Foreign Languages

Modern Foreign Language Field Day

The Results Are In

More detailed information with names and scores for specific events is available upon request.
Participating language teachers should contact Pedro Talavera (Talavera-P@mssu.edu)

International Idol Finalists

Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry for International Idol.

We were very fortunate to have a rather large number of entries this year. The judges also expressed their surprise at the high quality of the entries, which make their task very difficult. They want to tell everyone that submitted to not give up and keep singing. A particular performance never determines the entire body of work.

The judges have issued their decision, and the finalists are, in strict alphabetical order:

  • Cassandra Anderson
  • Hannah Emberton
  • Emily Hamburg
  • Cheyenne Stanton
  • Theresa Trudell

If you happen to be one of the finalists, make sure to bring the soundtrack for your song in a playable CD (mp3s are preferred) and to be at MSSU's Taylor Auditorium on Thursday, April 11 of 2013 at 1 pm.

Thank you again for your participation, and thank you for the time and effort that you put into your performance.

Events

The Field Day offers students in the four-state area an opportunity to demonstrate their achievements in French, German, and Spanish in the following events:

Non-competitive Events:
 

Need to know: Schedule | General Rules | Lunch | Parking | Results | Evaluation | Future Dates | Contact Us

Registration and Information
Pdfs: Registration | French Poetry 2013 | Spanish Poetry 2013 | German Poetry 2013
Word: Registration | French Poetry 2013 | Spanish Poetry 2013 | German Poetry 2013

Program Schedule

Time Event
8:00 am - 9:00 am. Registration (Taylor Auditorium)
8:30 am – 10:30 am (Sp)
10:30 am – 12:00 pm (F & G)		 Skits
French: (Phelps Theater)
German: (Phelps Theater)
Spanish: (Phelps Theater)
9:00 am - 9:50 am Culture Bowl Preliminary Written Test
French: (Cornell Auditorium)
German: (Justice Center Auditorium)
Spanish: (Corley Auditorium)
Vocabulary Recognition Written Test
French: (Cornell Auditorium)
German: (Justice Center Auditorium)
Spanish: (Corley Auditorium)
9:00 am – 11:00 am (Sp) 8:30 am – 9:30 am (French)
9:30 am – 10:30 am (German)		 Poetry Reading French (Webster Hall 306)
German (Webster Hall 319)
Spanish I (Webster Hall 304)
Spanish II (Webster Hall 308)
Spanish III (Webster Hall 311)
Spanish IV Webster Hall 317)
 10:00 am - 11:00 am Reading Comprehension, Written Test Geography Competition, Written Test
French: (Cornell Auditorium)
German: (Justice Center Auditorium)
Spanish: (Corley Auditorium)
  Non-competitive events:
Conversations Stations (BSC Connor Ballroom)
Dance Workshops: Salsa, Merengue & Tango (BSC 307)
Spanish Trivia (BSC 343)
Spanish Poetry Reading for Native Speakers (BSC 356)
International Iron Chef (BSC 341)
Kiosk (BSC 309)
11:00 a.m. Posters are displayed (Taylor Auditorium Lobby)
Culture Bowl finalists are announced (Text Message to Teachers)
11:30 am - 12:30 pm Lunch
TAYLOR AUDITORIUM
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm Culture Bowl Finals (French, German, and Spanish)
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm International Idol Performances
Trophy Presentations
NOTE: Students with a schedule conflict (e.g. Skits & Poetry) can take the missing tests at the Distance Learning Testing Services Office in Webster Hall 117 (8:30 am – 11:30 am)
Other Events
8:30 am - 12:00 pm Foreign Language Placement Test: (WH 354)

Foreign Language Placement Test Policies:

The Placement Test allows students to receive college credit for their knowledge of a foreign language based on the score they achieve.

  • Students take the test for free on the day of the Foreign Language Field Day;
  • They need to fill out a form with all their information, including their high-school class, mailing address, e-mail address, name of school, name of Spanish teacher, and phone numbers;
  • Students are to be sent an official letter with their results three weeks after Field Day;
  • Credit for language classes will be effective retroactively at the end of their first semester at MSSU;
  • Admission is granted on a first come, first serve basis, but reservations are possible up to the Monday of the week of the event;
  • Students need to schedule their test for one hour minimum and two hours maximum.

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General Rules

  • Level I competitions are for 9th grade students or students who are in their first year of language study.
    Level II - for 10th grade students or students in their second year of language study, etc.
  • Native speakers who have had schooling in the target language may not participate in any competitive event.
    Those speakers, who use the target language at home but have never had any schooling in the target language, can participate in:

poster competition
Geography competition
Culture Bowl
non-competitive events

  • Only students participating in the competitions and the judges will be allowed in the classrooms.
    Spectators are welcome for Skits and Culture Bowl Finals but must not interfere with or disrupt the performance and judging.
  • Please note that rules are subject to change without notice.
  • A .pdf version of the description of events and rules for FLFD 2013 will be available in March.

Number of Questions per Competition:

Culture Bowl Preliminary Round: 30 questions Reading Comprehension: 50 questions per level
(4 levels in French & Spanish, 3 in German)
Culture Bowl Final Round: 15 questions Poetry Reading: 1 poem per level
(4 levels in French & Spanish, 3 in German)
Geography Competition: 30 questions Vocabulary: 30 questions (in English) per level
(4 levels in French & Spanish, 3 in German)

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Culture Bowl

  • the preliminary written competition
  • the final round

A team of 4 students participates in both events, but the preliminary round is not a team competition and students cannot consult each other.
Based on the results of the preliminary competition (multiple-choice test), two teams in each language will be selected to go to the final round.
Since we have a separate geography competition, we will try to exclude questions on geography from the Culture Bowl. You should bear in mind, however, that it is very difficult to separate culture from geography.
Culture Bowl categories include:

  • History
  • Politics & Government
  • Literature
  • Arts
  • Science
  • Education
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Food & Drink
  • Daily Life
  • Language & its Use (idioms, proverbs, etc.)
  • Population & Ethnic Groups

We ask the teachers to submit questions by FEBRUARY 28, 2013 electronically via email to talavera-p@mssu.edu.
We will make public the list with the questions (no answers) and will use many of those questions in the final round.
We might use some of the questions in the preliminary round.
Note: to make the selection of the finalists easier the questions on the preliminary round are generally harder than those in the final round.

Culture Bowl and Geography Competitions for 2013 will focus on the following countries:

French - France, Canada & Haiti
German - Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein & Switzerland
Spanish – Central America & the Caribbean

Rules for the Culture Bowl Finals

  • During the final round, competing teams will answer questions using a buzzer.
  • Questions will be read in English.
  • Students can confer with each other before buzzing-in but not after.
  • Students can buzz-in at any time during the reading of the question, but they will have to answer immediately without hearing the rest of the question. If the answer is incorrect, another team will have a chance to hear the rest of the question and answer it.
  • Any disrespectful or disruptive behavior will result in losing 1 point.
  • The first team to score 8 points will be declared the winner.

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Geography Competition

  • A written multiple-choice test, which includes identifying:
  • countries & their borders
  • capitals
  • mountains & other terrain characteristics
  • rivers, lakes, other bodies of water
  • flora and fauna
  • climate
  • natural resources
  • exports & imports
  • population & urbanization
  • industrial production
  • agricultural production

This competition is not a team event; each student is competing individually, regardless of level.
Up to 4 students can participate.
The countries covered for each language are the same as in the Culture Bowl.

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Poetry Reading

  • Consists of students reading aloud a poem, which will be sent in advance.
  • At the time of the event, students will be given a copy of the poem by the judge.
  • Students may not use their copies.
  • Participants will be judged on the following criteria:
  • Pronunciation
  • Enunciation
  • Fluency
  • Expressiveness / Dramatization

Extra points will be added if a student memorizes the poem.

  • For German: Two participants per level.
  • For French & Spanish: One participant per level
    due to time and space limitations.

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Poster Contest

  • The Poster Contest theme for 2013 is "Opening Hearts and Minds With Language".
  • We accept one poster per language, per school, and up to 2 students per poster can participate.
  • Entries must be two dimensional and no larger than 24" x 36"; posters larger than this will be disqualified.
  • Posters must have some of the language of the competition (French, German, or Spanish).
  • While some graphic-design elements may be included, at least 50% of the poster must consist of original, non-computer-generated work (i.e., hand-drawn, hand-sketched, hand-painted, or constructed via collage). Posters produced entirely by computer will be disqualified in the interest of fairness to all participating schools/students' budgets.
  • Schools need to make sure that a 3 x 5 identification card is stapled to the bottom right corner with the title, name(s) of the student(s) who worked on the poster (no more than two), school, and language.

Certificates will be awarded according to the following criteria:

  • Originality
  • Creativity
  • Relevance to the Theme
  • Boldness of Expression
  • Overall Visual Appearance

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Reading Comprehension

  • A multiple-choice written competition in which 2 students per level can participate.
  • Students will be given passages in the target language and will be asked reading comprehension questions in English.

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Skits

  • May be a one-act play, a sketch, or an excerpt from a play involving from 2 to 6 participants, all of whom must have speaking parts.
  • All parts must be memorized.
  • Total time limit for preparation and performance is 10 minutes.
  • The number of competing teams is limited because of time constraints.
  • A single student should not dominate a performance.
  • We award 3 points to the winning skits for the overall sweepstake competition.

Skits will be judged on: 

  • Pronunciation
  • Fluency
  • Amount of the Target Language Used
  • Difficulty of the Language Used
  • Use of Grammar and Vocabulary
  • Expressiveness
  • Acting
  • Props/Costumes

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Vocabulary Recognition

  • A multiple-choice written competition in which participants choose the correct meaning for the given word or expression.
  • This competition also tests the knowledge of grammar (verbal tenses).
  • Two participants per level, per language may participate.

Please understand that it is very difficult to divide vocabulary items by levels, because it depends in great part on a textbook one uses. We have looked through different textbooks and have divided vocabulary (to a certain degree still arbitrary) in the following manner:

  1. Level 1: Greetings & good-byes, forms of address, classroom objects and expressions, days of the week, dates, time, family members, professions, nationalities, household items, places in the city, present indicative of verbs, interrogative words, gender of nouns and adjectives, possessives, descriptive adjectives, and cardinal numbers up to 100.
  2. Level 2: Extension of the vocabulary topics from Level 1 plus colors, clothes, shopping, months, seasons, weather, demonstratives, comparatives, adverbs of place and time, reflexive verbs, present progressive and preterit of verbs, cardinal numbers up to 500, and ordinal numbers 1-10.
  3. Level 3: Extension of the vocabulary topics from Level 2 plus body parts, health, medical problems, foods, restaurants, imperfect tense, commands, idiomatic expressions, adverbs, cardinal numbers up to 1000.
  4. Level 4: Extension of the vocabulary topics from Level 3 plus sports, hotels, vacations, travel, animals, perfect tenses, future tense, conditional, subjunctive, numbers over 1000.

You can use The First Thousand Words in French (or German or Spanish) as your guide.

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Non-Competitive Events

Conversation Stations

A FLFD favorite is back! Conversation Stations is an activity that will give students an opportunity to have fun and demonstrate their ability to sustain a short conversation in French, German, or Spanish and earn some "euros".

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International Idol Competition

Talented singers in your foreign language classroom should enter the 5th Annual International Idol Competition.
Each school may submit up to two entries per language, per school for a maximum of six entries per school.

Each entry must follow the subsequent guidelines or it will be disqualified:

  • 1-2 singers perform per song.  Group entries will be disqualified automatically.
  • The duration of the song must be between 2 and 4 minutes long.
  • Participants entering the competition must be currently taking a foreign language class.
  • Native speakers may participate as long as they are currently taking a foreign language class.
  • The entry must be a current or popular song, sung in French, German or Spanish.  No children's songs or classroom songs please.
  • A recording with the name(s) of the participant(s) should be sent to Talavera-P@mssu.edu no later than March 1, 2013.
  • Preliminary Round: Preliminary Round entries will be judged on pronunciation, intonation and vocal ability by MSSU faculty and staff. The participant(s) must sing the same song submitted in the Preliminary Round if selected to perform in the Final Round. Preliminary Round entries selected to perform in the final competition will be posted on the FLFD website. The foreign language teacher will be notified no later than March 22, 2013 if any of their student's entries have advanced to the final round of competition.
  • Final Round: Contestants selected for the final competition will perform in front of a large crowd of FLFD participants, teachers and a panel of judges. Participants will need to bring the accompanying music to FLFD and will need to report to Taylor Auditorium by 12:15 p.m. for a quick rehearsal. The contestants will perform from approximately 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, 2013. The final round competition will be judged on pronunciation, intonation, vocal ability and overall performance.
  • NOTE: The standings for language or sweepstakes trophies will not be affected by this event. Instead, special medals will be awarded to the Final Round contestants and a special trophy will be awarded to the overall winner.

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Dance Workshops: Salsa, Merengue & Tango
Learn the basic steps to the hottest Latin American rhythms and earn tickets to exchange for gifts at the Kiosk.
The workshops are sponsored by the Ozark Hispanic Studies League, Ash Grove High School, and Ms. Sara Schall and her students.

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Spanish Poetry Reading for Native Speakers
Native Speakers can try their skills at reading poetry from the best poets in Spanish. Students are given selections at random and they earn tickets that they can exchange for gifts at the Kiosk.
This event is sponsored by the Ozark Hispanic Studies League. To find out more about the organization or the event, please contact Mr. Joseph Lesue at boligat@yahoo.com

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International Iron Chef
An event ideal for the language clubs and food enthusiasts, International Iron Chef is a new competition for Foreign Language Field Day. Each school is invited to participate in the competition with as many entries as they wish and cash prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The event will take place under the following rules:

  1. There is no limit as to how many students can participate for each item cooked.
  2. The food can be any type of international cuisine (Chinese, Italian, Mexican, French, German, etc.)
  3.  Each item cooked needs to be of a large serving size fit to feed 8-10 people.
  4.  The team must have a copy of the recipe included with each item.
  5. When the competition starts students will be handed a ticket and go through and sample any food they wish. The students will place their tickets into the box of their favorite food.
  6. Participants cannot vote for their own item.
  7. The results will be tallied after the competition and announced at the end of the day with the rest of the awards.
  8. Cash prizes will be given out to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

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Spanish Trivia
Earn tickets to exchange for gifts at the Kiosk by testing your knowledge of Hispanic events, history, and culture.
This event is sponsored by the Ozark Hispanic Studies League. To find out more about the organization or the event, please contact Mr. Joseph Lesue at boligat@yahoo.com

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Kiosk
At this international store you can exchange the tickets that you earn by attending a dance workshop, reading poetry in Spanish, answering questions about Hispanic culture, or conversing in a foreign language for novelty items and gifts.

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Lunch

Buffet-style lunch is available for the participants at the cafeteria, which is located on the second floor of Student Life Center. (#33 on map). The price is $5.00.
Students can also eat lunch in the Lion's Den. (#14 on map)

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Parking

School districts must have current Certificate of Liability on file with the Physical Plant to bring a bus to campus.  Because of congested parking conditions at the university, all visiting buses are requested to park in the large gravel parking lot south of Hughes football stadium, following the departure of students from the buses. The stadium and parking lot is located on Duquesne Road. (#25 on map).

This action will free regular parking lots for college students and eliminate possible safety hazards. When students are ready to reboard the buses, please drive to the nearest point which will ensure their safety.

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Results

Results of the overall standings are usually available by the end of the Culture Bowl finals.
Please allow a few days for results to be posted online.

If a dialog prompt appears, requesting a password, click CANCEL.

2012 Results (.pdf format)

2011 Results (.pdf format)

 

2010 Results (.pdf format)

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Evaluation

We always welcome suggestions how to improve the Foreign Language Field Day. Please fill out our evaluation form to let us know how we are doing.

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Future Dates
  • April 11, 2013
  • 2014 TBD
  • 2015 TBD

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Contact Us

Pedro Talavera-Ibarra, Coordinator
Missouri Southern State University
3950 E. Newman Rd.
Joplin MO 64801 - 1595
Office: Webster Hall 354

Tel: (417) 625 3108
Fax: (417) 625 9585
E-mail: talavera-p@mssu.edu

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