Students mark 80 papers for the UK Linguistics Olympiad
The first UK Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO) “markathon” organised at Birkbeck successfully took place on 9th and 11th February 2015.
The first UK Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO) “markathon” organised at Birkbeck successfully took place on 9th and 11th February 2015. The events attracted 11 volunteers from the Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication (both undergraduate and postgraduate), who spent up to three hours marking the scripts of pupils from three UK schools. The aim of this first round of the competition was to select pupils who will go on to compete in the second round for a place in the national team: three young people will be representing the UK at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Bulgaria in July. Together we marked 80 papers from candidates ranging from Year 4 (normally aged 8-9!) to Year 13 (aged 17-18).
PhD student Louise Rolland coordinated the markathon, passing on instructions from the UKLO organisers and giving advice on how to follow the marking guide. There were five linguistic analysis problems to assess: from translating English phrases into an Aboriginal language (Murrinhpatha) to working out the basics of Georgian grammar. Whereas some of the marking was mechanical, two of the problems required judgment in order to mark the pupils’ commentary. There was also the challenge of marking pupils’ efforts at writing in the Georgian alphabet, which were impressive but required a lot of concentration to decipher! Overall, we all gained insights into the intricacies of language testing.
Would we participate again next year? Most volunteers said yes. Not only did we enjoy supporting a competition that raises awareness of linguistics in UK schools, but in doing it together we felt part of the Applied Linguistics and Communication community here at Birkbeck. The markathon could become an annual fixture in the department – and why not make it a social event with an actual competition as a precursor to the serious business of marking?
Louise Rolland