News and Updates
Special Rules and Procedures for the 2021 Remote Contest
Houstonfest Scholarships
Scholarships at State
Teacher-to-Teacher Tips
Tips for Pair Discussion
Photo Gallery
2014
Arrival at Heights High School
Lunch options
Plays will be performed at Houstonfest
Daily log of changes to
state-qualifier list
Important Dates
Sat., Jan. 16, 2021: Regular deadline to submit registration
spreadsheet in order to pay regular price of $10/student (payment does not have
to be mailed until 1/25).
Mon., Jan. 25, 2021: Final deadline to submit registration spreadsheet
for late price of $12/student and deadline to postmark payment.
Mon., Feb. 1, 2021: Proof sheet of entries sent to teachers for final
verification and changes.
Wed., Feb. 3, 2021,
8:00 p.m.: Deadline to submit changes (adds,
drops, substitutions). After this point, no more additions or
substitutions will be allowed.
Sat., Feb. 6, 2021:
Houstonfest (100% remote): some events conducted
"live" (online) that day, all others submitted digitally by 9:00 a.m.
Sat., Feb. 13, 2021:
Houstonfest online awards ceremony, time TBA.
Wed., Feb. 17, 2021:
State online registration due by 11:59 p.m.
for "early bird" price of
$10/student (payment does not have to be mailed yet). Also, deadline to apply for the
Mary El-Beheri Memorial Scholarship
and to submit entries for
promotional video contest
to State director Jennifer Christianson.
Mon., Feb. 22, 2021: State online registration due by 11:59 p.m. at
regular price of
$12/student.
Sat., Feb. 27, 2021: Texas State German
Contest (100% remote): some events conducted "live" (online) that day, all
others submitted digitally by 9:00 a.m.
Sat., Mar. 6, 2021:
State online awards ceremony, time TBA. Also,
Houstonfest Scholarship
applications due.
Fri., Mar. 12, 2021:
Gail Cope
Scholarship applications due.
Fri., April 30, 2021:
Gail Cope Teacher Grant applications due.
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Rules: Oral
Testing
Events
Below are the "normal" rules
for Houstonfest in a non-pandemic year. To preserve a record of the normal
rules, alterations to the rules for the 2021 remote contest will not be
reflected here but rather documented at this link: Special
Rules and Procedures for the 2021 Remote Contest. In a nutshell,
however: ALL oral testing events will be offered in 2021, adapted
to the online environment.
Directed Dialogue:
Entry Limit:
2 contestants per level, per school (Levels 1 & 2 only).
The judges will ask the
contestant questions on his/her level of understanding (things generally covered
in first-year and second-year textbooks). Questions will be selected by a
combination of students drawing 3 questions and judges asking the same 2
standard questions to all contestants. Judges will grade on pronunciation,
degree of complexity and fluency, knowledge of topic, and grammatical
correctness.
Download critique sheet.
Download Level 1 questions.
Download Level 2 questions.
Extemporaneous Speaking:
Entry Limit: 2
contestants per level, per school (Levels 3, 4, and Advantaged only).
Speech Time Limits:
Level 3: 1-3 minutes; Level 4: 2-4 minutes; Advantaged: 3-5 minutes.
The
contestant will draw a topic at the beginning of his/her time slot. (At
Regionals only, students may draw 2 topics and choose 1 of the 2 to prepare.)
The topics will not be technical and will pertain to daily life. Different
contestants will receive different topics, but the topics will be of
approximately equal difficulty. After drawing a topic, the contestant will have
a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare. He/she may write during this time, but no
books or dictionaries may be used in preparation, and NO notes, even those made
during the preparation period, may be used in the speech.
Download critique sheet.
Oral Presentation:
Entry Limit:
2 entries per school (Level 4 only; EXCEPTION: If a school has no Level 4
students attending contest, Level 3 contestants may enter, but with the
understanding that they will be competing against Level 4 contestants.)
Presentation Time Limits:
2-4 minutes; total time allotted is 10 minutes, including set-up and take-down
of visuals.
The
contestant gives a prepared presentation on a current topic based upon a
provided picture prompt. The picture will be posted on the contest website by
December 1. The contestant may use notes that will be submitted to the judges
after the presentation (maximum 10 bullet points, maximum 5 words per bullet).
The presentation must compare cultural perspectives between German-speaking
countries and the student's own region related to the topic suggested by the
picture. The presentation may be accompanied by a visual component
(presentation on a laptop or tablet, picture cards, poster, photo story, etc.),
but the visuals cannot include any words. If the visual component is
electronic, the contestant must bring all necessary equipment. No data
projector or any other equipment will be supplied in the contest room, and
contestants should not expect that there will be wi-fi access.
Download critique sheet.
Download picture for
2021.
Pair
Discussion:
Entry
Limit: 2
entries (pairs) per school (Level 3 only).
Discussion Time:
3 minutes (not
including a 30-second reflection time).
A pair of contestants draws a topic instructing them to plan something (trip,
purchase, celebration, etc.). Both are expected to make suggestions and voice
opinions, to agree or disagree, and to make alternative suggestions. At the end
of the discussion, they must come to an agreement.
The topics will pertain to the
daily life of teenagers. No contestant pairs will have the same topic. From
the time the topic is drawn, the contestants may take up to 30 seconds to read
the topic and gather their thoughts, but they may not speak to each other
during this time. At the end of the 30 seconds, the contestants have 3
minutes to role-play the situation. The two team members will be scored
independently of one another, but both scores will be added together to obtain
the team score, i.e., contestants
will be ranked
and potentially advance to State
as a team.
Download critique sheet.
Tips for Pair Discussion, with samples.
Sight
Reading:
Entry
Limit: 2
contestants per level, per school (Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4).
Time
Limits: up to
1 minute preparation time plus 2 minutes to read the piece to judges.
The
contestant will receive a copy of a prose piece that he/she has never seen
before. The contestant may look at the prose for up to 1 minute before reading
it for the judges. Contestants then have 2 minutes to read aloud the prose
selection. The judges will stop the contestant after 2 minutes, regardless of
how far he/she has read into the selection.
Download critique sheet.
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When is the next Houstonfest?
Saturday,
February 6, 2021 Where
is Houstonfest?
Due to COVID-19, the 2021 contest will be conducted entirely REMOTELY.
Link to Texas
State German Contest
Texas
State German Contest on Facebook |