Every February, several language students participate in the Montgomery County Oral Proficiency Contest—a competition to test students’ speaking skills in a foreign language from county schools.
This year, Haverford sent the following students: Chinese I was represented by Adam Brown and Daniel Khan, Chinese II by Hugh Williams and Thomas Lentz, Chinese III by Robert Goens and Martin Okonkwo, Spanish I by Alex Scharpf, Spanish II by Mac Brenan, Spanish III by Ryan Shams, and lastly, Spanish V was represented by Tate Conklin. Unfortunately, no representative from Spanish IV attended due to registration issues.
This competition takes extensive planning to put into action.
“All teachers nominated at least two students from every [language] class to participate in interviews here on campus, and then the teachers divided up to interview students who were ‘trying out,’” Language Chair Mr. Andrew Poolman said. “Then the school sent one representative from each level, aside from Chinese which can send two representatives.”
Fifth Former Robert Goens attended the competition for the second time, this year competing in Chinese. As a Fourth Former he earned a gold medal; this year he won a silver medal.
“[The Oral Proficiency Contest] is a very eye-opening experience, because I get to meet other people who know the language or are learning the language. I get to meet teachers who can help me practice before these events. It’s really fun.”
Robert Goens ’25
Goens said, “I think it’s a very eye-opening experience, because I get to meet other people who know the language or are learning the language. I get to meet teachers who can help me practice before these events. It’s really fun. It helps me develop my speaking skills, especially because it’s a speaking competition. There are multiple different rounds, so between rounds you get to practice with teachers.”
Spanish teacher Ms. Brooke Kenna has been involved in the OPC (Oral Proficiency Contest) for several years and has insight and knowledge of the competition’s dynamics,
“It’s really been great to see students from all over Montgomery County be able to come together—not only in the spirit of friendly competition—but also really to show off what they’ve learned in their Spanish, Chinese, French, German, all the language classes across the county.”
Ms. Kenna, who speaks two languages herself, also states that there is a “100% benefit” for the students who compete, despite the fact that the competition lasts for only a few hours.
“For me personally, it’s been nice to see our guys do well, which sort of re-affirms the commitment to the language department here at Haverford,” Ms. Kenna said.
Mr. Poolman said, “I think the OPC is a good opportunity as an external benchmark to show where Haverford stands compared to other schools. We have tests like the national Spanish exam and Latin exam, so this gives us an idea of where we are compared to others.”
“As far as learning the language and putting it to real use, I think the best opportunity for students is the global studies program. Studying abroad and immersing yourself in a foreign family—like Guatemala, Taiwan, or Italy—gives students the ultimate opportunity for language learning. Making [language learning] a competition is a nice, fun way to go about it, but I feel like true language learning happens when you’re immersed and forced to use [the language],” said Mr. Poolman.
Goens echoes that sentiment.
“I think we should offer more events specifically like the OPC,” Goens said. “I do think our [language] program is doing very well right now.”
Apart from solely learning a second language and knowing how to speak and write effectively, Ms. Kenna pointed out other benefits of language learning.
“I don’t think it’s just the language, it’s the culture and what’s going on in the world [that makes learning a language important],” Ms. Kenna said.
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