We are excited to announce that our annual Chinese Speech Contest will take place on Friday the 8th May. This year’s theme is “Building Bridges Through Chinese Language” This competition aims to encourage participants to showcase their Chinese language speaking skills and promote cultural learning. We welcome everyone who meets the criteria to join us in this exciting event!
When: 1pm-4pm, Friday, 8th May, 2026
Where: The Confucius Institute for Scotland, Abden House, 1 Marchhall Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 5HP.
Theme: Building Bridges Through Chinese Language
Format: Participants will be required to deliver a 3-minute speech in Mandarin on the topic of Building Bridges Through Chinese Language, including a brief self-introduction.
Who: Eligible contestants must be over 14 years old and learning Chinese as a foreign language. Native speakers of Mandarin Chinese are not eligible.
How:
The judging panel will score based upon the following criteria:
- Content: Contestants will be judged on the relevance of their speech to the theme, the clarity of their central message, the logical structure of their presentation, and the depth or originality of their ideas.
- Vocabulary and grammar: Vocabulary and grammatical structures should be appropriate and varied. Absolute grammatical perfection is not required; minor errors are acceptable provided they do not impede communication, and that the speech demonstrates genuine use of Chinese rather than reliance on English language structures.
- Fluency and pronunciation: Contestants should demonstrate the ability to speak at a natural pace with reasonable fluency, without excessive reliance on memorisation. Pronunciation and tones should be clear and sufficiently accurate to be understood by a native speaker of Mandarin.
- Delivery and stage presence: Judges will consider the overall performance of the contestant, including confidence, eye contact, body language, and audience engagement. Speakers are allowed to bring notes to the contest, but an extra score will be added to contestants who deliver their speech without notes.
How to Register:
Download the registration form HERE. The deadline to apply is Friday 10th April 2026 at 17:00
Please return the completed registration form to info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk by Friday, 10th April.
Awards and Prizes
Each contestant will receive one of the following awards based upon their performances:
First Place: £100 gift voucher plus a certificate
Second Place: £75 gift voucher plus a certificate
Third Place: £50 gift voucher plus a certificate
Participation Award: Each of the contestants will receive a participation certificate and a gift.
Further Information:
Please get in touch by email info@confuciusinstitute.ac.uk if you have any further questions.