UKstudentsdemonstrateChineseproficiencyingloballanguagecompetition_GuangmingOnlineLONDON,May9(Xinhua)--TheUnitedKingdom(UK)hostedregionalfinalsforaglobalChineselanguagecompetitionhereThursday,withcontestantsfromschoolsacrossthecountryprovingtheirprowessinthelanguage.Studentsfrom37secondaryschoolsacrossEngland,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIrelandcompetedintheregionalfinalsofthe17th"ChineseBridge"ChineseProficiencyCompetitionforForeignSecondarySchoolStudents.Altogether17studentswonprizesintheindividualcompetitioncategorywhilesixteamswereawardedprizesinthegroupcategory.NathanEvans,acontestantfromPinnerHighSchool,toldXinhuathathefoundChinesecultureinterestingandhewouldneverhavelearnedaboutthecultureifhehadn'tchosentolearnthelanguage."Ourclassusuallyfocusesonthelanguageitself,butwedooftendelveintotheculturebehindit,"saidtheninthgraderwhohasbeenlearningChinesesinceyearseven.Athisschool,Chineseiscompulsoryforstudentsingradessevenandeight.Evanswasamongthe47individualcontestantswhoshowcasedtheirChineselanguageproficiencythroughpresentations,impromptuspeeches,andQAsessions,coveringawiderangeoftopicsfromcampuslifeandnewtechnologiestoChinesecharactersandtouristattractionsinChina."LearningChineseoffersstudentsvaluableadvantagesfortheirfutureasthelanguagewillgivethemmoreopportunitiesinworkandcanenhancetheircommunicationandcollaborationskills,"saidLiuJiayu,aChineseteacheratPinnerHighSchool.Inthegroupcompetition,about60studentsfrom15teamspresentedself-createdvideosofChineseskits.ThewinningprojectsincludestoriesfeaturingtheYearoftheDragonandrenownedChineseheroineMulan.JinWei,oneofthejudgesforthecompetition,saidtheywere"extremelyimpressed"bythe"brilliantjob"donebyallcontestantsandhopedtheywouldpersistintheirjourneysoflearningChinese.ThecompetitionwasjointlyorganizedbytheUKChineseBridgeClubandChineseProficiencyTestUKcommittee.InMarch,about250studentsfrom60schoolsacrosstheUKtookpartinthepreliminaryroundsofthecompetition.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.