Eight Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts students received awards at the Arkansas Foreign Language Teacher Association State Competition.
The AFLTA State Competition features several categories that allow students to demonstrate their language competence. The competition categories include poetry recitation, extemporaneous speaking, extemporaneous reading, vocabulary, and several others.
ASMSA students studying French and Japanese participated in the state competition that was held April 1 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Students who received awards include:
- Rene Ramirez, second place in French Extemporaneous Speaking and third place in French Vocabulary (Level 1);
- Eli Goodrich, first place in Japanese Extemporaneous Speaking, first place in Japanese Poetry and second place in Japanese Vocabulary (Level 1);
- Jaime Hernandez-Perez, first place in French Reading and second place in French Vocabulary (Level 1);
- Jack Smith, first place in Japanese Extemporaneous (Level 2);
- Alex Hernandez-Oaxaca, first place in French Reading and first place in French Poetry (Advanced Level);
- Xander Napier, first place in Japanese Vocabulary (Level 1) and first place in Japanese Culture Bowl;
- Pragya Chauhan, first place in French Poetry and second place in French Vocabulary; and
- Jimi Frazier, first place in Japanese Vocabulary (Level 2).
Contestants in Extemporaneous Speaking are presented with a list of possible topics. They must discuss anything related to the topic of their choice, including engaging in a conversation about the chosen topic in the language choice.
Participants in the Vocabulary category study a vocabulary list and test their knowledge in a live vocabulary bee. The bee includes a Quizlet link to help students with meaning and pronunciation of the word.
Extemporaneous Reading contestants are presented with a short passage to read aloud. Students also give a brief summary in English about what they read.
In the Poetry Recitation competition, students memorize and recite a designated poem to show effective use of rhythm and rhyme and also to show their comprehension of the text.
Culture Bowl participants study a list of cultural trivia facts and test their knowledge in a live trivia challenge. Students must provide responses exactly as listed in a Quizlet set that is provided to students before the competition.