On December 10, the Fujian round of the 23rdTwenty-first Century Coca Cola Cup National English Speech Competition, jointly sponsored by China Daily and Coca Cola Greater China, concluded at Fuzhou Melbourne Polytechnic Vocational College.
Two CFLC sophomores majoring in English, Deng Qiao and Zhao Ruchen, finished first and second, respectively, in the contest, becoming the champion and runner-up. Professor Zhang Longhai, Dean of CFLC, attended the competition and served as a judge.
The competition was themed on the “Belt and Road: China and the World”. The Fujian final was divided into three parts: a three-minute presentation, a two-minute impromptu speech, and a two-minute Q&A session.
In their three-minute presentations, Deng Qiao gave a speech entitled “The Dragon on the Road”, while Zhao Ruchen presented a talk entitled “China’s Pains and Gains in the Launch of the Belt and Road Initiative”. In the impromptu speeches and Q&ASessions, the contestants demonstrated a profound understanding of China’s scientific and technological achievements, as well as their remarkable English proficiency.
Thanks to meticulous coaching by CFLC faculty members, the two top winners impressed the judges and the audience with their eloquence and coherence and their beautiful pronunciations. Their outstanding performances at the competition demonstrated the effectiveness of CFLC’s language programs.
The two students would advance to the national semi-finals in Beijing, representing university students of Fujian Province.
The Twenty-first Century Coca Cola Cup National English Speech Competition was inaugurated in 1996 and is managed by The 21st Century English Post. It is one of the largest and most prestigious English speaking competitions in China.
It has played a significant role in inspiring enthusiasm for language learning among Chinese university students.
Professor Yang Shizhuo, Chairof the CFLC’s English Department, and William Hilderbrandt, an international English instructor, coached CFLC students participating in the competition.
