In The True Spirit of Sister Cities....
Congratulations to our Sister Cities friends at II High School in Zamość, Poland, where a team of students recently took first place in the eighth edition of the nationwide “Faces of America” English Language Competition! The event was held on March 21, 2023 at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. Team members Victoria Szajner, Mateusz Czerw, and Konrad Kaim received high praise from the organizers, who congratulated them on their knowledge. These three exemplary students were declared the winning contestants.
The Competition Details....
The “Faces of America” language and culture competition is a unique event. It is organized by the UMCS Office for Promotion & Popularization of Science, and the UMCS Center for Teaching & Certification of Foreign Languages. This extraordinary competition is aimed at popularizing knowledge about the United States, promoting learning languages, and raising the level of English proficiency among young people.
It consisted of three stages:
Stage 1......
…..was to write an essay in English, where the Zamość student team took third place in the country.
Stage 2......
…..was a lexical and grammar test, which was passed by twenty-one of fifty teams.
Stage 3......
…..was a multimedia cultural quiz, in which Victoria, Matthew, and Konrad proved unrivaled. They knew, among other things, that 1) a driver’s license in New York needs to be renewed every eight years, 2) which states Louisiana does not border, and 3) they recognized a place in the picture of the capital of Texas. They even identified that the word “outweigh” should complete the quote from former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s speech; “When our memories ______________ our dreams, it is then that we become old.”
The Competition Prizes....
In addition to immense satisfaction, the three winners received diplomas and valuable prizes, including laptop computers. The mentors and substantive guardians of this fantastic trio of students are the English teachers of II High School in Zamość, Joanna Korona and Elżbieta Paszko.
