Filipino Kid wins English Speaking Union (ESU) International Public Speaking Contest

Just because we are not "Native Speakers of English" doesn't mean that we can't whip the asses of so-called "native english speakers" that countries like Korea hire to teach its population and instead hire teachers that spells "Pagoda" as "pogoda" and "hurted". This is the second time a Filipino wins the top plum since it joined the ESU competitions in 2002. With the Philippines, one of the main players in BPO and Contact Center services- the country has a huge pool of highly skilled, well-educated English-speaking population that counts as one of the biggest in the world. Why not? Even the Philippine Constitution is in English, the executive, legislative and judicial proceedings are all in English, all the major newspapers are in English.



Filipino wins UK contest with fish mucus, fungus
By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:31:00 06/02/2008

MANILA, Philippines—While London was abuzz with the premiere of "Sex and the City" last month, a Filipino wowed Brits with a speech on fish mucus and foot fungus.

Gian Karlo Dapul, 16, won this year's International Public Speaking Competition conducted on May 9 by the English-Speaking Union (ESU) for his speech titled "Fish Mucus and Foot Fungus."

"I wasn't confident of winning. I wasn't planning on winning," Dapul told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Thursday. "On the plane I was just thinking: 'Yehey, I get to stay in London for a week.'"

The incoming senior at the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City was one of the youngest contestants, yet he bested 57 speakers from more than 30 other countries, including the United States, England and Australia.

Dapul is the second Filipino to top the competition after then University of the Philippines student Patricia Evangelista won in 2004, proving anew that foreigners can speak English well. Evangelista now writes a column for the Inquirer newspaper, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

The competition is one of the ESU's most popular international programs. The ESU is an international charity founded in 1918 with the aim of fostering international understanding through the English language.

Dapul acknowledged that the other competitors spoke more eloquently of their topics -- teenage sex, communism, the bane of Internet, yearning for peace -- but reckoned that the content of his speech gave him the edge.

Improbable items

He delivered a speech on the wonders that scientific research could do for the country's public health, citing for instance, researches on the curative powers of fish mucus and foot fungus.

"Although I'm only 16 years old and an incoming fourth year high school student, I know that my country has more problems than any Mathematics book. Strangely enough, the answers to some of our problems are fish mucus and foot fungus," he said in his speech. "These seemingly improbable items are products of what we call scientific research."

Dapul went on to point out that nudibranch, a soft-bodied sea creature, has been used in tumor research, that samples of fish mucus have certain antibacterial properties, and some types of infectious fungi that coat a person's toes "form beneficial relationships" that support plant growth.

"New challenges are coming, and they will always confront us. What we need is an army of scientific researchers that will help find the solutions in advance. I want to be part of the army that would cross the new frontiers first," he said.

By accident

In the interview with the Inquirer, Dapul said he learned of the ESU national competition in Manila by "accident" from a classmate -- a fellow member of the high school debating team --who prodded him to join for kicks. He almost didn't make it.

He signed up, but forgot all about it until the night before the April 8 competition.

"I checked it out, and shucks, I found out it was going to be held the next day. What's more, I didn't know I had to deliver a prepared speech. So I panicked," Dapul said.

So he locked himself in his room the whole night and wrote his speech in some five hours, finding the topic of scientific research "perfect" for the ESU theme of "New Horizons, New Frontiers."

"I crammed for my speech," he said, recalling that he wrote down his major ideas in bullet points.

The next day, Dapul, the fourth of six children, asked his mother Rosanna to drive him to the contest venue on the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City -- the first time he told his parents about the competition.

There, he found himself pitted against college students. But to his surprise and his parents', he was named one of the eight finalists that day, and the winner, the next day.

"We were all surprised. They were just telling me to do well so I could land second or third place," he said.

The national contest was initiated by a Philippine chapter of the ESU, which has been sending representatives to the international competition each year since it was formed in 2002 by a group of Filipino writers.

As the winner, Dapul represented the country in the ESU's international public speaking competition in London, and delivered essentially the same -- but more polished -- speech.

Last speaker

On May 5, Dapul traveled with his father Santi to London, and stayed for a day at the home of his brother Omar before he checked in at a hotel, an accommodation provided by the ESU.

During the semifinal heats at the ESU headquarters in Dartmouth House, the young Dapul was bracketed with 14 others, including native speakers of English from the United States, England and Australia. He was the first speaker.

"After my speech, I watched the others. They were really, really good. I felt nervous for the first time," he recalled.

In the end, only he and another Chinese student in their bracket moved on to the finals, along with six others, later held that day at the US Embassy. This time, he was the last speaker. After his speech, he fielded questions from the audience.

Scientific romance

"In the finals, I was more confident. As they say on 'American Idol' (reality talent show), the last spot is the winning spot. It gave me confidence because I saw what I was up against," he said.

"They had good delivery, but I had better content. That's what I told myself then," he added.

After he was declared the winner, Dapul was presented a winner's cup and a silver gavel. The cup stayed at the ESU headquarters for display. In November, he will be presented with a certificate at the ESU awards ceremony by Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, at Buckingham Palace.

Choosing scientific research as a topic was just natural for him, said Dapul, who has been a consistent director's list scholar and an officer of the student council since his freshman year.

By focusing on the topic, he was able to highlight potential researches, particularly those dealing with cures to diseases, waiting to be discovered, tested and applied.

Likes trains

"I thought that if people saw how our research can actually help, not only here but also internationally, the government might notice and start funding the research," he said.

Of his London experience, Dapul relished the rollicking fun he and the other students had while touring the city, including visits to the House of Parliament and a theater.

"The most exciting part was commuting on [subway] trains. I'm not really fond of the attractions. The trains were intersecting. It was easy to get on and off. It was very convenient," he said.


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