On December 7th, the final of the Second Bilingual Challenge, hosted by the SDU English Broadcasting Station, held in Science Hall, central campus, attracted over two hundred spectators including international students, foreign teachers and Chinese experts.

The competition provided a linguistic bonanza for audience as well as strengthened the bond between the Chinese and international students in Shandong University. With the target of promoting language learning and cross-cultural communication, 9 pairs of Chinese students and international students teamed up to compete and perform together. The Chinese students were required to speak English, while the international students had a chance to refine their Chinese.

The competition started with short speeches on “The Role of Language in Cross-cultural Communication” given by Chinese students and “My Stories in China” by their foreign partners. Then, the hall witnessed hilarity of excited was set alight with excitement during the contestants’ talent show. Cross-gender performance “New Drunken Beauty” given by contestants No.2 won the loudest applause for their fantastic singing and dancing in traditional Chinese costumes. Only five groups entered the third round, scenario simulation, in which constants were required to finish a role-play in a given situation, acting as salesmen, hosts/hostesses, match-makers, pop stars or tour guides. In the final round, the two groups with highest scores addressed the “public judges” with passion and creativity to gather votes to take the crown, which put a perfect ending to the whole show.

More than 1,500 comments sent by the audience rolled on the big screen during the two-hour show, with laughter and applause resounding round the hall.

“I think the result isn’t the most important part for this competition. What really matters is the happiness it brings to us. Thanks to this contest I had a great opportunity to improve my English as well as to show my talents with the help of my partner. I’ll cherish this wonderful experience and my friendship with Marina in the future,” said Diao Wenqing, contestant No. 4 after the contest.

Written by: Liu Lei, Zhang Qian

Photo by: Liu Jiaqi

Edited by: Lawrence Phillips, Jing Zizhao

Source: SDU English Broadcasting Station,www.view.sdu.edu.cn