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Showing posts with the label Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival

Hong Kong Speech Festival

Brandon Learning Centre specialises in speech and the HKSMSA speech festival is one of the high points of our year. When preparing a poem for a speech festival, it is tempting to skip the first step which is to understanding the meaning of every word. Poets choose their words carefully and it is impossible to convey the real meaning of your verses without understanding them! For some of our students, this might mean sitting down with a dictionary and then discussing possible meanings with others. One idea is to ask your child to retell the story of the poem to you. If they can't do this, you might want to discuss the piece together. Once you have understanding, you can add expression and convey the meaning of the poet's words to your appreciative audience!  

Last minute advice for our students leaving for the UK

This time of year is bittersweet as our students leave us for their new UK schools. This year, we have students going to Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Westminster, Downe House, Wycombe Abbey, Oundle, King's Canterbury, Dragon, Tonbridge, St Mary's Calne, Charterhouse, Rugby and many other schools. A few things for our students to think about: 1: New school, new start. You may not have played as big a role as you could in your previous school. Now is the time to join in. 2: Ask questions. It is by asking questions that you can extend your knowledge of a subject or clear up areas of confusion. The more you ask, the more you learn. 3: Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are multiple sources of assistance in your new schools: senior students (mentors/"big sisters") prefects, teachers, your house tutor and your house mistress/master. Don't suffer in silence. 4: Have fun, try everything (even the cabbage!) Good luck, everyone at Brandon is very proud of y

The Electric Octopus: Do gestures have a place in a Speech Festival?

I judged a Speech Festival a couple of years ago and was stunned by one of the candidate's performances. Not by their brilliance but by their ressemblance to a windmill. The boy in question was reading a serious, calm poem but had matched it with exuberant, dramatic gestures. Gestures will not win you a Speech Festival. At best they are unnecessary and at worst they are a distraction. Focus on the face and the voice and avoid oscillating wildly and you are in with a chance!

Brandon in Apple Daily - an explosion of colour!

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Poetry Reading with Brandon at Harbour City (海港城) tomorrow?

If your child is one of the entrants in the Brandon Learning Centre poetry reading at Harbour City, here are some last minute tips for you! For anyone contemplating a speech festival or making a presentation, these ideas may be useful in the future. Before presenting: Firstly, make sure that your body is relaxed by shaking out your limbs. The voice needs to be warmed up before you present. Try to take four or five deep breaths and then start to move through the vowels to engage your vocal chords. Scan your poem/notes for the last time. Take a deep breath, throw your shoulders back, stride onto the stage as though you own it. Tomorrow, our aim is to give the children a positive experience on stage. If you are around Tsim Sha Tsui, drop by!

Looking like the back end of a bus?

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Utterly unrelated to public speaking! We have just opened a second centre in Jordan (the Kowloon version, sadly not the Middle Eastern!) To celebrate the event, we have commissioned a series of adverts with the Kowloon Motor Bus company. Years ago, I had a student for one of the Hong Kong Speech Festivals whose poem described his heaven as travelling on top of a bus. I suspect that the poem was inspired by the following quotation from scupltor, Henry Moore; "I was in a dream of excitement. When I rode on the open top of a bus I felt that I was travelling in Heaven almost. And that the bus was floating on the air." (accessed at artarchive.com) Travelling on buses is incredibly relaxing. You have a bird's eye view of the world and there is nothing you can do to affect the speed of your journey. We dash, panic, and bumble our way through life. Sometimes it is worth stopping to savour the moment and what better way that by Brandon Bus?

Congratulations to my Speech Festival students!

Our first Speech Festival students of this year performed yesterday and, despite nerves, managed to enjoy the experience. Well done Jenny, Hayley and Alex on your first place prizes and Alvina for your second place. For students who are yet to compete; don't forget to warm up, smile and be confident. The Festival is about gaining experience, not winning. Savour the powerful feeling you get when you have a whole room of people listening to you and remember it whenever you need an extra push in the future. Good luck to all of you.

Speech Festival Heaven!

Today, I had the most inspiring and delightful morning. I adjudicated a Speech Festival; one hundred and forty five year olds all reading short poems! For some people, this scenario may be their idea of hell. For me, it is a vision of the potential of our Hong Kong students. To stand on a stage at the age of four requires both courage on the part of the child and support on the part of their parents. The children this morning had both in abundance. The Festival (第四屆全港學生公開朗誦比賽)I am involved in is organised by the Speech and Music Recital Foundation who believe in encouraging and nurturing students. Of course, there are winners but every participant gets a medal and a certificate of encourgement (including the little girl who recited the title and name of the author five times, bowed and fled the stage!) So how do you prepare your children to take this first brave step? The Brandon Learning Centre way is simple: 1: Learn and understand the poem 2: Practice makes perfect; ensure

Here endeth the lesson - the art of Bible reading

Bible reading is an art form unto itself. Firstly, you have to struggle with language, then come to terms with the concept of reading the word of God. Once you have mastered those two points, you have to deliver the message in a way that doesn't make you sound like a hysteric. Simple eh? The Language: If you are lucky, you will be reading from the King James version. Why lucky? Because the language you are about to encounter stands with Shakespeare in the ranks of richness. Elegant phrasing, resonant sounds that roll off the tongue. Compare Ruth 1:16 "where you go I will go" (New International Version) with "wither thou goest;I will go" (King James Version) The meaning: read the second site suggested below which displays all versions of the text togetther with commentaries. Instant comprehension will follow! The delivery: Bible reading is not drama. The key is that the reader fades into the background, allowing the listener to focus on the words. This means work