SHENZHEN students dominated the national English speaking contest yesterday (Nov 27), clinching half of the top three spots in the junior and senior high divisions.

Li Laiyin from Shenzhen Middle School and Xu Jingying from Shenzhen Experimental School impressed the judging panel and the audience of students and English teachers with their proficient English, witty answers and quick responses, claiming the top two places in the senior high division.

Zhu Lin from Shenzhen Foreign Languages School took the second runner-up position in the junior high competition Saturday, out of the 51 candidates from all over the country.

A total of 102 candidates participated in the final contest over the weekend. They had been selected from 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Some of them were from major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao.

Altogether eight Shenzhen students took part in the final of the Fourth ¡°21st Century <2022>Shenzhen Daily Cup¡± National High School English Speaking Competition and all claimed better than second prize.

The competition attracted the best students from more than 1,000 Chinese schools, making it a gathering of the best young English-speaking talents in the nation.

Students in Shenzhen are taught English from primary school, and some even from kindergarten. Shenzhen is one of the few major Chinese cities able to do so, said Liao Shengbin, a researcher with a Shenzhen teaching institute.

English teachers in Shenzhen are recruited nationwide, and are the best among their peers, said Liao.

Related Story: Confident SZ girl wins national contest
(by Tang Li)

WHEN Li Laiyin was interviewed shortly after she delivered her speech yesterday morning, the contestant from Shenzhen Middle School was very frank about her high expectations.

"I come for the first position, and I have not even prepared for being a runner-up," said the 16-year-old Li.

Hours later, the confident girl saw her dream coming true. With a powerful speech on her wish to eliminate racial discrimination, which paid tribute to the late American civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, Li won the senior section of the "21st Century Shenzhen Daily Cup" National High School English Speaking Competition.

Li wowed the audience yesterday with her eloquence, her well-chosen speech, and her quick wit while answering questions.

"The girl's performance is amazing. She appears graceful, intelligent and passionate. The best part I see in her is a mature mind for her age," commented a teacher surnamed Zhao from North China's Shanxi Province.

It was not an easy win for the youngster, though. She was almost trapped by a tough question in the Q&A part of the competition, but eventually overcame the hurdle.

"I thought I could have given a better and more humorous answer to the question, but I was a little bit confused at first. That's the only regret for me regarding my performance today," said Li.

The speeches of the 50 other contestants did make her a little tense before the results were released late in the afternoon. But she kept faith in her abilities.

"As I finished my speech quite early in the morning, I felt a little bit nervous to recognize so many good speakers from all over the country in the rest time of the competition. I think I'm really lucky to be selected as the top winner," she said.

For Li, the key to learning English is to read extensively. Starting from her first year in primary school, she has been reading English stories and novels, which were mostly brought by her parents from abroad.

"Reading has extended my mind and built up my vocabulary. I have richer and richer thoughts as long as I read," she said.

Li has won many other English speaking contests in Shenzhen and in China over the past few years. Her list of trophies also includes the champion title for a national English speaking contest sponsored by China's CCTV, the first position of the Shenzhen Daily Cup English speaking contest in 2003, and the top position of last year's Speak Shenzhen English speaking competition.

Editor: Wing