VANCOUVER, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Fourth-year molecular biology student Calvin Johansson takes a deep breath in the hallway after exiting an auditorium at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Vancouver, Canada.

"It was nerve-wracking, but I got it done," he told Xinhua.

He had just completed a three-minute speech conducted entirely in the Mandarin language at the annual Chinese Bridge Mandarin Speech Contest.

Johansson, an English speaker, is competing in the elementary category - one of five levels here at the one-day contest.

"I'm happy to say that all the practice and the time and effort that I put into making the speech and rehearsing it with all my friends really went to good use," he said.

He only started learning Mandarin a few months ago after taking a trip to China.

"It wasn't until I went to China with some of my friends that I sort of got to experience the culture, experience everything about China and my views on China sort of changed," he said.

That experience was the focus of his speech.

He's among about 60 university students from several British Columbia schools in the contest, which is hosted by the local Chinese consulate's education office.

Each student must present a prepared speech to the audience and a panel of judges about their relationship and interest in the Chinese language and culture.

The speakers are judged by the panel on content, language, pronunciation, tone and style.

"As the Chinese Consul General here, we are encouraging students here to study Chinese and the Chinese culture through this event," said Yu Changxue, a representative of the education consul. "It can provide a chance for them to practice telling a story about themselves and China."

Yu said he enjoys the whole process. "They tell very interesting stories about their parents or grandparents, who have some trip or some relations with China," he said.

The event attracts students from various schools, including the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and BCIT.

Mandarin instructor Billie Ng says that demands for Chinese language skills here in the province of B.C. are increasing. And this should come as no surprise as Metro Vancouver is home to about 400,000 people with Chinese heritage.

"It's going to be useful in their career and it's going to be useful in their daily lives," Ng said, noting that the students come from various backgrounds and subjects. "They probably have friends and neighbors from China, or who speak Chinese."