CCTV English Speaking Competition 2007: A Reflection
Easten Law
The most important part of learning is the process rather than the results or destination. My experience coaching Ashley Shen Yi Jie and Vista Kong Nan Nan for the CCTV Cup these past months is a testament to the truth of such a statement. As a teacher who has walked alongside these two students in their journey, it is my hope that they have taken away much more from this experience than a chance to compete for a prize. Instead, I hope they have learned something about the development of character, the process of reaching for life goals, and the responsibility of good communication to better the world around them.
Ashley competed in the CCTV competition last year in the national semi-finals, earning 47th place out of 93 contestants in 2006. On our way back to Wuhu, I asked her if she’d consider trying again the following year. At the time she said no. I was a little disappointed to hear it at first because I saw in the young lady a wonderful potential as a speaker. Ashley carried a professional and classical presence on the stage yet was perfectly approachable and sweet in everyday interaction. This combination of traits is a hard one to come by and worthy of further development.
To my pleasant surprise, Ashley changed her mind. As the 2007 campus preliminary rounds proceeded, Ashley gracefully took to the stage and gave a speech surprisingly mature in depth and logic while concise and clear. As a junior student, her knowledge of culture, identity, and global connections was impressive. However, it was her ability to express and communicate that knowledge that was most exceptional. She weaved her knowledge and creativity together into a thoughtful speech on global citizenship as the ability to communicate own’s own cultural identity. There was little doubt in anyone’s mind that she would be making another trip to Beijing soon.
In addition to Ashley’s success came the surprising addition of another young man full of potential. Vista’s presence on the stage, like Ashley’s, was undeniable. There was a swagger in his step and an interesting conviction in his voice that set him apart from his classmates. This natural ethos set alongside an especially attention-getting speech (describing a personal nightmare to invigorate the audience to act as better global citizens) delivered with emotional power gave him the edge he needed to advance.
In the end, both Ashley and Vista proceeded to the CCTV Cup Anhui Provincial Finals in Hefei. In the course of the three day competition, both Ashley and Vista proved themselves a head above their peers. Vista’s small stature contrasted a bold confidence. With the support of Ms. Xie in organization and logic, his Impromptu Speech secured his reputation amongst the judges. Ashley waltzed through the Anhui Finals with little difficulty, almost always a point ahead. Even so, she kept a modest demeanor, which earned the respect of both the judges and her opponents. In the final round of debate Ashley and Vista shined in their strength, logic, humor, and respect for one another. Those 15 minutes held the audience in perfect attention. Deservedly so, Ashley and Vista earned first and second place securing a trip to the National Semi-finals in Beijing.
For Ashley this was a relief. This being her second attempt, a failure to advance would prove rather shameful since she had gone the first time. She dared to challenge herself again and now she was ready for the real test: would she be able to make the top 23 finalists? For Vista, this was a complete surprise. He had entered the competition for kicks, to improve his English and test himself a bit. Never did he imagine his talents would take him so far. I, of course, was not surprised. I was proud of both of them. Yes, the both of them had natural talent, but it was not talent alone that led them to their victories. Hard work and repeated practice, critical observation and careful analysis, all these must also be put in for success.
Ashley and Vista had spent hours overseeing their prepared speeches, perfecting the nuances of their gestures, the rise and fall of emotional energy in their voices. The two had practiced impromptu topics one upon another. They repeated asked one another questions to test their answering skills. The two weeks leading up to the Beijing, Ashley and Vista dedicated time aside from classes and examinations to analyze the 2006 competition on DVD. They noted the strengths and weakness of the speakers, discovering patterns that led certain people to the finals while leaving others behind. One of the cardinal rules of Public Speaking is to understand the wants and needs of the audience, in this case the judges. As a result I asked Ashley and Vista to consider and list what they believed the judges sought in observation. Although the time was limited, the preparation was comprehensive. It seemed Ashley and Vista had done all they could.
The week of the Semi-Finals at Beijing Foreign Studies University finally came. Neither Ashley nor Vista seemed especially nervous. If they were, they had certainly learned the art of appearing confident under pressure. After drawing lots, both were placed in the first of six rounds of competition the following morning leaving little time for more preparation. Again, the evening before brought no sense of nervousness, just the energy that intense competition naturally brings about.
The morning of the first round, the 14 contestants drew for places. By luck or fate, Ashley pulled the first place. She was to be the first speaker of the 91 contestants from all over China! Traditionally this is not a good place to be. The first speaker always suffers with having to make the first impression, not having any precedence for judges to compare with. Ashley was surprised, and yet she was not. She said she had a feeling she’d be first. In any sense, there was no time to be nervous or lament. Ashley took on the challenge as she had always. Her performance was stunning. Aside from a few grammatical mistakes, an occasional stutter over a phrase, the speeches was flawless in terms of organization and content. Even now I consider her prepared speech one of the most logically concrete of the 91 contestants. She was clearly the best of the first five speakers and the judges awarded her accordingly with a score of 95.49. After the first round she was first place. It was heard that the judges were all so impressed that they agreed Ashley had to go to the finals. Quite the first impression, don’t you think? I suppose it is not so bad to go first if you are prepared.
Vista pulled the seventh place, right in the middle of the round. Like Ashley, his performance was also strong. His prepared speech was given with conviction, his answers fairly clear. However, his score was almost certainly dropped during his impromptu speech. Though clear, he forgot his fourth point and somehow found himself with little time to finish his examples. He had over prepared his information. In addition, his prepared speech, though well delivered, lacked the logical strength that judges sought for the finals. In the end Vista placed a solid 82.48, ranking dead center at 7th place after the first round.
In an instant, their time in the Semi-Finals was over. It appeared Ashley has assured her place in the final 23, ranking 3rd total after two rounds. It seemed unlikely that in the next four rounds she would be knocked under 23. In fact, Ashley placed 5th out of 91 by the end of the semi-finals. Vista had done his best and earned a respectable score, ranking him dead center after two rounds. He would carry on his middle rank until the end, finally placing 55th out of 91.
It was the days in between the finals and semi-finals Vista found himself at perfect ease. He knew he had done his best, and having gone farther than he’d ever expected he was already satisfied. Ashley, on the other hand, began to foster some nervousness. Up until this point she had experienced everything once before in 2006. The finals in the CCTV studio were a new challenge. She wrote up a new prepared speech, set to speak during the second round of the finals as contestant number 11. Ashley used a combination of famous figures and personal life examples from her cousin to craft a speech on the topic of “taking on my challenges.” As a team, Vista, Ms. Xie, and I imitated the circumstances of the final as closely as we could, giving Ashley the chance practice her prepared, impromptu, and debate skills as if it were the real contest. We also reviewed the 2006 finals as well in order to assess dynamics and see what we could learn of help.
When the day for Ashley’s performance on the finals arrived, she could not help but be a little nervous. Yet this did not have any foreseeable effect on her demeanor. She maintained her bright smile, her confident posture. On the stage she spoke fluently, but an unawareness of time caused her to end her prepared speech early, followed by an overtime mark during the question and answer. Her impromptu speech was given magnificently with great clarity and logic. “Are Children Growing Up Too Fast?” was the topic and Ashley focused her points on the role of education and innocence in a child’s development claiming that children in the modern age do need more time to just be kids. The final round of debate proved to be especially difficult since the three debate members were intensely aggressive, at times rude by cutting her off. They continually tried to distract her from her own points to pull her toward side issues which threw Ashley off because they did not directly address some of her arguments. Despite the aggression, Ashley stood her place well and confidently warded off one attack after another. She showed no sign of nervousness, instead a good sense of resolve. Unfortunately she was unable to get the upper hand on offense. After ten minutes in the spotlight, Ashley was finally given a score of 94.59, placing her in 5th place. Only the top six would advance to the grand finals and there was a third round to go. Would Ashley be knocked out in the midst of the next 8 contestants?
Placing 5th after the second of three rounds is not an easy place to be in. The likelihood of being knocked out is high, especially with all the contestants of such a high skill level. Ashley appeared okay initially, but one could tell there was a sense of disappointment in her eyes. I don’t believe it was because she wanted to win the top prize so much as she knew she could have done better. Ashley is a young lady who seeks to perform at her very best, but I don’t believe she thought she had done that during the finals. I myself questioned some of the possibilities of what could be improved, but everything is easier in hindsight. Regardless, I was proud beyond words for her showing. After all, this is the farthest anyone from Anhui Normal University has ever gone in this competition.
When the dust had settled, Ashley was indeed pushed out of the grand final. The third round ended with the advancement of four students, knocking Ashley to 10th place over all. I don’t know about Ashley, but I was nervous that day, waiting for the final results. I dearly hoped she would have the opportunity to reach the top six because I knew she was easily talented enough for it, that she had a strength of spirit and charm others may not be able to see on first glance. Well, perhaps someone heard my prayers nonetheless, because during the contest’s closing ceremony, Ashley was awarded a “Judges’ Special Award.” Ashley and I laughed a bit about it because, quite frankly, no one knows what “Special” really means. As the lights went out and people began to scatter I got the chance to ask one of the judges just what such an award meant.
“Well, it just means she left a really good impression on us,” the judge said, “you know, there are so many contestants and as each round goes by, it’s hard to be sure of every choice or score. Afterwards the judges get together and look back, taking note of who should deserve something for their performance. We wanted to award those who didn’t get into the top six with an honor as well.” So maybe they did see what I saw in her, that unique and bright spirit for learning and critical thinking. Anhui Normal University certainly sees her as special, and I’m glad the judges do too.
In the end, the journey was an exciting one. For Ashley, it was two years in the making, from her first time learning to speak publicly as a freshman to today’s CCTV finalist as a junior. During this process I have had the privilege of coaching both Ashley and Vista in their speaking skills, but I think even more so I did my best to be an example of a life coach.
I have always believed good communication and public speaking skills to be key to not only basic success but also to matters of important influence. As a teacher I seek not only to fill my students’ heads with knowledge but also their hearts with a sense of ethics and character. My dream is that such knowledge, skills, and heart will one day lead students to accomplish tasks much greater than a TV appearance or a week trip abroad. I dream that the students I teach can lift people’s hearts up where they are broken, mobilize people’s passions to bring about positive change, to persuade and influence the world to build a truly harmonious society. Both Ashley and Vista have strong speaking ability, and by participating in this contest those skills are trained and honed for future use. Not only their speaking, but their very character molded ever so slightly through the process of preparation.
I do believe that this contest and the extra time I had with Ashley and Vista can contribute to their futures as potential leaders in areas of education or policy-making. Ashley has mentioned concern for helping to improve education, Vista declared in an impromptu speech that maybe he would like to be a public figure one day. They say public speaking is the leader’s language, and if these two bright students stay dedicated, I believe there is a great place for them in China’s future.
I dearly hope that they have seen this process, each day, as one in which hard work and dedication pay off. The late evening training sessions in the teaching buildings, the rehearsals in the hotel room, the walks through the diverse streets and hutongs of Beijing, I hope all of these experiences burn an impression on their hearts. I hope the conversations over Beijing style bean fried noodles, the questions asked in the halls of the Capital Museum, the time spent exploring ancient spaces like the Summer Palace, Bei Hai Park, or the Drum and Clock Towers can inspire and generate ideals that are worth pursuing and life worth living in service to China and the world.
The CCTV Cup English Speaking Competition for 2007 has ended for this year, but it is not the end for Ashley and Vista, nor myself. This contest has only been a small step of what I consider to be a long and great journey, a process of maturing and growing into a whole person capable of doing great things. For Ashley and Vista, I consider it a personal honor, one of the highlights of my time in China, to have walked with them this short stretch. Even more, I can’t wait to hear more about their journeys in the future.
November 20, 2007
Easten Law
外研社抽签现场
半决赛现场合影
安徽选手合影（左一为安工大孟燕妮）
（安师大团队 从左至右：谢娅莉、沈一劼、孔楠楠、 Easten在外研社报到现场）
