George Washington University undergraduate Eric Beeler was one of two top winners in the Fourth Annual Jiangsu Cup Speech Contest on Sunday afternoon at GW.
Mr. Beeler, a GW freshman in the Elliott School of International Affairs, and a student from University of Virginia won the two Gold Awards. Angela Sako and Maggie Wedeman, both GW undergraduates, were among five contestants who received Silver Awards. Samuel Klein, also a GW undergraduate, was among nine participants who captured Bronze Awards.
Award winners will be given an opportunity to join a 2015 summer tour in China and to study Chinese at Nanjing University.
“Chinese has already become the third most popular foreign language studied by the students of the George Washington University, behind only Spanish and French, which were the traditional second languages for Americans,” said Daniel Ullman, associate dean for undergraduate studies for Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, one of the cosponsors of the event.
Other cosponsors included the GW Confucius Institute, the GW Language Center, Institute for International Students at Nanjing University, Jiangsu International Cultural Exchange Center and Jiangsu Foreign Cultural Exchanges Association.
Some of the 16 finalists—who included students from other universities in the region—from the Sunday competition have been to China for travel, studies or volunteer work.
Ms. Sako shared stories about a woman who served as her “Chinese mom” during her stay in China. “She treated me like her own daughter. She didn’t blame me for doing things wrong,” Ms. Sako said. “She wanted me to talk to her whenever I needed anything. When she wanted to persuade me to do something, she always told me a story. She is my Chinese mom, and I love her very much.”
Mr. Klein thinks that the most efficient way to learn Chinese is to “walk out of the classroom.” He did just that when he went to China and taught English in a primary school. While there, Mr. Klein was immersed in Chinese culture and practiced his Chinese language skills.