On June 21, the 31st China Daily “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition Sichuan-Chongqing Regional Final concluded in Chongqing. Zheng Liyue and Zhou Yang from the School of Foreign Languages, along with Zhang Xin from the School of Management, represented our university in the competition, competing alongside 84 contestants from 34 universities across the Sichuan-Chongqing region.
The competition adopted a progressive format combining online and offline rounds. The first round, held online on May 30, required each contestant to deliver a 4-minute prepared speech without notes on a given topic, followed by a 1-minute on-site Q&A with judges, with the total time not exceeding 5 minutes. The top 60% of contestants advanced to the second-round offline final. The topic for the prepared speech was “Setbacks are one's greatest guarantee of success.” After the first round of selection, 49 contestants qualified for the offline final in Chongqing.
The offline final was held on June 21 at Jingdian Bookstore in Chongqing, with the schedule divided into morning and afternoon sessions. The morning session featured impromptu speech one-on-one battles, in which contestants drew their topics on-site 20 minutes in advance and delivered a 2-minute impromptu speech. The winner of each group advanced to the afternoon session. In the afternoon session, contestants delivered a 4-minute prepared speech in the order determined by lot, followed by a 1-minute on-site Q&A with judges based on their speech content. This comprehensively tested the contestants’ language proficiency, logical structuring, and on-the-spot adaptability.
Our three contestants delivered consistent and outstanding performances. Zheng Liyue and Zhou Yang successfully advanced through the online round to the Chongqing offline final, where they both won second prize and secured their spots in the national semifinals. Zhang Xin won third prize.
Carrying forward the torch of eloquence, our students are embracing the future with youthful passion and vigor. The outstanding achievements of our students in the “21st Century Cup” Sichuan-Chongqing Regional Final and their successful qualification for the national finals are a testament to the university's long-standing commitment to foreign language education, its dedication to promoting learning through competition, and its comprehensive approach to cultivating students' language application skills and overall competence. It also fully demonstrates the spirit of diligence, thoughtfulness and the pursuit of excellence that characterizes the students of Chengdu University of Information Technology. We look forward to seeing Zheng Liyue and Zhou Yang build upon their provincial-level competition experience, confidently take the stage at the national finals to achieve even greater success. With their fluent English, they will tell stories of youth, convey the power of young voices, and showcase the spirit of our university.
Background:
Founded in 1996 by China Daily under the slogan “Let the world hear your voice,” the China Daily “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is committed to providing a platform for young students at home and abroad to exchange ideas and learn from one another, guiding young people to continuously enhance their ability to tell China’s stories and convey China's voice to the world. The competition has been included in the National College Students Competition Analysis Report and is recognized as one of the most authoritative and influential English speaking competitions in China.
