21 September 2010

Tao Wenhao

Good afternoon, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen. My warmest welcome to the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai. Here, I would like to extend my special welcome to the students of Japanese major, because it is the first year that we enroll students of Japanese. Since you are the first, there shall be so many first things in the four years life of the university that you will bring with you for the rest of your life from our faculty. You are the father students of Japanese major. The first may not sometimes be the best, but they shall always be the most unforgettable. I sincerely hope that our first Japanese students shall be the best and the most unforgettable as well.

My dear students of all, both English majors and Japanese, you must be very much impressed by the beauty of the university. I would like to share with you my feelings that I came here seven years ago. I was as excited as you, as happy as you in seeing the blue sky, the green grass, the unknown and smiling trees, the quiet lakes and the strong mountains around. What a pleasure to be in such a dream land! Yes, it is so attractive as you are still in the dream. However, I would wake you up after the ceremony today. Because tomorrow, we will begin to set up a new dream for us to realize in the coming four years.

What is the new dream? The answer is different for different students. Some would say, I want to be a translator or interpreter. Some would say, I want to be a diplomat. Some would say, I want to be a teacher. Some would even say, I want to be a PhD. To realize your new dreams, I would like to make the following suggestions for you.

1. Make full use of all kinds of resources at the university, and attach great importance to all-round development through the study of degree programmes, rather than just focus on getting a degree. No matter what will happen to you in the future, university resources of study will be the most convenient and direct.

2. Make full use of time and change your way of study. I would strongly suggest that you try to change your study habit, from passive learning at high school to active learning at the university. This will mean the results of your study as well as the gains from the educational resources provided by the university. We would encourage positive learning environment where students are given more space for self-development. However, such a learning environment means the combination of active learning and self-regulation and we would never encourage a chance to enjoy absolute freedom. We will say again, “time and tide wait for no man”, and your time of four years here is very short for your study of majors.

3. Follow your interests and be open to every possible subject reading. Your courses of majors are important, but you will find years later, what captures your imagination is the subjects of your interests. It is like your first love for a girl or a boy. She or he is the most precious. These will be the possibility of making you successful as a prominent figure in the society. I hope English or Japanese is your first love.

4. Make good friends and learn from each other. Four years in the university is the formation of your personality and your life of philosophy. The Chinese culture tells us, look at the friends he has before you judge a person. It means your friends will teach you and make you a good person or a bad man. A good friend will always take you to the right road to success while an evil friend does the opposite.

My dear boys and girls, this is the advice I have for you. Please remember the motto of our university: Of Studies, be the Master; Of Behaviour, be the Norm. Let us set up the great of goal of developing ourselves under the development of the university as well as the country. As we often say, for each student, you are the hope of your parents, your teachers and the university and the People’s Republic of China. We are happy see the future by looking at you now.

Thank you!