Yep – no doubt about it. We have the best students in the world! Smart, hard-working, and articulate.
And they had a chance to show off their talents on a recent Sunday afternoon. The English Department organized an English Contest, and invited all the English majors to participate. It was worth spending a hot, steamy Sunday afternoon watching the future of Viet Nam.
Here is a sampling of the contents – (Be sure to click on the photos to see a larger version.)
First was a public speaking contest. Each student had ten minutes to talk about the opportunities and challenges that await an English major graduate in Central Viet Nam.
This young lady is one of my writing students. She is poised and articulate. Her talk was very well
presented, but she did not win. I noticed that the students had their presentations memorized (in good Vietnamese tradition), but they did not sound as though they were simply reciting words. They put emotion and expression into their talks. In her case, she even knew how to walk around a little bit to help hold attention. Contestants also had to field a question from the judges at the end of their talk, and they all showed they had a true grasp of the subject. Notice her ao dai (say ow yie). This is the traditional dress of Vietnamese women, and is worn on dress-up occasions. Its not formal – just dressy. In the future, I hope to write an entire story on the ao dai.
There was also a “Vignette” contest in which a group of students from the same class put on a 
short play with no props. In this picture, a group of students from one of Cindy’s first year speaking classes takes their turn performing.
There was a translation contest in which teams had to make a fast translation from Vietnamese to English, and the other way around. Best translation in the shortest period of time won.
My favorite was the quiz. Teams competed by answering such questions as “What Nguyen king was on the throne when the French invaded Viet Nam?” Hey – I knew the answer to that! I also knew the answer to “What is the smallest state in America?”
This time, I was not asked to judge any of the four contests – but I have no doubt I will be asked to do so in the future. Being a judge will mean tough decisions – these kids are good!