32nd Alberta Japanese Speech Contest 2023

The annual Alberta Japanese speech contest took place for the 32nd time, at the University of Alberta’s Language Research Center, on March 11th, 2023.

This year, 21 students from the Alberta region demonstrated their Japanese language and speech skills, 7 of which represented the University of Calgary’s Japanese program from the School of Languages, Linguistics, and culture.

With the aid of the University of Calgary’s Japanese instructors and Hokkaido University of
Education students, all participants worked hard to perfect their speech, advance their
understanding of the Japanese language and create a bridge of culture between Japan and Canada once again.

This year, four students from UofC were placed in the top three in their respective
categories.

In the intermediate category, four students represented UofC;
● Kien Du presented “Aspiration and Occupation”
● Dayee Lee presented “The precious time ” and won third place
● Lavender Wong presented “ Opening the Door Between Humankind” and won
second place
● Jessie Zheng presented “Four things I learnt in Canada“and won first prize

 

In the beginner category, two students represented UofC;
● Sara Al Dhawi presented “Let’s Use Social Media Safely.”
● Ezgi Ince presented “It is better not to study foreign languages“ and won third place

 

In the advanced category, one student represented UofC;
● Bernardo Klein presented “Make your heart more colorful”

We congratulate all the participants and wish luck to Jessie Zheng, who will represent UofC in the intermediate category of the National Speech Contest on March 26th, 2023.
We give special thanks to; Dr. Aya Fujiwara, the Director of Prince Takamado Japan Centre
for Teaching and Research. Dr. Hiromi Aoki, Japanese Language Coordinator in the
Department of East Asian Studies at UofA, Ms. Hinako Ishikawa School of Languages,
Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures of UofC. Ms. Rei Kondo, the Program Assistant of
Prince Takamado Japan Centre for Teaching and Research, and Ms. Akiko Sharp from the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures at UofC, for organizing and
making this event come to life.

We would also like to show gratitude to the Japanese instructors; Akiko Sharp, Yoko
Kodama, Hitomi Krebes, Hitomi Nishikawa, and Hinako Ishikawa, for encouraging and aiding the participating students in their practices and supporting them through their language journey. Another thank you to the Hokkaido University of Education students who took time out of their busy schedules to help improve their partners’ Japanese skills.