2nd Saxon 'Bohemiade' in Zittau
On 11 September 2010 our school took part in the second 'Bohemiade' at Christian-Weise-Gymnasium in Zittau. This is a regional foreign language competition in the Czech language organized by the Saxon State Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Saxon Education Institute. The aim is to give linguistically gifted young people the opportunity to compare performance, to appreciate the Czech language and culture in a larger community and to deepen their knowledge of our neighboring country.
Our school was represented by eight students and two teachers who acted as members of the jury. A total of 45 participants from grades 1-9 learn Czech as their 1st, 2nd or 3rd foreign language at school. They were divided into categories ranging from A1 to B2 according to their knowledge and on the basis of the Common European Framework of Reference.
Every participant within his group had one hour to prepare a presentation. Each student could choose a topic regarding everyday life from a predetermined level-dependent pool. They had to design a poster or a flyer, which they then presented in 20-minute oral examinations. The only aid was a bilingual Czech - German/German - Czech dictionary. Criteria for evaluation were: the structure of both the written work and the presentation and the quality and persuasiveness of their oral work.
The second part of the examination was a conversation on various topics. Their dialog partners were two students from a middle school in Hradek nad Nisou. The students first had to introduce themselves and their families and then choose a subject to talk about with their two Czech partners. Here, as evaluation criteria, everything was important, like the correct use of language, the variety of content as well as the ability to respond. The talks proved interesting for everyone involved because the Czech students and the German youths were the same age. Everybody was able to discover the unique characteristics of their partners and therefore to learn more about the other one.
All participants can look back on a day full of enthusiasm for the Czech language and take new experiences of the German-Czech understanding with them, which will surely inspire them to further perfect their skills. (Mrs. Haupt)
Bohemiade 2010
On 09/11//2010 the 2nd Saxon Bohemiade 2010 took place at Christian-Weise-Gymnasium in Zittau. It was organized in cooperation with the Education Network »PONTES - Learning in and for Europe." Forty-five students from Saxony and Bavaria competed in the categories A1, A1 +, A2, B1 and B2. The participants of the Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium Pirna were again well represented.
I participated for the second time and was again very excited. Our group arrived on Friday, September 10th, and was received very warmly. We stayed in the hostel "Domino" which was very nice. On Saturday morning we walked through town to the Christian-Weise-Gymnasium. When we got there we signed up for the competition. After that, all participants were greeted warmly in the auditorium accompanied with best wishes for the competition. Then it started. I was very excited because the competition was structured differently than 2 years ago. I think that it was a successful and interesting event. Many nice assistants helped with the event. The time just flew by and suddenly it was time for the prize award ceremony in the afternoon. Our group won several awards and came in top place several times. I think the Bohemiade should become a tradition. (Julia Lindner)
