Chinese students gathered for some healthy language competition at the annual Chinese Speech Contest, testing their language competency in the categories of speech, essay writing and musical performance. The results are in!
PROVO, Utah (March 24, 2015)—From musical performances to Chinese speech recitation, this year’s Chinese Speech Competition offered a variety of experiences in which beginning, intermediate and advanced Chinese students were able to show off their language skills.
Competitors either demonstrated Chinese-speaking abilities through recitations of memorized Chinese speeches, timed essay writing or musical numbers performed in Chinese.
Students also enjoyed dressing up in Chinese-themed clothing, singing Chinese covers of popular songs such as NSYNC’s “Bye, Bye, Bye” and even wearing effeminate wigs and chopsticks in their hair.
Roland Laboulaye, a Chinese student minoring in information systems and this year’s winner of the music contest, shared his thoughts on the event and why he valued the opportunity to gather with other Chinese students at the competition.
“The Chinese Speech Contest, like so many other Chinese department events, is really more of a celebration of Chinese culture and language than a competition,” said Laboulaye.
He added, “I know that I’m not alone in saying that I treasure the chance to gather with other enthusiasts and be reminded of the excitement, respect and admiration that Chinese culture awakens in me.”
Camaraderie aside, the College of Humanities recognizes the following individuals as winners of this year’s Chinese Speech Competition:
In the category of speech, beginning speech winners were William Jackson (1st place), Donovan Baltich (2nd place) and Ron Sloop (3rd place). Intermediate speech winners were Jacob D. Christensen (1st place), Amy Sprouse (2nd place) and Alexander Grasley (3rd place). Advanced speech winners were Isaac Stevens (1st place), Adam Hansen (2nd place) and Laurie Haupt (3rd place).
In the category of essay writing, intermediate essay winners were Seth Anderson (1st place), Brenton Mangum (2nd place) and Matthew Bradley (3rd place). Advanced essay winners were Katie Cutler (1st place), Yi Ra Choi (2nd place) and Stephen Patterson.
In the category of musical performance, the winners were Roland Laboulaye and Taylor Heinzlmeir (1st place), Sarah Bennion, Matthew Erickson, Jorgen Sumsion and Nick Flint (2nd place) and Sarah Nichols, Micheele Bywater and Lizzi Perkins (3rd place).
—Sylvia Cutler (B.A. English/French ’17)
To view a collection of photos from the event, visit the Chinese Speech Contest flick.r account.
