I have been able to really speak my mind in English with the OTE – Provincial English Talent Contest of the year 2021-2022. Here, I had the opportunity to work in a team and become close with team members Thao Nguyen and Ho Thuc as well as directly compete with schools in the province, including specialized schools. Indeed, this is one of the activities that Nhi will never forget.
🌟 First round
The requirement of this round was a video with a length of about 5-6 minutes with the topic we received that year, “A happy school”. With this topic, it was actually quite easy for us to come up with ideas because we were all 16, 18 and had a lot of sharings and thoughts about the school environment. Together we planned quite carefully from the script, the lines to the acting… a lot of things to consider. Not only in terms of content, but all of us have to consider together how to make the video attractive and properly staged. Sometimes because they were all busy with class schedules and exams (the date of the OTE exam was quite close to the semester exam), the three of us had to work on Google Meet at night. Additionally, another very important factor was the “supporting cast”. We not only asked our classmates, but also other teachers for the casting! Everyone had a great time working together as a team and pulled out such an excellent performance!
Watch the video here! Video OTE 2021-2022
🌟 Passing the first round, what did we do to prepare for the final round?
Coming to the second round, which took place in Tam Ky, of course, we had to prepare more carefully and seriously. Round 2 included quite a few different parts such as Catch the word, Listening and the part with the most points is eloquence about a randomly given topic. For the two parts Listening and Catching the word, we could actively practice at home or on social platforms like Youtube. However, as for the rhetoric part, it was imperative that the whole team work together to create a speech that would be not only persuasive but also interesting and thought-provoking. More difficult for us at that time was that the OTE contest schedule was pushed back quite close to the semester exam as well as the topic was sent to the teams very late, making the preparation time shortened. Therefore, through preparing for round 2, we all learned a lot about time-management skills and effective teamwork.
At that time, remember that whenever we had free time, or received permission from our teachers, we would immediately run up to our meeting room to complete the script and then rehearse the scene together. Each person would be assigned to be in charge of a certain number of topics and then discuss together to agree on ideas.
There were also some fun memories throughout our journey to the contest, one of which was my teacher, Mrs Binh, she even called the whole team to her house, and treated us with hot bowls of pho! We were together eating and sharing about our studies and family with each other. That was so fun!
On the day they arrived in Tam Ky, checked in at the hotel, everyone rushed to see each other’s rooms. I, Nguyen and our teacher, Mrs Binh, shared a room, while Thuc was in the next room. I remember at that time both of us were envious of Thuc’ư spacious and luxurious room. That night, we all went out to eat together, walked around and had time chatting with each other, and started rehearsing the topics. At that time, I felt like we were like a real family, encouraging ourselves to be confident and telling each other to rest well. Three of us sat down and talked to each other about other teams, about the competitions…
Fortunately, our team’s presentation was on the second day, so we could have a chance to see and learn from other teams. And finally, it was our turn. Before the presentation, we would be invited to enter the waiting room where we would be given the topic. We all put our hands together and prayed to be given an “easy-to-swallow” topic and that day’s topic was about Reading books. Although it was not our favorite topic, it was also an easy topic to talk about. Everyone immediately started rehearsing together…
“Please welcome the next team, Sao Nam High School, to take over the stage!”. It’s time for the real battle. I thought we would be shaking on stage but who knew we were so excited that the stage was shaking! The three decided to create a play with me and Thuc as the two kids and Nguyen as the mother. Thanks to the quite realistic and interesting situations as well as the confidence of the team, the delivery of the topic went very smoothly. Not to mention the questions from the judges, even though we didn’t practice before, the way each of us gave our answers was very creative and clever with each other, no ideas were duplicated.
Watch the video of the final round here!
At the award announcement ceremony, the three of them held each other’s hands tightly, once again praying together, everyone was nervous and worried. And with all the effort and preparation, the team was awarded the Second Prize with well-deserved applause and praise from other schools and teachers. Now, no one was afraid or nervous anymore! Thank you for all of my teachers’ encouragement and engagement, thank you to the whole team for always striving. The two days of the contest were really explosive and memorable to me!
Be the twinkling stars,
Nhi Bui