About two months ago, Matthew was given an assignment in Chinese school. He had to write a speech about his journey in learning to speak Chinese. Easier said than done. The assignment sat on the kitchen table for about two weeks before he even drafted the speech. I had to help him translate some of the words and then convert the speech into pinyin and write out the traditional Chinese characters. He handed the speech in and the teacher modified it a bit and sent it back.Today was presentation day. All the upperclass had to present their speeches to a panel of judges. OK, he wasn't expecting judges. He thought he just had to read it out loud and then take a bow. He was a good sport. He did recite his speech, though not from memory. All the kids did well today. The speeches are something to help them get comfortable with public speaking in Chinese. Hopefully this will give him more confidence and he'll do it more often.
