Sun Yi was warmly welcomed by China Team of BBC Learning English

As the lucky prize winner Sun Yi came to the BBC for a two-week work placement. Now her visit is nearly over. How does Sun Yi find her stay in London? What are the highlights of her UK experience?

Listen to Yang Li's latest interview with Sun Yi on her reflections of BBC experience:

An interview with Sun Yi
	Click here to download Yang Li's interview with Sun Yi 点击此处下载录音材料

She managed to see lots of interesting places in and around London while learning radio and online production skills. She said that this is truly a unique and exciting experience for her.

The following is a detailed personal account by Sun Yi.

I have been in London for almost 2 weeks. Two weeks ago I wrote on my special that I had set a goal for myself --- to explore. Now I am glad to say that I have attained the goal. During this two weeks, my life moves around from working in BBC Learning English Department, having dinner with my co-workers and friends to watching musicals after work and visiting well-known universities and towns. I think I should start to talk about my work first.

Sun Yi shares her thoughts with Yang Li

I. Work --- BBC Learning English Department China Team

To our Chinese English learners, BBC sounds like something sublime and is beyond our reach, but now I find it quite approachable. We have around 10 people in China Team, and three of them are Chinese. To me, the work placement here is quite enjoyable. Everybody is very organized and is assigned different jobs each week. The joint efforts contribute to the building of the whole team.


As to the job that I have been assigned, I think the team is very kind to me to give me the basic work and still let me have the chance to get a taste of working in media. During these two weeks, I have written three blogs, tried writing one script of Ask About Britain (AAB), interviewed several people, recorded for the AAB and made a photo gallery for my special webpage. As a student majoring in English Language and Literature, I have to start from scratch for the media job. I have really learned a lot from the programme Ask About Britain, which gives me a general idea of how a programme comes out and how it is put online. Also, I have learned the skills of interviewing people, co-presenting a radio programme and technical things like making an online photo gallery. Through the interactive discussion with friends who have read my webpage and blogs and comment on them, I feel quite fulfilled.

I think I begin to like the media job and I am considering finding such an internship when I am back in China, too.

II. Food --- Eating in the UK

In a radio programme called Bin Hai we did this week, my colleague Jo commented on the British food that it is simple, well cooked, not spicy, not colourful but wholesome and filling. I quite agree with that. British food does not have as many varieties as Chinese food does. British food is usually made up of meat and vegetables, and people add different sources into it. I have tried a fish pie and chips last week, not the typical fish and chips though. It is still typical of British food, wholesome and filling.

All the prize winners gather on the stage; Sun Yi is the one the far right, bottom row

I think the meal I have enjoyed most is English Afternoon Tea. I had them in Fortnum & Mason, which is famous for Afternoon Tea and is established in 1707. The food is served in an exquisite tiered stand, with all kinds of pastries and jams on it. People there were all at ease, enjoying the tea and the posh china. However, I was in a rush eating so as to catch the Natural History Museum before it was closed.

III. Entertainment --- Musicals and Weekend Trips

My every night and my only weekend here have all been well spent. During the weekdays, I went to watch plays and musicals. I had never watched a musical before I came to the UK, but I have watched three musicals here. This is a big step for me. I find the British culture quite different from the Chinese culture. Chinese students prefer going shopping after school, which is a major way for them to socialise, while in London, or in the UK, British people’s night out mainly consists of going to pubs and watching musicals and plays. I think that is one of the reasons why Chinese students sometimes find it difficult to mingle with overseas students.

Last weekend, I took a weekend trip to Oxford and Cambridge, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. It was really an eye-opening experience. I have learned a lot about English legends through listening to the stories told by the tour guides. After visiting Oxford and Cambridge, I find they truly deserve to be the best universities in the world because when you walk down the old stone roads in the two universities, you will get the feeling that these are roads that once belonged to millions of well-known scholars, politicians and poets. It has rich culture there and I love the picturesque English countryside, too.

So, this is my general report of my two-week work placement with the BBC. If you want to know more about my adventure, you can look at the photo gallery to find out more.

Click here 点击这里to see more photos of Sun Yi in the UK 孙饴的英伦图辑



About the Competition

This Year, Andrew and Yang Li attended the 21st Century Lenovo Cup National English Speaking Competition in Beijing, which took place between the 11th and 13th April. Andrew was also one of the judges for the competition grand final.

Over the last decade, the competition has gradually grown into an annual national English celebration with a gathering of outstanding people with star talent. As the most prestigious event of its kind in China, the competition serves as the country’s qualifying contest for the annual International Public Speaking Competition in London.

21st Century is one of our 20 partners in China, and their website carries some of the content from our bilingual ELT website.