French 4 and 5 students Ben Magidson, Megan Zhu, Yiming Kang, Tristan Caro, Philip Richards and Sarah Jin competed in the Concours de Français. Kang won 2nd place in the French 5 division. The competition was held on March 11 at the St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Berkeley.

60 students were involved, coming from Bay Area schools such as Berkeley High, Acalanes, and Las Lomas. For the first round, competitors answered questions they had been given in advance, but those who moved on to the second round were faced with impromptu questions.  “They give you a question on the spot so you can’t prepare for it, and you have 2-3 minutes to think about your answer,” said Kang.

There were 3 different divisions: French 4, French 5, and one for people who have either lived in France or learned French for 6 years or more. “The competition is scored by your ability to speak efficiently without making any errors under pressure, with charisma. You have to speak clearly, answer the questions directly, talk about French culture, and have a interchange with the judge,” said French teacher Edward Willy.

Junior Megan Zhu said, “The questions are pretty basic: what kind of movies do you like, what music do you listen to…”

Since most of this year’s participants were juniors, many of next year’s participants will be returners.