U.S. Eastern Time April 24th, 2010 The second annual Michigan China Quiz Bowl MCQB was successfully held at Madonna University located in Livonia, Michigan. This competition is sponsored by the Confucius Institute at our sister school, Wayne State University.
The Confucius Institute at Wayne State University initiated the first MCQB in the year 2009. The MCQB is a competition that tests learners of Chinese on their understanding of the language and culture. It was created for the sake of promoting Chinese language and culture. Its sole purpose was to enrich the learning of Chinese in classrooms, to enhance the teaching of Chinese in Michigan, and to inspire and spark the interest of students who are learning the Chinese language. The first MCQB had already won the enthusiastic responses of many teachers and their students with 18 teams entering in the competition. This year, with the increasing popularity of the Confucius Institute at Wayne State University, the second MCQB received registration from 43 teams for the competition.
The MCQB consist of three types of questions: team consultation questions, toss-up questions and visual questions. These questions test on the students' ability to use the Chinese language, their knowledge on vocabulary and Chinese culture and geography. There were six divisions this year: Middle School Division I, II, III, and High School Division I, II, III. Two teams from the same division would compete against each other in the preliminary rounds. There were a total number of 64 preliminary rounds this year. The two teams from each division with the highest average score in the preliminary rounds will enter the final competition.
Teams that entered the final competition this year are: Team Litchi, Team Longan, Team Strawberry and Team Apple from Grosse Pointe Academy, Team Tangerine from Baker Middle School, Team Lemon from Marist Academy, Team Squirrel, Team Peacock and Team Cat from the Cranbrook Schools, Team Zebra from Grosse Pointe High School, Team Rose from Troy High School and Team Peony from South Lake Schools. The final competition was full of excitement and tension. Students frequently won much applause from the audience for their outstanding performances. In the end, teams: Apple, Strawberry, Longan, Squirrel, Peacock and Rose won the first places in the final competition.
This year's competition received strong supports from Wayne State University, Michigan Chinese Language Association, Madonna University, and the Center for Chinese Studies in University of Michigan. After the preliminary competitions, the Center for Chinese Studies from the University of Michigan provided everyone with rich entertainment that featured the uniqueness of Chinese Culture. The Chinese calligraphy and costumes especially impressed many of the audiences.
Many students who entered the MCQB this year stated that this event was challenging yet very fun and interesting, they were able to learn while having much fun. Hu Liang, the coach for the teams from Grosse Pointe Academy expressed the MCQB hosted by the Confucius Institute was very meaningful. In one aspect, it sparks the students' interest in learning Chinese. In another, it also contributed to the increasing influence of Chinese culture and Chinese teaching in Michigan and the American society.
