And now a word from Michael...

Today I had the pleasure to be a judge at a speech competition with 14 students from our University. There were 4 Chinese English teachers and 2 Western teachers including myself. It was truly an inspiration to see the courage and hard work that these students exhibited this afternoon. Their topic was “Unity and Diversity.” We judged them on pronunciation, speech content quality, language quality, spontaneous speech, and answering questions from the judges. In my opinion, about half of them could have debated at any top rated Western university and done well. Most were not English majors but from the schools of Architecture, Engineering or other disciplines.

As you enter the campus there is a long row of blackboards with Chinese inscriptions written. One blackboard had the following saying in English written by Huang Hayun, Dean of the English Department. It states, “It’s not intelligence alone that brings success, but also the desire to succeed, the commitment to work hard and the courage to believe in yourself.” I found this incredibly inspirational and plan to share it with all my classes but today was a perfect example of exactly what he was trying to convey. The hard work and preparation, along with a huge dose of courage that went into today’s presentation, made this whole adventure worthwhile. And we’re just getting started!! We haven’t even been here a month yet.

One of my students was in today’s competition. She is working toward a career in broadcasting. She is a broadcaster for the campus radio station and although she did not place in the top three I have no doubt that she will end up successful at whatever she attempts. She has so much courage, sophistication and class for a sophomore it’s scary. Most of her education is in front of her and I see a bright future written all over her face. Her parents will be filled with pride one day if they’re not already. This was just another day in the life of an “Oral English” teacher.