Penn French, Spanish students earn national recognition

For the first time, several of our French 4 and Spanish 4 students participated in the National Language Examination and Contests to showcase their skills. Of the 67 Penn students who took these exams, 16 students received national recognition for their scores.

Sixty-four Spanish 4 students took the National Spanish Exam and 13 of these students received national recognition:

• Maria Goffinet earned a Gold medal
• Jayden Wang and Felix Zhang earned Silver medals.
• Marlen Lambertt and Greta Lannon earned Bronze medals.
• Luciana Añon, Layla Berry, Briana Betzer, Maura Francis, Eden Hartford, Sera McClain, Connor Schmitt and Jasmine Ward earned Honorable Mention Certificates.

The National Spanish Exam

The National Spanish Exam (NSE) is a motivational competition to recognize student achievement and proficiency in the study of Spanish. In addition to the contest, this exam is an online, standardized assessment tool for Grades 6-12 that measures content standards (vocabulary and grammar) and performance standards (reading and listening comprehension).

At the National level, students are able to receive medal placement (gold, silver, bronze, honorable mention) based on their scores and are eligible to apply for several types of scholarships (Global Citizen Scholarship, Junior Study Abroad Program, Senior Scholarship). 

Le Grand Concours, or National French Contest

The National French Contest/Le Grand Concours is an annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French.

Students  of French in grades 1-12, in all 50 states and abroad, take a written test and compete against students with similar educational background for prizes.   Grades 1-6 participate in the FLES Contest.  Grades 7-12 in the Secondary Contest. There are two categories of awards: Chapter and National. Chapters offer prizes to those students who are among the top percentiles at the Chapter level for each level and division. National prizes are subsidized out of the fees paid by each entrant. National Prizes include Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals and Honorable Mention certificates.