64 voices, 1 language
BY JACKIE FERNANDEZCan you imagine sitting in a room with 64 accomplished speakers from 37 different nations, all talking at the same time?
This was the scenario recently at the introductory meeting for the participants of the International Public Speaking Competition 2005 convened by the English Speaking Union in London.
As director-general of the ESU Valerie Mitchell said, the competition was not all about winning the coveted “Best Speaker” prize or the chance to be in London again in November to meet the Duke of Edinburgh. It was also a golden opportunity for the speakers to meet their counterparts from all over the world – share their cultures, experiences and form lasting friendships in the process. This rang true not only for the speakers but also for chaperons and other accompanying adults.
Among the group were 10 accompanying adults, including teachers from Lithuania, Serbia, Holland, Morocco, trainers from South Africa, Italy and organisers from Georgia, Lebanon and of course, Malaysia. The teachers from Lithuania and Serbia were somewhat intrigued at our first meeting – they found me a “novelty” as they had never come across an Indian before. So I was invited to be photographed with them and was asked if they could touch my skin!
From the outset, the brief to all the adults was to “just be on the fringe” of all the activities arranged for the young speakers, and to observe from a distance with allowances being made for the compulsory picture taking of our respective participants. There were those who were a little too obsessed with digitally documenting their speakers’ every move on digicams, digital cameras and camera phones. One, however, was occupied with a pair of knitting needles!
Day Two saw the speakers being assigned allegiances to political parties that made up Parliament in the mythical kingdom of Alocos and these parties were to debate on and pass constitutional amendments on the adoption (or otherwise) of English as an official language in Alocos.
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Best Speaker and Audience’s Choice Peng Xia of China (centre) flanked by runner-up, Morocco’s Rita Lahlou (left) and Best Non-Native Speaker Samia Badih of Lebanon with their awards. |
In their respective rooms, the sound levels (and sometimes tempers) often reached fever pitch as a consensus seemed impossible. The teams were supposed to formulate policies and arguments for the next day’s “parliamentary session”.
Some of the adults flitted in and out of the three rooms to observe the sessions, at the same time consuming vast quantities of delicous Lithuanian chocolate! Consensus seemed elusive at first but soon, the groups managed to appoint leaders, ministers of education and finance to represent them at the parliamentary session.
Day Three saw the convening of the Alcosian Parliament in the Long Drawing Room at Dartmouth House. Self-appointed benevolent, life-long “Speaker of the House”, Probert called Parliament to order and a “point of information” style of debate commenced.
As the speeches were made, there were interruptions, loud cheers and thumping of tables within the 15th century building in central London. Things got so heated that the “Prime Minister”, US representative Brendon Ruiz, resigned his post and “defected” to the Socialist party! His position was assumed by Argentinian speaker, Fernando Racimo, who had for the most part of the day been quiet until he staged a “takeover” of the Prime Minister’s post!
The depth of understanding, the ease with which speakers (mainly non-native English speakers) put their points across in English, impressed everyone. The pros and cons of adopting English as an official language, the possibility of losing one’s own culture and language and the importance of English globally dominated the debate that afternoon.
Proceedings sometimes got a little heated which forced Probert onto his feet calling for order at various points. What came across during the proceedings was how different speakers viewed the importance of language in their respective culture and country – but they all recognised the importance of the need for a global language in today’s borderless world.
It was indeed an eye-opener for all concerned and a worthwhile experience for all of us. Where would one find a teacher from Serbia, another from Lithuania, a South African trainer and a Malaysian marketing services executive exchanging ideas and thoughts with others from Holland, Georgia, Morroco and Italy! The camaraderie fostered by the speakers rubbed off onto us chaperons.
The English Speaking Union has to be commended for its efforts in bringing together the biggest group of speakers yet for this year’s competition. The sheer number of participants from non-native speaking countries stands testament to the truly global nature and reach of the language.
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