Lachlan Rodda
Western Heights High School

When did you start learning Chinese and what inspired you to take up the language?
I started learning Chinese during year 7 (five years ago). But I only really started learning seriously last year. Nothing initially inspired me to start learning Chinese but when I started, I found it interesting and I was picking up a lot of vocabulary very quickly.
Tell us about your Chinese language learning journey. What has been the most unexpected or rewarding part of the experience?
My Chinese learning has been long but my interest for learning Chinese has not diminished. The most unexpected/rewarding part of my experience has been winning the Chinese speech competition in Wellington back in May.
What opportunities have opened up for you as a result of your Chinese-speaking ability?
The opportunity that has opened up for me as a result of my Chinese speaking ability is being able to compete in the international Chinese speech competition being held in Tianjin in October.