The Turkmen national institute of world languages named after Dovletmammet Azady announced the winners of the IV English language Olympiad, held by the university among students in grades 11-12 of secondary schools in Turkmenistan.

This year, the Olympiad brought together more than 3 thousand talented schoolchildren from across the country, who demonstrated their subject preparation, language proficiency, independent study skills, and creativity.

According to the results of the Olympiad, Gulayym Garryjayeva, a 12^th-grade student of specialised secondary school №22 in Balkanabat, Balkan velayat, won first place.

II place was taken by Gulguncha Ruslanova and Kamilla Yusupova, 12^th-grade students of secondary school №10 in Dashoguz, Dashoguz velayat.

III place was awarded to schoolchildren from the city of Dashoguz, Dashoguz velayat - Nurmuhammet Iskenderov, a 12^th-grade student of specialised secondary school №26, and Atamyrat Jumayev, an 11^th-grade student of specialised secondary school №24, as well as Guljemal Annagylyjova, an 11^th-grade student of specialised secondary school №86 in Ashgabat.

The winners were awarded diplomas and commemorative gifts from the Turkmen national institute of world languages named after Dovletmammet Azady. In addition, schoolteachers who made a significant contribution to the development of gifted youth and their career guidance were awarded certificates of honour from the institute.

The Olympiad was held in two rounds. The first round took place online. Participants were asked to write an essay in English on the topic «From learning to action», which allowed them to develop their creative thinking and writing skills. As the organising committee noted, many of the works were distinguished by their rich content, expressiveness, and compliance with the standards of the English literary language.

Following the first round, the top 25 participants qualified for the second round of the Olympiad, which took place in person at the TNIWL named after D. Azady and served as the second rigorous knowledge test of the participants. 10 difficult tasks on reading, listening, and English grammar were prepared for schoolchildren. Participants were given 90 minutes to complete the tasks, during which they demonstrated their theoretical knowledge and practical language skills.

To ensure that the Olympiad meets international standards, enriches its content, and increases youth interest in the competition, the organising committee and jury included representatives from Turkmen and foreign partner universities of the institute.

In particular, experienced specialists from the Uzbek state university of world languages actively participated in the Olympiad: the head of the department of practical aspects of the English language, associate professor Shahadat Usmanova, as well as a lecturer in this department, Bahadir Babanov. The tasks and test materials for the Olympiad were developed with the joint participation of specialists from Turkmen and Uzbek universities.

The competition aims to identify and support young talent, strengthen and expand cooperation between universities and secondary schools in improving foreign language teaching, and stimulate interest of students in learning them.

It should be added that the IV English language Olympiad is part of a series of language Olympiads held annually by the Turkmen national institute of world languages named after Dovletmammet Azady. The next challenging competition for schoolchildren is the III French language Olympiad, which will take place on the 4^th of April.