VFLA Essay Contest
The VFLA Essay Contest is now for the Novice, Intermediate and Pre-Advanced Levels for students of French, German, and Spanish.
TOPIC: Imagine you have won a weekend for two to the capital city of a country where your world language is spoken. Describe how you spend your two days visit, using as many details as possible to talk about the places where you go and the things that you do: catching a soccer game in Madrid, skiing in Buenos Aires, or bargain hunting in the flea market in Paris. Don’t forget to talk also about the foods that you eat!
Levels: The levels are based on the ACTFL K-12 Performance Guidelines. The essays will also be evaluated based on the following criteria.
All levels should:
- Address the topic
- Be well-organized
- Clearly express the writer’s ideas
- Represent a sustained idea
Novice (100 words)
- Demonstrates correct sentence structure and noun/adjective agreement
- Includes appropriate use of regular and/or irregular verbs in the present tense
- May include near future tense
Intermediate (150 words)
- Sustain sentences in the present tense
- May include past and future tenses in structured ways
- May use some idiomatic expressions
Pre-Advanced (200 words)
- Paragraphs should be well-organized
- Use complex structures and express complex ideas
- Use idiomatic expressions
- Be creative with the language
Requirements for submission:
- The teacher must be a current VFLA member.
- Essay must be typed and double-spaced.
- The name must be omitted from the front page but the teacher includes the completed and signed form (on reverse) including the level for which the essay is being submitted.
- Students must write their essays independently and the essays must reflect their own work. They may not consult outside resources or receive teacher feedback, comments or corrections.
Awards: $50 will be awarded to two students in each of the three categories for a total of six contest winners.
Deadline: All essays must be postmarked or emailed by March 18, 2011.
Send to:
Brigitte Orliac
1636 Pelots Point Road
North Hero VT 05474
borliac@luhs18.org
