One fourth of Americans are bilinguals. The top three foreign languages learned are Spanish, French, and German, while Asian languages such as Japanese and Chinese are among the top ten foreign languages learned. Many people who have learned a foreign language may not know there are major national and international language contests held each year for second language learners. These contests allow language learners to demonstrate their foreign language talents, gain memorable experience from their learning journey, and the opportunities to win some prizes. Below we list five major language contests that all dedicated language learners should consider participating in.

Image Source: bridge.chinese.cn

1. Chinese Bridge

Chinese Bridge is an international competition for second language learners held annually for high school and college students. Since its launch in 2002, more than one thousand college student contestants from 80 countries have participated in the semi-finals and finals in China. The secondary school division, which was launched later in 2008, has also attracted a large number of participants each year. There are two parts to this competition: in the first part, contestants deliver a speech on a selected topic in Chinese for a few minutes; in the second part, contestants perform a cultural show for a few minutes. Contestants must first compete at the national level by submitting a recording of their speech. Those who succeed at the national level will then be flown to China to compete for the global final where they will deliver the speech in person and perform a cultural show. The finalists will participate in a televised live show to compete for the first, second, and third titles.

Who is it for? Students age 15 to 30

Prize? A trip to China and opportunities to perform on national television.

See Mandarin for Kids

2. West-East Debate in Indonesian

The 2017 West-East Debate, the second of its kind, was held in Washington, D.C. The contest is open to college students as well as the general public in the United States. Contestants are required to present a pre-written three-minute speech on a selected topic to the judges, followed by oral responses to two questions prepared by other contestants. Only two contestants from the same institution can be nominated to join the contest. Past contestants have come from various colleges, such as Harvard University and Yale University.

Who is it for? College students and the general public in the United States

Prize? Undisclosed.

For Indonesian learners living down under, National Australia Indonesia Language Awards is held annually for school students, college students, and the general public applying not through schools. Contestants are required to send a video of them delivering a speech for a few minutes on a predetermined topic, followed by a phone interview if they pass the first round.

Who is it for? College students and the general public in the United States

Prize? $300 cash prize for a winner from the primary school student division; $2000 cash prize for a winner from the university student division; $3000 cash prize for a winner from the adult division not applying through schools.

3. KBS World Radio Korean Language Contest

The first KBS World Radio Korean Language Contest was held in 2014. This contest is open to foreign nationals who live outside South Korea and are not of Korean descent. Contestants are required to submit a video of a speech in Korean for one to three minutes on a topic determined by KBS World Radio. Three contestants from each of the six regions will proceed to the next round. One winner from each regional group can continue to the third round. In the final round, top three will be chosen and flown to South Korea for a six-day trip in September and will have the opportunity to appear on KBS programs, learn Korean lessons, and attend Korean cultural events.

Who is it for? Everyone who is a Korean second language learner

Prize? A trip to South Korea for top three winners

Image Source: Japan America Society of Houston

4. Japanese State Speech Contest

Branches of Japan America Society in various states hold Japanese speech contest annually and each branch runs their own contest. The contest runs for one day and the winners from each division will be announced at the end of the day. The different divisions include poetry, haiku, free speech, and a skit.

Who is it for? Japanese language learners of all levels and ages

Prize? Cash prizes for winners in each division

Annual Japanese Language Speech contest is also held in Australia and is organised by the Japan Foundation. The contest is open to high school students and university students. Contestants are required to present a speech for about three minutes on a topic of their own choice. Winners from each state will then progress to the national finals held in October in Sydney.

Who is it for? High school students, university students

Prize? Return ticket to Japan with Japan Airlines

See Learn Japanese Online

5. Language Perfect World Championships

This is an online ten-day contest that requires contestants to correctly translate vocabularies of a target language into English. There are 14 target languages available. Contestants are not required to be already learning the target language and hence this contest is suitable for language learners of all levels. They can log in as many times as they like throughout the duration of the championships to earn points. There is a $30,000 prize pool especially for the Language Perfect World Championships. Contestants can enter through their participating schools or language institutions, as well as individually.

Who is it for? School children of all language levels

Prize? Gift vouchers