On Sunday 21 August, eleven Year 10 and 11 students competed in the annual Modern Language Teachers' Association of QLD (MLTAQ) language competition at Griffith University Gold Coast Campus in the Chinese and Russian Divisions.
Participating students were required to present one year above their year level, delivering a speech between 2.5 – 3 minutes on topics of My Hometown, My School, Trip to China, Health, Environment Protection and My Future Plan.
Our students worked tirelessly with QAHS teachers revising their drafts and completing multiple rehearsals during lunch breaks. Students not only improved their writing and speaking skills, they have gained more confidence and motivation in learning the language.
Congratulations to Year 11 student Ashley Kuzmanov, achieving first place, Conan Kaizuka, Year 10 student, second place and Olivia Ashley, Year 10 student, third place in the Year 11-12 Chinese Division.
Student reflections:
Ashley Kuzmanov
'The MLTAQ Gold Coast Speaking Competition encourages students to write and practise a three-minute speech in their chosen language, whether it be a background language or an acquired language. Last Sunday, I participated in the non-background Mandarin speaking senior division of the MLTAQ competition, competing against both fellow QAHS students and students from other schools on the Gold Coast. This experience not only gave me the opportunity to better my pronunciation through practise throughout the past few months, but also assisted my ability to answer questions and carry out short conversations in my second language.
The MLTAQ Gold Coast Speaking Competition provides us with the opportunity to converse with native speakers in our language of study, hence I want to encourage every student learning a language here at QAHS to participate in the competition next year'.
Conan Kaizuka
'Recently I competed in the MLTAQ speaking competition in the division of mandarin. It wasn't my first time competing in the competition, however I had to compete against students around the Gold Coast in grades above myself, which made me very nervous. In the previous years there was a set script I had to talk about, but for this year I had to make a script completely from scratch which I struggled very much in. On the day of the competition, I was very nervous and anxious if I would make any mistakes, but I was able to deliver my speech with as little mistakes as possible. I am very happy with my results, as I was able to become runners up in the division, I was competing in. It was a very enjoyable experience and worthy experience, as it improved my ability to speak in front of people, as well as my ability in Chinese. If I have a chance to compete in it, I would love to take the opportunity'.
Olivia Ashley
'Initially, I wasn't going to participate in the MLTAQ competition as this is my first year learning Mandarin and the idea of competing was quite daunting. On the contrary, I actually enjoyed the process of preparing and practising my script. I was required to learn beyond the classroom to understand additional vocabulary and sentences that were relevant to my everyday life. This was also the perfect opportunity for me to improve my pronunciation and tones during daily practice sessions with my peers and Ms Cheng during the week prior to the competition. Thanks to their support and guidance, I could comfortably present my speech without being nervous. I also volunteered on the day of the competition to do marshalling for the other competing categories, which was surprisingly a lot of fun. Moreover, practising alongside a grade 11 student with prior competing experience was very inspiring and gave me a goal to work towards. Next year, I want to be able to produce an even better speech as I continue to improve my Mandarin proficiency'.
Tamilla Akimova, Year 11 student was also awarded first place in the Year 11-12 Russian Division. Well done Tamilla! 'My participation in the Modern Language Teachers Association of Queensland Competition was nothing short of outstanding. After signing up for the Russian language, I did not know how the competition operated or what topic I would have to discuss. However, after extensive consultation with the Russian competition organiser, I discovered that I would have to deliver a three-and-a-half-minute speech about my favourite Russian star who lived or visited Australia. I started to work, first by composing my speech and then memorising it with tenacity. This dedication paid off, as I not only won first place in my division, but also developed confidence, valuable public speaking skills, and memorisation abilities. I strongly advise any student who is interested in speaking another language and expanding these skills to enter this competition'.
Lien-ju Cheng
Teaching Faculty / Senior Mandarin Teacher