From November 13 to 17, the 30th "21st Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition Grand Final was held in Hangzhou. Liu Mengyao, a sophomore majoring in translation from the School of Foreign Languages at Beihang University, stood out among all contestants with her excellent performance in the prepared speech, impromptu speech, and Q&A session, and won the national first prize. Her instructor was Zhao Xilin from the School of Foreign Languages.

In addition, Huang Jinxiang, a junior majoring in English, and Zhang Ziyue, a sophomore majoring in German, both won national third prizes. Their instructors were Liu Weiwei and Cao Qiaozhen respectively, from the School of Foreign Languages.

Established by China Daily in 1996, the "21st Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition was selected for inclusion in the competition catalog of Analysis Report of National College Students Competition in 2023. This year's event attracted tens of thousands of participants from universities across the country. Through rigorous selection, over 500 outstanding contestants from more than 30 regional divisions advanced to the regional finals representing their universities.

The in-campus selection competition at Beihang was organized by the School of Foreign Languages. After two rounds of online evaluation and offline competition, Liu Mengyao, Huang Jinxiang, and Zhang Ziyue qualified for the municipal-level competition. The School has organized a team of experienced teachers to meticulously polish their speeches and conduct multiple rehearsals for the impromptu speech and Q&A sessions. With their support, the three students achieved outstanding results at the grand final.

The School of Foreign Languages has consistently encouraged and helped students to actively participate in various language and cross-cultural competitions. The remarkable success in this competition fully demonstrates the School's fruitful achievements in cultivating foreign language talent and highlights the positive significance of "promoting learning and teaching through competitions" approach on educational development and talent cultivation.

Editor: Liu Tingting