Stephanie Curry, Student from Texas Southern University, participated in the 2018 Southern America "Chinese Bridge" contest and won the Honorable Mention award

April 22nd , 2018

On April 22, 2018, the 17th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for College Students and the 11th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Secondary Students hosted by the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Houston and organized by the Texas University at Dallas Confucius Institute took place . After the preliminary competition , 16 middle school students and 12 college students from 22 Confucius Institutes in the South of the United States fiercely competed.

The theme of the university group in this competition is "One World, One Family." Stephanie Curry of Texas Southern University Confucius Institute performed fantastically in the competition and won the Honorable Mention Award. In this competition, Stephanie competed with outstanding players from the South American Division sharing their talents, gaining knowledge and enhancing friendship.The "Chinese Bridge" competition had three sessions: Chinese Writing and cultural knowledge, Chinese speech, and Chinese talent show. Compared with previous years, the overall Chinese level of contestants has been significantly improved. The players had a deep understanding of Chinese cultural knowledge and excellent pronunciation . In the talent show session, the contestants performed martial arts, calligraphy, Chinese painting, dancing, Chinese songs singing, storytelling, Allegro and Chinese musical instruments wonderfully. The performances made the audiences so amazed.

In the speech session, Stephanie Curry shared her experience in China , Beijing, with very standard pronunciation . In the talent show, Stephanie sang a classic and beautiful Chinese song The Moon Represents My Heart. The audience couldn’t help but singing with her. After a fierce competition, Stephanie received the Honorable Mention Award on behalf of Texas Southern University Confucius Institute.Stephanie Curry was a student of the Chinese language class of Texas Southern University Confucius Institute. What particularly worth mentioning is that she spent only four months studying Chinese in a Chinese language class. She was very interested in Chinese Language and culture. Later she began to learn Chinese by herself and her Chinese proficiency improved by leaps and bounds. Volunteers Wang Yu and Xie Chengzhu from the Texas Southern University Confucius Institute played an important part in her training . They carefully counseled her practicing speeches, Chinese pronunciation, and talent performances. Stephanie Curry used to be a little bit nervous on the stage,but now she is a lot more confident. Hu Xiaobin and Wang Yu, the instructors of the Dallas Tournament, gave careful guidance as well, so that Fanny always kept a state of preparation. After the competition, Stephanie said that she was very grateful to the instructors for their meticulous counseling and thanked the Texas Southern University Confucius Institute for giving her the opportunity to improve and demonstrate Chinese.

Stephanie also applied for a project to teach English in Beijing. She stated that she will work harder and strive to improve her Chinese proficiency and cultural skills. “Learning Chinese, friends all over the world”. The bridge of language and culture in Chinese will illuminate her way forward!As the largest Chinese teaching and Chinese cultural center in Houston, the Texas Southern University Confucius Institute has always attached great importance to the development and participation of Chinese language and cultural activities. Every year, it actively trains and selects outstanding Chinese learners to participate in the training programs at Texas Southern University and local teaching sites. The "Chinese Bridge" competition supports the development of Chinese language. Texas Southern University Confucius Institute will continue to encourage college ,elementary and middle school students from various teaching sites to actively participate in the “Chinese Bridge” competition and strive for more satisfactory results!