National English contest heightens affection for China
“My friend has left the west where the Yellow Crane Tower. For River Town veiled in green willows and red flowers.”
These were the words uttered by three students in English while reciting a poem by the renowned Chinese poet Li Bai (701-762) during the opening ceremony on Jan 12 for the upcoming National English competition.
The contest is being jointly organized by China Daily’s 21st Century Education Media and EF Education First to encourage the English comprehensive and spoken skills of Chinese students from primary and middle schools, especially in reading and recital of ancient Chinese poems translated into English.
Expected to be carried out in nearly 30 cities in China starting mid-March, the competition is designed to encourage participating students to deepen their understanding of local culture and gradually form their own cross-culture mindset to better communicate with people from different cultures.
Qu Yingpu, deputy editorin-chief of China Daily, said in his welcome speech that the event is aimed at nurturing more talents with a “Chinese heart”, as well as international vision and global communication skills.
Adele Bai, president of EF Kids and Teens China, said it is interesting and meaningful yet still challenging for competition participants in terms of fully understanding the ancient Chinese poems and culture while expressing them in English language.
Having done business in China for more than 20 years, EF has introduced Chinese culture and history to the daily courses and outside activities. For example, EF has organized summer camps for young Chinese students to revisit the Chinese cities along the Silk Road, and has invited tutors from English-speaking countries to teach students Chinese calligraphy and describe the experience in English.
“We’ve found that sometimes, when students from Western countries are curious about Chinese history or renowned ancient people, our Chinese students, despite knowing it,” have difficulty describing the concepts in English, Bai said. “That’s why we encourage the mutual communication of language and culture in our classes. It’s also our social responsibility as an international education company to help China cultivate future talents with excellent foreign language skills as well as a good understanding of their own culture.”
Hu Zhuanglin, a professor at Peking University and a renowned linguist, said the theme of the contest suggests that the English education industry has responsibility to introduce the excellent traditional Chinese culture to people outside of China. And another theme of “Culture Renaissance” means that it is time for Chinese people to turn away from blindly worshipping Western culture and ignoring local culture.
Finalists to the competition will be able to take part in the charity activities of Hope Project, which jointly organized by China Daily 21st Century Education Media and China Youth Foundation.