ASU Hosts Annual Foreign Language Competition for Schools Across Texas

Angelo State University hosted an Annual Foreign Language Competition that brought schools across Texas to compete this Saturday, April 9.

The competition consisted of Spanish and French students at different levels, ranging from first-year to second-year, and categorized as native and non-native speakers. They also participated in different events like a speaking portion, computer test, and extemporaneous speaking that consisted of students looking at a picture. After two minutes, they described to the judge what was happening in that language.

Laura Garcia, one of the judges for this portion said, “To be able to give the feedback and encouragement for the students is very important so they can continue with that language.”

Witnessing the students participate in the competition and being the judge of how far they have progressed is a gratifying experience for the judges.

“Just the fact that [the students] are here, they know they were selected out of a group of students, and that gives them the positive reinforcement and the push that they need,” Garcia said. “I am so thankful that San Angelo has reopened this competition, so I am very thankful for that.”   

It has been just over a decade since ASU has hosted one of these competitions on campus. Mrs. Ewa Davis, Russian professor at ASU, planned and coordinated the language competition with the help of ASU student volunteers.

“It was wonderful working with our many volunteers," she said. "They were very reliable, and the event ran smoothly. The students volunteering their time on the day of the event is a tremendous devotion to the subject of study, the teacher, or both.”

Davis also acknowledged how the younger students in attendance looked up to those volunteers studying a foreign language in higher education.

“This was one of the goals for me; that is why I was leaving each volunteer by the room so they could not only help the judges, but interact with the students as well.”     

Schools also submitted poster designs and a video submission that showed them practicing the language they were attending the competition for. These also weighed in on the final scoring of the schools' performance.  

After the competition ended and scores were calculated, an award ceremony took place at the University Center in the CJ Davidson Conference room.

Dr. Laurence Musgrove, ASU’s Department of English and Modern Languages Department Chair, led the ceremony accompanied by ASU Provost Dr. Donald Topliff, who handed out the awards to the winning schools.   

Davis summarized the welcome statement given by Musgrove at the begging of the competition, and said, “The importance of communicating in a foreign language, and knowing a foreign language enhances your personality and gives you more confidence in the world. This opens up so many more doors for future jobs."

The following are the results from the competition:

French

1^st C.C. Winn High school, Eagle Pass                                                                   

Score: 62.214/100

Spanish

1^st Place: Sonora Middle School, Sonora                                                                            

Score: 88.631/100

2^nd Place: Talkington School for Young Women Leaders, Lubbock                                         

Score: 84.651/100

3^rd  Place: Clyde High School, Clyde                                                                                  

Score: 77.757/100

Spanish Runner Ups

4^th Place: C.C Winn HS, Eagle Pass                                                                                   

Score: 69.736/100

5^th Place: Lake View HS, San Angelo                                                                                  

Score: 69.188/100

6^th Place: Plain HS, Plains                                                                                                 

Score: 66.508/100

7^th Place: Lincoln Middle School, San Angelo                                                                      

Score: 59.566/100

8^th Place: Lee Freshman HS, Midland                                                                                 

Score: 53.642/100

9^th Place: Brownfield HS, Brownfield                                                                              

Score: 41.177/100

The Foreign Language Competition will be held at ASU on April 8, 2017. Davis said, to really capture the greatness behind these competitions, it would be best to attend and see the faces of those who compete and the excitement that comes with preparing and meeting new people.