On the evening of April 21st, 2023, the fifth edition of the “UPC English Corner” and “UPC French Corner” was successfully held at the U-shaped plaza and Room 346 of the Arts and Sciences Building, respectively. Organized by the Department of English Language and Literature, the Department of Russian Language, the SFS General Office and the Youth League Committee of SFS, and hosted by Class 2203 of English major and Class 298 of French major, the themes were “How can college students benefit from volunteering?” for “UPC English Corner” and “Specialties of French Festivals” for “UPC French Corner”. The hosts and hostesses for English Corner and French Corner included Ding Zihang, a graduate student majoring in English Interpreting, Li Yufei from Class 2203 of English major, Zhao Honglei and Tan Jiangmei from French optional course. Teachers from Department of English Language and Literature and Department of Russian Language and Literature, as well as English foreign teachers Neville and Steven served as tutors. More than 600 attended this activity, including students and teachers from diverse majors and international students from Russia, Mexico and Africa, as well as staff from the Foreign Affairs Service Centre of the West Coast New Area, etc.
Full Shot of English Corner
Hosts and hostesses of English Corner
The English Corner continued with the model of group discussion featuring student-teacher cooperation. After being divided into groups, students were instructed by teachers to carry out in-depth exchanges around the theme of “How can college students benefit from volunteering?”.
Teacher-Student Interaction at English Corner
The swelling pool of volunteers and their contributions to society are clear in absolutely every sense. Thus, the students discussed the topic heatedly and expressed their views on volunteering. During this process, all present were fully aware of the benefits of volunteering for personal and social development. In terms of personal development, volunteering can impart communication and coordination skills to us, and expand our outlooks. In terms of social contribution, volunteering distinguishes itself as an effective way to motivate and inspire the young for undertaking more responsibility.
The grand finale of the English Corner featured a fierce competition between six contestants who gave impromptu speeches on the stage. Finally, Lu Junwen from English major 2202 won the championship.
“Thanks to the Foreign Language Corner, I had an in-depth knowledge of the benefits of volunteer work. Here you can find many excellent students who are interested in learning English, and we have actively communicated in a particularly good atmosphere,” said Feng Yu from English major 2203.
Professor Wang Shuting awarding the champion of English Corner
The contestants and teachers
At the beginning of the French Corner, the UPC students and the international students present introduced themselves fluently in French, ensuring an initial understanding of each other.
First, Mrs. Feng Hongyan illustrated the special food and its cultural background of French legal festivals. Then, students were divided into groups to compete in games based on different themes. All the participants not only learned about French food culture, but in addition improved language skills. With enthusiasm, all present made clay handicrafts of the foods and exchanged them as gifts, further improving the interaction on the spot.
Later on, Zhang Xiaoyu and Xie Jiarong, students from English major, shared effective methods of learning French and experience of postgraduate examination for French course. The international and other students took turns to perform their talent show, such as singing French songs, reciting French poems, playing the bamboo flute and playing the guitar. Mrs. Li Xiaohua also sang the French song Elaine.
At last, after several rounds of competition, Cai Yuxiao, English major from English Class 2202, won the championship.
Adhering to the principle of “Practice Together, Progress Together”, the UPC Foreign Language Corner encourages participants to show themselves within a lively atmosphere for language practice. The UPC Foreign Language Corner is a key step towards the creation of a foreign language learning environment, and it promises to cultivate national pride and global perspectives among the students.
