On June 25, the 6th Japanese Speech Contest for International Students at Sophia University was held by the Center for Language Education and Research. The contest was an opportunity for international students taking Japanese language courses at Sophia University to present their achievements to the public and was held in two categories: Elementary and Intermediate Level, and Upper-Intermediate and Advanced Level. Students of Lingwave, an extracurricular activity organization that provides opportunities for language learning and cross-cultural exchange by connecting international and Japanese students, helped the international students to practice their Japanese speeches, and the international student enrolled in Department of English Studies at Faculty of Foreign Studies served as the moderator for the contest.
The contest began with opening remarks by Vice President for Academic Research Affairs, Takashi Okada, followed by the five students in each category who passed the preliminary screening. The five judges, including Professor Kaoru Koyanagi, Vice Director of the Center for Language Education and Research and Kensaku Yoshida, Professor Emeritus at Sophia University and Honorary President of the Eiken Foundation of Japan considered content, structure, clarity of language, and speaking style, and decided the winners, runners-up, and special award from the judges.
The winner of Upper Intermediate and Advanced level category was Ms. Jeon Yoonah (from Republic of South Korea, exchange student, Department of History, Faculty of Humanities), and her speech was titled “Healing and Commitment”. She gave a speech with an extensive expression, expressing that she realized the value of “commitment” from the “Japanese approach to commitment” she felt from her trip to Kamakura, and that she would like to lead her own life in the future without being in a rush as she has been in the past, but with confidence.
The winner of the Elementary and Intermediate Level category was Mr. Chu Rayvon Calisto (from Australia, exchange student in Faculty of Liberal Arts), who titled his speech “The Charm of Japan.” He delivered a speech about the charms of Japan, which he discovered through his “once in a lifetime” encounters with Japanese people, with gestures and a high level of presentation skills, which delighted the audience.
At the closing ceremony, Professor Emeritus Yoshida, who served as a judge, commented that all the speeches were well-crafted and fluent, and gave the contestants hints on how to make and practice speeches that are easy for the audience to visualize.
The winners of the runners-up and special jury awards from judges were as follows.
Runners-up:
Upper Intermediate and Advanced Level: Ms. Li Wan Ting (from Taiwan, exchange student in the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Humanities)
Elementary and Intermediate Level: Ms. Hagiwara Angel Rose Rojo (from the Republic of the Philippines, 1st year student, FLA )
Special Award from the Judges:
Upper Intermediate and Advanced Level Division: Mr. Qin Tianrui (from the People’s Republic of China, 1st year student, Department of Information and Communication Science and Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology)
Elementary and Intermediate Level: Ms. Hebig Sandy (from Federal Republic of Germany, exchange student, Department of German Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies)
