St. Cloud State University is honored to host the Midwest High School Chinese Speech Contest. The competition is co-sponsored with the Chicago Consulate General of the People's Republic of China. It provides a stage to showcases achievements of Midwest high school Chinese learners and teachers, as well as to select the most qualified candidate to represent the Midwest in the Global High School Chinese Bridge Speech Contest to be held in China.

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Eligibility: 

All current grade 9-12 high school Chinese language students in the Midwest recommended by local Chinese Teachers’ Associations, or selected schools with Chinese language programs are eligible to participate. However, heritage native speakers of Chinese who came to the U.S. after the age of 13 are not eligible. The Organizing Committee of the Contest and SCSU reserve the right to make the final decision on candidates’ eligibility to participate in the contest.

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Levels of competition:

Contestants will be divided into 5 Levels based on their HSK test result if they have one, or based either on the number of years they have studied Chinese or the number of years they lived in China if they don’t have an HSK score:

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• Heritage Level: for Students who reside in a home where Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese or any Sino-Tibetan language or dialect) is spoken to anyone on any occasion or where he or she may rely on one or more native, heritage or other Chinese-speaking members of the household or immediate family to speak or to study Chinese, or that the participant has spent a combined total of more than 2 years in a Chinese speaking country or region.

• Level 1: for Students who have passed HSK 2 or under, or students who have studied Chinese for 2 or less years, or students who had lived in China for 3 months or less.

• Level 2: for Students who have passed HSK 3, or students who have studied Chinese for more than 2 but less than 3years, or students who had lived in China for more than 3 but less than 6 months.

• Level 3: for Students who have passed HSK 4, or students who have studied Chinese for 3 or more years but less than 5 years, or students who had lived in China for more than 6 months but less than 12 months.

• Level 4: for Students who have passed HSK 5, or students who have studied Chinese for 5 or more years, or students who had lived in China for more than 1 year but less than 2 years.

 

Format of competition:

1. Preliminary contest

    ALL registered contestants are required to submit two pieces of video recordings on YouTube by Saturday, June 17th, 2023.

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• Speech in Mandarin (no editing allowed): contestants of Level 1 and Level 2 will deliver a 2–3-minute original speech at regular speed on a topic of their own choice; contestants of Level 3, Level 4 and Heritage Level will deliver a 3-5 minute original speech at regular speed on the topic of "Joy and Fun with Chinese";

• Chinese Talent Show (editing allowed): contestants will demonstrate their talent in an area that highlights one aspect of Chinese culture, such as Chinese music, painting, calligraphy, martial arts, dance, etc. within 2-3 minutes.

 

All submissions will be viewed and judged by a designated panel of experts. The maximum score each contestant could get is 100 (speech 70 + talent 30).  Each contestant will receive one of the following two types of awards based on their performances: Award for Successful Participation or Award for Excellent Performance.

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Only recipients of Award for Excellent Performance will have the chance to compete at the Final Contest for the first, second, and third prizes at their respective level.

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2. Final Contest: ALL qualified contestants will compete in two categories via Zoom on Saturday, June 24th from 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM CST

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    Zoom Link: https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/99964700391

    Meeting ID: 999 6470 0391

    Passcode: Chinese

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• Impromptu speech: contestants of Level 1 and Level 2 will answer 4 impromptu questions that are based on their original speech; contestants of Level 3, Level 4 and Heritage Level will give a 60-90 second impromptu speech on given topics;

 

The maximum of each contestant’s score will be 100 (speech 70 + question response 30)

 

Final Awards and Prizes:

Each contestant’s final score will be the sum of the scores from both the preliminary contest and the final contest. The finalists will receive a certificate and an Amazon gift card.

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• Outstanding Individual Award: Three students with the highest total score in Level 4 will win the first, second, and third prize of this award, respectively. The first prize winner will receive a free trip to China to represent the Midwest in the 15th global Chinese Bridge High School Speech Contest to be held in China in fall of 2023 (providing international travel is permitted.)

• Excellent Chinese Learner Award: the top three students of Levels 1-3 and heritage level will receive this award.

• Gift Cards: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in each category will win an Amazon gift card of $100, $75, and $50 respectively.  Every participant will be eligible for a $10 participation award. 

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For any questions please email Andrew.stanoch@stcloudstate.edu