Club Activities: Student Speeches Essay

This is the article that I wrote for "Minjok Herald." -- This is not the final draft but it was revised a few times. In the next version I hope my article appears. 

About student speeches...

Every Monday a student of Korean Minjok Leadership Academy comes out and makes a speech. Among KMLAians these speeches have been a hot issue due to various voices discussing its purpose and effectiveness.

The history of the student speech system was explained by 16^th waver and Chief of the 13^th Executive Council Ryu Ji-won. “Before I suggested every KMLAian should be allowed to make a speech, only the members of the Student Council stood upon the podium. As I saw the Student Council members being forced to make a speech, giving the chance to other students seemed to be a much better policy.”

17^th wavers Ko Geun-Hyung and Jeong Han-Sol, who had both made speeches, stated that the purpose of student speeches was mainly to express opinions. “As morning assemblies are part of the curriculum, the participation of students is essential.” said Ko. Meanwhile, Jeong, he stated “Student speeches are the only way to explicitly express opinions as they are heard directly by the students and the teachers. KMLA Talk and other means of articulating opinions are ineffective as they have never persisted.” Then a question is raised: is this purpose kept well? For now, both Ko and Jeong believe so.

Another issue raised is the mandatory use of English in student speeches. As a part of EOP, it is necessary for all students to use English in formal situations. But some believe that forcing KMLAians to use English might jeopardize the delivery of the speech. Ko said “Most Korean teachers have difficulties understanding speeches in English. The purpose of these speeches is to get the message across, which using Korean supports. Furthermore, the option to make speeches may be limited to students who can fluently speak English.” But Jeong disagreed, as he stated “Using English seems plausible according to EOP. Also, KMLAians should be able to deliver a speech in English. So the problem is the level of each student’s preparation, not EOP.” Meanwhile, Ryu said “The students must be able to choose which language they would use as it is their speech. EOP should exist, but if English is uncomfortable for the student to delivering the speech, the Korean must also be allowed.”

KMLAians have also expressed the need for improvements in the student speech system. Ko stated “Nobody should be able to stop or censor the speech at any situation. Also, the audience must be ready to listen intently even if the speaker is bad at English or in speaking, the audience must learn how to listen.” Furthermore, Jeong, said “The speeches themselves aren’t such a bad policy. But nobody should interfere with the speech or cut it in the middle. These speeches should be a non-aggressive ritual.”

Many similar controversial ideas have been coming up on KMLA Online or in gossips. KMLAians’ role in these matters seems essential as student speeches are an important aspect in morning assemblies. Looking at the history of the system and the opinions of various interviewees, it’s up to the students to alter the course of student speeches if need be.