From 6th to 9th June 2019, the 2019 National Lingusitics Olympiad (NOL) was held at the Beijing Language and Culture University by the International Teenage Competition and Communication Center (ITCCC). Many students from a variety of high schools across the country eagerly participated this competition. The competition is divided into individual competitions, team competitions, teacher experiences sharing session, and youth exchange nights.

IOL has been successfully held for 16 seasons as of 2018 and is highly regarded in more than 40 countries. The individual competition is composed of 5 separate puzzles that often involves quizzes the contestant on grammar, translation or calculation, and the team competition is made up of a single, long question that would be solved together by the four members of a team. Each puzzle presents sufficient knowledge about the language it quizzes, hence minimizing the need for contestants to memorize linguistic terms or learn the language. Contestants mainly rely on a few core aptitudes: associative thinking, scientific thinking, algorithmic thinking, creative use of general knowledge and language intuition. Through the meticulous observation, analysis and reasoning of a completely unfamiliar language, contestants are given the chance to successfully interpret the meanings of basic words, or the fundamental rules of the language’s grammar.

After two days of intensive competition, the two outstanding high school students of the Shanghai International School International Division– “答案猜不队[Can’t Guess the Answers]” and “题目做不队[Can’t Do the Questions]” won 11 awards and achieved stunning results. Among them, "Can’t Guess the Answers" with Varianna Wang as captain won the gold award for the team competition, and “Can’t Do the Questions” with Lucas Wang as captain won the bronze award. At the same time, Varianna also received the individual gold award; Andy Gu and Cissy Choy won the individual silver award; Lucas Wang, Zena Liu, Lily Jiang, and Kevin Lee won the individaul bronze award; with Zena Liu also winning the best solution award.

Moreover, in order to stimulate high school students' sensitivity to language, and to better serve the competition, the SHSID Linguistics Club was officially established in 2017, and currently has more than 70 members. The club also created a public account: Lost Eclipse, which is operated by students and had previously published a series of articles related to language.

（Written by Li Yi            Pictures by SHSID Linguistics Club)