MONTREAL – Quebec high school students got a chance to show off their French language skills at the Concours d’art oratoire in Dorval on Saturday.
The decades-old public speaking contest, organized by the not-for-profit group Canadian Parents for French, aims to promote the language among French as a second language students.
Participating students were required to write a speech of three to five minutes on a topic of their choice and present it in front of a panel of judges.
Competitions are held for every level, from intermediate to advanced, but only the winners of the secondary five competition will have a chance at the national title in Ottawa on May 28.
This year’s secondary five winners across the different categories, were: Kirsten Townsend, Valarie Empey, Rowan Tanguay , Victoria Blouin and Sharina Frija-Altarac.
Four of the winning students hail from the Gatineau area and only one, Frija-Altarac, is a Montreal-area student from Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
At the national contest, students will have the chance to win a scholarship to a university of their choice in Canada, including the University of Ottawa, Moncton, Prince Edward Island, Saint -Boniface, Sainte-Anne, or Cité Collégiale.
This year’s contest in Quebec attracted 34 participants.