Chinese Bridge Language Competition Sponsored by the Chinese Embassy and hosted by Confucius Institute at University of Maryland

College Level Competition

The seventh annual Chinese Bridge College Level Language and Performance Competition was held in Nyumburu Culture Center, University of Maryland, on April 10, 2008. The competition's objective is to provide contestants with an opportunity to develop communication skills vital to students studying Chinese as a foreign Language. The theme for this year is Fervor with the Olympics, Fun with Chinese. The judges, Prof. Mei Kong of University of Maryland, Prof. Jianxin Cui of CIM, Prof. Jingyuan Zhang of Georgetown University, Prof. Kuan Zhang of George Mason University, and Prof. Phyllis Zhang of George Washington University, evaluated seven candidates from East-coast universities. The participants each performed a three-minute narration, went through four sets of Q&A, and gave a three-minute performance. In the narration segment, candidates gave inspirational speeches on the Beijing Olympics, recited Tang Dynasty poetry, and shared their experiences of learning Chinese in the United States. In the performance segment, they performed Chinese jokes, comic dialogues, and singing. Nicholas Miller, linguistics major at Georgetown University in D.C., won the first prize and will attend the final contest in China this summer. 

Middle-High School Competition

Two weeks later, the first Chinese Bridge Competition for Middle and High School Students also took place on the UM campus. Seven teams of middle and high-schoolers from D.C., VA, and NC, impressed the audience with their language accomplishments and joyful performance. Champions John Gaybrick, Nicholas Pugliaresi, and Dominic Pugliaresi, from St. Albans and Norwood High Schools in D.C., will travel to China with their teacher-mentor Xin Xu, for the next rounds of competition in July.