In autumn I registered for the SOLO-category of the “Bundeswettbewerb Fremdsprachen” and as fast as time goes by, I soon had to hand in my video and the competition day was just around the corner. The SOLO-category is for everyone from grades 8-10 who isn’t only interested in languages, but also is creative. It splits up into two branches: first there is the video task, where you have to make a 2-minute video about a given topic. This year’s topic was “Mein persönlicher Preis geht an… (meinen persönlichen Alltagsheld…/meine persönliche Alltagsheldin)”. Secondly, there is a competition day in January where you write an exam about another topic, like an English-speaking region or country.
When competition day was there, I went to an institute in the city. When I arrived there another participant was already waiting and one by one everyone showed up. They all were very nice, a little nervous as myself, so we got along very well. A little later, we were separated into the different languages for the exam and some teachers from other schools guided us through the procedure. Among other things we had to answer some multiple-choice questions and write a text. It wasn’t hard, even though I hadn’t studied that much before.
In the end, I won 30 € – and had become much richer in experience. I would recommend participating to everyone, because you will have the opportunity to learn something new, rate your skills outside your usual context, make some friends – and win prizes.
Besides, if you’re not old enough to register for the SOLO branch, you can take a few friends to compete in the TEAM-category as early as year 6. So go for it next term!
(Matilde J., 9a)