Mandarin Reading Competition Winners Receive Prizes
By Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Two Saint Lucians have been awarded for their outstanding performances in this year’s Mandarin Reading Competition.
They are Eybhee Busetle, the champion from Saint Lucia, and Nataki Florentville, who won the Most Popular Award. Both Busetle and Florentville are students at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.
The students each received a certificate, gift bag, and monetary award.
The Mandarin Reading Competition was hosted by TaiwanICDF, with around 107 participants from 11 countries attending, including from Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Palau, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Paraguay, Turkey, and Jordan.
During the award presentation ceremony held at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) on Friday, December 16, His Excellency Peter Chia-yen Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, said learning the language is very beneficial.
“Taiwan’s teaching materials are diverse, teaching methods are varied, and learning models have been matured in recent years in combination with smart teaching, digital technology and innovation,” Ambassador Chen said. “All these teaching advantages are products of ideal democratic system and thus fully meet requirements of Saint Lucia which shares the same value of freedom and democracy.”
He thanked Sir Arthur Lewis Community College for working with Mandarin teacher, Tin Tin Lu, to provide a comprehensive learning environment for the students.
Ambassador Chen stated that Taiwan has started Mandarin Pioneer Programmes in two secondary schools this year, awarded five-year scholarships to 29 students to study in Taiwan, and also organized Mandarin training workshops for students with basic levels.
“Taiwan will continue to work with the Government of Saint Lucia and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College to provide top-notch opportunities for Mandarin learning in Saint Lucia,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Merle St. Clair-Auguste, Acting Principal of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, said the competition allowed the students to showcase their proficiency in the popular language.
“The participants from all countries demonstrated their Mandarin language skills and were well received by the professional judges,” she said. “The competition not only gave Mandarin learners a chance to showcase themselves, but also promoted Taiwanese Mandarin. We are grateful that the efforts of our students and those who participated are being acknowledged and we wish them the best in their endeavours.”
Dr. St. Clair-Auguste also thanked Ambassador Chen and the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) for partnering with Sir Arthur Lewis Community College towards deepening the relationship that exists between the two entities.
Mandarin is spoken by over 730 million people, but it is more than a language, as it also opens the door to a huge job market in all of the countries where Mandarin is the language used in commerce.
