by Kanglu Fu, Visiting International Scholar, Confucius Institute

On April 29, 2020, the Confucius Institute at Miami University and the Department of GRAMELAC jointly organized the annual Chinese Skit Competition, with Chen Zhao, the director of the Confucius Institute, serving as host.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Chinese Skit Competition was held on WebEx to protect the health of all participating students, faculty, and staff. Confucius Institute staff collaborated with Chinese professors to create a concise and clear activity webpage in Canvas, which contained all the videos and other necessary materials.

Judges included Professor Liang Shi, Assistant Chair of GRAMELAC; Haosheng Yang, Chief Departmental Advisor for EALC (Chinese) in GRAMELAC; Chen Zhao, director of the Confucius Institute at Miami University; and Confucius Institute Chinese instructors Wenting Yang and Yifeng Tian.

More than a dozen students participated in this year's Skit Competition. The students' videos represented diverse topics, showcasing their life, learning, and friendship. The lively and interesting performances earned applause and praise from the judges, teachers, and online participating students.

After reviewing the skit videos, judges selected the first, second, and third prizes in each category according to their language and performance skills. The winners all received a certificate and a cash prize.

The skit competition ended successfully in laughter. Students were encouraged to keep learning Chinese and to experience the fun of learning in this challenging time.