Last month, The Queen’s Translation Exchange (QTE) launched the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators for 2024-25. They sent out poetry teaching resource packs to over 1800 teachers to mark European Day of Languages (26 September) and International Translation Day (30 September).
Last year’s Anthea Bell Prize reached over 16,000 young people across the UK. This year, they’re aiming even higher! The competition window opens in February 2025, so there is still plenty of time to register and explore their excellent creative translation teaching resources.
For this year, the Translation Exchange has launched a new Russian-language strand of the Prize. The Russian-language teaching resources include an ab-initio resource designed for use by students and teachers with no previous experience of Russian. Read more about the launch of the Russian-language strand here.
QTE would love to hear from any Russian teachers interested to help them develop this strand across the year, as well as from any teachers who have used the new ab-initio resources and would be willing to share their experience. Feedback on any of the resources is also hugely appreciated. Please get in touch with the team at translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk.
Tag Archives: prize
Reminder: ‘A German Classic’ Prize
There is still time to enter the Oxford German Network’s essay competition for sixth formers, ‘A German Classic’, offering prizes of £500, £300, and £100!
Whilst our registration deadline to receive free copies of our set text Schiller’s Die Räuber has passed, we still welcome entrants who will receive all of the online resources we provide for the 2024 prize.
Die Räuber is a play that revolves around the big questions of sentiment and reason, freedom and law. The plot centres on the brothers Karl and Franz Moor and their dispute over their father’s affection and inheritance. Karl is slandered by his younger brother Franz, whereupon their father disowns Karl. Karl becomes the leader of a feared band of robbers but remains both haunted by his bad conscience and true to his noble intentions. Meanwhile the greedy and calculating Franz sets out to claim his father’s inheritance for himself and win over Karl’s fiancée Amalia.
Schiller wrote Die Räuber when he was around twenty years old and it made him immediately famous when it was first performed in 1782. Ever since its premiere, this rebellious play has triggered strong reactions from audiences and prompted social debates that have lost none of their relevance. Explore them for yourself by studying Die Räuber in the original – one of the iconic works of world literature!
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Entrants must fulfil the following requirements as of 11 September 2024:
- be beginning their final year of full-time study at a secondary school in the UK (upper-sixth form, Year 13 or S6 in Scotland);
- be between the ages of 16 and 18;
- hold a GCSE, IGCSE or equivalent qualification in German offered in the UK, or have at least an equivalent knowledge of German, as confirmed by their teacher;
- be resident in the United Kingdom.
Entrants are not, however, expected to have prior experience of studying German literature.
You can find further information along with study materials and essay questions here on the Oxford German Network’s website.
Reminder – Stephen Spender Prize
Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation 2024 | 2 weeks left to submit!
Calling budding poetry translators of all ages! Just 2 weeks left to submit to the 2024 Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation. Translate ANY published poem from ANY language into English, and win publication and cash prizes!
The Prize welcomes entries from young people aged 18 and under from across the UK and Ireland, with categories for individual young people and teachers submitting on behalf of pupils, plus a special Portuguese Spotlight celebrating poetry from across the Lusophone world. Teachers from participating schools are also warmly invited to try their hand at poetry translation with the free-to-enter Teacher Laureate Prize, for the chance to win a subscription to Modern Poetry in Translation magazine and a creative translation workshop for their school.
This year, the Stephen Spender Trust is also delighted to extend the Open category to adults aged 18+ from all over the world, welcoming submissions from higher education students, academics and poetry and language lovers of all stripes.
The winning translations will be chosen by Taher Adel, Jennifer Wong and Keith Jarrett, with publication and cash prizes for the winners, plus special certificates for up to 30 Commendees in each age category. Outstanding Teacher Commendations will also be awarded to three individual teachers and/or language departments who show exceptional engagement with the prize.
For full details and a wealth of poetry translation resources, including the Stephen Spender Trust’s Guide to the Prize for Teachers, head to the Stephen Spender Prize homepage: www.stephen-spender.org/stephen-spender-prize/.
You can also follow the latest Prize news on social media, using the hashtags #SSTPoetryPrize2024 and #PortugueseSpotlight. (X: @StephenSpender | Facebook: @StephenSpenderTrust | Instagram: @stephenspendertrust)
Stephen Spender Prize 2024
Calling MFL, EAL and English teachers! Bring creative translation into the classroom this summer with the Stephen Spender Prize 2024…
The Stephen Spender Prize is an annual competition for poetry in translation, with strands for pupils, teachers and individual young people, as well as a special rotating Spotlight highlighting a language widely spoken in the UK. The competition is open for entries from 1 May to 31 July and is free to enter for all schools and teachers in the UK and Ireland.
Whether you’re an MLF, EAL or English teacher, and whatever the languages taught and spoken in your school community, the prize is a perfect way to engage students of all ages this summer term.
Teachers are invited to register here to receive classroom inspiration and activity ideas throughout the prize window, and you can follow all the latest news on our website and social media channels. (X: @StephenSpender| Facebook: @StephenSpenderTrust | Instagram: @stephenspendertrust)
Here’s a list of the categories for 2024:
Ready to start planning and working on your entries? Head to our Guide for Teachers for all the key information about the prize at a glance, explore our Bank of Suggested Poems for poem inspiration, and find poetry workshops, worksheets, lesson plans and more in our Prize Resources hub.
To help you spread the word ahead of the launch, you can also download a free Stephen Spender Prize 2024 poster to display around your school, sixth form or university buildings.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at prize@stephen-spender.org. We hope that many of you and your students will get involved!
Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators
The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is a creative translation competition for students aged 11-18 studying French, German, Italian, Mandarin and Spanish. The competition also runs from French into Welsh. The Prize is free to enter and open to all schools across the UK.
The 2023-24 prize launches today (20 September), when creative translation teaching packs will be shared with teachers in time for European Day of Languages on 26 September and International Translation Day on 30 September. These teaching packs are designed to help teachers bring creative translation into the MFL classroom as well as to help students prepare for the competition task.
Don’t worry if you have not yet registered! There is still plenty of time for teachers to do so as the competition itself will run over several weeks from 5 February to 28 March 2024. Area and national winners will be announced in May or June 2023. They will receive certificates and national winners will receive book prizes.
Over 15,000 students participated in the competition in 2023: see the list of winners and commendations in 2023. For those registered, teaching packs for poetry translation will be circulated today, fiction will follow after October half term, and non-fiction will be released in early January. Register to receive these resources and for updates about the competition task, click here.
There are a number of related activities run by the Queen’s Translation Exchange that teachers and pupils can participate in, details of which can be found here.
If you have any queries regarding the competition, please contact the Translation Exchange team at translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk.
A German Classic 2023 – Kafka’s Der Heizer
The Oxford German Network are delighted to announce the launch of the 2023 edition of ‘A German Classic’ – Oxford’s essay competition for sixth-form students. This year we invite you to read Franz Kafka’s Der Heizer (1912/13).
It is the first chapter of the unfinished novel Der Verschollene (‘The Man Who Disappeared’), narrating the beginning of the story about 17-year-old Karl Rossmann. The story addresses themes including family and friendship, migration, identity and encounters with the foreign, be it a person of a different nationality, social status or gender. It is a story about growing up, finding one’s way in a foreign land, and personal (in)stability. The experiences Kafka evokes for the reader with his narratives are so distinctive that they have given rise to the word ‘Kafkaesque’. Get a sense of what it means by studying Der Heizer in the original – one of the iconic works of world literature!
ELIGIBILITY
Entrants must fulfil the following requirements as of 8 September 2023:
- be beginning their final year of full-time study at a secondary school in the UK (upper-sixth form, Year 13 or S6 in Scotland);
- be between the ages of 16 and 18;
- hold a GCSE, IGCSE or equivalent qualification in German offered in the UK, or have at least an equivalent knowledge of German, as confirmed by their teacher;
- be resident in the United Kingdom.
Entrants are not expected to have prior experience of studying German literature.
PRIZES
Up to three prizes will be awarded: a first prize of £500, a second prize of £300, and a third prize of £100. Prizes will only be awarded if work is of sufficient merit. All entrants will receive a Prize Certificate or a Certificate of Participation. Results will be announced in early October 2023.
STUDY PACKS
Sign up here by 5pm on Friday 30 June 2023 to receive free physical copies of the German original and an English translation of Kafka’s novel Der Verschollene, the first chapter of which is the set text of the competition. The website will also give you access to a set of free multimedia resources and essay writing guidelines created and curated by us especially for this competition. All physical study materials will be dispatched in early July.
For further information, please have a look on our website.
If you have any questions, please email the Prize Coordinator at germanclassic@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk.
Stephen Spender Prize 2023
This week, we pass over to our friends at the Stephen Spender Trust to tell us about their 2023 prize for poetry in translation.
Translate ANY poem from ANY language into English, and win publication and cash prizes! Language lovers and budding poets of all ages are warmly invited to take part in the Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation, open to adults aged 19+ from all over the world, as well as to individual young people and school pupils in the UK and Ireland and students at British Schools Overseas.
For 2023 there will also be a special language focus with the Ukrainian Spotlight strand, open to all young people in the UK and Ireland aged 18 and under.
The deadline to submit entries is 14th July.
Details:
Entrants are invited to submit an English translation of a published poem from any language, ancient or modern, together with a commentary of no more than 300 words. The translation should be max. 60 lines (extracts are accepted). All forms and genres are welcome, including texts from rap, spoken word and slam poetry. We also welcome translations from sign language.
Prize strands:
- International Open Entry (NEW FOR 2023) – For adults aged 19+ from all over the world.
- Individual Youth Entry – For individual young people in the UK and Ireland or attending British schools overseas. Two age categories: 14-and-under; 18-and-under.
- Schools Laureate Prize (NEW FOR 2023) – For teachers submitting on behalf of their students, open to schools in the UK and Ireland and British schools overseas. Four categories for pupils from KS1 to KS5.
- Ukrainian Spotlight (NEW FOR 2023) – For young people in the UK and Ireland or at British schools overseas. Entries can be submitted individually or by teachers on behalf of students. Three age categories: KS1-2, KS3-4 and KS5.
- Teacher Laureate Prize (NEW FOR 2023) – Free to enter for all teachers at schools that have entered pupils for the Schools Laureate or Ukrainian Spotlight strands.
Judges:
Open category: Taher Adel, Jennifer Wong, Samantha Schnee
Youth categories (Individual Youth Entry and Schools Laureate Prize): Keith Jarrett
Ukrainian Spotlight: Nina Murray
Prizes:
- Open Entry: £1000 (1st), £500 (2nd), £250 (3rd)
- Individual Youth Entry, Schools Laureate Prize and Ukrainian Spotlight: Cash prizes of up to £100 for the winners in each age category.
- Teacher Laureate Prize: Annual print subscription to Modern Poetry in Translation for the winning teacher, plus a Stephen Spender Prize workshop for their school during the next academic year.
All winners will have their translations published in our 2023 prize booklet and will be invited to participate in our livestreamed awards ceremony in the autumn. The winner of the Open category will also be published in Modern Poetry in Translation.
In each age category we will additionally reward three Highly Commended entrants and up to 30 Commendees, as well as three special First-Time Entrant Commendations in the Open category.
Entry Fee:
Open category: £10 per translated poem, or £5 per additional poem in the same submission.
Youth and teacher categories: Free
Further details:
Full information on how to enter can be found on the Stephen Spender Prize homepage and the different category subpages.
For a wealth of poetry translation inspiration, including advice for those trying poetry translation for the first-time, explore our Guide to Poetry Translation for Newcomers, the archive of tutorials and testimonials on the Stephen Spender Trust YouTube channel, and the multilingual bank of suggested poems for translation in our Prize Resources hub.
Good luck to all entrants!
MFL Teachers’ Mailing List Prize Draw
MFL Teachers! There’s still time to sign up to our mailing list for a chance to win £100 worth of vouchers for your school!
Here in the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, one of our goals this year is to improve our reach and develop links with more MFL teachers and schools across the country. We would love for more teachers and pupils to get involved in the MFL activities and events we run throughout the school year, in the hope of encouraging more and more pupils to continue with their language learning to GCSE and beyond.
With this aim in mind, we have decided to run a prize draw for new sign ups to our mailing list! All new contacts will be automatically entered into our prize draw for new sign ups, which offers the chance to win £100 worth of vouchers for their MFL department. The form for new sign ups can be found here.
In addition, if you refer an MFL colleague to our mailing list, you will be automatically entered into our ‘referrers’ prize draw, also for £100 worth of vouchers for your department! Your colleague(s) just needs to mention your name and school while signing up, and we will take care of the rest. Therefore, we would be very grateful if you could also spread the word far and wide to your colleagues, teacher friends, and networks! (Do make sure to remind colleagues to include your details when signing up so you can be entered into our ‘referrers’ prize draw.)
A few extra details: Multiple MFL Teachers from the same school can sign up as new contacts or recommend colleagues (in order to be entered into our ‘referrers’ prize draw), to increase a school’s chance of winning. Please note, however, that the same school cannot win both prize draws. In the unlikely case that teachers from the same school are selected for both prizes, the second prize will be redrawn.
The deadline to enter the prize draw is 10am on Tuesday 20th September. We will be announcing the winners of both draws at our annual MFL Teachers’ Conference, taking place on 23-24 September. Winners will be notified via email the week commencing 26 September.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at schools.liaison@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions or concerns.
We look forward to welcoming lots of you to our ever-growing network of wonderful MFL teachers!
Prize Draw for MFL Teachers’ Mailing List
Calling all MFL Teachers – join our mailing list for a chance to win £100 worth of vouchers for your school!
One of our goals in the Faculty over the summer is to expand our MFL Teachers’ mailing list in order to improve our reach and develop links with more MFL Teachers and schools across the country. We would love for more teachers and pupils to get involved in the MFL activities and events we run here at Oxford, in the hope of encouraging more and more pupils to continue with their language learning to GCSE and beyond.
With this aim in mind, we have decided to run a prize draw for new sign ups to our mailing list! If you are an MFL Teacher who is not currently a member of our mailing list, you can sign up via our online form here. All new contacts will be automatically entered into our prize draw, which offers the chance to win £100 worth of vouchers for your MFL department.
If you are already a member of our mailing list, worry not! The great news is that, if you refer an MFL colleague to our mailing list, you will be automatically entered into our ‘referrers’ prize draw, also for £100 worth of vouchers for your department! They just need to mention your name and school while signing up, and we will take care of the rest.
(Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash)
Whether you’re new to our mailing list or a long-time member, we would be very grateful if you could spread the word far and wide to your colleagues, teacher friends, and networks! Do make sure to remind colleagues to include your details when signing up so you can be entered into our ‘referrers’ prize draw, as mentioned above.
Please note: multiple MFL Teachers from the same school can sign up as new contacts or recommend colleagues (in order to be entered into our ‘referrers’ prize draw), to increase a school’s chance of winning. The same school cannot win both prize draws, however. In the unlikely case that teachers from the same school are selected for both prizes, the second prize will be redrawn.
The deadline to enter the prize draw is 10am on Tuesday 20th September. We will be announcing the winners of both draws at our annual MFL Teachers’ Conference, taking place on 23-24 September. Winners will be notified via email the week commencing 26 September.
We look forward to welcoming you to our network of MFL Teachers!
The Stephen Spender Prize 2022
The Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation, in association with The Guardian, is now open for entries. Anybody in the UK and Ireland can enter, regardless of age or linguistic skill. The Stephen Spender Trust’s (SST) Resources hub is full of virtual resources to make the prize accessible from home, as well as teaching packs to bring poetry translation into the classroom.
This year, the prize is more inclusive and vibrant than ever, from British Sign Language translation to new prizes for first-time entrants. SST’s virtual poetry booklets collect together poems in more than 17 languages.
SST Director Charlotte Ryland:
“Poetry translation is a perfect activity for these challenging times: it is a gentle and structured approach to creativity, without the intimidating blank page that can put off many would-be poets; it is an opportunity for parents and children to work together, in particular in families where more than one language is spoken; and it is a task that can be shared with peers and teachers.”
This year’s judges are acclaimed poets, translators and educators Khairani Barokka, Daljit Nagra and Samantha Schnee.
Closing date: 15 July 2022
- Categories: Open (adult), 18-and-under, 16-and-under, 14-and-under
- Top prize of £1,000
- All winning entries published in the 2022 Stephen Spender Prize booklet
- Special ‘Spotlight’ prize for translation from Romanian, judged by Gabi Reigh
Full details on the SST website. Good luck to all participants!