On 24th March, 2012, the Second National Interpreting Contest was held in the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. On behalf of School of Foreign Languages of BNUZ, three students (Xue Sun, Can Wang, and Cen Yang) attended this contest and received excellent results after two rounds of competitions. Xue Sun and Can Wang won the second prize, and Cen Yang won the third prize.

The contest was hosted by the China Association of Translators, and organized by the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. 55 students, from Guangdong and Hainan Provinces, participated in this contest. It began at 8 am, and after the first round of English-Chinese interpreting, 24 contestants moved to the next round which was the Chinese-English interpreting about the topic of innovation.

The three students mentioned that they were a bit nervous and under great pressure before the test, but they regarded this contest as a motivation in their learning of interpretation. Xue Sun told us that one-year preparation for postgraduate entrance examinations endowed her with confidence to attend this kind of competition. And the contest was definitely stimulating and inspiring.

When asked about how to practice interpretation and balance time spent in courses, their answers are quite similar. Can Wang said that to learn a language we should follow the principle of gradual improvement and move on step by step. It demanded perseverance, hard work, and the ability to learn certain things within a short time. In addition, Cen Yang advised that every day we should listen to BBC, VOA, CNN programs etc. and be aware of interpreting what we heard into English in daily life. Xue Sun mentioned that the communication with your teachers was the best way to find out your weaknesses and improve yourself.

It is obvious that they could not have had such good performance in the contest without studying hard and efficiently. The contest showed the talents and professional skills of students in our school. And students of the SFL congratulated on the excellent achievements of the three students.