The 25th Canada National Japanese Language Speech Contest
On March 29th, the Organizing Committee for the Japanese Language Speech Contest in Ottawa and the Prince Takamado Japan Centre for Teaching and Research, in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan, were pleased to present the 25th Canada National Japanese Language Speech Contest at the Embassy of Japan. This contest was held with support from Carleton University, Japan Foundation, Prince Takamado Japan Canada Memorial Fund, Astellas Pharma, Japan Airlines and Mitsui & Co. (Canada) Ltd.
In his opening remarks, Minister Yawata congratulated the contest organizers on its 25th anniversary. He went on to emphasize the importance of the journey which participants have taken since they first decided to learn Japanese and how it can endure throughout their lives as they continue to study. Moreover, this dedication to developing their Japanese language skills can contribute to the longstanding friendship between Canada and Japan.
The 25 participants, who had won first prize at regional contests earlier in the month, competed in 4 categories: beginner, intermediate, advanced and open. The participants spoke fluently about a variety of topics including Japanese history and personal stories, demonstrating their Japanese language skills in front of a large audience including Japanese teachers and Japanese-language enthusiasts.
During the intermission, elementary school students from the Ottawa Hoshuko (Japanese Supplementary School) performed their school song, gave a poetry reading and performed manzai (Japanese stand-up comedy), followed by a Shamisen performance by Ms. Ryoko Itabashi. The audience gave loud applause to the powerful and deep sound, creating a festive atmosphere befitting the 25th anniversary of the contest.
After the contest, the participants attended a reception at the Ambassador’s residence where they relaxed and conversed with the contest organizers and members of the Japanese-Canadian community
The results for the national speech contest are as follows:
Beginner’s Category:
The 1st prize: Pryangka Rao（University of Waterloo） “Bring It On!” (Grand Prize Winner)
The 2nd Prize: Nikola LeBel（Ottawa Japanese Language School） “My Friend Satoshi”
The 3rd Prize: Anna Tran（University of Calgary） “Growing Up”
Intermediate Category:
The 1st Prize: Oliver Marshall（University of Manitoba） “My Journey of Discovery”
The 2nd Prize: Chenlu Cui（McGill University） “Wars and the Right Things to Do”
The 3rd Prize:Ran Tao（Carleton University） “The Great Passage”
Advanced Category:
The 1st Prize: Nikole Hyein Lee（University of Toronto） “Goodbye to Cinderella”
The 2nd Prize: Julie Poirier （The Canadian Foreign Service Institute) “John-Manjiro – the Canadian version”
The 3rd Prize: Jishan Habib （University of Calgary） ”Japanese Way of Teaching”
Open Category:
The 1st Prize: Ying Tan（University of Toronto）”Before you say “Uh oh!””
The 2nd Prize: Erika Sommerville（University of British Columbia） “Stereotype Threat”
Special Prize:
JB Dongwoo Nam（McGill University） “Ocean and the Sky” （from Advanced Category）
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