Contact Us

Modern & Classical Languages

Hoyt Hall 126

Dept. 3603

1000 E. University Ave

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-4176

Fax: 307-766-2727

Email: languages@uwyo.edu

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Competition and Judging Guidelines

  • Registration will open in late November for the following March.

  • All online competitors must be registered, and entries submitted, four weeks in advance of the event to allow time for judging. This deadline is strictly enforced. 

  • All in-person competitors must be registered at least two weeks in advance of the event. This deadline is strictly enforced.

  • Competition entries must explicitly address the WLD theme in level-appropriate language.

  • Please read the guidelines carefully. Here is a downloadable version.

Language Levels

Please use the ACTFL, WIDA, or SLPI guidelines to determine your student’s language level.

 
 

ACTFL

WiDA ACCESS

Composite Scores

SLPI

Level 1

Novice Mid

Beginning

1.0-1.9

Novice

Level 2

Novice High / Intermediate Low

Emerging

2.0-2.9

Survival

Level 3

Intermediate Mid

Developing

3.0-3.9

Intermediate

Level 4

Intermediate High

Expanding

4.0-4.9

Advanced

Level 5

Advanced / Native Speaker

Bridging

5.0-6.0

Superior

 

Judged Competition

  • All competition submissions must address this year's theme.

  • Each must have a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning must include the presenter’s name, school,

    and presentation title.

  • Students may compete at World Languages Day a maximum of two times: once as an individual

    performer and once in a group in any of the specified categories of competition. This does not include

    the People’s Choice Art Award, which is a separate event for World Languages Day.

Live Presentation

  • Students may recite an existing work of cultural value such as a poem, drama, song.

  • Alternatively, students may recite an original work of cultural value such as a poem, drama, song or a

    cultural presentation.

  • The performance must be entirely in the target language.

  • Students may use notes, but no reading aloud.

Edited video

  • The edited video category is for artistic products that represent the year’s theme.

  • Videos must be produced by students themselves and contain primarily (minimum 50%) or completely student-produced content.

  • The content must be necessary to the format of edited video. This means that anything that could be a live performance cannot be submitted in the edited video category.

  • Students may generate their own edited video by using copyrighted materials from other sources provided they give credit as necessary under US and international laws.

  • Students need to be identifiable in the video as the producers of the target language.

  • Entries will be judged on their artistic merits, which include the quality of the editing, as well as the production of the target language.

  • All performances must have a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning must include the presenter’s name, school, and presentation title.

  • Max. 5 minutes. This is strictly enforced.

  • File name format: last name_first name_school_editedvideo

  • Please submit a second video file featuring the best 10-15 second excerpt from the video. File name format: last name_first name_school_editedvideo_excerpt

  • All videos must be uploaded through YouTube. Include the relevant link for each submitted video on the registration form. Please do not send us links to your videos from any other source.

Writing

  • Competition entries must explicitly address the WLD theme in level-appropriate language.

  • There are three levels depending on type (see below): Novice (level 1), Intermediate (levels 2-3) and Advanced (levels 4-5).

  • The entry may be a poem, essay or short story – see specific guidelines below.

  • The writing competition is strictly individual.

  • Entry must include (as part of same file) a first page with relevant data: writer's name, title of writing, target language for competition and level of competition selected.

  • UW may decide to assign a random number to insure anonymity.

  • File type: .pdf or .rtf

  • File name format: last name_first name_school_writing

  • Language used is level appropriate with minimal or no assistance from the instructor.

  • No use of online tools. Any portion of work written with online tools (such as a translator) or copied from other sources will automatically disqualify the submission from the competition.

Short Story

  • Prompt: History! Events of the past contribute to a shared language, culture, and history. Write a short story related to a past event from the language in which you will write your story. The plot of the story can be related to any event in history you have chosen to write about.

  • Word count: a minimum of 250 words for the intermediate level and 500 words minimum for the advanced level. All completely in the world language in which you are competing.

  • Format: Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, 1.5 inch margins, left justified.

Poem

  • Length: a minimum of 40 words for the novice level, 80 words for intermediate level and 120 words minimum for the advanced level.

  • All completely in the world language in which you are competing.

  • If you are employing short forms (such as haiku, epigram, etc.), you may submit multiple examples of this form as a single entry to meet the aforementioned word count requirements.

  • Font and font size are at poet’s discretion, but must be legible.

Essay

  • Prompt: History! Your essay should address the general question of what history means to you. A specific question to consider could be why history continues to be important nowadays.

  • Word count: 250 words or less for the intermediate level, 500 words or less for the advanced level.

  • Format: Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, 1.5 inch margins, left justified.

  • Other: If you use quotations in your essay, please limit it to one quotation or no more than 10% of the total essay.

ASL Competition Ideas

Existing Work - Original Work

Poem - ASL Slam (poetry) Original

Drama - Storytelling

Live Song - Song Interpretation (Must be your own)

Cultural - ABC/# Stories

People's Choice Art Award

  • No digital submissions will be accepted. Competitors in this category must bring their submissions to Laramie and submit them in-person. Students may submit one original work of art that creatively addresses the WLD theme.

  • All submissions must be made by registered competitors.

  • Submission size limits: 2-dimension max. 36” x 24”, 3-dimension max. 36” x 24” x 24”.

  • Each submission must include the artist’s name, title of artwork in the target language and English, as well as a brief, level-appropriate explanation in the target language and English how the artwork addresses the theme.

Judging Criteria

These rubrics will be used by the judges for competition submissions. The final score will be an average of the relevant components on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 3 (highest). As an example a performance of Goethe's "Der Erlkönig" would not include a score for "originality" since it is an existing work.

Live performance

  • Enthusiasm: Do I demonstrate a strong positive feeling about my presentation?

  • Expressive Skills: How prepared am I? Am I speaking clearly and correctly? Did I rehearse with my teacher?

    • ASL: Did I clearly present the PARAMETER of ASL? (handshape, movement, location, palm orientation and non-manual markers)

  • Comprehensibility: How well am I understood i.e. grammar and vocabulary?

  • Content and Creativity: How creative is my interpretation?

  • Delivery: Does this have a beginning, middle and end? Do I introduce myself (in the target language) as culturally expected?

  • Originality: How original and creative is my presentation?

Edited video

This is the rubric the judges will use for the edited videos. The final score will be an average of the relevant components. A video will be disqualified if less than 50% of content is student-produced, or the video exceeds the time limit of 5 minutes.

  • Enthusiasm: Am I succeeding in entertaining my audience?

  • Editing Skills: How well is the video made such as pacing, music integration, graphics, etc.?

  • ASL: Did I clearly present the PARAMETER of ASL? (handshape, movement, location, palm orientation and non-manual markers)

  • Comprehensibility: How well am I understood i.e. grammar and vocabulary?

  • Content and Creativity: How creative is my interpretation?  How well does my content address the theme of community for the target culture? Is my content completely or primarily produced by me?

  • Delivery:  Do I introduce myself (in the target language) as culturally expected?  Am I able to be heard clearly and distinctly by my audience?

  • Originality: How original and creative is my presentation?

Writing: Short Story

  • Theme fit and content: the story is related to the WLD theme. There is a clear story line.

  • Organization of content: story has an organization to it, a beginning or introduction, a central plot or conflict, and an end or resolution. The different parts flow appropriately and are connected.

  • Creativity: story, characters and/or settings are original and creative.

  • Richness and diversity: Degree of diversity of grammatical structures and vocabulary.

  • Accuracy and communication: There are few mistakes and they are level-expected and do not interfere with the communication of the intended meaning.

Writing: Poetry

  • Theme fit and content: Clearly addresses the WLD theme.

  • Creativity: Displays an original and insightful consideration of festivals as part of life and a compelling application of language.

  • Richness and diversity: Degree of diversity of vocabulary and language structure. (Advanced poet also displays a sensitivity to connotation).

  • Accuracy and communication: Absence of grammatical errors and obscured communication.

Writing: Essay

  • Theme fit and content: Topic accurately conveys the World Language Day theme.

  • Organization of content: Essay flows smoothly with well-constructed paragraphs and good command of transitions.

  • Creativity: Details present an authentic and vivid picture of topic. Makes intercultural connections.

  • Richness and diversity: Clear, precise, and a wide-ranging use of vocabulary and language structure at-level. Shows a commitment and enthusiasm to the topic

  • Accuracy and communication: Informative. Clear well-focused topic supported by detailed information. Usage of a variety of grammatical structures, mostly accurately at-level. If outside resources are used for support, follows MLA format.

 
Contact Us

Modern & Classical Languages

Hoyt Hall 126

Dept. 3603

1000 E. University Ave

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: 307-766-4176

Fax: 307-766-2727

Email: languages@uwyo.edu

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