International School 3rd “HUD CUP” English Debate Competition

In order to enrich students’ extracurricular life, enhance their logical thinking ability, and improve their English competence, International School held the preliminary rounds and the final of the 3rd “HUD CUP” English debate competition online on December 5th and 12th, 2022. Judges and guests included Ms. He Fengzhen, the South-China Region Admission Representative of Huddersfield University; Professor Li Pinghai, Vice Dean of the International School; Dr. Sal Mirza and staff from the International School; student representatives Yang Mengtong and Yu Zhengyang.

Four teams participated in the competition. Before each session, the moderator explained the rules of the debate and then announced its start. In the preliminary round, the topic focused on “Keyboard warrior is a warrior or not”. The pro side was required to give evidence to support “Keyboard warrior is a warrior”; and the con side gave the argument to prove “Keyboard warrior isn’t a warrior”. The debaters devoted themselves to the competition with fluent English and quick thinking, and provided an audio feast for audiences. After intense rounds, team one (contestants Chen Yanxi, Lin Zihan, Gong Yuxin and Yang Minzhan were included) and team four (contestants Li Meijing, Yan Jiarun, He Meixuan and Li Zining were included) won in the preliminary stage.

In the final stage, debaters centered around the topic: “if a museum catches fire, a famous painting and a cat, you can only save one. which one will you save?”. The pro side supported “If the museum catches fire, save the cat”. Their main points are: the greatest value of life is living, while saving the cat is a better manifestation of life’s value. But the con side stated that “if the museum catches fire, save the painting”. Their main points are: the value of art does not only exist in the person who creates the art, but also is reflected on those who have respected and protected the art from generation to generation.

In this session, the appealing debate produced an atmosphere of both tension and excitement. Both sides imagined the future with the development of artificial intelligence.

Then, Dr. Sal made comments on the competition. He said that although the debating topic was difficult, both sides did very well. He thought it was a very exciting contest. He also pointed out that voice is extremely important for online debate competitions, and you should make sure that if your emotion can impress the audience. Finally, he recognized the excellent performance of the debaters, and hoped students would make continuous efforts.

According to the judges’ scores, the pro side (debaters Chen Yanxi, Lin Zihan, Gong Yuxin and Yang Minzhan were included) won the first prize and the con side won (debaters Li Meijing, Yan Jiarun, He Meixuan and Li Zining were included) won the second prize in the final. And Yan Jiarun and Lin Zihan were presented with the “the Best Debaters” award.

In closing, Professor Li Pinghai affirmed this remarkable English debate, and made comments on debaters’ performance. He pointed out that the debate competition was a good opportunity to improve their thinking ability. He hoped the students could sum up the experience of the competition, and truly apply it to the daily life.

So far, the 3rd “HUD CUP” English Debate Competition of the International School came to a successful conclusion. Looking forward to the next wonderful English Debate Competition!

(Photos/Words from International School)