Namibian Students Shine at Chinese Proficiency Competition

The University of Namibia (UNAM) hosted here on Friday the 10th Chinese Bridge proficiency competition for secondary school students.
 

The annual event saw 12 students from four different schools battle for the crown for the best student who understands Chinese language and culture.
 

The competition had six judges and each student had to undergo three rounds of the contest. Students had to first speak in Chinese and give a brief introduction about themselves, followed by a quiz test on their knowledge of China and finally a performance on any Chinese cultural talent of their choice.
 

Grade 11 student, Soin Ndalimbililwa, from Immanuel Shifidi Secondary School, clinched this year's overall title in style and booked herself a trip to China.
 

In an interview with Xinhua, Soin said that she was really exited to have won and could not contain her happiness and was ecstatic about travelling to China.
 

"Before I enrolled in Chinese language and culture studies, I was already keen and interested to learn. I started to learn on my own, and when I finally got the opportunity to enrol I grabbed it," she said.
 

The first runner-up, Naem Daniel from Highline Secondary School, will also travel to China. Naem told Xinhua that this will not be her first trip to China as she previously attended the Summer Camp last year.

"I still can not believe it. I was dreaming of going back to China and now I worked hard again and can go to experience the amazing country and culture," said Daniel.
 

Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming said competitions like these took him back to the days when he was in secondary school learning English.
 

He encouraged more students to enrol in such competitions. "Learning the Chinese language and culture will not only change your life, but you can acquire new skills, which you can use to better the Chinese-Namibia relationship," he added.
 

This year's competition was organized by the UNAM's Confucius Institute and the Chinese Embassy in Namibia.

From Xinhua