YZU Toastmasters Club 元智英語國際演講會

Toastmasters Div. E 2nd Officer Training 開始報名囉！

15:35

甜姐兒Ivy Chen 發表第一篇Ice Breaker speech 囉！

14:52

我們的新會員Ivy Chen 上個月終於做了她的第一篇speech (自我介紹)，從她的介紹中，我們發現她熱愛學習英文，有幸福的家庭與快樂的工作經歷，讓我們來回顧一下Ivy 的speech，多多認識她一下喔！

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!!

Toastmaster of the Day.