Foreign Language Festival

POETRY I
French and Spanish first and second-year students. Poetry selections in each of the language areas are enclosed. Uniformity, we think, will facilitate the evaluation process for the judges. Costumes maybe used; a contestant may demonstrate comprehension with facial expressions and use of gestures. The contestant will be evaluated on pronunciation, intonation and memorization. No more than TWO individuals per contest from the same school.

POETRY II
French and Spanish third and fourth-year students. Same rules as above for Poetry I.

EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING
French and Spanish third and fourth-year students. Exceptional Spanish second-year students may also be entered. Students who are native speakers, or whose parents are native speakers, or who have spent more than 6 weeks in the country of the target language during the previous year, are not permitted to participation in Extemporaneous Speaking. several topics (see below) and allowed two minutes to prepare the assigned topic. A contestant may not use a dictionary during the assigned preparation time. The time limit for delivery will be three minutes. The contestant will be evaluated on accuracy of information, amount of information related, fluency of speech, naturalness, style and clarity of expression. No more than TWO contestants in each language from the same school.

SAMPLE TOPICS:
- Speak for 3 minutes on a topic of the judges' choice.
- Describe a magazine picture, comic strip, slide, painting, or object you are shown.
- Tell how you plan to spend your vacation.

CULTURAL BEE
French and Spanish.
There is no designation of level; however, there is a limit of three students per school for French and a limit of two students per school for Spanish. The contests will be conducted at least partially in the respective languages. In all three languages the questions will be drawn from several areas such as history, geography, literature, music, entertainment, pop culture, etc. The format this year is: Students will be seated in a grid pattern which is duplicated on the scoring sheet/blackboard. Starting at one corner of the grid, the student will try to answer the question in 5 seconds. If he/she answers the question correctly, he/she will get a scoring mark on the scoring sheet/blackboard, and the next question is asked of the next student. If the student fails to answer the question correctly, the next student on the grid has 5 more seconds to answer that question, then the next and so on until one answers the question correctly. Only correct answers get scoring marks. Students who are native speakers, or whose parents are native speakers, are not permitted to participate in the Cultural Bee.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
Name the capital of Cuba.
What happened on July 14, 1789?
Who was Federico García Lorca?

SKIT
French and Spanish students of all levels. Each group is allowed a maximum of ten minutes stage time (includes setting up and removing any props as well as performance). One group per language from the same school. All materials must be memorized - penalties for use of notes. There are no limits on costumes or special effects. Except for tables and chairs, no other props will be provided by the college. The performance will be scored for its originality, language usage and other criteria.

SINGING
French and Spanish students of all levels. As for the singing, each group is allowed a maximum of ten minutes stage time (includes setting up and removing props as well as performance). One group per contest from the same school. Minimum group size is three students. Judges are instructed to focus on the entire ensemble. We emphasize that soloists or small groups should not be used as lead singers. All materials must be memorized; no lip-syncing is allowed and will result in disqualification. There are no limits on costumes and special effects; however, all props, with the exception of tables and chairs, must be furnished by the contestants. Groups are invited to repeat performances in Monroe Auditorium (sign-up sheet at Registration).

French Poetry
Spanish Poetry Level I
Spanish Poetry Level II

Judging (Poetry Recitation)
Judging (Singing)
Judging (Skits)
Judging (Extemp. Speaking)

AWARDS
The awards for skits and singing consist of a trophy for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. In other competitions, 1st and 2nd place awards will be trophies, and a certificate of commendation for 3rd place in each category. All prizes may not be awarded if judges determine that a presentation does not merit an award).

MEALS
The price of a meal ticket will be $7.50. Our dining room services will provide an international menu on this day. Please indicate on your registration form the number of tickets you will need since so many more meals will have to be prepared by our dining room services.

NOTES FOR THE TEACHERS
There are approximately 20 different competition events taking place in three language areas (French and Spanish) in less than a 4-hour period. We will do our best to try to schedule your students at staggered times so that they may take part in more than one event. But with limited classroom space (the peak use of rooms for the rest of the University is 9 am-1 pm) and the number of qualified judges available, we may simply not be able to schedule events to allow ALL your students to take part in multiple activities. If this should happen, we hope you will be able to make adjustments and substitutions. please notify us if there are any changes regarding the events you have indicated you will enter; we have a very tight schedule pattern to observe.

Also, in all fairness to competing students, please do NOT enter in individual competitions, native, near-native, or students with significant exposure abroad.

The following statement regarding student behavior will apply to all visiting students and others during the Lenoir-Rhyne University Foreign Language Festival on April 30, 2020.

Participants attending the festival are responsible for any damage done to university property and will be asked to reimburse the university in full for any such damages. The university also prohibits discrimination against persons on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, handicaps, disabilities or economic disadvantages.

Students should not leave the campus or return to buses except to go home or back to their school. Dormitories, office buildings, classroom/gymnasium areas where no festival events are being held are off-limits to visiting students.

Please note that LRU cannot be responsible for nor guarantee the security of the items that you exhibit.