Le Concours d’Art Oratoire – Article by Hasheem Hakeem, a Grade 11 student at Dr Charles Best School, who has competed in the French speaking competitions for many years.

January 2007! Not only the beginning of a new year but a time for both French immersion and Francophone students to begin preparing for the 24th annual “Concours d’art Oratoire”, a French public speaking contest in which courageous and talented students present a 3-5 minute speech on a topic of their choice.

Wow! It has been so many years since the concours d’art oratoire had started. For me, it started at the young age of seven when I was just in grade 2. My teacher had us present a speech to our class that we had written. For me, it came naturally speaking to a group of people and I honestly felt pretty comfortable doing it. At first, I thought I was weird because everyone was always so nervous whereas I didn’t think too much of it. At such a young age, I did not know that I had a unique talent but my teacher certainly did. After having made it to the district finals that year, I was content and enjoyed what I was doing. After all, who doesn’t like what they’re good at, it’s natural.

Since then, I have been competing in the concours d’art oratoire every year and I must say; it has been getting more and more competitive every year. Through a talent in public speaking, I managed to win the school finals 8 times: 3 during elementary school, 3 during middle school and currently 2 during high school. Following the school finals came district and even provincial finals. Even though I was never really nervous, it was natural to feel a little tense sometimes considering the competition became more serious every year, especially during provincials. Nonetheless, I never allowed this to lower my self-confidence but rather used it as a thrust for motivation. I successfully managed to win the district finals for 5 consecutive years and placed second in the provincial finals 3 times, in which two were from my 2 years in high school. Yes, it does kind of irritate me that I have not gotten first yet but that will definitely be my optimal goal for the next two years. I truly believe a competition like this is like any other; it requires practice, experience and initiative. Experience comes from so many years of hard work and applying the talent that one has to their goals. Practice is evident, it’s required in almost everything we do. The composition of such a speech is not at all as easy as it may seem but rather takes a lot of research, reflection and editing. A process that takes a long time but one that I have been willingly going through for almost 10 years now. And let’s not forget, my favourite part and most important part, the presentation! Standing up in front of all those people and reciting your memorized speech with expression intent and enthusiasm.

Not only is this a public speaking competition, but over the course of several years, has also become a tradition embedded in the French Immersion program; one of which I am truly proud of. Well, with only 3 months away, I know I can’t wait so let’s get preparing! Good luck to all and hope to see you all soon at the concours! 

--- Hasheem finished first this year in Grade 11 Immersion.  Bravo Hasheem!  You realised your dream!