Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

The best advice I ever received about competitions was from a racing driver! "Don't focus on winning, focus on developing your talent; treat every race like another practice session. If you win, great! If you don't, you learn from your mistakes." Brilliant advice and something that parents can keep in mind when helping their student prepare for the speech festivals. Remember: there is only one winner but every participant can learn from the experience. When you first get the poem, read it through together and work out what the story of your piece is. Have your child retell the story to you, using their own words, so you can help them to really understand what tone the poem needs. The most important step in your preparation is helping your child to memorise their poem. Once they know it upside down and back to front, now you can start to add colour. Think of adding variation in volume, pitch, pace and don't forget facial expressions. If the latter are elusive

The HKSMSA festival dates have just been announced. Students will have had their poems for a few weeks now. A common question from parents is 'how can we help?' Brandon has a few suggestions: 1: Come to one of our Speech Festival Prep classes (of course!) 2: Read the poem through with your child and get them to retell the story to you. Do they understand all the language? If not, look up the words together. 3: Mark up the poem with the relevant emotions. Play with the voices and add in facial expressions. 4: Practice whenever you can in front of family members. Most importantly.... The Speech Festival is a brilliant way to build confidence, encourage your child irrespective of their final result!

I had a wonderful piece of news from one of my students today: she had won first place in one of the poetry reading categories of the HK Schools Speech festival. Here are some of the reasons why: 1: She knew her poem. This sounds basic but it is easy to forget words under stress unless you know them back to front, inside out and upside down! Choose a poem which offers you scope. 2: We talked about the meaning of the poem. Unless you understand the theme and story of the poem, it is almost impossible to convey the meaning. 3: We worked and worked to add variety of pace, pitch and volume. A poem is a conversation between the poet and the audience which is interpreted by the reader. Make your listeners want to happen by adding colour. Most importantly, she practiced! A lot. A wonderful student who worked incredibly hard and received an excellent reward. Even if you don't win, entering the competition with the three key steps in mind will ensure that you have learned a va

We have had a few requests for lessons at Brandon this week which have reminded me that the HK Schools' Speech Festival is on the horizon again! I did my first speech festival a LONG time ago but the general concept hasn't changed. Here are a few things to be thinking about: Classes - there are so many options to consider. I particularly like teaching Bible Speaking as I feel that, to excel in this area, the speaker really needs to understand the verses in question. The HKSMSA website has the syllabus up already:  Have a look here for the different classes Get the right piece! It sounds obvious but last year at Brandon Learning Centre, we had five students who came in with incorrect versions of their poems. The source of the poem is specified in the HKSMSA syllabus. If you choose prose reading classes, you will also need to get hold of a copy of the book. Memorisation - once you have your piece, the first step is to understand the texts. The second step is to memorise i

Brandon Learning Centre specialises in speech and the HKSMSA speech festival is one of the high points of our year. When preparing a poem for a speech festival, it is tempting to skip the first step which is to understanding the meaning of every word. Poets choose their words carefully and it is impossible to convey the real meaning of your verses without understanding them! For some of our students, this might mean sitting down with a dictionary and then discussing possible meanings with others. One idea is to ask your child to retell the story of the poem to you. If they can't do this, you might want to discuss the piece together. Once you have understanding, you can add expression and convey the meaning of the poet's words to your appreciative audience!  

I watched one of our Brandon students practising for the HKSMSA Speech Festival today. She has a terrific voice and the interpretation of her poem is sensitive and engaging. In short, a terrific performance. If you are preparing for a speech festival, try to focus your efforts on your voice and face. Your facial expressions should follow and complement your voice. Try the following: Practice by reading in front of a mirror. Does your face show the emotion you are trying to put into your voice? If not, is it working against you? After a few readings, you will be able to understand the connection between your two main tools and will start to create a perfect performance!

If you have just returned to school and have been invited to participate in the HKSMA Speech festival, the next few posts may be of interest! Rule one: When entering a Speech Festival, try to find a class you will enjoy. You have a variety to choose from: bible reading, prose reading, public speaking, poetry reading. Think of your voice, what each class requires of competitors, your own skill set and select your class with care. Next time: I think I used to know that or how to remember your piece!

Our first Speech Festival students of this year performed yesterday and, despite nerves, managed to enjoy the experience. Well done Jenny, Hayley and Alex on your first place prizes and Alvina for your second place. For students who are yet to compete; don't forget to warm up, smile and be confident. The Festival is about gaining experience, not winning. Savour the powerful feeling you get when you have a whole room of people listening to you and remember it whenever you need an extra push in the future. Good luck to all of you.

It's that time of year again! All over Hong Kong, thousands of students are trying to make sense of poetry, prose and bible readings in preparation for the HKSMSA Speech Festival. At Brandon, we have worked with hundreds of students who have been preparing for the competition. Our message is this: prepare, relax and do your best! Only one person may win but everyone who takes part should be proud of their achievements. So, short of coming to Brandon Learning Centre, how can you prepare? Over the next few weeks, I will be giving advice to help you get ready to impress. Part one: preparation 1: Read the poem through. Read it to yourself first and then read it outloud. 2: Think about the meaning. What is the poet trying to say? If you aren't sure what certain words mean, look them up. 3: Do you like the poem? If it doesn't grab you straight away, try to find something in the language, rhythm or the theme that speaks to you. A poem you are in sympathy with is a poem you will pe