In order to create an environment to exchange knowledge as well as eloquence skill in English, the English Club of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance (UEF) with the helping hands from UEF English Language Department and British Council, we organized the UEF English Superstar Contest successfully.
First of all, over 90 candidates presented very interesting topics of their choice in the qualifying round. Before their own presentations, each person had different feelings but most of them seemed to be nervous. They could not control their feelings well so this might partly make them forget what they were going to present.
As a result, some did not have good marks like the other contestants who were confident and knew how to calm down. However, all of the competitors who took part in this contest were brave enough to get out of scare of speaking English in front of many people. All people tried to do their best to come up to the next round but only 20 contestants were chosen. On 15th April, an email showed a list of contestants who were chosen as follows:
1. Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Lan Anh
2. Ms. Bui Lam Kim Ngan
3. Mr. Dam Nguyen Hong Phuc
4. Ms. Nguyen Doan Phuong Uyen
5. Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Binh
6. Ms. Nguyen Dieu An
7. Mr. Vo Le Gia Khanh
8. Ms. Tran Hieu Thuan
9. Mr. Dinh Huu Thanh
10. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhat Linh
11. Ms. Nguyen Le Bao Tran
12. Ms. Huynh Thi Ai Xuan
13. Ms. Huynh Thuc My
14. Mr. Tran Minh Cuong
15. Mr. Nguyen Tan Thanh Dat
16. Ms. Ha Hieu Dinh
17. Ms. Ha Thi Mai Phuong
18. Ms. Doan Thi My Hien
19. Ms. Tran Minh Thu
20. Mr. Nguyen Vu An Binh
In the semi-final round, 20 competitors were divided into 5 groups with 4 members in each group. Five topics for five groups to choose were Earth Hour, Population Explosion, Homosexuality, Environment, and Idols. The group with the topic named Earth Hour was very creative. To start their presentation, they turned off all of the lights in the room and burned candles.
This action was like a message of the Earth Hour. The group presenting the topic Population Explosion was successful with an interesting example. They compared the world like a tank with a lot of fishes
The group that presented Environmental Problems had to present their topic at the beginning so they were rather nervous. Two other groups were very impressive thanks to their confidence and good presentation skill. Finally, our judges chose 10 competitors including 2 good groups and 2 best contestants. They were:
1. Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Lan Anh
2. Ms. Bui Lam Kim Ngan
3. Mr. Dam Nguyen Hong Phuc
4. Ms. Nguyen Doan Phuong Uyen
5. Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Binh
6. Ms. Nguyen Dieu An
7. Mr. Vo Le Gia Khanh
8. Ms. Tran Hieu Thuan
9. Mr. Dinh Huu Thanh
10. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhat Linh
In the final round, the contest was celebrated at Victory Hotel.
All competitors of this round had to be present at 4.00 pm to draw the position of their own presentation. They had two hours to prepare their speeches. They could use books, laptops, and so on as supplementary materials.
Besides, in this round, there were many special guests who came from British Council, UEF, and Oxford University Press. Especially, we were very glad to have the presence of Mr. Sean Caroll, the presenter from our special sponsor – British Council with the role as one of the examiners.
All of competitors completed their work very well. At the end, we had one first prize, one second prize, two third prizes, and six consolation prizes. Our judges were in a difficult situation to select who the winners would be. Finally, they made a good decision to send this list to us:
1st prize: Mr. Dam Nguyen Hong Phuc
2nd prize: Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Lan Anh
3rd prizes: – Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Binh
– Mr. Vo Le Gia Khanh
6 Consolation prizes:
- Ms. Bui Lam Kim Ngan
– Ms. Nguyen Dieu An
– Mr. Dinh Huu Thanh
– Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhat Linh
– Ms. Tran Hieu Thuan
– Ms. Nguyen Doan Phuong Uyen