81 higher vocational colleges joined the English-speaking contest, part of the Jiangsu Vocational Students Skills Competition 2022, held at Suzhou Industrial Park Institute of Services Outsourcing (SISO) on January 8 and 9.

The contest was jointly hosted by 14 organizers including the Provincial Department of Education and the Development and Reform Commission in cooperation with the Jiangsu Society of Technical and Vocational Education and the SISO.

The competition comprised two rounds. In the first round, a contestant needed to tell a Chinese story and then made a presentation on a randomly selected topic in the form of charts. It was followed by a one-on-one conversation with a judge on the topics of product introduction and community service.

(Photo/Ni Zhuolin)

48 students advanced to the second round, the finals, which included a conversation and a debate.

Contestants talked with judges on the topics including the online cultural workshop and the marketing of medical devices.

In the debate part, the top four contestants from non-English majors debated with top two performers from English major over the topic of whether brick-and-mortar bookstores will remain successful.