March 9, 2018

Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest 2018

Four SLLLC Students Win Prizes in this year's Speech Contest

Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest 2018 Jude Velasco

The 27th Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest was held on Saturday, March 3th, 2018 at the University of Calgary.

In this year’s annual event, of the twenty six contestants in total, ten represented the University of Calgary’s Japanese Program (School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures), supported by Japanese instructors, X. Jie Yang, Ben Whaley, Akiko Sharp, Yoko Kodama, and Hitomi Krebes.

This year’s speech contest contained a large number of participating universities and covered a wide area geographically across Canada. The other four participating universities included the University of Alberta, Mount Royal University, the University of Lethbridge, and the University of Saskatchewan.

All of the contestants confidently presented their written speeches and we are very proud to announce that four students from the Japanese program at the University of Calgary placed within the top three positions of their respective categories. Good job to all University of Calgary contestants!

In the beginner category, Andrew Kim from JPNS 207 was the first to present with his incredible speech “Happy Life”, for which he won the Special Prize for Effort. In addition, our excellent contestant Yang Zhang, also from JPNS 207, won the third prize with her speech “Suitcase Sale”.

In the open category, two University of Calgary students participated in the intense competition. With her speech “Nature vs. Humans”, Mako Smith from JPNS 333 won the first prize. Sharon Dong from EALS 501 won the second prize with her speech, “Japanese University Students are a Mystery”. Both of these open contestants’ speeches were rather unique and got superb reviews from the judges.

Once again, congratulations to all the participants for their outstanding efforts and deep appreciation for the hard work and invaluable coaching from the Japanese instructors, Japanese volunteer helpers and Senshu University interns. University of Calgary first-prize winner, Mako Smith, will be advancing into the National Japanese Speech Contest on Saturday, March 24th, 2018, at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Best of luck in your endeavours Mako!

On behalf of the School and the Japanese program, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of the University of Calgary volunteer helpers for their hard work and assistance, including: our two excellent MCs Sherry Yuan and Ye Ni, our talented photographer Jude Velasco, all the great performers, and graduates and visiting students from Hokkaido University of Education. Without your efforts it would be impossible to run the event so smoothly, and we appreciate all your help!

Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest 2018

Jude Velasco

The 27th Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest - Prize Winner List

第二十七回アルバータ地区日本語弁論大会

Below are the winners of the 27th Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest. We would like to once again congratulate each one of them on their success, and wish U of C winner Mako Smith good luck at the National Speech Contest!

Click on the English title of each speech to access the video in YouTube.

Beginner Category, 1st Prize
Seunghyun Lee (U of A)
大変なら休んでも大丈夫です - “If it's tough, it's okay to rest”
Photograph 1 2 3

Beginner Category, 2nd Prize
Yanqi Liu (U of A)
私と「踊ってみた」 - “Me and "ODOTTEMITA"
Photograph 1 2 3

Beginner Category, 3rd Prize
Yang Zhang (U of C)
通販 - “Suitcase Sale”
Photograph 1 2 3

Intermediate Category, 1st Prize
Olivia Pan (U of Saskatchewan)
人々を繋ぐ日本料理 - “The Japanese food that brings people together”
Photograph 1 2 3

Intermediate Category, 2nd Prize
Ma Agenica de Castro (MRU)
物語のおわりは未定です - “The Unwritten Ending”
Photograph 1 2 3

Intermediate Category, 3rd Prize
Olivia Salioh (U of A) 　
幸せな私 - “A Happy Me”
Photograph 1 2 3

Advanced Category, 1st Prize
Mingxue Nan (U of A)
三人の南さん - “The three "Minami-san"
Photograph 1 2 3

Advanced Category, 2nd Prize
Jennifer Lee (U of A)
韓国人？カナダ人？ - “Korean? Canadian?”
Photograph 1 2 3

Advanced Category, 3rd Prize
Danielle Roy (U of A)
プラスチックの旅 - “The Life of Plastic”
Photograph 1 2 3

Open Category, 1st Prize
Mako Smith (U of C)
自然対人間 - “Nature vs. Humans”
Photograph 1 2 3

Open Category, 2nd Prize
Sharon Dong (U of C)
日本の大学生はミステリー - “Japanese University Students are a Mystery”
Photograph 1 2 3

Special Prize for Effort
Andrew Kim (U of C)
幸福な人生 - “Happy Life”
Photograph 1 2 3

Esther Lee (U of A)
自分らしく - “Be myself”
Photograph 1 2 3

Student presenting at Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest 2018

We would like to acknowledge and greatly thank the list of judges who graciously donated their time to attend the 27th Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest:

JUDGES

Mr. Kunihiko Tanabe
Consul-General, Consulate-General of Japan in Calgary

Mr. Yoshifumi Murakami
Japanese Language and Culture Special Advisor, Alberta Education

Dr. Hiromi Aoki
Instructor of Japanese, University of Alberta

Ms. Akiko Sharp
Instructor of Japanese, University of Calgary

Mr. Takashi Ogawa
President, The Alberta Japanese Businessmen’s Association
Sumitomo Corp.

Finally, it is important that we say a very heartfelt thank you to the following co-organizers, sponsors and prize donors, without whom this contest would not be possible:

CO-ORGANIZERS

The Consulate-General of Japan in Calgary
School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures, University of Calgary
Prince Takamado Japan Centre for Teaching and Research, University of Alberta

SPONSORS AND PRIZE DONORS

The Japan Foundation, Toronto
Mitsui Canada Foundation
The Alberta Japanese Businessmen’s Association