
On Dec. 18, 2020 the 3rd Annual Maple Leaf English Speech Contest was held at MLIS Chongqing. The competition was open to all MLES elementary schools, middle schools, and high school students. Teachers and staff also participated in a separate category.
42 finalists from 8 educational districts were selected from preliminary competitions held across the MLES system. Over 780,000 viewers watched the seven-hour contest online.
Judges at the final included Mr. Peter Froese, Ed.D., Mr. Molenda, Director of the Global Recruitment Office, Ms. Zhai Xia, Director of ESL Center, Mr. Michael Brown, Principal of MLIS Wuhan International Program, Mr. Jason Neil, Principal of MLIS Chongqing International Program, Mr. Harry Nguyen, Principal of MLIS Yancheng International Program, and Mr. Liu Yang from Group ESL Center.
Elementary school and middle school finals were held in the morning. Candidates from elementary school junior group gave a 1-2 minute speech and performed an English related talent show. Candidates from elementary school senior group gave a 2-3 minute speech and had 1 minute of Q&A.
Middle school finalists spoke for 2-3 minutes and then had 1 minute of Q&A. Finalists spoke on the themes of how to be a useful person, protecting the environment, cherishing their homeland, or their understanding of heroes.
In between sessions, MLES students performed martial arts showing Chinese culture, a science ‘magic’ show, dance performances honoring COVID-19 heroes against and an original poetry recitation.
The afternoon session included high school finalists giving a 3-4 minute speech with a Q&A session afterwards. In the adult group finals, staff and teachers shared how they have grown at MLES and how they strive for “excellence in education.”
Mr. Peter Froese, Ed.D., Superintendent of International Programs, concluding remarks. Ms. Zhai Xia, director of the Group ESL Center, hosted the award session and congratulated all the winners.
MLES thanks the participants, congratulates the winners and looks forward to the 2021 competition.