Making informed choices: Excursions and Language

Here are two things you should know about in order to make wise choices on FastRego when entering your participant data.

As excursions concern everyone, let's start with them: On our brand new excursion page we present to you the choices you have. Consult with your friends, make your choice, and enter the number of your choice into FastRego. If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with Filip Bubenheimer.

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The other thing is about language categories, which concerns only speakers but is arguably of greater importance than excursions.

As usual, WUDC speakers compete after nine preliminary rounds in three different categories of out-rounds. The definitions for these categories are based on exposure to English, which has been chosen as an indication of the barrier you have experienced learning English. You can be classified as an EFL, ESL or EPL speaker.

• EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language and represents the lowest level of exposure to English. 
• ESL stands for English as a Second Language and provides an in-between category to all speakers who have had some exposure to English. 
• Speakers will be classified as EPL, English as a Proficient Language, if they have spent a considerable amount of time in English language environments or if they are native speakers of English.

The full definitions are in Article 22 and 31 of the WUDC Constitution.

As for the procedure, you can indicate that you would like to get ESL or EFL status on FastRego. You need to do so to make sure they can be processed in time. Please answer the questions to the fullest extent possible. The Language Review Committee, which you have read about in Article 22, will use your answers to establish your language status. If the Committee deems the information you provided insufficient or has further questions, they will try to contact you before the tournament to request more information. If this is not possible, they will request you do an interview on site in Berlin. We will communicate our status decision to you and allow you to appeal, also on site in Berlin.

So, who, you may wonder, are these wonderful people who help us administering this process? Two out of three Heads of the Committee have already been appointed. They are Anne Valkering (Netherlands) and Michael Saliba (Germany).

Further Language Review Officers will join them to form a body as representative as possible of the whole of debaterworld.

If you have any language-related questions, email the Committee.