Carmel students receive gold medals for Mandarin speech
Three Carmel Catholic High School students received gold medals from the Eighth Midwest Chinese Speech Contest: freshman Renzo Ledesma and sophomores Calla Schultz and Coral Wang. The students, who are enrolled in Carmel Catholic's Mandarin class, were encouraged to enter the competition by their instructor, John Cannuli.
Hosted by Midwest Chinese Teachers Alliance and sponsored by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago and the Confucius Institute in Chicago, the Eighth Midwest Chinese Speech Contest took place March 5 at Northside College Preparatory High School.
Students currently enrolled in a Chinese program at the K-12 level and taught by an MCTA member were eligible to enter the contest.
The theme of the 2016 contest speeches was "Chinese and me." Students came up with individual speeches and speech titles in the context of this theme by reflecting on the value of learning languages and the impact it has on their lives.
Speech contestants were judged on four major criteria: pronunciation and tone, delivery, fluency, and content. Gold medals were awarded only to those students scoring a total of 90 percent or above.
The "Chinese and me" theme was an exciting one for Carmel Catholic students, who each have their own unique reasons for choosing to study the Mandarin language. For Wang, she believes it will provide her an edge when submitting college applications.
Ledesma enjoys the challenge of the language and notes its difference as compared with some of the more popular romance languages that are often studied by high school students.
"Unlike Spanish or French, I cannot use letters to help me pronounce words," he said. "While this makes studying Mandarin more challenging, it also brings me to realize how beautiful and different the language is. Every word is different in tone, pronunciation, and writing, and that makes every word unique."
Schultz has a personal connection to the language: "I chose to study Mandarin because I am an adopted Chinese," she said. "I really wanted to connect to my roots. I most enjoy being able to learn more about where I came from."
The contest was one of many experiences Cannuli provides outside of the classroom to further expose his students to the Mandarin language.
"I really liked the field trips and the lessons on culture - especially learning calligraphy," Wang said of her Mandarin class.
When asked about the value of studying the Chinese language, Cannuli points to the fact that one out of every five people in the world today speaks Chinese.
"Chinese does not share any similarities with the English language," he said. "Some students, as well as myself, have experienced one benefit of studying Chinese; that is, it helps with memorization. There is some logic to understanding the Chinese characters but, at the end of the day, you just have to sit down and memorize them."
Cannuli was thrilled with the students' performances, especially since this was their first competition. To celebrate their gold medals, the students enjoyed cake with their classmates at Carmel Catholic. In doing so, they thanked their teacher and the school for this opportunity.
"Carmel has provided me with a multitude of different experiences that I never thought I would have been able to do, such as this speech contest," Ledesma said.
"The Carmel community and teachers nourish me and encourage me to take advantage of opportunities such as these. These experiences also challenge me to be the best I can be, and to strive for higher achievements."
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