Lee Szu Hui, a senior of the Spanish Department won the first prize in the individual category at the National Chanson Contest held by the Association for French Teachers in Taiwan (L’Association des Professeurs de Francais a Taiwan) on March 24 as a commemoration to a global French Day (Journee de la Francophonie). She had only started to take up French in her junior year, yet her impeccable pronunciation and mesmerizing voice captured both Taiwanese and French judges and audiences to crown her with this deserving honor.

Her confidence in her language and singing ability was demonstrated by her choice of the song, La Lettre, a number that is little known among the 14 songs assigned by the organizer. This song sailed her through all the way to the final and won her prizes worth over NT$ 10,000 that include VIP tickets to the musical “Romeo and Juliet” and some French lessons. She is particularly pleased with the prospect of having some more French classes as she wants her French to become even better than it is. How about a singing career? She admits that she hasn’t thought about it and will take things as they come.

Finally, she put down her Chanson success to the opportunity that she could learn French at TKU with wonderful teachers at the French Department. She encourages other students to definitely take up a second foreign language, as it is not so difficult as long as one has good teachers. ( ~Ying-hsueh Hu )