We invite you to introduce your students to linguistics. Use ILC materials to enrich your curriculum, support language-focused projects, and leverage our educator tools to bring linguistic thinking into your classroom.
Use ILC problems to complement foreign language courses, or to introduce linguistics as a new field of study. The competition develops analytical reasoning, pattern recognition, and systematic thinking about language—skills valuable across all disciplines. Information on how to prepare students for ILC can be found here: Preparation
We recognize institutions with high participation and outstanding student performance through our ILC School Awards: School Award Details
The ILC School Partnership Program strengthens our collaboration with schools worldwide, providing them with dedicated tools, support, and recognition for integrating ILC into their academic activities: School Partnerships
If you are interested in implementing an ILC group in your school or using the ILC problems for your curriculum or as project work, do not hesitate to get in touch. You can find promotional materials and resources or download our specific flyer for educators: Teacher Information Flyer PDF
Register for our dedicated teacher portal to monitor student progress and access certificates, facilitate group payments for the Pre-Final Round, and manage Final Round supervision easily.
Participants who passed the Qualification Round are qualified for the Pre-Final Round: a supervised 60-minute online exam with three problems. The exam must be supervised by either a teacher (recommended) or by ILC using an online supervision system. Teacher supervision is preferred because the online system requires more setup.
The Pre-Final Round contains three problems: Problem A is a Foundational Problem (4 Points) comparable to the Qualification Round difficulty. Problem B is an Advanced Problem (6 Points) requiring more complex analysis. Problem C is a Research Problem (8 Points) based on a scholarly paper participants receive before the exam. Participants can score up to 18 points and need at least 8/10/12 points to qualify for the Final Round.
On Friday, 6 February 2026, we release the research paper. All qualified and registered participants receive the paper via email and through their participant account. The paper is in English. Participants may use translation tools and AI to help understand it before the exam. During the exam, the paper is available in the exam interface (participants may not bring their own copy).
To supervise the Pre-Final Round, teachers must be employed at a government-accredited school or university (no private tutors), currently active (no retired teachers), and not related to the participant (no family members). One teacher may supervise multiple participants at the same time.
Register online at Registration for Teachers (or use the registration button shown above). We review and approve or reject within a few days. After approval, add students to your account via Login for Teachers. Schedule the exam at any time between Sunday, 8 February 2026, 00:01 UTC+0 and Tuesday, 10 February 2026, 23:59 UTC+0. Students log in at https://lingchallenge.org/exam.
The teacher must ensure that no exam information gets published, students do not open other browser tabs or windows, students do not use other electronic devices (phones, calculators, AI tools), students do not use external information sources besides the research paper in the exam interface, students do not receive help from anyone, and cheating is reported.
The school can provide a computer or laptop, or participants can bring their own device. If supervising multiple students, they should take the exam together. Some problems may require the student to write on a paper, so students must bring blank paper (maximum twenty sheets) and pens (maximum three) for writing their solutions.
All teachers must take a photo of the exam conditions (showing the participant, device screen, and surroundings). See photo examples. Upload a single image regardless of how many participants you supervise.
Pre-Final Round Information Flyer: Pre-Final Round Information [PDF]. Training materials and training problems: Training Materials. For questions, contact info@lingchallenge.org.
The exam can be supervised at any time between Sunday, 8 February 2026, 00:01 UTC+0, and Tuesday, 10 February 2026, 23:59 UTC+0.