Foreign Language Competition Judging Criteria
Our university will provide judges for each event.
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Level Of Participants
Competition will follow the ACTFL proficiency performance levels. Please refer to the following resources:
- Chapter 114. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Languages Other Than English Subchapter C. High School
- Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Languages Other Than English
- TEKS for LOTE Progress Checkpoints
Proficiency performance levels are as follows:
- First Year: I
- Second Year: II
- Third and Fourth Year: III/IV
- Native Speaker: NS
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Assignment of Points
- Zero points will be given to participants who fail to timely appear for a scheduled event.
- The top three schools per language ranked by the average number of points will be announced as first, second and third place winners. In case of exact mathematical ties, duplicate trophies will be awarded.
- Each student must participate in four required events within the same language.
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Criteria for Assigning Native/Non-native Speaker Status
Native Speaker
- Understands and speaks the language fluently.
- Speaks the language at home or some comparable informal setting on a regular basis with family, friends, etc.
- Is/Was educated in the language at school for some time, and has strong speaking/listening skills.
NOTE: Native speakers frequently have no explicit knowledge of grammar and structure. When they did not receive formal education in the language their reading/writing skills may not seem native-like.
Non-native Speaker
- Has little or no exposure to the language outside the classroom.
- Has some limited exposure to the language, knows some vocabulary and structures, but cannot speak or understand the language with ease and fluency.
- Has a strong foreign accent.
- Has limited speaking knowledge, little or no formal instruction and cannot read or write the language very well.
At the competition, judges will be able to reclassify native speakers whom they consider wrongly entered as non-native speakers. The student will still receive an evaluation, but no points will be counted toward the sweepstakes award.
All teachers are responsible for entering native speakers appropriately so as to challenge them and to provide fair competition for non-native speakers.
Poetry Recitations
Each student will recite a memorized poem from the list provided via the links below. Recitations are to be recorded and either uploaded directly to Blackboard or uploaded to YouTube (use privacy settings) and the link uploaded to Blackboard. Submissions may be completed any time between January 5th and 15th. No late submissions will be accepted. We encourage teachers to view the Blackboard submission instructional video and complete the practice submission on Blackboard before the competition opens (Blackboard will be open but the events will not be available until January 5).
Students will give a short introduction stating the title, author’s name, and perhaps a phrase describing the author, or the theme of the selection is fully appropriate. The introduction may be in English or in the target language.
Most poems should require no more than one to two minutes recitation time. Students may select any poem from the list provided for their specific level. No substitutions are allowed.
Poetry Selection:
Poetry Ratings
Preparation:
- Appropriate introduction
- Selection appropriate for level
- Freedom from manuscript
Delivery:
- Pronunciation
- Appropriate pitch, rate, volume, variety of voice
- Effective eye contact
- Effective facial and body action
Understanding of the Material
- Reading reflects understanding of intellectual and emotional content
General Effectiveness
- Interesting to audience
- Good communication
- Generally effective
Reading (Prose)
Each student will recite a prose selection (not memorized) from the list provided via the links below. Recitations are to be recorded and either uploaded directly to Blackboard or uploaded to YouTube (use privacy settings) and the link uploaded to Blackboard. Submissions may be completed any time between January 5th and 15th. No late submissions will be accepted. We encourage teachers to view the Blackboard submission instructional video and complete the practice submission on Blackboard before the competition opens (Blackboard will be open but the events will not be available until January 5).
Students will give a short introduction stating the title, author’s name, and perhaps a phrase describing the author, or the theme of the selection is fully appropriate. The introduction may be in English or in the target language.
Most selections should require no more than one to two minutes recitation time. Students may select any prose selections from the list provided for their specific level. No substitutions are allowed.
Prose Selection:
Reading Ratings
Preparation
- Appropriate introduction
Delivery
- Pronunciation
- Appropriate pitch, rate, volume, variety of voice
- Effective eye contact
- Effective facial and body action
Understanding of the Material
- Reading reflects understanding of intellectual and emotional content
General Effectiveness
- Generally effective
Extemporaneous Speech
Each student will access the event via Blackboard at any time during the competition window (January 5 through 15). Once they begin the event, they must complete it. Be sure to have a camera and microphone installed on the computer students use for this event. Teachers must proctor this event. It is recommended that teachers view the Blackboard training video and complete the practice Blackboard upload task before the competition begins.
Students will be shown an image appropriate to their level that is selected at random and will be given a total of 5 minutes to record their extemporaneous response. Students must not access any outside sources for help (teacher, others students, dictionary, the Web) during the event.
Extemporaneous Speech Rating- Vocabulary: Consistent use of appropriate words
- Pronunciation: Approximation of native standards
- Structure: Wide range of sentence patterns with no errors
- Fluency: Complete, meaningful sentences with no strain or stumbling
- General Effectiveness: Natural, meaningful speech free from error in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation
Listening & Reading Comprehension Tests
The computer results are calculated as follows (where the 35 points is the maximum possible):
Level I: 20 points = 100%
Level II: 25 points = 100%
Level III/IV: 30 points = 100%
Level NS: 35 points = 100%
Film
The film theme is:
“Foreign languages take you places”
Each school must submit one 3-5 minute film in each language in which it is competing, prepared by the participating team of students. Teachers should approve the content of each film.
Submission Process
Entrants must upload videos to YouTube and the link posted to Blackboard before January 15. Media submissions that fail to work or are not comprehendible for any reason will result in the disqualification of the entry and zero points for the film entry. Films submitted by your school in previous years will not be rated and will result in 0 points for the Film category.
Predominant Authorship and Originality
The competition invites submissions of original creative works in which the entrant maintained predominant authorship over the project’s content and aesthetics (producing, directing, writing, editing, acting, etc.).
Legal Permissions
The entrant agrees to clear all licenses, copyrights and permissions to ensure that the submission can legally and ethically be presented at the Foreign Language Competition.
Submission Deadline
Entrants must upload videos to YouTube and the link posted to Blackboard before January 15. Points received for each film will be tabulated toward the total score each school receives in a competing language.
Ratings
Vocabulary (judged by language faculty):
- Use of appropriate words free from error in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation
- Communicates clearly the value of studying a foreign language
Visual Effect (judged by film faculty):
- Visual creativity
- Cinematography
- Sound design and soundtrack
- Editing
- Effective use of special effect
A panel of media educators and language professionals will judge each entry.
All entries must be submitted via Blackboard. The competition dates fall between January 5 and 15 each year but events are only open weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during that period. Please check Blackboard for this year’s specific due dates.
Poster
The poster theme is:
“Foreign languages take you places”
Every participating school must submit one 16” x 20” digital poster in each language in which it is competing.
The posters may be prepared by individual students or may be done as a class project. Teachers should approve the content and format of each poster.
Format
The posters are to be submitted electronically as PDF files via Blackboard once completed.
Predominant Authorship and Originality
The competition invites submissions of original creative works in which the entrant maintained predominant authorship over the project’s content and aesthetics (design, writing, editing, etc.). Posters submitted by your school in previous years will not be rated and will result in 0 points for the Poster category.
Legal Permissions
The entrant agrees to clear all licenses, copyrights and permissions to ensure that the submission can legally and ethically be presented at the Foreign Language Competition.
Submission Deadline
All entries must be submitted online. The competition dates fall between January 5 and 15 each year but events are only open weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during that period. Please check Blackboard for this year’s specific due dates.
Points received for each poster will be tabulated toward the total score each school receives in a competing language.
Students should be encouraged to emphasize the positive aspects of learning French, German, or Spanish in particular or foreign languages in general.
Ratings
Vocabulary:
- Use of appropriate words free from error in vocabulary and pronunciation, spelled correctly and used grammatically
Visual Effect:
- Communicates clearly the value of studying a foreign language
- Uses aesthetics and/or creative elements
- Contributes overall to the discipline in both form and substance
- Promotes the positive aspects of foreign languages
Judging
A panel of ASU’s foreign language students will judge the posters.
All films and posters will be showcased online once the competition results are posted.
All entries must be submitted via Blackboard. The competition dates fall between January 5 and 15 each year but events are only open weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during that period. Please check Blackboard for this year’s specific due dates.