The last three weeks have been surprising for me to say the least. I would never have expected to make it this far in an English competition. And it is not that I doubt my abilities but I do still think that my way of speaking English just is not really that presentable. I tend to converse in a more or less monotonous manner and it seems to me that the words I speak are not often that clearly understood by others.
I was, however, delighted to see that the judges at the english competition did not care that much about presentability and more about content and vocabulary. It is for this reason that I would also encourage people who just like me are not great orators to take part in such tournaments.
In general, I have found the other competitors I have spoken to in the final rounds to be quite nice and considering that you do not have to put so much time into the contest and you even get to have a day off school I would definitely take the opportunity again.
In the end I would also like to thank my English teacher Professor Gugler who still regularly manages to remind me of the fact that there are still many words out there, waiting to be discovered. And I would of course also like to thank my classmates who have been particularly supportive and encouraging all the way through. I was also later informed of the fact that I won 400€ as a prize for this competition, which for me serves as the cherry on top.
Alexander Klenner, 8BG
36. Fremdsprachenwettbewerb der Bildungsdirektion Niederösterreich
