2007 Amway-Beijing Foreign Languages Week
-A Surge of the Residents’ Speaking Foreign Languages Activities during the Crucial Year for the Preparation of the Olympic Games

    2007 Amway-Beijing Foreign Languages Week was held on May 26-27 in Chaoyang Park, which has attracted wide attention from the public. It was hosted by the Organizing Committee of Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, Publicity Department of Beijing Municipal Committee, Beijing Olympic Games Training Work Coordination Group Office, Capital Cultural and Ethical Progress Office, the People’s Government of Chaoyang District and Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, co-organized by Media and Communications Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the XXIX Olympiad，Culture and Ceremonies Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the XXIX  Olympiad, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, Press and Publication Bureau of Beijing Municipality, Beijing Federation of the Disabled, sponsored by Amway (China) Co., Ltd, and executed by the People’s Government of Chaoyang District and the International Exchange Center of the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing Municipality.
    The Foreign Languages Week is an important part of the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program and also the ninth large-scale festival held in Beijing with the theme of foreign languages learning. On the day of its opening, it has attracted over 50,000 residents.
    On the opening ceremony, Mr. Jiang Xiaoyu, Executive vice president of the Organizing Committee for the XXIX Olympiad, announced the opening of the Foreign Languages Week. Mr. Yang Liuyin, director-general of Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, and executive deputy director of the Organizing Committee of Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, gave a speech. Other leaders and distinguished guests attended the opening ceremony and took part in the activities included: Professor Chen Lin, head of the Advisory Group of the Organizing Committee of Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, as well as leaders from the commissions, offices, bureaus, districts and counties related, officials from some foreign embassies in China, overseas reporters, representatives from foreign education institutions, presidents of the foreign-investment enterprises, foreign experts and international students, etc.
    With the principle of “popular, practical and interesting”, “2007 Amway-Beijing Foreign Languages Week” still focuses on the services for the residents, and emphasizes the mass participation. According to the introduction of the Organizing Committee, altogether more than 100 foreign languages teaching institutions and overseas training centers took part in this Foreign Languages Week; Some 13 establishments has set up their interactive stage, such as New Oriental School, Global IELTS, Dell English International，Beijing TV Station, Radio Beijing, etc.; the Organizing Committee has elaborated such activities as the exhibition of the achievements of Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, lectures given by the English experts (Chen Lin, Lai Shixiong, Li Yang etc.), interaction games with rewards, on-spot sales, foreign languages corners, live broadcasting by the media, on-spot enrollment for all kinds of foreign languages TV contests, shows, etc., all of which provided good opportunities and convenience for the residents to learn and speak foreign languages. Compared with the past ones, the number of activities such as interaction games, exhibition of talents in foreign languages has increased; those activities such as “learning foreign languages with the famous people and institutions”, “make the live-broadcasting programs with the host” have attracted many people to stop and join. The Organizing Committee have also donated the book English 1000 (1-500) to the residents, whose publication is sponsored by Emerson Electric (China).
    At the same time, this Foreign Languages Week has paid closer attention to the needs of the residents and the themes of modern time with more activities about the Olympic Games and with special features, such as on-spot consultation on the BETS; picking-up competitors for the English TV contest, which is co-organized by the Organizing Committee and Beijing TV Station, is also held in Chaoyang Park; cultural and artistic exhibitions from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Japan, Korea etc. and multi-lingual conversations for Olympic Games have taken place in multi-lingual corners; books were donated to the students in poverty-stricken areas.
    The Foreign Languages Week has attracted a large number of English lovers at different ages and from all walks of life. Many people took part in the activities with their whole family members and felt that they have benefited a lot from it. They were satisfied that it was a golden opportunity to listen to the lectures given by the experts and attend the foreign languages corners, where they could improve their language proficiency to a large extent.
    Besides the activities in the main venue in Chaoyang Park, the 18 districts and counties and 10 service trades have also held foreign languages activities in sub-venues. Those service trade sectors such as the Beijing Post Office, Beijing Tourism Administration, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce，Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks, the banks under jurisdiction of the Beijing Banking Regulatory Bureau，and Beijing Municipal Commission of Communications, Beijing Municipal Administration, have been participated in the activities in sub-venues, which have made the Foreign Languages Week more dynamic.
    Director Yang Liuyin expressed in the opening ceremony that the Beijing Municipal Government has called on the residents to learn and speak foreign languages in order for the success of the 2008 Olympic Games and the building of Beijing as an international city. According to the introduction from Organizing Committee of Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program, the foreign language population is estimated to be 5,000,000, mainly the civil servants and the professionals in service trades. This year, the Organizing Committee has made out an elaborate foreign language popularization plan, and made continuing efforts to carry out the tasks of the plan of action for the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program. The Foreign Languages Week is part of it. The Organizing Committee made it clear that a series of colorful Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages activities will come out one after another so as to arouse the interest of the residents in learning foreign languages and to improve their proficiency in foreign languages.