2011 SIFC English debate competition is held on May 18th, with the topic of “Should we follow the foreign culture when studying abroad?”, the reason to choose this topic is because this is the issue that our students are going to experience or face when they are studying aboard in the near future.

In the 2 hours competition, students are divided into 3 teams: Pre-bachelor, Pre- Master and “3+1”; The Pre- Master group started from the bottom of the understanding about culture, what is culture; whereas the Pre- bachelor group focused on the word “follow”, they argue about difference between “to follow” and “to copy”; The “3+1” group believed that we should follow our culture.

After the fierce debates, the Pre-master group wins with the highest group scores, and students Liying, Gong (pre-master), Shiyun Yao (Pre- bachelor) and Minghao Huang (3+1) are awarded with the prize of “the Best Debater”.

This has been a valuable experience for students, as it provides a great opportunity for them to speak in the public in English, which enhance their presentation skills and building up their confidence when study aboard.