French Immersion students take home four medals in French public speaking competition

Four of Surrey’s exemplary French Immersion students are among medalists in Concours Virtuel, a French public speaking competition to showcase language skills.

Hosted by Canadian Parents for French, the 37th-annual competition - but its first-ever in virtual form - saw more than 800 students across Canada compete to the best of their linguistic ability. This year’s theme was Ensemble À Distance: Ton Expérience Face Au Virus (Together at a Distance: Your Experience with the Virus), asking students to share their how COVID-19 has affected their lives, en français.

Grade 12 École Earl Marriott Secondary student Luka Roberts took first place in the French Immersion Grade 12B category, while his classmate James Jiang took third in the 12A category, recording a parody rap song about life in quarantine.

Grade 11 students Marina Kim (École Earl Marriott) and Simone Saini (École Kwantlen Park) each placed third in the Grade 11A and 11B categories, respectively.

(The A/B classification was made to split up large categories and does not reflect a certain level of French.)

Students’ creative video entries covered everything from frustrations with self-isolation to hobbies, sports, recipes and how they stay connected with family and friends.

Roberts received a $400 cash prize, with a matching donation to the Camp Kerry Society. Jiang, Kim and Saini received $100 cash prizes with matching donations to charities of their choice.

View their submissions below:

James Jiang (Grade 12, Earl Marriott Secondary, 3rd in French Immersion Grade 12A)

Simone Saini (Grade 11, Kwantlen Park Secondary, 3rd in French Immersion Grade 11B)

Marina Kim (Grade 11, Earl Marriott Secondary, 3rd in French Immersion Grade 11A)