C1 (Ice Breaker Speech)
President, Toastmaster
of the Day, dear members and welcomed guests, good afternoon. Today I would
like to introduce myself. My English name is Ivy. My Chinese name is Chen
Yahui. My hometown is in Tienzhon, Chunghwa County. Now I live in Luzhu
District, near Nankan.
Since I was young,
I have been very interested in learning English. Hollywood Movies, TV drama series,
English songs were my faithful companions to get through my lonely days. After
graduation from the junior high school, I left my hometown to study in a 5-year
junior college in Kaohsiung. My major was international trade. I think that I made
a right choice to study this field as I like to learn English. For me, it has
been such a pleasant experience to communicate and build relationship with the
people from other countries through business.
After graduation
from junior college, my first job was working at a customs broker in Taichung
City. I had to check the Letter of Credit for our customers and prepare invoice,
packing list, and other shipping documents. The first job was very important for
me because I applied what I learned at school and put into practice. I worked
very hard and often worked overtime without extra pay. But it's rewarding
because I did learn a lot through hard working.
My second job was
a sales assistance in a small manufacturer in Taichung. Over there, I had the
chance to actually handle a lot of practical business affairs, like making
quotations, placing orders, arranging shipping procedures. But there were not
many chances to use English.
After working with
this manufacturer for one and half year, I got a job in a famous footwear
company, Skechers. I was the secretary to a QC manager from the USA. I grasped
this wonderful chance and practiced talking in English as much as possible with
my foreign colleagues. My English speaking ability was improved a lot during
this period.
In 1997, my boyfriend,
who is now my husband, said that his boss would like to invite me to work as
the jobsite secretary for his company in Mailiao. This job was to be the
communication bridge between my Taiwanese colleagues and our client’s team, who
was formed by German engineers and a lot of Filipino workers. Although they
were not native English speakers, I had the chance to listen to their strange accent.
Therefore, my English listening ability was greatly improved. I think that was why
I was so lucky to get my present job when I moved to Taoyuan with my husband in
1998. Since then, I have been working for this road construction machinery company
for more than 17 years.
In 2002, I already
had two daughters. But after spending too much time on my little kids, I became
unconfident of myself. I decided to sign up the GEPT-General English
Proficiency Test, high-intermediate-level. But where could I practice English?
My classmates introduced Toastmasters Club to me. As soon as I knew Toastmaster
Club, I fell in love with this wonderful club. I enjoyed the chances to
practice and listen to English in this club.
A few months later,
I successfully passed GEPT test. I also got high grades on the following TOEIC
exam.
To make sure that
my professional knowledge was not out of date, I attended the examination of
International trade Certification. It turned out that my grades ranked the top one
percent among more than six thousand attendants of that year. In 2006, after
spending 3 years study on Sunday classes, I obtained a bachelor’s degree in
Business.
During my spare
time, I like reading, cooking and baking with my daughters. For outdoor
activities, my family and I often go camping and traveling during holidays.
Two years ago, my
daughters were big enough, so I came back to join Toastmasters Club. I hope
that I can continue to grow and learn in this excellent environment. In
addition, recently I signed up a book reading club with my daughters'
parents.
For me, learning
is a never ending journey. I would like to share one of my favorite sayings
with you: "We do not stop learning and playing because we are old; we become
old because we stop learning and playing."
So Let's learn and play together in Toastmasters Club!!
So Let's learn and play together in Toastmasters Club!!
Toastmaster of the
Day.
