It aims to promote English public speaking on campus, and provide an opportunity for students to practice and showcase their English public speaking skills.

The winners will also have a chance to represent CUHK to compete in the annual National English Speaking Competition (Hong Kong Region) organized by China Daily.

(Details of the National English Speaking Competition can be found on their website)

DETAILS

Topic: “The Revival of Traditional Culture”

Description for students’ reference (provided by VDO English / China Daily Ltd.):

“Flourishing in an era where building cultural confidence is of increasing social and personal importance, the Generation Z in China is now at the forefront of revitalizing and promoting Chinese traditional culture. For instance, new media formats such as short videos have been adopted in endowing old heritages with new relevance, getting the traditional art thriving again in the virtual world. It is through this type of integration, classic yet creative, traditional yet present-day, that the Generation Z leads a more confident and effective way of localization and globalization of Chinese culture.”

Preliminary (4-min Prepared Speech on the above topic)

Video submission deadline: February 16, 2024 (Friday) at 12:00 noon

Video submission guidelines: Procedures for Video Submission

Grand Final (4-min Prepared Speech on the above topic + 2-min Impromptu Speech)

Date: February 28, 2024 (Wednesday)

Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Venue: LSK LT4

Panel of Judges:

• Dr Jose Lai, Director of the English Language Teaching Unit
• Experienced English (public speaking) experts and scholars will be invited as judges

Eligibility:

• All CUHK full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are non-native speakers of English

Prizes:

• Champion: HK$3000 Amazon gift card
• 1st runner-up: HK$2000 Amazon gift card
• 2nd runner-up: HK$1000 Amazon gift card
• Trophies and certificates for all winners
• Winners of the competition will be nominated to represent CUHK in the Hong Kong regional round of The “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition (provided that they fulfil the eligibility criteria) which will take place in April and May 2024.

RULES

• The script used/speech delivered must be ORIGINAL and must not have been used in any previous courses or competitions.
• The content of the speech must NOT contain any material that infringes copyright. Plagiarized speeches will be disqualified.
• Contestants’ performance will be evaluated in terms of:

       * Content      * Language use      * Verbal and non-verbal delivery

• Contestants who are under-timed or over-timed by 30 seconds will be disqualified.
• The organizer reserves the right to interpret and amend the above rules.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• The organizer reserves the right to edit and use the submitted entries, photos and video recordings of speech performances in the competition for future promotion or educational (teaching or research) purposes.
• The organizer reserves the right to nominate candidates other than the winners of the competition to participate in the National English Speaking Competition, should the winners be unable to fulfil the eligibility criteria as stipulated by the organizers of the National Competition.
• The organizer reserves the right to revise the terms and conditions without making any advance announcement.