PREFACE

Participating in various types of competitions is extremely beneficial for students of all ages.  It is an essential component of a learning culture in which continuous improvement and teamwork are prioritised. The Teeneagle competition team believes that continuous learning and the ability to express oneself fluently should be the focus of every classroom. Many schools are participating in the Teeneagle competition with the goal of getting every student involved in writing and speaking activities, and teachers frequently use our competition to give everyone a chance to express themselves. We intend to instil this philosophy at the heart of every school. Continue reading to learn more about the rules and regulations for a variety of Teeneagle English competitions, as well as how to register your school and students.

Teeneagle competitions are divided into two categories: Teeneagle Online Round and the Global Finals, held in the United Kingdom. 

In terms of language skills, each round has a distinct focus. Teeneagle Online is primarily focused on our knowledge competition, in which students must answer multiple-choice questions based on the resources provided. Meanwhile, the Knowledge Quiz, Writing Challenge, Spelling Bee, and Persuasive Speaking are the four main challenges at the Global Finals -UK. There are two more optional challenges: the Talent Show and the Short Video Competition.

Finally, successful teams and students can serve as role models and examples to others, motivating everyone and bringing some positive peer pressure to boost their classmates’ ambitions and competitive spirits. Students’ futures will be boosted by having the opportunity to compete, progress, and be recognized as a result of going through all of the steps within each competition–preparation, practice, and production.

1. KNOWLEDGE QUIZ RULES AND GUIDELINES

1. A 60-question multiple-choice quiz will be administered to participants.
2. The duration is 60 minutes.
3. The questions will be drawn from the resources chosen for your category, which are available on our website.
4. Participants are not permitted to skip any questions.
5. Participants will not be able to return to previous questions once they have submitted their answers.
6. The exam’s question and answer sequence is randomised.
7. Each question could be worth a different number of points.
8. Participants are not permitted to use the “Back” button.
9. To submit your answer and move on to the next question, click the “Next Question” button.
10. Incorrect answers will not result in a penalty.
11. The remaining time for the quiz will be shown on the countdown.
12. The remaining time is displayed in the upper-right corner of the screen.
13. All participants should answer all questions to the best of their abilities without seeking outside assistance.
14. Any form of external assistance, such as that obtained from the internet, books, other resources, parents, and so on, is strictly prohibited. 
15. Teeneagle reserves the right to place a participant under review and/or disqualify them if external resources are suspected of being used.
16. All programs and/or applications must be closed except for the Teeneagle Online browser window.
17. Opening another browser or window before the end of the test is not permitted and will be interpreted as an attempt to contact external assistance.
18. Participants are not permitted to consult electronic or printed dictionaries or other similar resources to determine the meaning of any words or phrases.
19. If a participant is unable to complete the exam in the time allotted, only the questions completed will be evaluated.
20. If there are any difficulties with the internet connection, participants can refresh the page and continue from where they left off.
21. In the event of a tie, the youngest and then the fastest student wins.

22. In Knowledge Quiz, we ask four main things: ‘what’ happens in a story, ‘why’ it happens, ‘how’ it happens, and the ‘language’ used to describe it. Some examples are:

EAGLETS

– Who does the Little Prince ‘tame’? (The Little Prince)
a) The fox
b) The rose
c) The tippler
d) The king

– Why does Nemo touch the boat? (Finding Nemo)
a) To pass a school test.
b) To find his mother.
c) To show off for his new friends.
d) To prove that his father is too strict.

– How does Danny save his father from the poachers? (Danny, the Champion of the World)
a) He takes care of his father when he gets sick.
b) He helps his father poach some pheasants.
c) He rescues his father from a pit trap in Hazell’s Wood.
d) He lies to the poachers about his father’s job.

– Which of the following phrases has the same meaning as “your personal healthcare companion”? (Big Hero 6)
a) Your happy sidekick
b) Your own doctor
c) Your awesome friend
d) Your own teacher

EAGLES

– What kind of dragon does Hiccup shoot down? (How to Train Your Dragon)
a) A Night Fury
b) A Terrible Terror
c) A Deadly Nadder
d) A Gronkle

– Which of the following is not a theme found in The Alchemist? (The Alchemist)
a) Everyone should pursue their “personal legend”.
b) Everything in the world works together.
c) Death and fear are not important.
d) True love comes from success.

– Why does Marvin convince Charlie to take care of Max for three months? (Real Steel)
a) Because Marvin thinks Max should spend more time with Charlie.
b) Because Marvin wants to go on a holiday without Max.
c) Because Marvin thinks Max is annoying.
d) Because Marvin is secretly planning a surprise party for Max.

– Which of the following idioms best match the meaning behind Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule? (Outliers)
a) Get off on the wrong foot
b) Buckle down and pull your weight
c) Hear something through the grapevine
d) Kick the bucket

PAPER BASED COMPETITION GUIDELINES

In case we cannot have the online Knowledge Quiz, we will have it paper-based.

1. Participants will have 60 minutes to complete a 50-question multiple-choice quiz based on the resources provided (a movie and a novel, both of which can be found on the official competition website).

2. Depending on the constructed level of difficulty, each question will have a different maximum number of points

3. Participants are not permitted to leave the premises if they finish before the scheduled time.

2. PERSUASIVE SPEAKING RULES AND GUIDELINES

Although participating in any type of speaking competition can be stressful and intimidating for some students, the benefits of public speaking are enormous. Thinking outside of one’s comfort zone and facing one’s fears prepares students for major and more difficult challenges in life. Some people are more at ease giving speeches, while others prefer to express themselves with a pen and paper. Finding the right competitive category in which students feel most at ease expressing themselves can lead to success in other areas. Please adhere to the following guidelines for the Persuasive Speaking category:

1. Students’ speeches are limited to the topics assigned to them. Topics will be assigned ad hoc. Random groups of three students will be formed, and each student will have one minute to brainstorm and assist one another.

2. Speeches must not exceed two (2) minutes in length. Speeches that are either less than one minute or more than two minutes long will have ten points deducted from their total score.

3. Speeches are not permitted to be read aloud from a script. Notes are permitted, but students are strongly discouraged from reading for the duration. Reading directly from their notes will result in a negative grade.

4. Judges look for originality in the topic presented, as well as in the language and vocabulary used, and also any supporting details. Please refer to the rubric below for more information.

5. During the competition, judges will flash a time warning at 1 minute and 30 seconds in order to inform the student speaking of the remaining time.

6. No costumes or props of any kind are allowed. Participants will be allowed to wear only Teeneagle clothing.

7. Notes will be permitted, but no internet access will be permitted.

8. No discussions among peers/teachers will be permitted during note taking, unless they are part of your assigned group.

9. The grading criteria is as follows:

– Structure and Organisation 20%
– Cohesion 20%
– Grammatical Range and Accuracy 20%
– Lexical Range and Accuracy 20%
– Pronunciation 20%

10. In Persuasive Speaking, we will provide closed topics that you will need to argue for or against. We are looking for short, concise explanations with references from the resources–in other words, use the resource to explain your topic and provide examples. Some examples are:

EAGLETS

– Children are wiser than adults. (The Little Prince)
– Parents don’t always know what’s best for their children. (Finding Nemo)
– Breaking the law can be a good thing. (Danny, the Champion of the World)
– Justice is better than revenge. (Big Hero 6)

EAGLES

– Peace can always be attained, no matter how bad the situation is. (How to Train Your Dragon)
– It is more important to listen to your heart than to your head. (The Alchemist)
– One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. (Real Steel)
– All successful people are inherently privileged. (Outliers)

3. WRITING CHALLENGE RULES AND GUIDELINES

1. Groups of three (3) are chosen at random.
2. Participants must select only one of the three available topics.
3. Participants discuss topics in groups, and at the end, each participant writes their own essay/story. They will first have 15 minutes to discuss the topics with their group members, followed by 45 minutes to brainstorm and organise their ideas.
4. The writing topics are based on the resources provided (a book and/or a film).
5. Participants are free to use any and all materials available to them, whether physical or electronic.
6. Participants must submit their essays/stories to the chosen examiners at the end of the time limit.
7. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited, and participants who are found to have plagiarised will be disqualified and receive no points for this challenge.
8. Participants may not abandon the challenge or submit their essays/stories before or after the deadline.
9. Leaving the assigned area is not permitted during the challenge; however, in exceptional circumstances or in the case of an emergency, participants may speak with a member of staff to discuss arrangements on an as-needed basis.
10. Participants will have a total of one (1) page, with a word count based on their age category. Eaglets should write an essay of 120-150 words, while Eagles should write an essay of 200-250 words. Participants may not go beyond the one (1) page limit. Participants are discouraged from writing in smaller fonts, using margins, or taking any other action that will add more words.
11. Participants should make a concerted effort to write as clearly and legibly as possible.

12. Assessment criteria is as follows:

Proper essay presentation style and format 25%
Structure and organisation of the essay 25%
Proper use and relevance of research 25%
Level of analysis and competency 25%

13. In Writing Challenge, we will provide a list of possible topics to write a one-page persuasive or argumentative essay on. These topics can be based on comparisons, personal opinions, ethical arguments, and more.

14. Please check out our examplers here.

Some sample topics are as follows:

EAGLETS

– Was the relationship between the Little Prince and his Rose a good or a bad one? (The Little Prince)
– Do you think Marlin was a good father to Nemo? Why or why not? (Finding Nemo)
– Should parents be allowed to lie to their children? Use Danny to explain your answer. (Danny, the Champion of the World)
– Should Professor Callaghan go to jail for his actions? (Big Hero 6)

EAGLES

– Was Stoick right to be mad at Hiccup’s secret dragon-training? (How to Train Your Dragon)
– Was Santiago’s journey a waste of time? (The Alchemist)
– If you could teach Charlie one lesson from Outliers, which would it be and why? (Real Steel)
 – Take one lesson from Outliers that you disagree with and explain why. (Outliers)

4. SPELLING BEE RULES AND GUIDELINES

The spelling bee is done in a WRITTEN form. 

1. Students will be asked to write the alphabet on the designated portion at the top of their spelling sheet prior to the competition (this sheet will be given to competitors once the competition commences). The written alphabet will be used by judges to help them decipher ambiguous letters specific to each competitor.
2. The competition will be a written spelling bee for all competitors.
3. The first and second round of the spelling bee is completely individual and is able to be done on the exam paper without speaking. 
4. The third and fourth round will be done with a Proctor. The Proctor will read a word out loud, read the definition of the word, and read the word out loud again. Then, the Proctor will pause before continuing with the next word. 
5. When a word is spelled or defined, the participants will have 30 seconds to answer.
6. The participants’ written words should be correct and complete. Special characters must be used (i.e., accents, capital letters, etc). Such symbols should be used when writing the word.
7. In all rounds, competitors will be given word definitions.
8. Some examples of round forms would be circling the best spelling option, filling in the blanks of specific words, or stating whether a given spelling of a word is correct.

Some examples are:

EAGLETS

– crash→ failure→ consequence (The Little Prince)
– gills → sting → anemone (Finding Nemo)
– loot → exciting → quirk (Danny, the Champion of the World)
– angle → companion → protocol (Big Hero 6)

EAGLES

– maul → quake→ nuisance (How to Train Your Dragon)
– dune → caravan → elixir (The Alchemist)
– exile → custodian → addition (Real Steel)
– array → paradigm → egalitarian (Outliers)

The most important rule of all, whether you are a participant or a spectator, is to relax and have fun. 🙂