The Chinese Bridge Competition turns Sihle Nabo’s dreams into reality

 

 

Sihle Nabo, a learner at Nathaniel Nyaluza Senior Secondary School, recently put his Chinese language skills to the test by participating in the prestigious Chinese Bridge Competition. "I have been learning Chinese for over a year, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to test my knowledge of the language and culture," he shared enthusiastically.

The competition is an international event designed to promote Chinese language and culture among non-Chinese speakers. Promoted by the Chinese National Hanban, the competition is aimed at promoting language competency, the knowledge of China and Chinese language and culture. Participants get to first compete in a local preliminary competition, after they win, they get invited to the semi-finals, and the final contests will take place in China. Sihle won the preliminary and got to participate in Cape Town.

Driven by dedication and passion for foreign languages and cultures, the young boy shared that, “my Chinese language teacher encouraged me to enter the competition. As the only learner doing Chinese at my school, this prompted a greater chance for me to enter the competition and proceed. I have always wanted to learn foreign languages and cultures”.
As a proud mother, Ms Brenda Nabo expressed that “I was so excited and happy to hear that my son has been chosen to compete in the Chinese Bridge Competition in Cape Town”. “I helped him prepare his speech in English and I encouraged him to study hard and practice more for the performances,” she said.

Sihle mentioned that “I did not have much time to prepare, and this posed some challenges for me when I got to compete, but I managed to complete all my performances”. The results were not pleasant to Sihle as he did not get the desired outcome. However, the opportunity to participate in Cape Town helped to fulfil some of his dreams. “This was such a rewarding experience, even though I am not happy with the results. I got to make great memories as I got to experience a lot for the first time. I got to travel by the aeroplane for the first time, slept at Cape Town’s best hotel, met my favourite celebrity, visited the biggest mall, and got to
explore the beautiful city,” he shared.

Ms Nabo urged all parents to support and push their children to do better in life. “I would advise other parents to support and encourage their children to work hard and do better in their journeys, for as long as they will reap good rewards that would lead to success,” she said. With so much gratitude, Sihle expressed that “I would enter the competition again, and I would encourage other learners to enter too. This is a great opportunity to test your knowledge on the Chinese language and get to see the world,” he said.

By Zindzi Nkunzi

 

Sihle Nabo pictured with the Director of the Confucius Institute and Chinese teachers.

Sihle Nabo pictured with fellow participants of the Chinese Bridge Competition.