News and Updates
Houstonfest Scholarships -
winners announced!
Changes and updates for 2022 including procedures for
online contest
State Promo Video Contest
"Texas State German Contest at 40" newsletter
series (full of tips for contest prep and Pass auf!
study material)
"Leidenschaft der Aussprache" Pronunciation Contest
Scholarships at State
Contest
Promo Video #1 (students from one school tell why they
love contest)
Contest Promo
Video #2 (one student tells why she loves contest)
Teacher-to-Teacher Tips
Tips for Pair Discussion
Photo Gallery
Arrival at Heights High School
Lunch options
Daily log of changes to
state-qualifier list
Important Dates
Sat., Jan. 15, 2022, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration
spreadsheet due for regular price of $10/student (payment does not have
to be mailed until 1/24).
Tue., Jan. 18, 2022, 4:00 p.m.: Registration
opens for
pronunciation contest "Leidenschaft der Aussprache" (teachers who submit a
Houstonfest registration by the regular deadline will receive a link to register
for this special contest)
Mon., Jan. 24, 2022, 11:59
p.m.: Houstonfest registration spreadsheet
due
for late price of $12/student. Deadline to postmark Houstonfest payment.
Wed., Feb. 2, 2022, 8:00 p.m.:
Houstonfest changes (adds,
drops, substitutions) due. After this point, no more changes will be allowed.
Sat., Feb. 5, 2022: Houstonfest
(virtual) - submissions of art and recordings due by 9:00
a.m., some
events conducted live via Zoom
Tue., Feb. 8, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: Remote
Houstonfest judging ends
Fri., Feb. 11, 2022, 4:45 p.m.: Houstonfest
results announced via live-stream (see Results page for a
recording of the awards show)
Wed., Feb. 16, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: State
online registration due for "early bird" price of $10/student (payment does not
have to be mailed until 2/18).
Fri., Feb. 18, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: State online registration due
for
regular price of
$12/student. Also,
Mary El-Beheri Memorial Scholarship
applications due. Deadline to postmark State payment.
Wed., Feb. 23, 2022, 8:00 p.m.:
Deadline extended: Entries in
promotional video contest
due to State director Jennifer Christianson.
Sat., Feb. 26, 2022:
40th
Annual Texas State German Contest
(virtual) -submissions of art and recordings due by 9:00 a.m., some
events conducted live via Zoom (ask your teacher for the sheet with all the
links!)
Tue., Mar. 1, 2022, 11:59 p.m.: Remote State
judging ends
Sat., Mar. 5, 2022, 11:59 p.m.:
Houstonfest Scholarship applications due. State awards video released.
Fri., Mar. 11, 2022:
Gail Cope
Scholarship applications due.
Sat., April 30, 2022:
Gail Cope Teacher Grant applications due.
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The
2022 contest will be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately,
most of the Written Tests will not be offered this year. The only Written Test
that will be offered in 2022 is Timed Writing, and exceptionally, it will
be offered at Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 instead of usually only at Levels 1 and 2.
Tweaks to the rules for Timed Writing and additional procedures for the 2022
online contest environment can be found by clicking "Changes and updates for
2022" in the column to the left.
Rules:
Written Testing
Events
Notes for all contestants in written testing:
-
You are responsible
for bringing as many No. 2 pencils as you may need to take these tests. If
you forget to bring your own pencils, you may buy one at the contest for $.50. Scantron answer sheets will be used for
all tests except Spelling and Timed Writing.
-
The written tests (except the Advantaged Speaker Test
and the new event Timed Writing) will all be given
during 9 testing windows: 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00,
1:30.
Thus, the written tests start one hour after the rest of the competition and continue after all other events have finished.
Students who are signed up for a lot of events can get their non-testing
events done in the morning and take advantage of the four post-noon testing
sessions to wrap up their testing events.
-
Tips on preparing for the written tests
(revised on January 26, 2015)
Advantaged Speaker Test:
3 entries per school (Advantaged
Speakers only). Multiple-choice, scantron test (100 questions, 20 each
in the areas of culture, grammar, listening comprehension, reading
comprehension, and vocabulary) plus spelling test (20 questions). The test will be given ONE time
on the day of contest and will take approximately 90 minutes. It must be
completed in one sitting.
Culture:
3 entries per
school per level (Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4). Multiple-choice, scantron test. The level
3 and 4 tests will be in German.
Grammar:
3 entries
per school per
level (Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4). Multiple-choice, scantron test.
Listening Comprehension:
3 entries
per school per
level (Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4). Multiple-choice, scantron test. Listen to recorded items in German and answer questions about
the information you heard. Levels 1 and 2 take the same test and
Levels 3 and 4 take the same test, but they are ranked separately for each
level.
Reading
Comprehension:
3 entries
per school per
level (Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4). Multiple-choice, scantron test. The test will consist of questions about a series of short
readings. Questions will generally be in German.
Spelling:
2 entries
per school per
level (Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4). A series of words
will be called out in German (the speaker will say the word, its part of speech,
a sentence using the word, and the word again). The words will probably be
recorded, not called live. Contestants write the called words on their answer
sheets. Spelling (including umlauts) and capitalization (nouns
capitalized, other parts of speech not capitalized) must be perfect in order to
receive credit for a given item. Levels 1 and
2 take the same test and Levels 3 and 4 take the same test, but they are ranked
separately for each level.
Timed Writing:
1 contestant per
school per level (usually Levels 1 & 2 only, but
exceptionally for 2022, Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4). The contestants will have 25 minutes
to write a response to a prompt that is appropriate for their level of German.
All contestants in each level will have the same prompt, but the prompts will
change from year to year. The contestants may not use any print or electronic
aids (phones, dictionaries, etc.). Either one or two writing sessions will be
offered early in the day to allow sufficient time for judging.
Download critique sheet.
Vocabulary:
3 entries
per school per
level (Levels 1, 2, 3, & 4). Multiple-choice, scantron test. The test will consist of items in which you choose the
English equivalent for a given German word, choose the German equivalent for a
given English word, choose the German opposite of a given German word, choose
the German synonym of a given German word, determine which item does not belong
in a group, determine which item fits into a given category, and choose the word
that best completes a sentence. Other formats are possible
as well.
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When is the next Houstonfest?
Saturday,
February 4, 2023 Where
is Houstonfest?
Heights High School in Houston
Link to Texas State German Contest
Texas
State German Contest on Facebook
Texas
State German Contest 40th Anniversary Facebook Group |