喜报｜出道即巅峰：中文辩论队“纵横杯”比赛满载而归！

在我们的校园里常常可以看到，很多学生、特别是中学生会用英文聊天、沟通。

你知道吗？其实，我们学生的中文和英文一样了得，只要时机合适就会崭露出来，让人眼前一亮！

上周末举行的国际学校“纵横杯”中文辩论赛——启明星中学中文辩论队满载而归：

23位启明星学生组成3支队伍分别出征B、C、D组，冲破全球70多所学校的120多支队伍的重重挑战，一举斩获：

中学中文老师、中文辩论校队负责人杨红娴喜悦之色溢于言表：“赛前我们做了大量准备，对取得好成绩还是有预期的，只是没想到孩子们表现得这么出色！他们在B组和D组都以小组冠军出线，在C组以小组亚军出线。每组只设一名的全程最佳辩手我们也拿到2个！…….孩子们拿奖拿到手软！”

中学中文辩论队一参赛即成为一匹黑马，盘点其中秘诀，杨老师总结说：

1、 学校高度重视，为孩子们聘请专业教练，规划每周一次1个半小时的校队专属课程；

2、中学中文教学团队全力投入，每组校队由一位中文老师专门负责，其他中文老师协助；

3、安排足量校内练习和校外模辩，赛前连续5周保证至少每周一赛，并在每场比赛之后及时复盘和总结指导；

4、利用散碎时间引导各队一起磨合、讨论、写稿、备赛，保证学生有充分的赛前准备时间；

5、5名经验丰富的11年级学生申昊正、刘玥如、刘思影、刘心怡、李嘉玲——作为老辩手支持校队训练，向学弟学妹传授技巧和经验，担任陪练。

“我们还用严格的制度管理保障训练的有效。学生加入辩论队之初，我们就向大家明确了规则，不能无故缺席训练，所以孩子们从一开始就明白这件事要认真对待，严格遵守纪律保障了学习和训练效果。”杨老师强调。

外部制度和保障是外因，起到催化效果，更重要的、起根本作用的内因不能忽略——

辩论队的选拔从一开始就秉持零基础选拔——只要你有兴趣，都可以来参加，可以是资深辩手，也可以是辩论小白——这充分呵护了学生对辩论发自内心的兴趣，也体现了启明星平等尊重所有学习者的核心价值观。

结果，在学年之初的选拔现场，有60多名学生报名参选，激烈角逐有限的校队名额；而无论他们的经验值多少，都被评委老师认真对待。这样的选拔过程虽然费时、费力，却确保所有入选的辩手都是中文辩论的忠实拥趸。

他们真心热爱这项活动，所以能主动寻找解决问题的方法。为了帮助一位接质询环节薄弱的同学练习，孩子们自己发明了“一人申论，七人质询”的轰炸式练习法。

孩子们真心喜爱这项活动，才能在不断提高强度的训练中坚持下来。比赛前两周，他们在午休时间、放学后，甚至周末都安排了备赛、模辩或复盘。他们也在完成课内学业、总结性评估、俱乐部活动、校外拓展课程、其他校队活动之余，为比赛规划了充足的训练时间。

另外，学生优良的中文素养，也是他们在辩论中游刃有余，灵活驾驭现场的底气。“我们选拔辩手，选拔的不是辩论的经验，而是知识面的广度、思辨的能力、对中文的操控力……”杨老师说。

中文学习是专注双语双文化20年的启明星的坚持。孩子们在中文辩论赛中的表现，是他们从小学到中学一路积累的中文语言和中文思辨能力的自然呈现。

付出得到回报，孩子们是真的开心。

“我（在初赛中）从各个学校的辩手身上学习他们的辩论风格和技巧，运用在复赛和决赛的赛场上。比如，我从新加坡斯坦福美国学校的辩手那里学到二辩与三辩在申论环节给对手不断堆叠论证义务的技巧……”斩获多项荣誉的王康睿说。

成绩同样卓越的张子力说：“我收获了很多宝贵的经验和知识。比如，我学会了如何更好地分析对方的观点并提出有效的问题，如何提炼观点，用逻辑和论据支撑自己的观点。这不仅帮助我在辩论赛上取得好成绩，也提升了我的思维能力，让我在日常生活中更加理性和清晰地思考问题……我也学会了更好地和队友合作。我们互相支持，共同努力，形成了一支高效的团队。我认为，获胜是我们全队努力的结果！”

各组指导老师特别认可孩子们的投入和付出，在此，让我们听听他们发自内心的赞许：

“让我欣慰的不只是孩子们的成绩，还有大赛磨练对他们内驱力的激发和抗压能力的锻炼，还有对自我的深刻认识。”杨红娴老师说，“比赛不是最终的目的，我们成立辩论队的初衷就是以赛带学，让辩论成为中文学习和提升个人素养的平台。”

正如杨老师所说，中文辩论队并不将比赛作为唯一目的，休息调整一周之后，孩子们就要恢复训练了，赛事告一段落，但他们还有更长的成长之路要探索。

我们预祝启明星小辩手在下个赛季取得好成绩，也祝愿每个启明星孩子能在学习之旅中找到和享受成长的乐趣和意义！

Here on our campus, you'll often find Secondary School students chatting and talking with one another in English.

What's impressive is that they are equally skilled in Chinese and English. When the right moment comes, they will stand out and make everyone surprised!

A recent example is the Zongheng International School Chinese Debate Tournamen last weekend. Daystar Secondary School Chinese debate team, which has only been around for only two months presented a most impressive debut:

Three teams, 23 students from Grades 6 to 10, took part in the fierce competition in Group B, C and D, with more than 120 teams from over 70 schools worldwide, and achieved a remarkable victory:

"We did a lot of preparations before the tournament, so we expected the students to do a good job. But we didn't expect them to be so exceptional! They secured the first place in both Team B and D, and the second in Team C. We even had two awards for the top debater of each team... Our students won so many awards that it's almost overwhelming!" said Sandy Yang, Secondary School Chinese teacher and Head of Daystar Chinese debate team, with joy.

Daystar Secondary School Chinese debate team has become a dark horse. Summing up the secrets behind their success, Ms. Sandy explained:

1. At Daystar, we placed high importance on the team. We hired professional coaches for a 1.5-hour team training session every week.

2. The entire Secondary School Chinese teaching team is fully committed. Each team had a specific Chinese teacher in charge, with other teachers offering help.

3. We arranged in-school practices and off-campus mock debates. For five consecutive weeks leading up to the tournament, the students must have at least one practice debate each week. We also conducted post-match reviews and gave them guidance promptly after each competition.

4. We used spare time to discuss, draft, and prepare for competitions, ensuring that every student was well-prepared.

5. Five experienced Grade 11 students (Harry Shen, Dora Liu, Mia Liu, Palos Liu, Lynn Li) served as senior debaters in team training, imparting skills and experience to their younger peers, and acting as practice partners.

"We also made strict rules to make sure of the training efficiency. When students joined the debate team, we made it clear that they cannot miss training sessions without a proper reason. This gave them a sense of responsibility from the beginning and strictly following the rules is crucial for their learning and training effectiveness," said Ms. Sandy.

Rules and safeguard are the external driving force, but the internal reasons that play a fundamental role should not be ignored—

We didn’t require students to be skilled debaters. Anyone interested is welcome to participate, regardless of their experience – you can be a debate expert or a complete beginner. This approach nurtures a genuine interest in debate among students and reflects the core values of Daystar–equality and respect for all learners.

Over 60 students applied to compete for the limited spots on the school team at the beginning of the academic year. Regardless of their level of experience, all of them were treated seriously by the judging teachers. The selection, although time-consuming and labor-intensive, ensured that all selected debaters are true enthusiasts.

They have a sincere passion for it, which makes them willing to actively seek solutions to problems. In order to help a fellow student who struggled with the questioning part, students invented a "one-person speech, seven-person questioning" intensive practice.

Their genuine love for debate was what kept them going through the increasingly intense training. In the two weeks before the tournament, they prepared, and scheduled mock debates and reviews during lunch breaks, after school, and even on weekends. They also needed to make preparations in addition to their academic work, summative assessments, club activities, after-school courses, and other school team activities.

Students' strong Chinese literacy also gave them the confidence to debate with ease and adaptability. "When we selected debaters, we were not looking for their debate experience but rather the breadth of their knowledge, their ability to think critically, and their mastery of the Chinese language," said Ms. Sandy. 

Mastery of Chinese and English has been a core principle for Daystar for two decades. Students' performance in Mandarin debate expressed their Chinese language skills and critical thinking abilities they had been building from Elementary School through to Secondary School.

Students were so happy that the effort they put in paid off.

"In the preliminary rounds, I learned different debate styles and techniques from many other debaters, then I used what I had learned in the semi-finals and finals. For example, I learned from debaters at the Stamford American International School Singapore on how to keep making opponents have to find proofs during the questioning..." said Kerry Wang who achieved multiple honors.

"I gained valuable experience and knowledge from the tournament. For instance, I learned how to better analyze the opposing viewpoint and pose harsh questions, simplify my arguments, and support my own points with logic and evidence. This not only helped me excel in debates but also enhanced my critical thinking, making me think more rationally and clearly in everyday life... I also learned how to cooperate better with my teammates. We supported each other and worked together as an efficient team. I believe that our victory is the result of the whole team's effort." said Alex Zhang who also achieved outstanding results.

The instructors especially recognized the dedication and commitment of the students. Let's listen to their heartfelt praise:

"What comforts me is not only their results but also how the tournament inspired their inner drive, enhanced their ability to handle pressure, and deepened their self-awareness," said Ms. Sandy. "The tournament is not the end; our intention in forming the debate team was to use competition as a means of learning, to make debate a platform for Chinese learning and personal growth."

As she said, the tournament is not the ultimate goal. After a week of rest, the students will go back to training. The competition season has come to a close, but they still have a long journey of growth to explore.

We wish the young debaters of Daystar success in the upcoming season, and that every Daystar student can find and enjoy the joy and meaning of growth on their journey!

不一样的“刀光剑影”：辩论背后的慢成长 “Slow” Growth Behind “Hot Debates”- How Participating in Debates Impacts Students

启明星2023冬令营开放报名啦！冬日的暖阳等着好学的你！Daystar Winter Camps Now Open for Registration!