Media Press Releases Burnaby Student Wins Big at Provincial French Public Speaking Competition
| Burnaby Student Wins Big at Provincial French Public Speaking Competition |
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Released: May 7, 2008 Moscrop Secondary graduating student Livia Poljak (second from right) dazzled the judges with her oratory prowess at the 25th annual Concours d’art oratoire, a French public speaking competition organized by Canadian Parents for French. Her topic? “The benevolent dictator, all about my own desire to be a teacher and to have complete control of an entire class,” she laughs. Livia won in the Late French immersion category at the May 3 event held at SFU Surrey. Now she is off to Ottawa to compete in the National Concours to be held May 31, 2008. Livia began competing in the Concours the year she enrolled in late French immersion in 2002 and won first place in her category the next year. Every year since then, she has been in the top three but this year is the last year she was eligible to participate, so victory was sweet. “There was a lot riding on this year’s competition. I really wanted to win so that I could go to Ottawa at the end of May to compete in the Nationals,” she stated. “I felt fine presenting my speech, but the wait for the judge’s results was excruciating!” What makes Livia’s victory particularly unique is that she didn’t speak English or French as a young child. Her family immigrated to Canada from the former Yugoslavia when Livia was four. She quickly picked up English and by grade six, was ready for a new challenge. Late French immersion was perfect for her. “Signing up for late immersion is one of the best things I have every done. The new language skills really helped my English too,” she laughed. “I finally understand what a dangling participle is!” Livia won a $2000 scholarship to the University of Ottawa; the Prix Trudeau cash award of $100 from the Canadian Club of Vancouver; a subscription to L’Express du Pacifique, a Vancouver French language newspaper and an all expenses paid trip to Ottawa. She acknowledges her teachers and parents who have engendered a love for learning languages, but she mostly credits her grandmother, who taught Hungarian and Serbian in the former Yugoslavia. Livia’s impressive language résumé includes English, Hungarian, Serbian and French. The 2008 BC Provincial Concours d’art oratoire had 290 competitors and 70 winners placing first, second or third. There were 36 judges and 34 volunteers. Canadian Parents for French BC & Yukon Branch is a non-profit organization that has worked for more than 30 years to provide French-Second-Language learning opportunities for youth, support for parents, and advocacy for quality French programs in our schools. The BC & Yukon branch is by far the largest with 8,500 members. For more information, please contact: Nancy Taylor
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