What an amazing success and performance – congratulations Heidi, winner of the Austrian AHS English Competition!
- 9. Apr.
- 2 Min. Lesezeit
After a long pause, the AHS Fremdsprachenwettbewerb in English finally took place again after eight very long years.
As reported, Heidi Köck (8B) won the competition in Carinthia and qualified for the Austrian championship in Graz, where she competed with Austria’s best English-speaking AHS students.
Hosted at the European centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe in Graz, students, teachers, organizers, jury members, as well as political representatives, gathered to witness Austria’s most outstanding ESL students. In the qualification round, the participants discussed the topic of social media and a ban for teenagers under the age of 16 in front of the jury.
The breaks were very enjoyable, with coffee, refreshments, and an excellent buffet.
The topic for the final was, admittedly, quite unusual, but highly interesting, and it required the candidates to think more creatively and outside the box: an ambassador of a distant planet, role-played by the native speaker, invited three earthlings to visit her planet. The task was to convince the alien of why he or she would be the best choice to represent Earth and what benefits they would bring to this foreign place.
Heidi was very convincing with her language proficiency as well as her arguments, which emphasised the importance of culture and languages as means of connecting with other people and building compassionate relationships.
The prize-giving ceremony was just amazing and overwhelming! A stunning music performance by a Styrian school band, lovely words from politicians and educational representatives, wonderful prizes, thrilled students, and deeply moved teachers made the event unforgettable.
Who would have thought that Heidi would win the Austrian competition when I first asked her if she was interested in taking part? Well, I did. The potential had always been there, and the spark just needed to be lit. Sometimes all it takes is a gentle push, an impulse and the magic unfolds!
Congratulations, Heidi! Today, I’m incredibly proud to be your English teacher, and, in fact, proud to be a teacher in general, and to see my students shine, not only on these exceptional occasions, but every single day!
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