American Sign Language Competitions

 

Video Transcript:

"Hello! Welcome to World Language Day!  Are you excited?!  My name is Chris Ballentine. I want you to go through the links and see what you would like to do presented in ASL, poetry, or art representing ASL culture.  Select the link that interests you the most and participate! See you here soon!"

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• Who Am I? - Level I

  Each school is allowed one competitor for American Sign Language. The student will have one minute to describe him/herself to the judges. Possible topics include the student’s interests, family, daily routine, etc. Students will be judged on fluency, preparedness, thoroughness, pronunciation, and vocabulary. No notes will be allowed.

• Show and Tell - Level II

  Each school is allowed one competitor for American Sign Language. The student will bring an object and describe it. The presentation should be limited to 60 – 90 seconds. Students will be judged on fluency, preparedness, thoroughness, pronunciation, and vocabulary usage. No notes will be allowed.

• Skit - Level III

  Each school is allowed only ONE entry of two to five students for American Sign Language. The students will perform a simple and original presentation. The presentations should be limited to five minutes. Students will be judged on fluency, blocking, dramatic interpretation, projection, pronunciation, memorization, originality, and thematic content.

  PLEASE NOTE: Students are not allowed to read in this activity.

• Memorized Poetry Recitation - Level IV

  Each school is allowed only one competitor for American Sign Language. The student will recite a non-original memorized poem. No props should be used. A copy of the poem must be submitted to the judges. Student will be judged on fluency and pronunciation, preparedness and memorization, projection, and quality of interpretation.

• Song/Dramatic Cultural Entertainment - All Levels

  Each school is allowed only ONE entry of two to twenty studentsfor American Sign Language. The performance should reflect the culture of a foreign country and should fall within the categories of singing, a presentation, a dramatic excerpt from a play in the target language, or an original skit performed in the target language. The performance should not exceed 10 minutes and must be memorized. No speakers or microphones will be allowed.

  Students will be judged on cultural authenticity, fluency, pronunciation, delivery (projection, blocking, style), dramatic interpretation, quality of memorization, and overall smoothness of presentation and technical execution.

• Art Competition: Paintings, Drawings, Poster Art & Sculptures - All Levels

  Each school is allowed one competitor for American Sign Language. Entries will be judged on quality of craftsmanship, creativity, cultural relevance, and originality. 

• TikTok-Style Video - All Levels

  The general format for the videos is based on TikTok. That is, the videos should grab the viewer’s interest and get them to “like” it. The videos for this competition, however, should be 30-45 seconds in length (under 30 or over 45 seconds will result in disqualification). And while the entertainment value of your actions and the quality of self-presentation will be taken into account, the chief criteria will be the quantity and quality of your speech in the language you are learning. In other words, be chatty, but so that your viewer can understand you. The perspective of your judges will be that of a native speaker your age, who wants to understand you, but also expects to be impressed or entertained.

  Each teacher is allowed to send two videos per level. You may choose the level(s) of students – level I, II, III, IV, V, or native speaker. Please do not mix levels in a video. Videos will be judged on fluency, pronunciation, delivery, blocking/choreography and originality. In addition, the quality of recording will be considered.