Twenty students from Spanish and French II-IV traveled to Slippery Rock University (SRU) on Tuesday, Oct 8 for a World Languages competition. The students left early in the morning and arrived back at Norwin High  in the late afternoon with a third-place trophy for Fatima Sheraz and her poster about why teaching culture in a language course is important.

Students signed up for the competition through Mrs. Danielle Llerena, Spanish I + IV teacher, as well as adviser for the Spanish Club and the Global Scholars Program. This is the first year that Norwin participated in this event at SRU. Students could sign up for a timed test, where they took an exam based on the last full year of Spanish or French that they completed with an hour time limit. Students could also participate in a poster contest, where they made a poster to be judged about different topics. Senior Kayla Lovell created one of these posters on the benefits of being bilingual;  sophomore Fatima Sheraz created a poster on the importance of teaching culture in language classes. Students also had the option to attend a Japanese Calligraphy workshop.  

Over 500 students and teachers from different schools across the state participated in the language competition. Students at the competition participated in a discovery quest while they were not taking their test, attending their workshop, or presenting their poster, where they learned about the different clubs and opportunities at SRU that involved the language department. These clubs included the Japanese Club, Arabic Club, Spanish Club, Global Engagement Club, and more. When students finished their discovery quest, they got a prize for participating. 

After participating in the test, poster contest, workshop, and discovery quest, students went to the Boozel Dining Hall at Slippery Rock University to eat lunch with their friends, getting a feel for the college campus and college life in general.

Shortly following testing and eating, the students went back to where they began for the awards ceremony, where many schools from around the state placed in the top three for their high scores on the different activities.

Sophomore Fatima Sheraz made a poster about how teaching culture with language is important and should be prioritized, called “Why Teaching Culture is Important.” Sheraz placed third in the poster competition out of many other students, taking home a trophy as an award to detail her achievements.

“My favorite part of the competition was when we got to walk around the campus going to different workshops and clubs to learn about other cultures, languages and traditions,” Sheraz said. “We were able to do significant activities relating to a specific culture, such as making bracelets, painting and trying different candy.”

Overall, the SRU World Language Competition was an opportunity for students to participate in global activities and learn more about languages and cultures other than their own. In the future, Norwin students and advisors in the language department are hoping to go again and continue to learn more about world culture and the positive effects of learning and participating in multiple languages.