Yang Li:  大家好我是杨莉。 Welcome to a special edition of Question and
Answer of the Week. Joining me today in the BBC studio is Jin Lu.
 
Jin Lu:  Hi! My name is Jin Lu. I’m from the Department of Foreign
Languages of Tsinghua University in China. 大家好！我是来自北京清华
大学外语系的金璐。
 
Yang Li:  Well, Jin Lu, you came to London as a prize winner. So tell us about
your prize.
 
Jin Lu:  Ok. I won the 21st
 Century Lenovo Cup National English Speaking
Competition this year. And I’m currently in London with the BBC
and having a two-week work experience here as part of my prize. 
 
Yang Li:       大家听清了吗?金璐是本年度21 世纪报举办的全国英语演讲比赛的冠军。
Congratulations! 
 
Jin Lu:   Thank you!
 
Yang Li:  As the winner of a public speaking competition, Jin Lu is very happy
to share with us her experience and offer some tips to become a
confident public speaker. 今天呢我们要和金璐一起来聊聊怎样提高自信心
流畅地说英语。 So what do you think is the key that led to your
success in the competition, Jin Lu?

 
Jin Lu:  Well, I believe the most important thing is sincerity, which means
to speak from the heart. 只有真诚的演讲才能打动人心。
 
Yang Li:  Sincerity, 真诚。 That’s a good point. Besides that, do you have any
other specific tips for our Chinese learners of English?
 
Jin Lu:  Yes, there are two things. Firstly, interest, 兴趣。希望你能够找到自己
真正感兴趣的学习英语的方法。 For example, I am really interested in
literature. Sometimes I download the audio files of English novels
from the internet. Listen to and imitate the reading. And it really
helps a lot. 
 
Yang Li:  That’s interesting. Find a way that you are genuinely interested in
to learn and practise your English. 找到真正的兴趣点。
 
Jin Lu:  Yes, and the second thing is the sense of achievement, 也就是为自己
创造成就感。 Feel free to be proud of yourself. Every time you have

learned a new word, or memorised an English poem, or mustered
courage to write your foreign friend a letter in English, however
small it is, you should be happy and proud. You have definitely
achieved more than you are aware of. 
 
Yang Li:  I couldn't agree more. 成就感真的非常重要。 It may be a small step
first but that could lead to something much bigger.
 
Jin Lu:  Yes.
 
Yang Li:  Well, another thing is I often hear young people say they don’t
have the chance to go abroad so how can they improve their
English in China? 金璐我想听听你的看法，是不是只有出国才能说好英语
呢？ Do you have to go abroad to speak English well? 
 
Jin Lu:  Well, if you do have a chance to go abroad, I’m sure that would be
very helpful. But if you don’t, do not worry. Nowadays in China,
there are plenty of resources you can explore to help you learn
English, such as English newspapers, English channels on TV, and
various English activities in universities. Most importantly, a lot of
lecturers and teachers are well trained and well qualified. 其实在中
国，英语教学的师资力量也都很强，加上其它的辅助资源，真的，说好一口英
语并不难。
 
Yang Li:  Good tips there. So how did you make the most out of the
resources in your school or university?
 
Jin Lu:  Well, in high school, I was a big fan of the 21st
 Century English
Newspaper which my teachers recommended. Then in college, I
joined the English debate club of my university, where we practised
debating regularly. Well, honestly, to debate in English is very
difficult, but as I persist in doing it, it becomes very enjoyable for
me. So, all such activities in your schools are very valuable.  
 
Yang Li:  读英文报纸，参加英语辩论小组。 That’s certainly valuable advice, any
other suggestions? 
 
Jin Lu:  Sure. In your English classes, please, please, sit in the front rows

of the classroom, because many Chinese students tend to be very
shy and they hide themselves in the back. That’s where they miss
the chance of participation in class. But once you sit in the front,
you are closer to the teacher, which is easier for you to just pop up
a few words sometimes and interact with the teacher. And all the
other students are sitting behind you, so you can just ignore their
reactions. No need to be afraid. 
 
Yang Li:  No need to be afraid. Sit in the front rows. 
 
Jin Lu:  Exactly.
 
Yang Li:  上英语课的时候尽量坐在教室的前排。嗯! That reminds me of a common
experience of people learning a foreign language, 那就是当我们和水平
比较低的人讲英语时往往发挥得好，反过来，和水平高的人讲话就紧张，越怕

出错越出错。 I think that means all of us need confidence to be able
to speak well. 那么金璐，你有什么可以提升自信心的建议呢？
 
Jin Lu:  我觉得我是一个非常乐观的人。 I am a very optimistic girl. I believe
that everything, even every moment of embarrassment, is just a
tiny little moment in my life. When I get old and look back, I will
just laugh at them. So it does not matter if you don’t speak well.
You just need to keep speaking and you will definitely be good
finally.
 
Yang Li:  Keep speaking and keep practising your English with perhaps good
friends and classmates?
 
Jin Lu:  Yes. Also I think you need friends and teachers to encourage you. I
remember before the competition, my boyfriend said to me, “well
even if you do badly in everything, I’m always with you.” That’s
exactly where much of my confidence and inner power comes from.
亲人和朋友们的鼓励。所以亲爱的听众们，在你的朋友学习英语的道路上，也
请支持并且鼓励他们。
 
Yang Li:  Yes. Help and support each other. Actually, one technique I learned
about for good public speaking is that you should always look at
the people in the audience who are encouraging, what do you think
Jin Lu?
 
Jin Lu:  Yes. That is quite a useful tip for those competition participants. 如
果你站在一个英语演讲比赛的舞台上，尽量去看那些对你微笑的评委。 这样会
让心情放松不少。当然了，如果所有的评委都一脸严肃，那你只能想象一下他
们微笑的样子了。 
 
Yang Li:  Thank you very much, Jin Lu, for sharing your valuable experience
and tips with us about public speaking. We have certainly discussed
many useful elements of making good speeches and learning
English: 真诚 sincerity, 兴趣 interest, 还有成就感 sense of
achievement and…  
 
Jin Lu:          And don’t forget 自信心 confidence, 鼓励 encouragement and…
 
Yang Li:  And of course, to visit our new website at:  
 
Jin Lu:  www.bbcukchina.com.  
 
Yang Li:  I can assure you, you can benefit a lot! So that’s today’s
programme. Thanks for listening. And we will see you next time! 
 
Jin Lu:  See you soon!