The national finals of the 7th SFLEP National College Students' Intercultural Competence Contest concluded in Shanghai on December 1, 2024. The XJTU team, composed of Liu Yulin (English major), Chen Yanjin (Clinical Medicine major), and Li Jiayi (Automation major), won the second prize in the national finals. Chen Yanjin was awarded the "Most Promising Award," while SFS faculty members Huang Ping'an, Dong Yanyun, and Sun Changhong received “Outstanding Instructor Awards”.
The SFLEP National College Students' Intercultural Competence Contest is recognized as both a national-level competition on the "National List of College Student Competitions in Higher Education" and an authoritative event in foreign language disciplines. Hosted by Shanghai International Studies University and organized by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (SFLEP), the competition aims to provide a platform for college teachers and students nationwide to showcase intercultural communication capabilities and exchange intercultural teaching experiences. It seeks to cultivate comprehensive international talents with Chinese sentiment, global vision, professional expertise, intercultural communication skills, and global competence.
This year's competition comprised three stages: campus trials, provincial competitions, and national finals. The national finals were divided into Chinese and international student groups. The Chinese student group included 64 teams from 28 provinces and cities, each representing the highest level of its respective regions, making the finals highly competitive.
The national finals consists of four segments: intercultural case presentation, analysis, Q&A, famous quote interpretation. The grand final was composed of knowledge quizzes, situational commentary on multicultural videos, Q&A, and storytelling about China. Compared to the provincial stage, each segment of the national finals was more challenging, with most tasks requiring impromptu English presentations except for the prepared case presentation and analysis. XJTU team won the second prize through its members' vivid case presentation, clear analysis of cultural conflicts, and solid intercultural theory interpretation. Chen Yanjin stood out for her fluent language, composed demeanor, and logical clarity, earning high praise from judges and securing the "Most Promising Award"—one of only two such awards nationwide in the Chinese student group, with the other awarded to Fudan University.
XJTU's Practical Teaching Center and Academic Affairs Department provided robust support for foreign language competitions. SFS has also attached great importance to this event, launching promotional activities through its "Competition Base" in June, completing campus trials on July 3, and conducting script selection, writing, and intercultural theory coaching with team members throughout the summer. After winning the provincial competition in October, the team intensively prepared for the national finals.
In the future, SFS will continue to promote the integrated development of curriculum construction, technological empowerment, and competition practice to create a multi-dimensional environment for students' foreign language learning and cultivate more outstanding talents with global competence and intercultural communication skills.
