On the afternoon of October 25th, 2018, a marvelous English Dubbing Competition for Tsinghua University High School Senior One students was held in the school auditorium. As many as 650 people were present for the competition, among which were Huang Limei, leader of the English Teaching and Research Department, all the English teachers, head teachers and students from Senior One, as well as some of the parents. At the same time, the event was also broadcast live online. The Special Award in this competition went to Class Two, and the First Prize went to Class Seven, Class Ten and Class Fourteen.

The opening of the English Dubbing Competition

The preparations for the competition started as early as the end of September. In order to get all the students involved in participating in the Dubbing Competition, bold innovations were made as to the competition rules. Each class was to form 4 groups (about 10 to 12 people in each group), and select and produce the video clip, the presentation slides and other related materials for the competition. Each team member would have an opportunity to take part in the preparation of the game, undertaking different responsibilities including dubbing, and editing the videos, etc. On the screen of the auditorium, the group leader of the previous group drew lots to decide which group would be selected to compete on behalf of the class in the following session. Therefore, every group needed to be fully involved until the big day.

During the lots drawing process of the competition, the students all screamed with great excitement and enthusiasm. Also, at the end of the competition, a “surprise group” that hadn’t had a chance to compete in the game was drawn to give performance, and was awarded an “honorary award”. This session once again pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

Peter Zhou, Head of the English Lesson Preparation Group, drawing the “surprise group”

After the game, quite a few students praised the new rules. Some students thought that the lots drawing was very exciting, especially the “surprise group” part, which meant the students could not just sit there and relax as merely audience because everyone would be likely to be chosen to perform, the feeling being described as “I’m in pain but happy.”. Meanwhile, some students believed that these new rules had greatly improved the participation of students in the activities. It was still a pity that some well-prepared groups had not been given the opportunities to perform for the random selection. They hoped that there would be more “surprise groups” or other sessions to let as many students as possible to show their talents on the stage.

Excellent performance given by the students

Peter Zhou awarding the prize-winning classes

Creating new rules of this competition was a bold attempt by the Senior One English Teacher Group, aiming at stimulating students' enthusiasm for English learning, and encouraging them to practice oral English for the preparation of The National College Entrance Examination. It cannot be denied that the changes in the competition rules added to the difficulties in the preparation. For instance, teachers were supposed to collect all the videos and slide of each group and present them correctly on the screen in time. And the entire class needed to wait at the backstage for their turn in advance while the groups that failed the draw needed to exit from different routes. These could lead to chaos easily.

With a joint effort from the teachers and students, the competition was a complete success. The positive feedback from the students was the best recognition of this competition.

Text: Jiang Yuwei

Photo: Jiang Yuwei

Review: Huang Limei

Proofread: Cheng Weihang

Edit: Administrative Management Center