Welcome

We are excited to announce that the Spanish Language Fair will take place again. This year it will be held on April 18th, 2024!

What is the BYU Spanish Language Fair?

The BYU Spanish Language Fair is an annual competitive event designed to allow middle, junior high, and high school students to showcase the language skills they have acquired by studying a foreign language. The event is held at the Brigham Young University campus in Provo, Utah.

The Spanish Language Fair consists of competitions in the following events:  language bowl, humorous stories, impromptu conversations, impromptu talks, poetry recitations, prepared talks, show and tell, “Spanish Fair Idol”, and skits. More information about each event can be found by selecting the name of the event in the “Spanish Fair Events” dropdown menu.

Additional Emphasis on Proficiency in scoring. In our undergraduate and graduate teaching programs we emphasize teaching towards proficiency. In an effort to more closely align our events with our philosophy of proficiency based teaching, we have updated our rubrics for all events besides the Spanish Fair Idol, and the Language Bowl, based on ACTFL materials. You can find the rubrics by clicking here. Also note that there is a rubric for our heritage learners/4th/5th year students and another for our 2nd/3rd year students.

Students are divided into the following language levels: Middle/Intermediate School (Second Year Traditional and Any Year Non-Traditional), Junior High School (Second Year Traditional, Third Year Traditional, and Any Year Non-Traditional), and High School (Second Year Traditional, Third Year Traditional, Fourth Year Traditional, and Any Year Non-Traditional).

The “Non-Traditional” category is the advanced category, which includes all fifth-year Spanish students, immersion students, native/heritage Spanish speakers, and students who have lived in a Spanish-speaking country for an extended period of time. Regardless of the Spanish class students are enrolled in, students who qualify as “non-traditional” students must enroll in events in the non-traditional language level. Please click here for addition information about native and non-traditional students.

First year Spanish students (such as Spanish 1 or beginning Spanish) cannot participate in the the Spanish Language Fair or Españolandia.

Students competing in the Spanish Language Fair events are invited to participate in Españolandia as part of the Fair. Españolandia is a simulated travel experience to a Spanish-speaking country that allows fair attendees to practice their conversational skills after completing their competitive events.

How do I register my students for the Spanish Fair?

Information regarding registration can be found by clicking the Registration tab in the dropdown menu.

Registration Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions

1. When does registration open? Registration for the BYU Spanish Fair opens the first Monday in February.  Registration for the 2023 Spanish Language Fair will open on Monday, February 5, 2024 at 12:00 AM.
2. Where do I register? Register online through this website when registration opens. The registration form can be found by clicking on the Spanish Language Fair Registration tab.
3. How long do I have to register? Registration will close when 2,500 students have been registered (due to space limitations and fire code regulations), so be sure to register as soon as you can!
4. How many students can my school bring? There is a registration limit of 100 students per school. Multiple teachers per school can come, but they may not exceed the registration limit for the school. There is a $4 registration fee for each student. This fee can be paid online with a credit card at the time of registration. Please email spanishfair@byu.edu if you have any questions about paying your fee.
5. Which students can attend the Spanish Fair? Only middle, junior high, and high school students enrolled in Spanish Level 2 or higher are eligible to participate. Make sure to enroll your students in the correct language levels! Each teacher is responsible for registering their students in the correct events. More information available here.
6. Is there a minimum or maximum number of events that a student can participate in? Every student MUST participate in at least one competitive Spanish Language Fair event (Españolandia does not count as a competitive event). Students may participate in as many events as the would like, as long as the events do not conflict (such as Language Bowl and Skits).
7. Can my students just go to Españolandia without competing in an event? Students may NOT come with the intent of attending Españolandia only. Participation in Españolandia is offered as a reward to those who have worked hard to prepare for the competitions.
8. My credit card isn’t working for the registration! Sometimes, credit cards are denied at registration if you do not use the exact same address as the one that appears on the credit card’s billing statement. Please email spanishfair@byu.edu if you have any questions or difficulties with payment.
9. How do I know my registration went through? If you registered successfully, you should see TWO receipts in your email inbox — one for the registration and one for the payment. If you believe you registered correctly, but do not see one or both of these, check your Spam/Trash folder. If you still have not received them, contact us by emailing spanishfair@byu.edu or by phone at 801-422-2837.
10. I registered my students, but there have been changes in my registration! You can edit your registration after submitting it. Before March 20, click here to edit your registration. After submitting this Google Form, you will receive an email with a link that allows you to further edit your submission. Edits will no longer be accepted after March 20, and any request to edit must be done by emailing spanishfair@byu.edu.
11. Registration is closed but I want to take my students to the Spanish Fair this year! What can I do? Sign up on the waitlist! For those of you who weren’t able to register before registration closed, feel free to sign up on this Waitlist. However, if registration is still open, you may NOT sign up via the waitlist.

Thanks for your commitment to providing high quality language learning experiences for your students.  We look forward to seeing you in April!