Competition
Debating Competition

Asking critical questions, expressing views on political topics or listening to other people’s opinions and responding to them in an objective and fair way are all key skills which can be improved by debating.

Wed, 17.03.2021
Online

With that in mind, we are delighted to announce that the Goethe-Institut’s debating competition is returning in 2020-2021!

The Goethe-Institut invites secondary school students to take part in our competition and engage with questions about legal, social and cultural equality. The main topics of debate will focus on the unjust discrimination of human beings on the basis of skin colour, religion, ethnic or social origin, disability and sexual orientation. 
 
There will be different rounds in which the participating schools compete against each other. At the end, all students will be invited to the final in which the two winning teams will show their language skills.

Dates
1st round: 23 November – 4 December 2020
2nd round: 25 January – 29 January 2021
3rd round: 04 March – 05 March 2021
Final: 17 March 2021

Due to government guidelines, the debating competition will take place virtually via Zoom. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully and act accordingly. Most importantly, we want to keep you safe.

In order to prepare the students for the competition and to ensure that they can express themselves at the appropriate language level, the Goethe-Institut provides teachers with useful phrases.
 
The debating competition offers a great chance to actively use the German language in an authentic setting and at the same time to get to know other secondary school students from across the United Kingdom. Debating in a foreign language will bring immeasurable benefits to significantly improve the student’s communication skills.

If you are interested, please apply with a team of four students from Year 12 (in their 4th year of learning German) and return the application form below to Dominique Böert 

 by 23 October 2020.

Spaces for taking part in the competition are limited. Your space will be confirmed after the deadline.
 
Important information
Students from Year 13 are not eligible to participate in the competition. In exceptional cases however, students from Year 11 may participate if necessary to make up a team of four students.
All participants are cordially invited to watch the final on 17 March 2021. You are also very welcome to bring a group of Year 10/11 students that might be interested to participate in future debating competitions with the Goethe-Institut. 

Deadline for applications: 23 October 2020