The 1st HUD English Debate Competition of the International School

The 1st HUD English Debate Competition was held in the Qizhi Building in December 2019. It aimed to build a better learning atmosphere and improve students’ English communication ability. It was divided into two sessions, the preliminary and the final.

The preliminary session of the competition was held on December 2nd. Eleven teams of 16 students debated through five rounds. Mr. Wang Wenzhong, the Director of International Exchange and Cooperation Office, foreign faculty Mr. Peter Medina and Mr. Christian Saunders and Counselor Yang Lijun of the International School were invited as judges.

At the start of the competition, the host introduced the rules, guidelines, and the topic “whether sex education should be taught in primary school”. The proposition position was that sex education should be taught in primary school to prevent sexual harassment. The opposition insisted that sex education should not be taught in primary school concerning the precocity tendency. After several fiercely contested rounds, 8 students won out and moved to the final.

After ten days preparation, the final session of the competition was held on December 12th. Professor Yu Huifen, Dean of the International School, Teacher Zeng Yawen from the University of Huddersfield(UK), Guangzhou Office, Professor Sal of the International School and Professor Wanfei were invited as judges.

In the final, the debate teams consisted of 4 students in each team. The two sides focused on the topic “after the college entrance examination, choosing a major and choosing an university, which one is more important”. The proposition team viewed that whatever university you’re in，real learning is the absolute principle. They gave examples to emphasize the importance of choosing a good major. The opposing team explained that a good university can provide students with more employment opportunities with a higher starting point. The audience enjoyed an auditory feast during the competition. Finally, the proposition team won the championship.

After the debating part, Professor Wanfei and Professor Sal made comments on the whole competition and gave high praise to all eight debaters. Then Professor Yu made the closing speech. She said that this competition was wonderful and surprised her a lot. Besides, she appreciated everyone’s efforts and support for the competition and voiced her expectation for male participation (as all final participants were female this year) in the debate competition next year. The 1st HUD English debate competition of International School came to a successful end.