| JUDGES’ WELCOME & ORIENTATION |
Dear Judge(s),
Thank you so much for your willingness to participate in the 75th Annual French Convention! Your interest in and enthusiasm for Alabama’s high school French students is evident by your presence. Thank you for your dedication – we could not hold the French Convention without you!
By way of general instructions, all judges must…
…review the competition rules and judging form for their event prior to judging the first entry in that competition.
…bring a laptop or cell phone with Wi-Fi or data, as all judging will take place using online forms whose links are embedded below.
…report to their assignment area a few minutes and remain in the competition room for the entire time assigned. Do NOT leave early!
On Convention Day, please stop by the registration table outside the Ballroom to pick up a lunch card as a small token of our appreciation for your assistance. You are also cordially invited to attend the Opening Ceremony at 9:00 and witness a Ballroom jam-packed with French students!
We hope that you will have positive interactions with the students throughout the day and encourage them in their study of French. Keep in mind that many may be future UA French students, so make a good impression!
If you run into any difficulty or irregularity, please reach out to the President Club sponsors Melissa Dameron Vines (205.422.1253) and Meredith Shuttlesworth (205.535.2483), or the webmaster, Peter Rosborough (205.586.5636), who will primarily be in the Anderson Room (Rm. 3125) on Convention Day.
Merci beaucoup, et à bientôt !
The AATF Alabama French Convention
| GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS |
It is imperative that you familiarize yourself with 1) the competition which you will be judging, and 2) these general instructions WELL BEFORE the competition begins! If you have not yet done so, please take a moment now to read these instructions:
The purpose of the oral competitions (Choral Competitions, Group Skits, Interpersonal Speaking, Presentational Speaking, and Video Competition) is to motivate and encourage students at all stages of their language development to experiment and improve their pronunciation and fluency while having fun. Most students have worked for weeks on their lines. Whenever possible, please help put them at ease, encourage, and congratulate them.
For the oral competitions, students should be judged on the quality of the spoken French. The Group Skits differ from Individual presentations in that you must consider the quality of the spoken French from all characters. When scoring, please reward the overall correctness of speech from the entire cast instead of from one outstanding – or one weak – actor. The judging form for each competition lists the specific judging criteria.
You will use a 10-point scale on all judging criteria. PLEASE use the full range of possible scores to truly differentiate between the performers; it is unlikely, for example, that every student will earn a 9 or 10 in every category. You must strike the right balance between honesty and encouragement. If there are multiple judges for the same competition, it is possible for the set of judges to all score the same presentation differently. This is perfectly acceptable, since the score you award is at your discretion; you are not seeking consensus with your fellow judges. Our scoring system works best when the totals span across a range—not a cluster—of scores.
| PROCEDURES FOR ORAL COMPETITIONS |
Please follow these guidelines:
✓ Close the doors and ask for quiet in the room.
✓ Ensure that any fellow judges are ready.
✓ Ensure that you, the participants, and the judging form are all for the correct event! Only use the judging form which is for that specific event.
✓ Performance order: For Choral & Group Skits, entries should compete in the order listed in the program and on the form. Skip to the next entry if the performer is absent, since there can be delays from other competitions. They may compete when they show up. For Interpersonal & Presentational Speaking, students line up at random and wait their turn in the hall.
✓ For Choral & Group Skits, ensure that the timekeeper is ready.
✓ Judge entries solely on the quality of spoken French.
✓ With the exception of the Group Choral Competition, participation is limited to non-native speakers of French. If in doubt about a student’s status, please speak directly to the student after the presentation and to the French Convention leadership. Costumes, props, and originality of the presentation should not to influence the score given.
✓ For the Group Skits: Prompting from the audience is not permitted. Disqualify participants if there is any prompting. Songs are allowed in Group Skits if the singing is incidental to the plot and kept to a minimum.
✓ Score entries in each category from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest). Use the range of possible scores effectively!
✓ For Choral & Group Skits, at the conclusion of the presentation (indicated by a bow), stop the timing and record the duration of the performance on their score sheet. This is important, since there are point penalties for being short or going over on time!
✓ Specific instructions for the Interpersonal and Presentational Speaking Competitions are embedded below.
✓ Encourage the competitor(s) at the conclusion of the presentation by applauding, congratulating, thanking, etc. Give additional remarks or feedback on the judging form itself.
✓ Click “Submit” (not “Save”!) on the digital judging form.
| READY, SET, JUDGE! |
| EVENT | JUDGING INSTRUCTIONS | TIME | LOCATION | # OF JUDGES | JUDGE(S)’ NAME(S) | RULES & FORMS |
| Registration Table | Welcome schools with a friendly “Bonjour!” and smile. (Teacher may already look frazzled from a bus ride!) Give teachers an information page, their Convention T-shirts (if applicable, name tag, and a stack of dictée cards. If they have props for a skit, they can put them on the table in the Ballroom with their school’s name on it. If they have any artwork to check in for judging, direct them to a nearby table in foyer outside the Ballroom where they will be assisted. Wish them “Bonne journée!” | 8h00 à 9h30 | Ballroom Foyer | 3 | Mercy Dafong Mablka Lambon Caesar Fieni | N/A |
| Choral | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to judging! An emcee will announce the performance and coordinate with the judges to help the competition run smoothly. Time each performance! Finish scoring and click SUBMIT (not SAVE!) after each competitor. | 10h30 à 11h30 (Solo/Duet) | Ballroom | 3 | Lincoln Auvil Adamu Abubakar Mercy Dafong | Competition Rules Judging Form |
| 13h00 à 14h00 (Group) | Ballroom | 3 | Lincoln Auvil Adamu Abubakar Mercy Dafong | Competition Rules Judging Form | ||
| Dictée | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules and the following procedures prior to helping out with the scoring. Once the dictée papers are collected, sort them by color (level). When scoring the papers, the word MUST be exactly correct in order to count. Any misspelling gets marked wrong. PLEASE DO NOT DEVIATE FROM THIS RULE! If the word is spelled incorrectly, it is incorrect and should not count. Do not give half-credit. (In the past, judges have made up their own rules, counting incorrect words, and we have had to re-score all of the papers….soupir!) Put the total number of correct words (out of 15) at the bottom of the page. Sort the papers in rank order, per color, and return the papers to Room 3125. | 9h30 à 11h30 | Ballroom | 2 | Olabayo Awodirepo Njipendi Douda (Caleb Setorglo) | Competition Rules (There is no Judging Form) |
| Group Skit | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to judging! An emcee will announce the performance and coordinate with the judges to help the competition run smoothly. Time each performance! Finish scoring and click SUBMIT (not SAVE!) after each competitor. | 9h30 à 9h50 (Levels 1-2) | Ballroom | 3 | Yacine Mamadou Deborah Ariyo Zulikanani Yekeen | Competition Rules Judging Form |
| 9h50 à 10h30 (Levels 3- Advanced) | Ballroom | 3 | Yacine Mamadou Deborah Ariyo Zulikanani Yekeen | Competition Rules Judging Form | ||
| Interpersonal Speaking | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to judging! Familiarize yourself with the types of questions to ask given the level you’re judging (suggestions are embedded in the judging form) prior to judging. You will have approximately 30 students to chat with. Keep your conversations to approximately 3 minutes! You do NOT have to ask all of the suggested questions; they are only prompts. Students may compete at ANY time between 12h00 and 14h30. Do NOT leave the room until 14h30! Students are waiting in random order outside the room until they are called in. When the student enters, ensure that they are in the correct room for their level. Choose their school from the drop-down menu on the Judging Form. Type in their first name and their last initial. YOU are responsible for keeping the room flowing smoothly. Suggestion: complete the judging form as you are talking with them. When they have finished, just thank them and tell them to send in the next person. Finish scoring and click SUBMIT (not SAVE!) after each competitor. If you have a helper, they can work the door and keep the room flowing efficiently. Do not trade-off judging with your helper! The same judge should judge all competitors in this level. | 12h00 à 14h30 | 3103 (Level 1) | 1+ helper | Deborah Ariyo Arthur Guehi Ayanniyi Ganiyu Caleb Setorglo | Competition Rules Judging Form |
| 3106 (Level 2) | 1+ helper | Olabayo Awodirepo Zulikanani Yekeen (Phil Atangan) | Competition Rules Judging Form | |||
| 3110 (Level 3) | 1+ helper | Mark Matthews Merveille Nguelefack (Lillie Goetzinger) (Ablaye Diao) | Competition Rules Judging Form | |||
| 3114 (Advanced Level) | 1+ helper | Yacine Mamadou Jamike Okoroji (Douanla Kembou) | Competition Rules Judging Form | |||
| Presentational Speaking | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to judging. Familiarize yourself with the passage being presented (it’s embedded in the judging form) prior to judging. You will have approximately 40 students to listen to, so the competition needs to keep flowing. Students may compete at ANY time between 9h30 and 12h00. Do NOT leave the room until 12h00! Students are waiting in random order outside the room until they’re called in. When the student enters, ensure that they are in the correct room for their level. Choose their school from the drop-down menu on the Judging Form. Type in their first name and their last initial. *They MUST read from the laminated copy of the passage you provide for them. They may NOT read off any copy they bring into the room! Suggestion: Complete the judging form as you are listening to them read the passage. When they have finished, just thank them and tell them to send in the next person. Finish scoring and click SUBMIT (not SAVE!) after each competitor. If you have a helper, they can work the door and keep the room flowing efficiently. Do not trade-off judging with your helper! The same judge should judge all competitors in this level. | 9h30 à 12h00 | 3103 (Level 1) | 1+ helper | Caesar Fieni Carole Kougang (Ablaye Diao) | Competition Rules Judging Form |
| 3106 (Level 2) | 1+ helper | Raphael Oyedele (Sawel Awuni) | Competition Rules Judging Form | |||
| 3110 (Level 3) | 1+ helper | Mark Matthews (Douanla Kembou) | Competition Rules Judging Form | |||
| 3114 (Advanced Level) | 1+ helper | Arthur Guehi Ablaye Diao (Ayanniyi Ganiyu) (Lillie Goetzinger) | Competition Rules Judging Form | |||
| Movie Room | ‘Monitor’ student behavior by being an adult presence. Create a welcoming environment for students coming/going from the room. Converse with students if natural or appropriate. A French Convention teacher will start each movie at 10h00 and 13h00. | 10h00 à 11h30 13h00 à 14h30 | 3104 | 1 | Jamike Okoroji (premier film) Raphael Oyedele (deuxième film) | N/A |
| Scholars Bowl (Jeopardy!) | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to moderating this event. A French Convention teacher will help with the set-up of Jeopardy Labs which will basically run the game for you as you read ‘answers’ off the screen in English. Keep contests running smoothly. As you approach the end of one Round, make sure that the next round’s players are getting ready to play next. You have the final say on whether or not to accept an answer as correct. They may answer in French or English. If a student gives a partial answer, you may ask for clarification or elaboration. | 9h30 à 13h00 | 3700 (Forum) | 1 | Dr. Thomas Carlton (assisted by French Convention teacher running the Jeopardy! tech) | Competition Rules (There is no judging form.) |
| Scholarship | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to judging! Read and judge essays submitted prior to Convention Day. Conduct oral interview at Convention as follows: Students will wait in the hallway until called in. Hold an informal conversation in French. You can have their essay handy if you want to comment on anything content-wise (NOT grammar-wise!) as a springboard for conversation. Remember, we’re trying to determine if student(s) merit(s) $500! Finish scoring and click SUBMIT (not SAVE!) after each competitor. | 9h45 à 12h00 | 3115 | 1 | Dr. Heather West & Dr. Stephanie Coker (AATF Alabama) | Competition Rules Judging Form |
| Theme Quiz | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules and the following procedures prior to proctoring this quiz. Maintain orderly process! Students will enter from the elevator-side of the room and exit out the Ballroom Foyer side of the room. Upon entering, students scan a QR code (provided for you in the room in red folders). Tell students to fill the seats from the far end (near the exit doors), skipping a seat between test-takers. Do not let students in if the room is getting too full. The test is timed automatically by the form, so no one should be in there longer than 20 minutes. **No student may enter after 14h00! Students already in the room before 14h00 may finish their test. | 9h30 à 14h30 | Heritage Room (open area directly behind Ballroom) | 1+ helper | ???? (9h30-11h30) Lincoln Auvil (11h30-12h30) Sawel Awuni (12h30- 14h30) | Competition Rules (There is no judging form.) |
| Video | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to judging the videos. To access the videos: Click this link to be added as a co-teacher on Seesaw’s French Convention 2026 class: https://app.seesaw.me/s/bbsLANMKlMU= Follow the prompts to join Seesaw. On the right side of the screen is the Class Journal. Click on Unapproved Posts to watch the videos. (Please be careful to NOT approve any of the posts. This protects student privacy, as it keeps videos visible only to teachers and not to the students.) Please notify me when all videos in Seesaw have been judged. (Note: Despite being listed as an entry, a few schools might not end up submitting a video.) Since we will show the winning videos at the Opening Assembly, it is imperative that these videos be judged on the form as quickly as possible. Finish scoring and click SUBMIT (not SAVE!) after each competitor. | Prior to Convention | 1 | Mark Matthews (Sawel Awuni) (Ayanniyi Ganiyu) | Competition Rules Judging Form | |
| Visual Art | Familiarize yourself with the Competition Rules, Judging Form, and the following procedures prior to judging! You will need to receive the artwork (poster) when a student / teacher / school brings it to you. This can get a bit chaotic, so having a helper would be beneficial. Have the student / teacher write their school’s name on your registration page AND a brief description of the artwork. The student’s name and school should also be on the back of the artwork. Find the yellow index card with the number on it that correlates to their entry number on the registration form AND paper clip the yellow number card to the piece of artwork. Have the student/teacher mount the artwork on an easel or table for display. Once things have settled down (around 9h45), begin judging. On the judging form, you will select the number for the piece of artwork that you are judging. Have a system in place where you ensure that you have judged every piece! Finish scoring and click SUBMIT (not SAVE!) after each competitor. When judging is completed, please bring the check-in form to me in Room 3125. | 8h00 à 11h00 | Ballroom Foyer | 1+ helper | Lincoln Auvil (Merveille Nguelefack) (Phil Atangana) | Competition Rules Judging Form |