In order to improve and promote middle school students' oral English and patriotic emotion, as well as to spread the Chinese culture and inherit Chinese spirit , Shangrao Education Bureau hosted Junior Middle School and Senior High School English speech competitions on December 26, 2020, which aims at exhibiting quality education achievements of Shangrao city, Jiangxi Province. The speech competition took place in Shangrao Junior Normal College and altogether 52 students engaged in it, including 27 junior middle school students and 25 middle school students.
 

 

Junior Middles School speeches took Chinese Culture as the theme, while senior high school speeches were Chinese spirit themed. The competition was divided into three parts: self-introduction, keynote speech (storytelling) and oral defense.

All the contestants were in high spirits on the scene. In the self-introduction part, the contestants used their sense of humor and outstanding talent to impress the judges and audiences present greatly. A girl performed martial arts , one contestant read a Tang poem affectionately, and another one displayed her calligraphy skills on the spot, which won them waves of applause from the audience.

As for the keynote speech time, the competitors expressed their understanding and perception of Chinese culture and Chinese spirit with extremely fluent English and passionate patriotic enthusiasm. They paid homage to Chinese culture and practiced Chinese spirit through various touching and vivid stories. The Junior Middle School group concerned about Chinese culture. Chinese characters, Chinese calligraphy, Han Fu culture, Poetry culture, the game of Go, Chinese Kung fu, traditional paper cutting, traditional festivals, shadow play, Chinese tea culture are frequently mentioned Chinese cultures. Chinese culture is so diverse that the contestants were free to choose their favourite ones. The high school students interpreted Chinese spirit in their own ways. Chinese Women's volleyball team used their outstanding performance to demonstrate to the world with boldness and lofty sentiments of heroic Chinese women, as well as bolstering up Chinese spirit. Zhong Nanshan, Li Lanjuan, Zhang Dingyu, Li Wenliang weren’t afraid of death, they led Chinese people to fight against the Covid-19. Time will never heal but their spirit of fighting against the epidemic lives on . It’s our pride to have such great people and such a great national spirit. All these are all the soul of rejuvenating and strengthening our country.

One contestant defines the Chinese spirit as “the spirit that makes us unite as one and conquer all the difficulties, the spirit that enables us dare to dream and be the best we can be and the spirit that push us forward and fight for our country”. It is not hard to tell that the contestant acquires not only English knowledge through the competition, but also their deep and profound love towards motherland.

During the oral defenses session, Zhu Changquan, the teaching and research staff of Shangrao Education Bureau, employed Nathan Hale’s story to further illustrate his question while asking a competitors’ opinion about his opinion about patriotism. Nathan Hale is celebrated as America's first spy. He was hung by British forces in New York City on September 22, 1776. Before he was hung, he was asked a question “Do you have any regrets ?” His now-famous dying reply "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" inspired thousands of Americans. The judges didn’t merely ask questions, but conveying patriotism in the meantime.

The stage was full of climaxes, and the audience applaused from time to time. The contestants' standard pronunciation, fluent oral English,critical thinking,confident eyes, and resonant voice conquered the audience and the judges. The judges listened and compared carefully, finally, within the Junior group, 5 competitors won the first prize, 9 second prize and 13 third prize while first prize went to 5 competitors of the Senior group, 7 second prize and 11 third prize.

The year 2020 is destined to be an extraordinary year, full of hardships and challenges. But the tribulation has not destroyed the will and spirit of the Chinese nation. In the face of adversity, the Chinese people are inspired to fight with faith and determination. The audience present were left a great impression that the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is not only the accumulation of material wealth, but also the inheritance and development of the Chinese spirit and Chinese culture. A judge quoted John F. Kennedy’s words, “Don't ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country”. It is our everyone’s responsibility to carry forward the Chinese spirit in our future study and life, thus donating our share to our beloved country.

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