Ms. Deng Yaping, the world champion of table tennis and a PhD from Cambridge University was invited to Communication University of China (CUC) on April 12, she was interviewed by some undergraduates in the studio at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication.

Junior students from Broadcast Journalism (specialized in International Communication) in the studio

This interview was a part of the practice teaching innovation in the course “Analyses of English News Programmes” for junior students majored in Broadcast Journalism (specialized in International Communication) at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication. The faculty has explored for several years in bilingual teaching and had two national demo construction projects in bilingual teaching course during the 11th Five-Year Plan period.

Ms. Deng Yaping was invited to be the guest in the interview. It was intended to provide an opportunity of bilingual news interview for students, help them experience the real working pressure and prepare themselves into the role of professional journalists in advance.

Ms. Deng Yaping said it was her first time to be part of this unique specialized course and also she was very willing to receive the invitation of Professor Zhang Long, the course lecturer, to “be a subject in the experiment” in the practical training session. She joked, “I can also say I have contributed a little one day anyone of you becomes famous journalist.

Students are having interview with Ms. Deng Yaping

Interview is an important teaching module in this special course. All of the 22 students in the class were divided into six groups to make interview plans on six different topics two weeks ago. Each group had a representative to have a one-on-one interview with Ms. Deng Yaping. They gathered a large amount of news reports and information about her and finished the outlines of interviews under the guidance of Professor Zhang Long.

The bilingual interview involved several stages and roles in Ms. Deng Yaping’s life, including athletic career, ties with the Olympic Games, education, and parenting experience. She replied positively to all the questions. Both Ms. Deng Yaping and Professor Zhang Long spoke highly of the students ' performance in the interview. The students are required to complete a 5-minute video clip based on the interview in two weeks.

 Table Tennis World Champion Ms. Deng Yaping

The major Broadcast Journalism (specialized in International Communication) aims to cultivate interdisciplinary talents with global perspective in international journalism and communication. “Analyses of English News Programmes” is a specialized course of bilingual teaching in the sixth semester. This semester, the course highlights modules of "experience sharing from the industry" and "interview training". The course consists of lectures, practice and reviews. Professor Zhang Long first invited the senior reporter Dr Chang Jiang from "News Probe", a news programme of CCTV (China Central Television) to share working experience with students and carried on some interview and expression training.

And then Professor Zhang invited Ms. Deng Yaping to be the guest in interview training and will organize students to give interactive feedback on the bilingual video clips of each group in the last lesson.

Ms. Deng Yaping, Professor Zhang Long and the students

All of the students benefited a lot from the interview training. Shi Xuefan, a junior student from the major said, “The interview helps us apply theory into practical use and directly have dialogues with giants in the industry. Interviewing a sports star also gives us an opportunity to look at another industry from a new angle.”

Photographer: Jin Runbei

Editor: Cao Wanchen