report on 2008 speech contest
The final of the “Nihongo Cup” speech contest for secondary schools took place at the Embassy of Japan on the 28 June 2008. This contest is organised by the Japanese Language Committee (JLC) of the Association for Language Learning in association with the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation London Language Centre. This annual event is a great celebration of the achievements of the young people studying Japanese in schools in the UK.
248 pupils from 21 schools submitted a tape of their speech, which was screened by the JLC. The younger pupils spoke about “My dream”, whilst sixth form pupils had a free choice of topic. From all the tapes submitted, the JLC chose 6 pupils each in Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 to present their speeches live in front of an audience and the judges.
In KS3, first prize was awarded to Holly Harrison of Tavistock College, Devon. The first prize in each category was an i-pod touch. The second prize was awarded to Jenny Eden, also of Tavistock College, with the third prize being awarded to Lauren Leete of Aldercar Community Language College. First prize in KS4 went to Zain Ahmad Riza of Wycliffe College. Second prize went to Jisu Lee of St. Helen’s School, with third prize being awarded to Samantha Day of Aldercar Community Language College. The KS5 first prize, together with the chance to visit Japan with an organisation known as Japanese Speech Awards, went to William Wan of Whitgift School, for his excellent speech on “Yukiguni” (Snow Country), a famous Japanese novel. The second prize in KS 5 was awarded to Alex Karmazyn of South Wolds School and the third prize to Stephnie Tress of Wellington College.
The JLA is grateful to the Embassy of Japan for hosting the event, the Japan Foundation London Language Centre for their support, and the sponsors: the Japan Centre, the Japanese Speech Awards, JP-Book (UK) Ltd, Ricoh UK Ltd, JRI Europe Ltd., and Soho Japan.
