Simran Kannughatta chose to make a 15-second vocabulary video about the word “erroneous” — one of our top 11 winners from last year.
Do you love the magic of words? Do you enjoy showing off your vocabulary — or finding new ways to expand it? And do you appreciate brevity — keeping things short and sweet?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then consider entering our Vocabulary Video Contest. We invite students ages 13 to 19 to create a 15-second video that teaches one of our recent Words of the Day (published between June 1, 2023 and Feb. 28, 2024).
Although the video submissions are short — just 15 seconds and under — we are always surprised and thrilled to see what students can do in such a small amount of time with a single word.
Take a look at the full guidelines and related resources below. Please post any questions you have in the comments and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com. And, consider hanging this PDF one-page announcement on your class bulletin board.
The Challenge
Create a 15-second (or shorter) video that defines or teaches a word published in our Word of the Day column during this school year. Your video can be funny or serious, animated or performed, but you will need to 1) clearly pronounce your word aloud, 2) define it and 3) give the part of speech. Here are the guidelines:
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Choose a word. This year we’ve added a new requirement: You can work only with words published in our Words of the Day column between June 1, 2023, and Feb. 28, 2024. (Here’s a PDF of over 170 words from which you can choose.)
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Pronounce the word aloud, define it and identify the part of speech. You have to pronounce the word aloud in the video (students who are deaf can use fingerspelling as a way to address the pronunciation requirement); the definition and part of speech can be written or said aloud.
Please don’t forget: Every year, we have to disqualify many participants who fail to heed these three rules.
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Your video should be no more than 15 seconds, but it can be shorter. Please double check the video length.
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The video should be appropriate for a Times audience.
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Your video should help viewers understand and learn your word. You can act the word out, animate it, use puppets, draw, sing a song, create a dance, incorporate photographs, create a Claymation or do anything else.
Additional Rules
In addition to the guidelines above, here are a few more details:
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You must be a student age 13 to 19 in middle school or high school to participate, and all students must have parent or guardian permission to enter. Please see the F.A.Q. section for additional eligibility details.
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Work alone, with a partner or in a group.
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Only one submission per student. If you submit as part of a group, you cannot enter separately as an individual.
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Be sure to use only sound effects or music that are not copyright protected. If you incorporate music or sound effects in your video, consider creating your own. Or, if you want to use royalty-free music and sound effects, such as those found on sites like Freesound or SoundBible, be sure to follow the attribution instructions for how to give proper credit.
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If you use any sounds or music that is not your own, please list your sources in the entry form. You can include the URL of the web page from which you downloaded the sound or music and provide any necessary attribution.
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You must also submit a short, informal “artist’s statement” as part of your submission, that describes your process. These statements, which will not be used to choose finalists, help us to design and refine our contests. See the F.A.Q. to learn more.
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Submit your entry by uploading a video file via the form at the bottom of this page (or have an adult do so on your behalf). We are not allowing YouTube links.
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All entries must be submitted by March 27, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time using the contest form at the bottom of this page.
Resources for Teachers and Student
Here are useful resources so teachers and students can begin planning for this contest:
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to your questions about writing, judging, the rules and teaching with this contest. Please read these thoroughly and, if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, post your query in the comments or write to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.
QUESTIONS ABOUT VOCABULARY VIDEOS
What is a vocabulary video?
Vocabulary videos aren’t an original idea — in fact, we came up with the idea for this contest back in 2013 after we saw an English teacher, Brett Vogelsinger, post on Twitter that he’d had his students make “Vocabulary Vines.” (Remember Vine?)
There are many different ways to make them and use them in the classroom. For our original contest, we were inspired by the work of Bridget Dalton, a professor who had written extensively about developing vocabulary through multimodal expression. In this piece, she points out that “language learning is social — we learn with and about vocabulary as we experience it in specific contexts.”
That, in a nutshell, is what this contest is all about: taking a word and putting it in a context that helps both the maker and the audience understand the word. But what we hear from teachers is that it’s hard not to have fun along the way.
QUESTIONS ABOUT JUDGING
How will my video be judged?
Your video will be watched by Learning Network staff members and educators from across the United States. We will use this rubric to judge entries.
What’s the prize?
Having your video featured on The Learning Network.
When will the winners be announced?
About two months after the contest has closed.
My video wasn’t selected as a winner. Can you tell me why?
We receive over 1,000 entries annually for this contest, so, unfortunately, our team does not have the capacity to provide individual feedback on each video.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RULES
Who is eligible to participate in this contest?
This contest is open to students ages 13 to 19 who are in middle school or high school around the world. College students cannot submit an entry. However, high school students (including high school postgraduate students) who are taking one or more college classes can participate. Students attending their first year of a two-year CEGEP in Quebec Province can also participate. In addition, students age 19 or under who have completed high school but are taking a gap year or are otherwise not enrolled in college can participate.
The children and stepchildren of New York Times employees are not eligible to enter this contest. Nor are students who live in the same household as those employees.
Why are you asking for an Artist’s Statement about our process? What will you do with it?
All of us who work on The Learning Network are former teachers. One of the many things we miss, now that we work in a newsroom rather than a classroom, is being able to see how students are reacting to our “assignments” in real time — and to offer help, or tweaks, to make those assignments better. We’re asking you to reflect on what you did and why, and what was hard or easy about it, in large part so that we can improve our contests and the curriculum we create to support them. This is especially important for new contests, like this one.
Another reason? We have heard from many teachers that writing these statements is immensely helpful to students. Stepping back from a piece and trying to put into words what you wanted to express, and why and how you made artistic choices to do that, can help you see your piece anew and figure out how to make it stronger. For our staff, they offer important context that help us understand individual students and submissions, and learn more about the conditions under which students around the world create.
Who can I contact if I have questions about this contest or am having issues submitting my entry?
Leave a comment on this post or write to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.
QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING WITH THIS CONTEST
I’m a teacher. What resources do you have to help me teach with this contest?
The best resource we have for teachers are the winning videos from past years. You can find many in this compilation post or in our YouTube playlist, but if you would like to access them all, here are our 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014 and 2013 winners, though some of the videos on our older platform can no longer be viewed.
Do my students need a New York Times subscription to access these resources?
No, all of the resources on The Learning Network are free.
How to Submit
Use the submission form below to submit your entry. Students may work in a group, but only one entry per student is allowed. We are not allowing YouTube links.
All students must have a parent or guardian complete the Parent/Guardian Permission section before submitting.
Please note: Students 13 to 19 years old are invited to enter. Students who are 13 and older in the United States or the United Kingdom, or 16 and older elsewhere in the world, can submit their own entries. Those who are 13 to 15 and live outside the United States or the United Kingdom must have an adult submit on their behalf.