Congratulations to Melisa Brehm who made it into the finals of the competition this year! Let’s read her experience of that day…
ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPETITION
A text by Melisa Brehm, 8C
This year plenty of my peers and I took part in the English language competition which took place on the 8th of February. When we got to the assigned destination where the competition took place, we started to get a bit nervous and excited at the same time. It was equal part of being giddy and having some “respect” on what was awaiting us. As the location started getting more and more crowded, which did take us by surprise because we did not expect there to be so many students, the feeling of intimidation from the situation started to settle in. […] We all wanted to give our best and started cheering each other on, thus lifting our spirits (getting along well with fellow classmates is definitely helpful). […]
We were 75 participants in total. After the quick briefing everyone was hurriedly leaving the room to get together in the groups they were assigned to. In each round four contestant had to discuss a certain topic and thus compete against each other. […] Around 25 people, if I am not mistaken, passed the 1st round, the others were eliminated. About six or seven of the chosen ones were from our school (I am pretty sure the proudness we felt could be seen in our faces). The semi-finals took place immediately after the announcement, everyone was paired up in groups again. […]
When the time came to announce the people that made it to the finals, everyone hurriedly went to Mr. Koidl. Seven contestants made it to the finale. I was elated to see that I was one of those seven and could represent our school as the only one that made it to the last round. In the finale the task was to partake in a roleplay, the given situation was indeed a bit challenging and having to act in front of an audience was a new experience. Given my last name, it was my turn first and well, the nerves got the best of me. Nonetheless, all participants were immensely skilled and left me impressed with a wish to improve my English skills even more! I might not have been placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd but all in all it was a fun, new experience that definitely taught me some new things as well as giving me an opportunity to meet nice, talented people. I can only recommend taking part in this event next year or the following years, there is no need to be scared!