Speech & Drama

Teaching as a performing art

I somehow find it weirdly comfortable to identify my profession as a performing artist. Be it an animated voice, an intense facial expression, an exaggerated gesture, a calculated pause, an impromptu joke, an inviting articulation, or even a sudden gaze, an expert language teacher can always use his/her natural expressivity to turn an ordinary lesson into an electrified and memorable experience for the audience. As a speech coach I hope to bring the best aspects of speech and drama in English learning to my students, and it is a fun thing to do for both parties!

The following performances, divided into Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival,Trinity Guildhall and London College of Music, are of selected trainees of mine over the years who excel at English language as a performing art. None of these, however, was recorded in the actual examination/competition session. Yet they are considered to be very similar to how they actually performed in their various occasions. I commented a little next to the clips and feel so proud for what they have achieved.

Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival (English)

Public Speaking - Be an organ donor

Oscar, Secondary 3 (9th Grade), tried to convince his audience that organ donation was something that we should do. He used a humble attitude and organized his speech in a friendly way using personal experiences and some data to back up his reasoning. No big emotion or powerful voice was used in this speech, yet a warm feeling of a sincere speaker was sent across.

Oscar was the Winner in his group at the Speech Festival.

Public Speaking - The Historical Figure I admire

Lachlan, Secondary 3 (9th Grade), presented to the audience his chosen historical figure. His spontaneous approach worked very well. His speech was highly organized and he showed a lot of ownership and passion in his work. His highlighting was effective and he closed his speech cleverly to echo with his introduction. This was a very convincing speech and a great tribute to his idol.

Lachlan was the Winner in his group with a score of Honours (90+).

Verse Speaking - Homework

Owen (Secondary 1, 7th Grade) was on fire as he brought alive Hoban's verse "Homework". His acting as a boy full of excuses when being asked to do homework was spot on and humorously cunning. His voice was projecting and full of character. His gesture was natural and he made his character very believable and fun to watch.

He received a Winner at the Hong Kong Schools Festival in this category.

Dramatic Duologue - Josh

Anson and Tom were Secondary 1 (7th Grade) and 2 (8th Grade) students respectively when their performance here was recorded. The excerpt performed was from Southall's novel "Josh" featuring a teenager Josh (played by Tom) and an annoying younger child's (played by Anson) interaction. The challenges of this duologue lies on believable characterization and how the people's movements can help push the narration forward.

Their act earned them a Winner at the Hong Kong Schools Festival in this category.

Verse Speaking - Football Training

Reagan (Secondary 1, 7th Grade) performed Warren's poem "Football Training" with good energy and dramatization. The narrator of the piece tells us the daily practice routine from Monday till the match on Sunday. The humour in the end was well captured here. The performer's gestures and movements were also natural and justified.

He received a Winner at the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival.

Verse Speaking - Good Company

Tom was a Secondary 1 (7th Grade) student when this clip was made. He attempted Leonard Clark's verse "Good Company" with a sarcastic interpretation in that the narrator is not really having a good company in his/her rather worrying living condition. He captured the poignant ending with subtlety and imagination. Also, his phrasing suited the rhythmic pattern of this piece.

This earned him a Winner at the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival – Open Group, with a score of Honours (90+).

Verse Speaking - An Alien Ate My Homework

This gentleman, Matthew, was a Secondary 3 (9th Grade) boy when this clip was filmed. He tackled Umansky's verse "An Alien Ate My Homework" with a fully-engaged style, convincing the audience that he was indeed the boy making excuses to his teacher. His gestures were authentic and stance was spontaneous. The heated spirit was evident.

The performance earned him a Winner at the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival.

Verse Speaking - The Cats' Protection League

Ivan here in this clip was a Secondary 2 student (8th Grade) when it was taken. He entered the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival with McGough's verse "The Cats' Protection League". He projected the meaning of the verse with energy through his voice and vivid facial expressions. The cunning tone of the Boss Cat and the narrator's frustration in the end were particularly well executed.

The performer was the Winner in his group with a score of Honours (90+).

Verse Speaking - My Dog

This gentleman, Justin, was in Secondary 1 (7th Grade) when he took part in the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival with Scannell's verse "My Dog". The boy broke free from the rhythmic pattern of the piece and added a considerable amount of spontaneity to the work. The outcome was a stunningly natural flow of emotion to portray the narrator's disappointing pet. His articulation, inter/intra-line mood changing and pace were highly polished and appropriate with a great sense of verse delivery.

The performer was the Winner in his group with a score of Honours (90+).

Public Speaking - Rewards and Punishments

Nicholas in this clip was a Secondary 3 (9th Grade) student when he took part in the Public Speaking Competition in the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival. The boy took a confident and aggressive approach to persuade the audience, the imaginary PTA meeting attendants, that he was an experienced educator skillful at applying rewards and punishment to the young. His pauses, stresses, and eye contact were authentic and functional. The speech flew logically at a friendly pace.

The performer was the Winner in his group.

Experience sum-up + receiving exam report

Lachlan was in Secondary 4 (10th Grade) at the time he took part in the Guildhall's Communication Skills Grade 8 examination. The examination involved two prepared speeches and an improvised speech with question-and-answer parts.

This video, however, does not show his speech prepared for the examination. It was instead his post-exam reflection. But in this video, he displayed his confidence and his skills in expressing himself in a mature and spontaneous manner. He talked about his memorable experience in the exam room and his training process, followed by his genuine expression upon receiving the exam report unexpectedly.

He passed the examination with Distinction.

Excerpt of "The Pearl"

This boy, Ivan, was in Secondary 3 (9th Grade) at the time he took part in the Guildhall's Speech and Drama Grade 8 examination. He chose "pain" as the theme of his programme. His act started with his own poem, followed by a prose extract, an old drama excerpt, and a modern play excerpt.

Being displayed here is the prose extract from Steinbeck's renowned novella "The Pearl". In this recording, he narrated the scene when the protagonist Kino returned to his village with his family after a tragic experience. Ivan sat down on a chair to do this storytelling with a sympathetic tone and sorrowful expressions to create the authentic mood to engage the listeners.

He passed the examination with Distinction.

"The Day I First Wore a Yellow Star"

This gentleman, Justin, was in Secondary 1 (7th Grade) at the time. He took part in the Guildhall's Performing Text Grade 8 examination with a speech programme on "adversity". His act contained a monologue from Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", Heaney's "Mid-term Break", his own work "The Hymn", as well as a narrative prose from BALLOONS Lit. Journal, "The Day I First Wore a Yellow Star", written by Dr Gervase Vernon.

Recorded here is the titled piece which was written with an interactive sense to the audience. The performer picked that up and delivered it as a speech to a young audience. The challenge is to act as an aged man who has experienced WWII in Europe with an unbroken voice. The performer generated an appropriate tone to raise credibility and spontaneity.

He passed the examination with Distinction.

Excerpt of the King's Speech

This gentleman, Curtis, was in Secondary 2 (8th Grade) at the time. He took part in the Guildhall's Performing Text Grade 8 examination with a speech programme on "wars", incorporating a famous speech, 2 war poems (one is a translated piece from Du Fu), and an original story, "Battle Field", which he wrote.

Being captured here is an excerpt of the famous speech made by King George VI during WWII. The King accepts challenge from Germany and unites the hearts and spirits of his people. This goes slightly faster than the original version because the performer here had little intention to imitate the emperor's medical condition in speech.

The performer passed the examination with Distinction.

Excerpt of "The Catcher in the Rye"

This gentleman, John, was in Secondary 1 (7th Grade) at the time. He took part in the Guildhall's Performing Text Grade 8 examination with a speech programme on "change", incorporating a principal's speech, a poem about education, his original story on school life, and a monologue from Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye".

The theme of his programme used to be "school life". But the performer had an intention to capture the change of roles in one's life and thus he altered the theme and his presentation packaging. This monologue in the book "The Catcher in the Rye" had a deviant and annoyed flavour which the performer handled rather well.

He passed the examination with Distinction.

Excerpt of "Emma"

This boy, Tom, was in Primary 6 (6th Grade) at the time. He took part in LCM's Speech & Drama Grade 8 examination with a poem, a prose and a dramatic excerpt. These pieces were unrelated in theme. His poem was on a tragedy, the prose was a classic narrative constructed by a dialogue, and the drama was from Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet".

The prose except captured here was from Austen's "Emma". It was a suggested text in the LCM's official anthology. In this excerpt, Frank conversed lovingly and playfully with Emma at the top of the hill with the presence of friends.

The examination also featured an essay component for which Tom researched on William Shakespeare.

He passed the examination with Distinction.

Excerpt of "Through the Looking Glass"

This gentleman, Matthew, was in Secondary 1 (7th Grade) at the time. He took part in LCM's Speech & Drama Grade 8 examination with a poem, a prose and a dramatic excerpt. These pieces were unrelated in theme. His poem was on music, the prose was a fairy tale, and the drama was from "Romeo & Juliet".

The prose except captured here was from Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass". It was a suggested text in the LCM's official anthology though they allowed own choice from elsewhere. In this excerpt, Alice converses with the ticket master on a carriage. She is accused of not having a ticket.

The examination also featured an essay component for which Matthew researched on William Shakespeare.

He received an overall pass with Merit in the examination.