Chinese in all ways except for one
Although this is only sophomore Shreya Ramayya’s second year taking Chinese, she is one of 24 high school students in the United States who has been selected to participate as a finalist in the eighth annual “Chinese Bridge” U.S. High School Student Speech Contest at the Confucius Institute. Ramayya will travel to the University of Massachusetts on April 6.
Ramayya heard about the competition from her Chinese teacher Grace Anderson who encouraged all of her students to apply. Ramayya signed up for the “beginner” category, which is limited to ninth and tenth graders who have taken Chinese for two years or less.
“I am very grateful to have been able to make it this far in the competition; I am very excited to see what the contest is like and I hope to improve my Chinese along the way,” Ramayya said. “Overall, I see this as a great opportunity for me to learn more Chinese.”
Ramayya will be required to present a speech about Chinese language and culture to the judges, showing the judges and others the importance of learning Chinese and the benefits of learning a new language.
She will also be required to participate in a small talent show performance. Ramayya will be performing a poem while playing traditional bamboo clappers.
Chinese culture has impacted Ramayya in many ways, and she tries to implement it in her life as best as she can. Since her parents are not Chinese, Ramayya speaks Chinese to her friends’ parents and reads Chinese books to expand her knowledge of Chinese traditions and culture.
“Chinese culture has become more familiar to me through my studies of the language, and I am now able to communicate with my Chinese friends’ parents,” Ramayya said. “I am [also] able to practice speaking Chinese outside of the classroom at Chinese grocery stores and businesses.”
In the future, Ramayya hopes to travel to China to attend a summer program and be in an environment that will help her learn practical aspects of Chinese. Ramayya also hopes that the study of this language will help her in her future career.
“I hope to become a physician in the future, so knowing Chinese could help me interact better with patients that are not as comfortable speaking English as they are with Chinese,” Ramayya said.
