SDU Bilingual Challenge was held in Si Yuan Lecture Hall, 3/F, Block C, Zhixin Building, Central Campus on December 2nd. More than two hundred spectators came to watch the show which featured international students, foreign teachers and Chinese experts.

The competition, hosted by the SDU English Broadcasting Station, is a university-level contest in which Chinese students and international students team up to compete and perform together. It was not only a language learning competition but also a celebration of friendship. Before the final 5 foreign students and 5 Chinese students formed pairs and have worked together for 2 weeks. The twist is that while the Chinese students are required to speak English, the international students should use Chinese. The show started with the contestants making speeches about their team members' culture in the required language. The hall was rocked by the following round – Chinese crosstalk in which contestants dressed up and impressed all the audience by their superb language skills. Only three groups entered the third round – Top Salesman; it is where the competition became fierce. In the final round – the Sitcom, contestants became talented actors and actresses and put a perfect ending to the whole show.

"Wish this competition a complete success!" "Lawrence is so handsome!" "Mandela is incredible, come on!" "I used up my laughter for a year." "Mounia, Chinese people love you~" "I love the cute judges!"... Hundreds of comments of the contest from the audience were rolling on the big screen. Laughter and applause burst in the hall and everyone was having a wonderful time.

"It's very good for college age people," said Dr. Henry Miner, one of the four honorable judges from the School of Foreign Language and Literature." The competition was interesting and fun to watch. Also the pair up thing was quite nice and creative. All the contestants were really good."

"I enjoyed the night and had so much fun. This competition is all about making new friends and having an open mind." said Feng Ji. Feng Ji and Cameroonian Mandela provided a wonderful performance and were crowned the Ultimate Bilingual Champions.

"It was definitely a step in the right direction!" said Lawrence Phillips, an English teacher at the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Chief Editor of Simples Magazine and also the host for the evening. "I think given how Shandong University hopes to become a world-class university we need more events that combine foreign and Chinese style performances together.”

Written by: Zhang Lijun, Lawrence Phillips

Photo by: Jing Zizhao, Zhang Shiyue, Wu Haiqing

Edited by: Lawrence Phillips, Jing Zizhao

Source: School of Foreign Languages and Literature ,www.en.sdu.edu.cn