Dr. Marie A. Mater, Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Speech Communication in the Department of English, Communication, Great Texts, and Modern Languages, was an invited judge at the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA) All-Region Qualifier tournament from Jan. 4-6, 2024. The tournament was held at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. Students from District 12 (South Texas) competed at this tournament. Dr. Mater judged the Impromptu Speech Semifinals and the Extemporaneous Speech Finals.
The formal speech and debate programs are designed to teach young people to communicate truth with both integrity and grace. Each speech event offers unique educational opportunities that promote critical thinking, research, literary analysis and effective delivery. The Impromptu Speech is a limited preparation speech in which the speaker presents a unique and meaningful 5-minute speech on a topic drawn from abstract words, phrases, quotations or table topics. The Extemporaneous Speech is a limited preparation speech in which the speaker analyzes news and other sources to prepare a 7-minute evidence-based speech on a current events topic.
NCFCA is an organization committed to training homeschool and high school students to address life issues in a manner that glorifies God, and ultimately prepares students to shape the culture and impact people for Christ. Through regional and national competitions, supported by exceptional training and an elite qualification system, NCFCA Speech and Debate provides a proven framework that challenges students to grow their communication skills.
NCFCA has a far-reaching impact on American society. There are 160-plus clubs around the United States that meet to learn, prepare, and practice for the yearly competitive season. Thousands of students ages 12-18 participate in both in-person and online competitions, resulting in over 38,000 speeches and 14,000 debates delivered during the season nationwide. NCFCA graduates are influencing our world as analysts, authors, business owners, doctors, educators, engineers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, nurses, pastors and politicians.
For more information, visit the NCFCA website.