316th hosts language competition Published June 4, 2013 By Airman 1st Class Joshua Edwards 17th Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Joint Language Resource Center hosted the first 316th Training Squadron Language Competition near Building 521, May 24. The contest pitted six teams of four people against each other. Each team of four represented a different language to include, Arabic, Korean, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Russian and Spanish. During the contest, the teams competed in four events. The teams received time penalties if they spoke in a language other than the language they're learning. When the four events were completed, whichever team had the fastest combined time won. "We started the language competition to support language training, foster teamwork and promote communication skills through linguistically and physically challenging events," said Maria Dossey, 316th TRS JLRC training technician. The first event was a scavenger hunt. Each team received instructions to four different locations, which they had to find. Once the team arrived at the location, a judge gave them a passage to read with a few questions to answer in their language. "I have to say the scavenger hunt was my favorite," said Airman 1st Class Jacob Crawford, 316th TRS student. "Describing the things in Arabic was a difficult task." The second event was the Draw Me event. Three team members collectively described an image to the person they designated as the illustrator. The team who finished first won. Judges added 30 seconds to the group's time if important objects were missing from the drawing. The third challenge was an object shuttle. In this event, one team member described a picture to a different teammate, the teammate would then have to run about 50 meters to a board that had approximately 30 images on it, several were closely related to each other. If the person came back with the wrong item, they would have to run back and try again. The fourth and final event was a telephone relay. The first team member received a piece of paper with a paragraph on it, then had two minutes to memorize it before running a lap around a parking lot. Once the lap was completed, the teammate passed on information they could remember to the next person. When the last person finished their lap, they relayed information back to the judges. "I didn't know what to expect," said Crawford. "It was challenging and gave me more confidence in my speaking ability. There was also a lot of joint service camaraderie" At the end of the ceremony Lt. Col. Nahrgang, 316th TRS Commander, announced the Arabic team as the winner and presented them with 316th squadron coins.
