What the Speech Was About
In the speech, I introduce myself to teachers and classmates and express my wish to run for class monitor. I describe the kinds of cultural activities I would organize—especially a class trip to Beijing. This includes:
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visiting historical sites such as the Forbidden City,
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tasting local food like Beijing roast duck,
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learning hands-on traditions such as making dumplings, and
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participating in evening cultural activities like karaoke.
The speech also mentions the richness of Beijing’s cultural heritage and the importance of creating opportunities and resources for classmates to learn more deeply about Chinese culture.
This gave me the chance to practice vocabulary related to travel, culture, persuasion, and leadership—all within a coherent mini-speech.
What I Learned
Working through this speech helped me focus on several key aspects of spoken Chinese:
1. Clear sentence patterns
Formal presentation openings such as:
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各位老师、亲爱的同学们，大家好
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今天我想竞选班长
These forms are extremely useful for speeches, exams, or public speaking.
2. Cultural vocabulary
Words like 名胜古迹 (famous historical sites), 故宫 (Forbidden City), and 烤鸭 (Peking duck) enrich my cultural expression and make my Chinese sound more natural.
3. Tone accuracy
The speech contains many tone-sensitive words. Practicing them aloud helped me refine tone transitions and avoid merges or shortcuts that appear when I speak quickly.
4. Cohesive structure
A persuasive speech requires a logical sequence: greeting, intention, plan, benefit, request for support. Practicing this structure improves both fluency and confidence.
How I Used AI to Improve the Speech
This exercise fits perfectly with the core idea of the AI Chinese Speech series:
record — transcribe — correct — analyze — repeat — improve
AI helped me:
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clean the transcription
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fix characters that were incorrect
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smooth the grammar and coherence
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produce a final version I can now practice repeatedly
Each correction becomes a learning moment, and each improved version becomes a new base for future shadowing practice.
Why This Matters for My Learning Path
Public speaking, even in a simple form, forces me to:
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speak louder, clearer, and with intentional phrasing
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use vocabulary I wouldn’t normally use in casual conversation
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manage my pace under a “formal” tone
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simulate a real communicative situation
By recording myself and refining the transcript, I can study my own errors and build stronger muscle memory for speech delivery.
Final Reflection — Transforming Pronunciation into a Learning System
Improving my rhythm in Chinese is no longer just a speaking exercise — it has become a full system of personal innovation. Each pause, each breath, and each controlled sentence is part of a process that helps me build a speaking habit that is repeatable, measurable, and constantly improving.
To make this practice truly effective, I’m now applying a more practical and experimental approach:
1. Turning Rhythm into Data
Every time I read the text aloud, I record it.
Every recording becomes a “data point” in my progress.
I compare:
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my pauses,
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my speed,
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my tone stability,
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and my overall fluency.
By doing this consistently, I can see my improvement the same way someone tracks progress at the gym.
2. Building a Repeatable Practice Loop
My new routine looks like this:
Read → Record → Listen → Evaluate → Improve → Repeat
But now, the key addition is:
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identifying where my rhythm collapses,
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marking those precise spots,
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and practicing them in small 5–8 second blocks.
This makes the learning sharper, faster, and more focused.
3. Creating “Rhythm Maps” for Chinese
For each paragraph, I now create something I call a Rhythm Map:
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“//” marks short natural pauses
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“—” marks long pauses
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underlines show where tones must stay stable
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bold words show the emotional center of each sentence
This turns a simple paragraph into a visual-speaking guide.
Every time I practice, I follow the map — until the map becomes unnecessary.
4. Training My Voice Like a Performance Skill
Speaking Chinese is no longer “say the words correctly”.
Now it’s:
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how I breathe
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how I transition between tones
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how I control my timing
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how confidently I finish a sentence
I am starting to treat Chinese speaking like a performance discipline, just like singing or public speaking.
This mindset shift changes everything.
5. Using AI as a Real-Time Coach
AI helps me:
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detect unnatural pauses
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correct my tone mistakes
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check if I sound rushed or flat
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rewrite sentences in clearer pronunciation patterns
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and extract the difficult tone combinations I must train daily
It’s like having a personal pronunciation coach available 24/7.
6. Connecting Rhythm with Memory
A surprising discovery:
When I use proper rhythm, I remember the vocabulary better.
Pauses give my brain time to “lock in” each idea.
It’s not only speaking practice — it’s memory training.
Final Thoughts — Building My Identity in Chinese
With every repetition, I’m not just fixing pronunciation.
I’m building a new version of myself — someone who can express ideas, emotion, and confidence in another language.
Rhythm has become my foundation.
Breath has become my structure.
And practice has become my innovation system.
From now on, every speech I record is not just another exercise.
It’s a step toward speaking Chinese with a voice that feels fully, authentically mine.
Preparing for the Next Recording
Every time I finish a speech practice, I realize something important:
I am not just learning Chinese — I am learning courage.
The courage to hear my own voice.
The courage to slow down when my instinct is to rush.
The courage to try again when a sentence collapses or a tone slips away.
And the courage to believe that improvement is not a miracle — it’s a decision I make every day.
This recording taught me more than tones or pauses.
It taught me that my voice grows only when I give it space.
When I breathe with intention.
When I speak with patience.
And when I allow myself to be a beginner, again and again.
Now, as I prepare for the next recording, I feel a different kind of confidence — not loud or dramatic, but quiet, steady, and real.
A confidence built from:
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repetition,
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clarity,
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rhythm,
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and the small victories no one else sees.
My next recording won’t be perfect.
It doesn’t need to be.
Because perfection is not the goal — progress is.
So for the next step, I will bring:
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a calmer voice,
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a clearer rhythm,
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a stronger breath,
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and a more intentional version of myself.
This journey is long, but I am moving forward — one recording, one paragraph, one brave breath at a time.
And that is enough.
More than enough.
Transcription video:
各位老师、亲爱的同学们，大家好！
今天我想竞选班长。
首先，我会组织丰富的课外活动，也会带大家去北京和中国人交流。
在北京，我们可以去参观北京景点，很有名。也可以去饭馆吃北京烤鸭，非常好吃，或者我们可以一起学习包饺子。
晚上，我们可以参加文化活动，比如去唱卡拉OK。
另外，我们还可以参观北京的名胜古迹，比如故宫。故宫很大，从前中国的皇帝都住在那里。我很喜欢北京，因为它有非常浓厚的历史文化气息。
最重要的是，我会尽力为大家争取更多的资料和机会，因为北京的文化非常悠久，也非常真实。
希望大家多多支持我，谢谢！
@Yolanda Muriel 
yolandamuriel.com 