In the golden autumn of October, scholars and experts gathered together along the Muyu Lake. From October 31 to November 1, the 26^th Hunan College English Speaking Contest and the 11^th "FLTRP Cup" National English Speaking Contest, hosted by the Department of Education of Hunan Province and organized by HIE, was held successfully. Mr. Wang Guishu, deputy secretary of Party Leadership Group and deputy director of Hunan Provincial Department of Education, and deputy secretary of Education Working Committee of Hunan Provincial Party Committee, attended the closing ceremony. Mr. Yi Bing, president of HIE, presented and inspected the competition. Mrs. Zhou Jun, deputy director of Higher Education Division of Department of Education of Hunan Province, Mrs. Zhang Lin, researcher of Higher Education Division of Department of Education of Hunan Province, Mr. Zeng Fangui, chairman of the Foreign Language Professional Committee of Hunan Higher Education Association, and Mr. Li Junlin, vice president of HIE, attended the meeting.

The contest this year attracted 153 students from 51 universities in Hunan province, including Central South University, Hunan University, Hunan Normal University and Xiangtan University. During the two-day competition, contestants were divided into two groups and competed in two lecture halls. Themed on "Challenge to all", the competition was separated into three rounds including prepared speech, questions from judges and impromptu speech. It mainly examined contestants' adaptability, expression ability and vocabulary reserve. The jury was composed of 17 language experts.

On the morning of November 1, Mr. Wang Guishu, accompanied by Mr. Yi Bing and Mr. Li Junlin, visited the competition site, exchanged views with judges, and watched the competition on the spot. At the closing ceremony held that morning, in order to show respect for the judges, English teachers and contestants, Mr. Wang Guishu congratulated the winning teams and contestants in English and praised the wonderful competition. “Why should we learn English?”, said Mr. Wang Guishu, “Learning English not only can improve our logical thinking and promote cultural exchanges, but also can make our motherland stronger through communications.” “Why do college students participate in English competitions?”, asked Mr. Wang Guishu, “Competitions not only bring honor and experience but also provide opportunities for inclusive learning. I hope that you will become better, higher and stronger through competition!" He also expressed his best wishes to all the contestants.

At the opening ceremony held on Oct. 31, Mr. Li Junlin delivered a welcome speech. On behalf of HIE, he extended a warm welcome to the leaders, experts, judges, teachers and contestants. Mr. Li Junlin pointed out that spoken English is an important indicator for international talents measurement, and it is also a comprehensive manifestation of language ability, thinking ability, communication ability and writing ability. He emphasized that this competition is a platform to demonstrate oral English and communication awareness, and it is also a good opportunity for learning and communication. All participating students should take the competition as an opportunity to enrich scientific and cultural knowledge, improve English expression ability and overall quality. Mrs. Zhou Jun pointed out that this contest aims to review the teaching effects of various colleges and universities, stimulate students' enthusiasm in English learning, enrich students' extracurricular learning and improve students' language practice ability.

The competition procedure of each contestant includes three parts which are prepared speech, question answering and impromptu speech. The time limit for each procedure is 3 minutes, 1 minute, and 2 minutes respectively. Among them, the answering part is randomly asked by the judges and questions for impromptu speech are drawn by the first contestant of each competition unit. During the two-day intense competition, contestants from various schools were calm and confident, sometimes impassioned and sometimes eloquent. They demonstrated vigorous and energetic spirit of students studying in Hunan by fluent expression, standard pronunciation, rigorous logic and infectious speeches.

Results were announced after fierce competition. Hunan University of Technology and Business, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Hunan University of Arts and Science and Hunan Normal University won the first prize of group one, and Central South University, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Hunan University and Jishou University won the first prize of group two.

This year, a representative team of Hunan Institute of Engineering (3 contestants) and a representative team of Applied Technology College of Hunan Institute of Engineering (3 contestants) were sent by HIE to participate the competition and achieved good results. Among them, Yang Kai and Zeng Yanxia won the first prize in the non-English major group; Ma Linli won the first prize in the English major group; Su Yuqing and Cao Siyu won the second prize in the non-English major group; and Shi Yuqi won the second prize in the English major group. The representative team of Hunan Institute of Engineering won the first prize of team award; the representative team of Applied Technology College of Hunan Institute of Engineering won the second prize of team award.

"During the competition, I not only improved my English expression skills, but also gained speech skills." Yang Kai, student from the School of Management of Class 2018 of HIE, spoke as a representative of the winner. He said that all the contestants have worked hard and deserve to be praised. He also expressed his wishes to all students that they can have better development opportunities in the future.