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Remote French speaking contest opens in May

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Whether your children attend a French immersion school like J.H. Sissons or just enjoy studying French, they'll soon get a chance to present their language skills in the 2020 Concours Virtuel, an informal speech contest in French.

Canadian Parents for French (CPF) is encouraging students to submit video entries for the contest, with this year's theme being "Ton expérience face au virus" focusing on students explaining en français how they're living their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The deadline to submit the video in French is Saturday, May 2.

Videos must be 1-3 minutes in length, with at least one minute being entirely in French. Speakers don't have to deliver a speech but should be able to demonstrate their ability to speak in French and in full sentences.

In their videos, participants can show how they're practising physical distancing, their experiences with remote learning, new hobbies they've taken up or other personal lessons learned during the pandemic. Video editing and music is allowed.

The clips should be posted to an online platform such as YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Participants can then copy the link and paste it into their submission form.

Social media posts on the contest can be shared with the hashtag #EnsembleADistance.

Speakers will be evaluated based on their delivery, vocal expression, coherence of presentation, language and creativity.

Videos from NWT entrants will be reviewed by the NWT branch of CPF and each competitive grade (6-12) has three categories of francophone, French immersion and core French. The top three in each category will be chosen for cash prizes that range from $50 to $400.

Videos from students in grades K-5 will not be judged and for each  submission a $10 donation will be made to Food Banks Canada, part of that organization’s goal to raise $150 million to help cover the rising demand that food banks across Canada are experiencing during the pandemic.

Each submission will also be put into a random draw for two Air Canada return tickets anywhere in Canada.

To register and submit a video visit this link.

Winners will be contacted by June 1.