Become better than motivation

Discussion on the great dictation competition during the German Foundation Day.

Osnabrück, May 23, 2017

Is it now "nonetheless"? Or perhaps "none the less"? The 40 guests were quiet as mice when they competed in a dictation contest during the German Foundation Day 2017. It required full concentration to put the tricky sentences down on paper correctly, which had been created especially for the "Language sport in the swimming pool - the big dictation competition".

The Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation wanted to spread its enthusiasm for the great dictation competition during the Foundation Day. Therefore, together with the Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main, it had invited the creator of the competition as well as representatives of other foundations and other participants to learn more about the competition. First of all, therefore, a panel discussion on the topic of "Language as the key to the world" provided insights into the motivation and background to the dictation competition. In Frankfurt am Main, students, teachers and parents competed linguistically for the first time in 2011. Since 2015, the Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation in Osnabrück has been hosting the big dictation competition. Michael Prior, the foundation's managing director, had brought the idea to the city.

Alicia Demann and Carla Schmitz explained how well the competition is received by young people. They enjoy competing in German spelling, said the students from the "In der Wüste" high school, who took third place in the Osnabrück competition in the spring. It's a shame that dictations are no longer written after elementary school, Alicia Demann said. "Besides, spelling is evaluated at the latest in the Abitur. Too many mistakes give a point deduction," added Carla Schmitz about her motivation to be there.

But does knowledge of grammar still make sense today, when new media and the increasing speed of communication have pushed many rules aside? For Christina Noack, professor of German at the University of Osnabrück, there's no question about it: "There's something artistic about breaking the rules. But it is precisely this breaking of the rules that presupposes their knowledge," said the linguist, who heads the Osnabrück jury of the Great Dictation Contest. "Language is a key to unlocking the world," emphasized Prof. Dr. Roland Kaehlbrandt. The chairman of the Polytechnic Society Foundation created the competition, which he deliberately sets at a high level: "It's about aiming upward to become better." Michael Prior highlighted the wealth of variants and beauty of the German language, which makes up a particularly large vocabulary: "It wants to be penetrated," Prior said, before other foundation representatives explained their motivation for bringing the dictation competition to the region during the moderation of Dr. Marie-Luise Braun. Both Paul Claahsen from the Münster Municipal Foundations and Ekkehard Thümler from the Joachim Herz Foundation in Hamburg were convinced by the idea of dealing with the German language in a playful way. Because of the close proximity, an alliance grew on the podium: the Bohnenkamp Foundation and the Münster Municipal Foundations want to compete in a bilateral competition in the future.

The competition during the Foundation Day was won by Thomas Allewelt. The teacher for Latin and history at the grammar school "In der Wüste" took part in the Osnabrück competition from the first time and was pleased to receive the winner's trophy for the second time. He received it because he had not only spelled "nonetheless" correctly. He made only one mistake in the 139-word dictation.

For more information, visit www.dergrossediktatwettbewerb.de and www.stiftungen.org/startseite.htm .