Recently, Zhou Jian, a junior student from the NIT School of Foreign Language Studies, won third prize at the 17th ‘FLTRP Dangdangwang Cup’ National English Debate Competition. This annual event, which is the largest spoken English contest in China, boasts an excellent reputation among debaters.

“I never expected to do very well in this debate contest,” Zhou Jian said. “I just wanted to put what I had learned from reading the book, Introduction to Logic, into practice.” Firmly convinced that those who work hard will reap the reward of their efforts, Zhou Jian has learned and honed her debating skills from scratch.

When Zhou was informed that she was to take part in the debate competition on behalf of NIT, only two weeks remained for her and her partner, Cheng Cheng, to prepare. To help them get ready for this challenging contest, Zhou Jian’s teacher, Bonita Ruan, organized a short training session to help them with debate techniques, gestures, posture, and so forth. In addition, Zhou Jian said that she watched videos of previous contests to learn important points and in this way became more familiar with the process of debating. Because the debate was to be a team competition, she communicated with her partner in English whenever possible in order to improve their spoken English, as well to become more attuned to her partner in the short period of time.

Zhou Jian’s roommate, Zhong Linna, commented, “I could hardly believe it! Zhou Jian spent her whole National Holiday reading a pile of books on debating skills.” Zhang Lan, one of Zhou Jian’s classmates, said that Zhou Jian visited her dormitory frequently during this time to discuss debate topics she found on the Internet with classmates, and to gain inspiration.

Zhong expressed her great admiration of Zhou Jian: “No matter where Zhou Jian goes, it is not unusual to see her carrying several books. She did not achieve her success in one easy stroke; it was the result of her unremitting daily efforts.”