• 84 • I don’t remember exactly how that first meeting went. But out of all the new faces, I recognized one of the student speakers in that very meeting because I just saw him a couple of days ago at the ILC (The Independent Learning Centre) where I served as a language counselor for a few hours weekly. This young lad called Billy Cheung came to me for a mock interview assessment which he had missed in his regular ELTU class, and honestly, his speaking skills were not very impressive. I thought only students with good English would dare to go to a Toastmasters meeting. But Billy was there. It sounded totally unbelievable because, in my view, most Hong Kong students were very practical. They asked for shortcuts; they wanted tips; they didn’t like to do extra work. Spending Saturday afternoons working on one’s speaking skills just sounded impossible. So, to find out more, I went back for a second time the week after. There they were. These folks who might not speak very good English but had all the heart to learn and took all opportunities available to them to improve their speaking skills were there every week. They were there not for the credits, not for the grades, but for the endless chances to practice and learn from one another. Billy was one of the biggest surprises I have seen in the Toastmasters Club. Through his continuous practices, he transformed from a shy and reticent young man to a confident speaker. Before he graduated, he even snatched a few awards in the Toastmasters Speaking Contests. Encouraging examples like these are plentiful in the CCC Toastmasters Club. Fred Cheng, one of the former presidents of the club, had difficulty in pronouncing /s/ in the middle of a word. Instead of “Toastmaster”, Fred would say “toemaster”. By investing effort and time, he overcame his weakness and became a much more fluent speaker. Richard Chau was once our weekly “Ah” King, the person who utters the most number of fillers in a meeting. After years of practices he has not only given up his “Ah” King title, but is now a confident science teacher. These may look trivial to any outsiders. Yet, to us, we live and embrace the old saying: Practice makes perfect. As a Swedish Toastmasters Members of the Toastmasters Club regularly practice their speaking skills every Saturday afternoon during term time. The writer (the one standing) serves as a language evaluator of the club, giving advice and feedback after listening to students’ speeches.
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