Source: School of Foreign Languages
Written by: Tan Jie
Proofread by Zheng Yanfang
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

Recently, the “FLTRP·ETIC Cup” English Public Writing, Reading and Writing Contest was successfully held in Beijing, aiming at bringing excellent students all over the country together and providing them with a platform to show their capabilities of foreign languages, communication, as well as critical thinking. Nearly 400 contestants who stood out from universities and colleges around China presented their wonderful performance in the five-day tense competition, bringing a feast of thoughts and language to the audience.
 

 Feng Liyuan (first from left), a sophomore from the School of Law, delivering her speech in the contest
 

Having won the fierce regional and online competitions, a total of six representatives from Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) participated in the FLTRP·ETIC Cup national finals, an unprecedentedly large team since SYSU’s first presence in this grand competition. Four of them went to the national finals after winning championship and first runner-up in the provincial-level competition participated by hundreds of outstanding contestants from universities in Guangdong: Gu Rui (Sophomore, School of Communication and Design) and Feng Liyuan (Sophomore, School of Law) in the Speaking Contest; Lin Yuhong (Junior, School of Foreign Languages) and Zheng Shiya (Sophomore, Lingnan College) in the Reading Contest. Tan Jie (Sophomore, School of Foreign Languages) and Liu Xiaoling (Graduate student, School of Foreign Languages) broke through in the Online Speaking Competition and won tickets to the national competition, the first time for students from SYSU since the opening of the online arena. In the end, at the national level Speaking Contest in Beijing, Feng Liyuan won the first prize, Gu Rui and Liu Xiaoling the second prize, and Tan Jie the third prize. Lin Yuhong and Zheng Shiya both won the second prize in the reading contest.

In view of an unprecedented scale of participation of the contest with a total of six contestants, instructors from the School of Foreign Languages provided contestants with targeted counselling and training, and helped them better prepare for the national finals. Teachers from the School of Foreign Languages, Feng Pengpeng, Chen Jing, Zheng Yanfang and Chen Xianwen, received the Outstanding Instructor Award, due to their contribution to the students’ performance.

The FLTRP·ETIC Cup contest provides opportunities for teachers and students to stand on the national stage and exchange ideas with top players nationwide. The outstanding performance and achievements by SYSU students reflects the university’s educational goal—to cultivate integrity, competence and leadership. The outstanding performance made by the non-English majors demonstrates the potential of cultivating interdisciplinary talents with both solid expertise knowledge and good English proficiency. The end of the contest is also the beginning of a new journey of "studying at SYSU, striving for excellence”.