English News

Speaking clearly in the 2019 PESA Competition

On the 28 May, the Nossal High School debating team, alongside members from other schools, namely Beaconhills College, Huntingtower School, Mazenod College and Waverley Christian College were invited to watch the Plain English Speaking Awards (PESA) in the Jean Russell Centre. There are two parts of the PESA, the first being a prepared speech and the second an impromptu one. The  prepared speeches required participants to speak on topics they are passionate about, for 5-7 minutes. Topics ranged from safety in Melbourne, to how history is written by the victors, to why Australia needs a universal basic income system, allowing for much diversity in discussion between audience members about ideas both tangible and abstract.

The impromptu section of the PESA required participants to come up with a speech approximately 2-3 minutes long, with 4 minutes of preparation time for planning. This year's topic was "our last chance," which sparked discussion about climate change, mental health and the preservation of languages. Participants delivered thoughtful responses, constructed persuasively and with great emotional appeal, with many embedding anecdotal evidence to support their arguments.

Representing Nossal High School were Nalini Jacob-Roussety (Year 10) and Sankalpa Rao (Year 12), both of whom delivered extremely high quality speeches. A big congratulations to Nalini, who won the regional final and will represent Nossal on 21 June at the next round of the PESA. A big congratulations should also be extended to all participants, as they all delivered compelling speeches. Clearly, our next generation of writers, leaders and public speakers will be of a very high calibre, and we are all in good hands!

Thank you also to Annette for being our MC for the day, and Prachi for time keeping.

Afia Farzana

Year 11