Ready to Make a Difference? (Level 4 & 5 Speech Contest Finals)

Prof. Nicolaas le Roux, Assistant Director of ILEC, is opening the finals. 

Expectations were high; and surely enough, the final contestants of the 2010 Speech Contest did not disappoint. The finals commenced with greetings from CUK’s two special guests – Dr. Gerald Pillay, Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool Hope University (CUK’s sister school) and Dr. Keith Paterson, Director of International Relations at the same school – who acknowledged themselves that they were at the right place at the right time. Both of them, along with Professor Sang-Yoon Ma of CUK (Dean of OIA), gave brief speeches that got things started, while at the same time encouraging the contestants. 

Prof. Sang-Yoon Ma, Dean of OIA, is greeting. 

Prof. Gerald Pillay, Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool Hope University, is greeting to contestants.

Prof. Keith Paterson, Director of International Relations of Liverpool Hope Univ., is greeting.

Students from Level 4 and 5 classes were able to choose between the following two topics: how can you make a difference or what would you do if you were CUK’s president? Seven out of eight teams that made it to the finals chose the former topic. 

Level 4 students, whose presentations were marked by the use of humor and the involvement of the audience, took the stage for the first half of the finals. They all made their presentations as if they were hosting a talk show, thus keeping the crowd very much entertained. As a result, the judges (Professors Victoria, Nicolaas, and Corien) and the audience found themselves clapping and laughing throughout their presentations. The impressive thing is that besides the amusing yet somewhat informal style, they still managed to quite effectively get their messages across. 

Team T.G.S. began things by talking about using our special abilities to make a difference in the world. Each member shared their unique abilities and hobbies and shared their insights about using them to help the world. Team The Seniors, the Level 4 winners, followed their speech with their presentation about Black Gold. Team Challengers then discussed about the “hurtful replies” (commonly referred to as “Ak-Pools”), which have gradually grown to become a nationwide issue. After introducing how the “hurtful replies” literally hurt the society, the three ladies proposed three solutions to resolve the problem. And last but not least, the two men from Team Dreamers finished off the first half of the finals by talking about the second topic (if I were CUK’s president). The duo pretended to be running for the office of president and vice-president of CUK, making their speech a whole lot appealing. This way the several points of their presentation actually became election promises, which the audience found outrageously funny.

Judges: Nicolaas, Corien and Victoria(from left)

Finalists from level 4 

After a brief break began the second half of the finals that featured four teams from the Level 5 class. If one identifies the first half presentations as being hilarious and a bit informal, the second half presentations were downright formal and professional. Hence, the ambiance during the Level 5 students’ speeches were much more serious, which was just as effective (compared to Level 4 students’ style) in delivering the essential messages. 

Team Mamma Mia opened things up with a poignant presentation about the world’s problems (mainly about the world’s poverty), and the two warm-hearted seminarians went all out in their attempt to stir compassion among the audience. The team challenged the crowd to be more concerned about the world’s problems, and proposed love and care as the keys to making a difference. Team Adorable Girls shifted gears for a moment, as they talked about Koreans’ Pot Syndrome. The three ladies juxtaposed the pros and cons of this syndrome, and proposed some ways to avoid the negative sides and make good use of the positive aspects to help the society. Afterwards, the atmosphere was back to that during Team Mamma Mia’s speech, as Team Gentle Men also talked about the worlds’ problems. This team, however, highlighted three specific issues (education, poverty, and environment) and proposed more solid, practical solutions. The 3-day long contest then came to an end with a jaw-dropping presentation by the Level 5 winners, Team Senior’s Club, who discussed about making a difference through the media.

Finalists from level 5

As Professor Nicolaas le Roux, Assistant Director of ILEC, said before announcing the winners, everyone was a winner. To quote Prof. Nicolaas, after all 1st place is only spelled differently from 3rd place. And this time, the honor of being named 1st place contestants went to Team The Seniors of the Level 4 class and Team Senior’s Club of the Level 5 class. How do these teams plan on making a difference in the world? Let’s find out.

Winner(level 4): Senior's 

Supplementary Article – the Level 4 Winners

 

Team The Seniors talked about how Black Gold can make a huge difference in the world, either negatively or positively, depending on how we use it. And in their case, this black gold referred specifically to coffees. The Seniors used perfect team work, along with a visual and creative presentation to inform the audience about something most have never heard of. Who would have thought that grabbing a cup of morning coffee from Starbucks or munching on Pringles while watching TV actually harms a myriad of farmers? According to their speech, which was backed up by many authoritative data, such apathy in things as small as choosing what to eat or drink (especially coffee) can have crucial impact on the world. After effectively providing such useful information, the team went on to propose some solutions regarding the Black Gold that can truly make a difference in the world.

INTERVIEW

1. First of all, congratulaions for your winning the contest. I'd like to know how you're feeling now.
▶ All three members said that they were very happy to win the contest, yet at the same time, felt sorry that they had'nt enough time for the preparation. They all said that they would have done more well if they had had more time to prepare. Sang-Heon Ha, one of the team members, stated that he truly thanked all the professors for giving them a good opportunity to think about the world and to work out its solutions. Myeong-Geun Choi, the other team member, answered what they had done their best was the most memorable souvenir from this contest.

2. I guess you've undergone pretty tough time while preparing for this presentation. Would you tell me what the most diffult thing you had during the preparation?
▶ According to Dong-Jin Jeon, collecting and classify information was very hard.(With limited time, it must have been hard for anyone to collect lots of information and to find out which was more suitable for their topic.) The other members responded the same way: Ha, in charge of PPT, said that they had no time for PPT after categorising out information. Myeong-Geun also added that even if they had prepared this in Korean, it would have been exactly the same difficult and hard: that is, the topic itself was serious, and in some ways, was possible to be felt somewhat boring.

3. In spite of your groans, your presentations was really well-performed. What are you hiding behind your back? Stop pulling my leg, and please tell me your secret.
▶ Every member agreed that their topic was really excellent. Although other teams had chosen the same topic as they-that is, How to Make a Difference-, yet they picked up the right sub-topic for more effective presentation. As a matter of fact, coffee is very familiar with us, still we don't know anything this team has presented, moreover that's the reason why we are so much impressed by their speech. Adding to this, Dong-Jin stated that he had experienced a strong bond among the members-i.e., a sort of community spirit, thus it led all of them to make their speech a lot better organised.

Winner(level 5): Senior's Club 

Supplementary Article – the Level 5 Winner

With two team members wearing their cassocks and the other member fully dressed up in a suit, this team looked special from the get-go. Team Senior’s Club introduced a FUSE for Enlightenment, proposing ways to fruitfully and properly using the media via a catchy acrostic for FUSE (reFrain, Use, SEnse of responsibility and awareness). Their presentation was close to perfection, as the audience found itself simply speechless by both the material and the way it was delivered. The content was extremely well-organized, starting from its introduction (which featured a personal anecdote as an attention grabber and an impressive bridge to get to the main idea) to the conclusion. The material was very comprehensive, and the somewhat heavy ideas were successfully delivered thanks to many catchy methods (the PowerPoint, the acrostic, some images, etc.) and the great rhetoric skills of the speakers. The team really mesmerized the judges and the students, offering them a FUSE for enlightenment that they can use to truly use to help heal the badly wounded world.
How did this team even come up with such a brilliant idea? How did they form FUSE, which has become quite eminent among G.E.O. students? Great presentations are always bombarded by questions, so I asked the winners a few after the contest.

1. Why made you come to choose this particular topic?

▶According to Chahm Gahng, one of the team members, the team’s topic was actually based on a true story. With the help of personal experiences, Chahm was able to realize that the media can be used as a tool for either to satiate one’s desires, or to help the world by coming to know what is going on. He actually mentioned a specific example about this realization of his he came to through a true personal experience during the introduction of the speech. He has had a “shameful” (as he calls it) experience regarding the topic, and he simply wanted to be sure that he and the others will not repeat such mistakes. Perhaps, the reason for this team’s presentation’s impressive persuasiveness lies in the fact that the message stems from an individual’s genuine epiphany. In other words, this team really put their heart into the message. 

2. How did you come up with such a brilliant acrostic, FUSE?

▶Before even thinking up of an acrostic, the team concentrated solely on the rules that will help people to avoid the “shameful” mistakes mentioned before. The result was indeed the three principles of FUSE: reFrain, Use, and SEnse of responsibility and awareness. The team originally had come up with a 3-letter acrostic for these three principles, NUN (refraiN, Use, seNse), only to come up with FUSE later on.

3. What did you get out of this presentation?

▶Jin Choi stated that his team’s presentation taught him a valuable lesson. He came to realize that he himself has been using the media for the wrong purpose and thus resolved try hard to live out what he told others in his speech. To burrow his words, the presentation helped him to really “open his eyes” about this issue.

Dong-Won Cho, when asked the same question, immediately responded that it was indeed a great experience. He acknowledged that he always give his best in whatever he does, and stated that he did the same for this presentation as well. What made this experience unique compared to the past ones, however, was the fact that it was his first attempt to do something of this sort and caliber in English. Making the presentation in English helped make this experience even more precious and unforgettable.

As for Chahm, whose personal experience and realization was the foundation of their entire presentation, this was a very special occasion. He admitted that he has always been guilty about his “shameful” misuse of the media. Preparing for this speech was thus a personal quest to bring about change, as well as a chance for self-reflection. The fact that he had the opportunity to share this personal insight with many students made this experience even greater.


* ILEC stands for International Language Education Center(국제언어교육원)
** OIA stands for Office of International Affairs(국제교류처)

Reporter: Hun Lee

Photographer: Paul LEE