Secondary School, Coral Secondary School, Nanyang Girls’ High School, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School, Peicai Secondary School, Raffles Institution, River Valley High School, St. Patrick’s School and Tanjong Katong Girls’ School.
At the finals, each contestant delivered a prepared speech in both English and Mandarin and an impromptu speech in either language. The prepared speech was based on 1 out of 3 allocated topics – “Mothers should stay at home”, “The Singapore idol should be more than an entertainer” and “Globalization begins with immersion”. The finalists wowed the audience with their eloquent deliveries and passionate stage presence. For the impromptu round, each student only had a mere 20 minutes to prepare their speech. But they did not disappoint the audience as they served up a witty presentation.
At the end of the day, the finalists each walked away with a specially designed trophy and a book voucher. Aside from the monetary rewards, they knew that they had gained a valuable experience which would help them in their future endeavours. In this sense, everyone was a winner!
Winners of the 2nd National Bilingual Speech Contest are as follows:
1st – Li Yi Wei Tony (李亦玮), Raffles Institution
2nd - Ryan Chong Chee Siong (宗子祥), St. Patrick's School
3rd - Zhang Xintian (张心恬), Tanjong Katong Girls' School
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