Welcome to the 1st Chinese Reading and Interpreting Competition

Please contact your Chinese class teacher or Dr. Zhiyan Guo via zhiyan.guo@warwick.ac.uk if you are interested in joining the Competition.

Have fun!

What do participants think of the event?

A final year student of Chinese said, "the competition was a very interesting and unique experience. It was also a useful insight into the time pressure of interpreting which I certainly found difficult!

While I am used to seeing interpreting all the time at events and on television it had never occurred to me until the competition how difficult it would be to not only quickly translate what is being said but to also deliver an interpretation in a cogent manner. While the competition was challenging in the sense that am certainly not used to having to read and translate so quickly, it was nevertheless a fun experience and it’s a shame that as I am graduating this year, I will not have the opportunity to participate in it again.

I also think it was a great idea to have sessions to work on the texts with a co-teacher (without the time pressure!) after the competition. While I did not take part in the Speaking Club this year, I believe this was a good reflection of it and I regret having not taken part previously. While we have amazing teachers in the Chinese department, it is certainly a different experience to be able to communicate/practice with and be helped by other students our age/in the same situation as us"

An intermediate year student of Chinese said, “Despite having not been able to partake in the full duration of the speaking club due to other commitments, I thoroughly enjoyed the exchanges that I had during the speaking club. My partner​ was exceptionally patient which made me feel very at ease in the virtual environment, one in which I can sometimes feel a little nervous. Following our exchange, I saw an increase in my participation in class due to a boost in confidence prompted by the feedback and encouragement of my partner.

Learning about other peoples' cultures and perspectives is always what interests me the most in conversations with native speakers of the foreign languages that I'm learning. For me, this is the most important and valuable part of the conversations, whilst your oral ability naturally improves alongside your participation. I enjoyed our conversations to such an extent that we exchanged contact details and we talk every now and again outside of class, particularly to exchange advice for our courses and travels abroad”.

A first year student of Chinese said, "The speaking club definitely helped me with my pronunciation as my speaking teacher would go over some of the harder words and correct me when my tones were off. ..... my teacher would often do presentations on different cultural aspects such as the geography of China and festivals which really helped to broaden my knowledge of China".