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Plain English Speaking Award Information

The Plain English Speaking Award encourages clear spoken English among NSW senior students, providing opportunities to enhance their public speaking skills. Eligible contestants must be aged 15-18 and represent their schools, with competitions held locally and regionally in 2024. The competition includes prepared and impromptu speeches, with prizes for winners and participation certificates for all contestants.

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10 views2 pages

Plain English Speaking Award Information

The Plain English Speaking Award encourages clear spoken English among NSW senior students, providing opportunities to enhance their public speaking skills. Eligible contestants must be aged 15-18 and represent their schools, with competitions held locally and regionally in 2024. The competition includes prepared and impromptu speeches, with prizes for winners and participation certificates for all contestants.

Uploaded by

eliatan936
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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NSW Public Speaking PESA

The Plain English Speaking Award

The Plain English Speaking Award aims to encourage the use of clear and effective
spoken English. Since its inception in 1978, the competition has provided an invaluable
opportunity for NSW senior students to improve their confidence and to develop their
speech-writing and public speaking skills. In 2024 the competition will run as series of
face-to-face local and regional finals, although there will be an option to compete
online if the nearest event is too far away.

Who is eligible to compete?


The Plain English Speaking Award is open to NSW government and non-government
secondary schools. Each school can enter a maximum of two contestants. Contestants
must be either Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. Contestants
must be between 15 and 18 years of age (inclusive) on 1 January 2024.

How do schools enter the competition?


The online entry form for the competition is available at www.artsunit.nsw.edu.au.
Entries should be submitted before close of business on Friday 4 March. All teachers
must provide a direct email address (your departmental address for government
school teachers) to assist with organisation.

How much does entry cost?


The entry fee for the award is $30.00 per government school student and $60.00
(including GST) per non-government school student. Government schools will
automatically be debited for this amount once the local finals are completed (please
advise your school’s finance department that this will occur). Non-government schools
will be invoiced after the local finals are completed. Please note that fees are due on
entry and cannot be refunded even where students might subsequently withdraw.

What are the speaking requirements?


At each stage of the competition students present both a prepared speech and an
impromptu speech. The prepared speech can be on any subject chosen by the
contestant. The speaking time for the prepared speech is 8 minutes with a warning
bell at 6 minutes, two bells at 8 minutes and a continuous bell at 9 minutes. There are
no restrictions on the subject matter for the prepared speech, so speakers can choose
any issue that they care about. The impromptu speech is on a subject chosen by the
adjudicator. Contestants receive 3 minutes of preparation time to write their
impromptu speech. The speaking time for the impromptu speech is 3 minutes with a
warning bell at 2 minutes, two bells at 3 minutes and a continuous bell at 3 ½ minutes.

Additional support for students


The Plain English Speaking Award is an inclusive competition.
If for whatever reason your students will require support to
enable them to participate, please contact the Speaking
Competitions Officer so that we can assist.

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What are the rules of the competition?
Other than the eligibility criteria and speaking times detailed above, it should also be
noted that contestants are not allowed to use any props or external aids such as
Powerpoint presentations during their speeches. They are encouraged to speak from
palm cards and must present without the use of a lectern or microphone. In the
impromptu section, all contestants in a final will receive the same impromptu topic.
Finally, note that speakers are expected to finish at or just beyond the official
speaking time. It will be considered poor timing to reach the continuous bell.

What are the adjudicators looking for?


The adjudicators will make their decision based on the matter, manner and method the
contestants employ in presenting their speeches. They will expect contestants to be
confident and engaging speakers. The speeches themselves should be developed
logically to a convincing conclusion in the time allowed. The adjudicators will in
particular be looking for knowledge of the subject matter, skilful development of the
theme and the effective use of plain English. Successful contestants are also
expected to demonstrate a balance of personal opinion and information in their
speeches, as well as a balance of humour and sincerity. Finally, adjudicators will give
equal consideration to the prepared and impromptu speeches in making their decision.

How does the competition run?


Schools may need to conduct their own internal competition to select two
representatives. The Speaking Competitions Officer will then advise all contestants of
the date and details of their local final which will be held between Tuesday 30 April
and Friday 17 May (Weeks 1 to 3 of Term 2). The winners of all local finals across the
state will proceed to regional finals which will be held at or hosted online at The Arts
Unit, Lewisham from Monday 27 May until Monday 3 June. Regional winners will
proceed to the state semi-finals which will be held at the Holding Redlich Offices,
Martin Place, Sydney on Friday 14 June. Three contestants from each semi-final will
then be chosen to proceed to the state final at the NSW Teachers Federation
Conference Centre on Friday 28 June. The state champion will proceed to a national
final which will be held in September.

What are the prizes?


The NSW winner will represent the state at the national final in September and will
receive a medallion along with a prize from our sponsors. The NSW winner’s school
will also receive the Australia-Britain Shield for Plain English Speaking and the
Westminster Stone. The 6 state finalists will receive medallions and prizes from our
sponsors. All students involved in the competition will receive a certificate
acknowledging their participation, with champion certificates also awarded to local
and regional winners.

Contact details
If you have any questions about the Plain English Speaking Award,
please contact Justine Clarke, Speaking Competitions Officer on
(02) 8512 1172 or email: [email protected]. You can
also check our website at www.artsunit.nsw.edu.au.

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