Recently, the list of winners of the global "2025 Sing to Learn Chinese" event organized by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation was officially announced. DANG THUY LINH, a Vietnamese international student from College of Chinese & ASEAN Arts, stood out among numerous global participants with her clear and melodious voice, fluent and authentic Chinese expression, and sincere and full emotional interpretation. She won two important honors: the "Best Performance Award (Thousand Words Version)" and the "Most Popular Award (Electronic Music Version)", adding another brilliant achievement to the college's international education outcomes.

"I have always thought that Chinese is a language full of rhythmic beauty, and singing is my favorite way to learn it." When talking about her Chinese learning journey, DANG THUY LINH could hardly hide her passion. Since enrolling in the college, she has had a strong interest in Chinese and Chinese culture. In class, she focuses on learning Chinese language knowledge; after class, she takes Chinese songs as her "immersive learning tool". By carefully pondering the artistic conception of the lyrics word by word and practicing pronunciation and intonation along with the melody, she has not only solidified her Chinese foundation through the diverse styles of pop songs, traditional folk ballads and electronic music works, but also felt the cultural warmth behind the language. Her favorite Chinese song is The Last Page by Jessie Chiang.

At first, when she saw the registration information for the global "2025 Sing to Learn Chinese" event, DANG THUY LINH hesitated to sign up, worrying that her Chinese expression was not authentic enough and her stage performance would be inferior to other competitors. With the strong recommendation and encouragement from Teacher Wang Yang of International Department, she finally made up her mind to participate. "Once I sign up, there is no turning back. I must do my utmost!" With this belief, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to polishing her entry, adjusted the singing rhythm repeatedly, and prepared for the competition earnestly, infusing her love for Chinese and unyielding perseverance into every note. When she received the award notification, surprise and nervousness were evident on her face. She immediately opened the WeChat chat window with Teacher Wang Yang and wrote a simple yet highly excited message: "Teacher, I think I won an award."

DANG THUY LINH's outstanding achievements are inseparable from the college's comprehensive support for international students' Chinese learning and cultural experiences. To help international students quickly integrate into the Chinese language environment and deepen their cultural understanding, International Department has jointly launched a series of characteristic activities with relevant departments: it has carried out language practice programs such as "National Treasure Promotion Ambassador" and "Rongcheng Experience Officer", enabling students to improve their practical Chinese application abilities through interactive communication; it has organized traditional festival experience activities including Mid-Autumn moon appreciation, Dragon Boat Festival rice dumpling making and Spring Festival couplet writing, allowing students to experience the unique charm of Chinese culture through personal participation; it has offered courses such as An Introduction to China and Appreciation of Chinese Songs, building a platform for students to systematically understand Chinese culture. These diverse and rich activities have not only provided international students with a stage to showcase themselves, but also made them imperceptibly deepen their love for Chinese, laying a solid foundation for DANG THUY LINH's success in this competition.

As a global cultural exchange platform built by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, the "2025 Sing to Learn Chinese" event takes music as a link, providing Chinese language learners from all over the world with cross-border opportunities for display and communication. "This platform has made me see the global influence of Chinese, and it has also strengthened my determination to learn Chinese well and spread the cultures of the two countries," said DANG THUY LINH.

In the future, College of Chinese & ASEAN Arts will continue to optimize the international student training system and build more high-quality platforms for language learning and cultural exchanges. It will help more international students gain growth in Chinese learning and enhance friendship through cultural mutual learning, thus building a more solid bridge for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.