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pleasant surprise, and a form of recognition.     by the poem.
            Most importantly,  it’s a  new  source of
            encouragement. I’m grateful to the judges and     How do you handle performance
            my mother, who has always been my biggest         anxiety or stage fright?
            supporter.
            Tan Yee (3 Zhong): Since this was my first time   Evonne (5AC Zhong):
            winning champion i an English poetry recital
            competition, it’s very meaningful to me. I only   I whisper words of affirmation to myself before
            joined because no one else from my class was      stepping on stage. It boosts my confidence.
            interested, so winning showed me that I can do
            well in this and it has motivated me to participate   Chloe (3 Lian):
            again next year.                                  I try to avoid looking directly at the judges while
 The management team of the Department of English Language the organising committee and   reciting my poem.
 student volunteers from English Language Society

 Can you walk us through your process   I did. I made a few changes to my body   Is  there a particular moment in your
 of interpreting the poem? How did you   movements and adjusted how I delivered the   performance that  you  are especially   What  advice would you give to  your
 connect with its emotions and theme?  final lines of the poem to emphasise the pride   proud of?  friends who want to participate next
 of the civilian character I portrayed.                       year?

 Dameera (4S Xin):   Yi Ming (5AC He):
 I started by reading the poem several times to   :DV  WKLV  \RXU  ¿UVW  SRHWU\  UHFLWDO   Yes, it was when I recited, “CANON TO THE   Eugene (6S Zhong):
 understand its meaning and subtleties. Then, I   RIGHT, CANON TO THE LEFT, CANON RIGHT   Just go for it! No matter the outcome, taking
 connected with it emotionally by reflecting on   competition? If  not,  how did this   IN FRONT OF THEM.” It had that robust and   that first step is what counts. Give it your best
 my own feelings. I imagined Mother Nature   experience compare to others?  intense energy that felt just right for me.  effort and good luck!
 as a living being and thought about how she
 would interact with the four seasons, deepening   Eugene (6S Zhong):   Jordania Lily (3 Li):   Mikhaeyla (2 Ren):
 my understanding of the poem.  No, this wasn’t my first competition. The biggest   I’m proud of how I delivered the line, “and no   My advice is to just do it. Let your passion and
 difference this time was the lack of preparation   longer forget who robbed me last year, who   emotions  flow through you. There’s no right or
 Jordania Lily (3 Li):   time. I had only two days and the morning of   played me for a fool.” My voice quivered, adding   wrong in poetry, and that’s the beauty of it — you
                                                              can express yourself  however you like. You’re the
 I first worked on understanding the poem and its   the competition to get ready, which made it   a dramatic effect of anger and frustration that   captain of your own ship.
 message. Then, I analysed the emotions needed   challenging but ultimately rewarding.  I’m proud of. It delivered the emotions portrayed
 for each sentence. Watching videos of poetry
 recitals helped me improve my pronunciation   Jordania Lily (3 Li):
 and acting.  No, I participated once in JM1 and received
 a consolation prize. I worked harder this year,
 hoping to place in the top three, and I am
 Did you make any last-minute   happy I did.
 adjustments before going on stage?


 Yi Ming (5AC He):   What does winning  this competition                       Winners of the Junior Category
 Yes, as an introvert, expressing emotions doesn’t   mean to you personally?   and the management team of the
 come easily to me. So I focused on holding onto                               Department of English Language
 my emotions and remembering to smile.  Dameera (4S Xin):
 Having won Champion in the Senior Category
 Mikhaeyla (2 Ren):   means a lot to me. It was an unexpected but








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