On the evening of May 5th, the sixth session of the Foreign Language Corner of UPC of this semester was held in the U-Shape Plaza and Room 346 of Arts &Science Building. It was hosted by the General English Department, Russian Language and Literature Department, SFS General Office, and Youth League Committee of SFS, and organized by the English Class 1903 and Russian Class 2102. “How to be Sustainable in College” and “Exploring Matryoshka Dolls” were the themes for the English and Russian corner respectively. Xie Jiarong, an English major undergraduate from Grade 2019 and Gao Yantong, a postgraduate in Interpreting from Grade 2022, served as hosts for the English Corner while Dou Xinqi, an undergraduate in Russian from Grade 2021 hosted the Russian one. Teachers from the General English Department and Russian Language and Literature Department, as well as foreign teachers David, Samuel and Юрий, offered instruction during the activity. More than 500 teachers and students from all majors in UPC attended it.
Full Shot of English Corner
The English Corner continued with the model of group discussion featuring student-teacher cooperation: students, after forming groups, guided by assigned teachers, had insightful communication on the theme “How to be Sustainable in College”
Teacher-Student Group Discussion at English Corner
Sustainable development has been upheld by Chinese people for a long time, which is one of the guiding principles of China. It refers to the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. As a trending topic, sustainable development sparked a heated debate among the students who exchanged ideas on the necessity of sustainable development, waste in daily life, and the measures that schools or individuals can adopt to protect environment. In the process of thinking and communicating, students not only realized the seriousness of the waste around us, but also understood the importance of individual eco-friendly actions to the sustainable development of the campus.
In the final contest, students scrambled to go up on stage and gave impromptu speeches, pushing the atmosphere to a climax. After the students’ wonderful speeches, Zhao Shuo from English Class 1903, became the winner of English Corner.
The Winner of English Corner
By the end of English Corner, many students agreed that they have improved their oral communication skills through exchanges and mutual learning, and they have also recognized the impact of sustainable development on the daily lives of college students. Yang Xiaoying from English Class 1903, said: “as guardians of the environment, we not only need to be familiar with the strategy of sustainable development, but also actively put it into practice. We can motivate people around us to participate in sustainable development activities, and contribute to the construction of a green and sustainable campus.”
The Contestants and Teachers
The theme of Russian Corner is “Exploring Russian Matryoshka Dolls”. The host first introduced its origin, artistic image, different types and the characteristics and symbolic meaning of each type. Then, Mr. Юрий shared some other interesting facts about Russian matryoshka dolls. After the preliminary understanding, Dr. Zhao Xiaohua taught students to draw on the molds of matryoshka doll. The dolls drawn by students are unique and cute, giving bursts of laughter.
The group photo of students and teachers at Russian Corner
The final contest of Russian Corner took the form of a quiz game and students needed to raise his/her hand quickly to answer the questions about Russian matryoshka dolls. After several rounds of competitions, Zhang Shuangyuan from Russian Class 2102 became the winner of the Russian Corner.
The UPC Foreign Language Corner has been adopting the motto of “Practice Together, Progress Together”. By building a platform for students and teachers to share and exchange ideas, it provides an opportunity of self-expression for its participants and creates a lively atmosphere for language practice. The Corner is a key step towards the construction of a foreign language learning environment and promises to cultivate national pride and global perspectives among the students.
