Chongqing — Higher education is about learning new ways of thinking and acquiring problem-solving skills. In this episode of Faces of Chongqing, Wu Yue, a young teacher from Sichuan International Studies University, teaches her students professional skills and cultivates their ability in independent thinking.

One of Wu Yue's lessons is to ask students to record stories about their families and special eras in their country's history. This lesson requires each student to complete and report one lifelog each semester. The presentation takes 3 to 5 minutes. Students could choose their own perspectives and topics to do such a program.

"Through this lesson, I hope my students can foster indomitable feelings towards their home and country and be able to cultivate their abilities and vision when they look at society, " said Wu Yue. 

Indeed, students had their own harvest through this lesson. one student said, "I actually have a deeper understanding of marriage because the presentation topic is about wedding dresses, which is steeped in Chinese traditional culture."

Another student learned the skills of speech and presentation. She said, "I took this inspiration from a few sharing talks. For example, for my previous speech, I displayed a picture and then spoke a paragraph, repeating this process repetitively. In fact, we should try different rhythms and paces so that our speeches are more expressive and persuasive."

Until now, Wu Yue still keeps working hard to match the expectations of students.

Besides being a teacher, Wu Yue is also a host of large-scale events. Wu Yue saw the two identities as mutually complementary.

"Actually, in my case, these two identities have reached a similar goal through different routes, and they both involve passing on values, so they both require continued learning for me," said Wu Yue. 

She added that every time I finish a large-scale event, I note my thoughts, which can then complement my teaching and lessons.

In fact, Wu Yue is also a bilingual host and has participated in national exchange and performance visits in several countries. Her first overseas performance was in the Maldives for a cultural visit with the theme of Happy Chinese New Year. It was still full of challenges, even for the experienced host.

In this event, her responsibility was to recommend Chongqing to foreign friends and played the role of cultural exchange.

"I was really nervous, and I was almost memorizing manuscripts in my dreams. But when I stood on stage, and the lights were turned on, all the anxiety and worries suddenly disappeared, and I felt confident and calm again," said Wu.

After the event ended, she successfully finished her task. An old overseas Chinese who had lived there for a long time praised Wu Yue's spoken English and performance. 

"She could feel the image of Chongqing as a city that suddenly came to life through my depiction. I was so honored to instill such a nostalgic feeling to my countrymen," said Wu.