A closing ceremony was held in the gymnasium of Tsinghua on August 20, marking the close of the four-week English summer camp launched for Tsinghua freshmen of year 2003.

The warm up dance by foreign and Chinese volunteers and the students brought to the gymnasium an atmosphere of joy and excitement. Before the closing ceremony, there was first a speech competition. Altogether eight students competed in the final competition, which was part of the contests held for the students in the English summer camp.

Prof. Wang Jinsong, Vice President of Tsinghua University, delivered a speech at the ceremony. He said that Tsinghua has a long history of speaking and learning English and hoped that the students not only learn English diligently but also try to use it. Mr. Gary Howlett, foreign teacher representative, Prof. Lu Zhongshe, vice dean of the Foreign Languages Department, and Wu Xia, representative of Chinese teachers, spoke respectively at the ceremony.

Prof. Chen Xi, Chairman of Tsinghua University Council, announced the closing of the English Summer Camp. Prof. Hu Heping, provost of Tsinghua University hosted the closing ceremony.

It’s the first time for Tsinghua University to organize such a summer camp—in special time, in designated places, with experienced teachers, and in a way different from the traditional way of English teaching. More than forty Chinese teachers from the Foreign Languages Department, about forty foreign teachers and thirty-five foreign volunteers took part in the camp. English learning activity of this large scale takes the lead among so many Chinese colleges and universities.

Reported by Li Han