In order to encourage cooperative learning and interaction between international and local students at NPUST, on April 25th the Office of International Affairs held the “Recite for Love” prose reading competition at the Hongpu Hsiang Reading Room in the Library and Conference Hall. In teams made up of one foreign student and one local student, the contestants were called to present for the audience and judges, with the international student reading in Chinese and the local student in English. Due to the pandemic, the finals, which took place on May 30th, were moved online.
The dean of the OIA, Dr. Pomin Li, delivered a speech at the event, stating “I hope this prose reading contest will promote good interaction between our local students and foreign students. By learning and practicing interactively, you can build friendships with one another, and create unforgettable memories together during your time at school.” Dr. Li even prepared his own special English poetry recitation to kick off the event.
A total of 20 groups of students signed up for the preliminary round. The foreign students came from such places as, Saint Lucia, Thailand, Belize, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Nepal, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. During the preliminaries, students read many classical masterpieces, such as Xu Zhimo’s “Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again”, “Waiting for You, in the Rain” by the poet Yu Kwang-chung, Shakespeare’s “Sonnet No. 18”, “Bring the Wine” by Tang Dynasty poet, Li Bai, and Qin Guan’s ” Fairy of the Magpie Bridge”. The coordination of team members and their vivid expressions and actions added a lot to the presentations.
For the finals, ten groups of students were invited back to compete. The works for recital included “She Walks in Beauty” by British poet Byron, “I Like for You to Be Still” by Pablo Neruda, and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Night” by Dylan Thomas. In the end, Li Yan-Hua and Chris Tyson were awarded first place, followed by Lin Wan-Chi and Henzel Christopher Samuel in second and Chen Yan-Jen and Han Enoc Corea in third. Two other groups, one with Lin Guan-shi and Erlangga Esa Buana and the other with Ho Te-Jong and Annisa Oktafianti Nurlatifah, tied for fourth.
