The 34th Alberta District Japanese Speech Contest 2025

Four prizes were won by University of Calgary students with inspiring speeches in this year’s Japanese Speech Contest.

The annual Alberta Japanese speech contest took place for the 34th time at the TELUS Center 134, University of Alberta, and Language Research Center, University of Calgary on March 8th, 2025.

This year, 16 students from the Alberta and Saskatchewan region demonstrated their Japanese language and speech skills, 6 of whom represented the University of Calgary’s Japanese program from the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures 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 U of C were placed in the top three in their respective categories.

In the beginner category, one student represented U of C;

● May Pham presented “My Recipe for Happiness” and won first place.

 In the intermediate category, two students represented U of C;

● Kai-Ern Lee presented “Beyond the Secret Garden” and won second place.

● Theresa Nguyen presented “Potty-chan.” 

In the advanced category, three students represented U of C;

● Ezgi Ince presented “A Healthy Escape: The Psychology Behind Our Attraction for Cute Things” and won first place.

● Eric Leclair presented “Reflected, Captured, If I Were a Camera” and won second place.

● Yerdana Jengiskhan presented “Under the Same Sky, Different View.” 

We would like to congratulate all the participants of the Speech Contest and extend our best wishes to May Pham and Ezgi Ince, who will be representing us at the Canadian National Speech Contest at York University in Ontario on March 30, 2025. Best of luck to both as they continue to shine! 

We would like to give special thanks to all the judges, co-host (Consulate-General of Japan in Calgary), donors (Mitsui Canada Foundation / Alberta Japanese Business Association / Prince Takamado Japan Centre for Teaching and Research), Canadian Association for Japanese Language Education, and the Organizing Committee.

We would also like to show gratitude to the SLLLC Japanese program, especially the instructors who encouraged and guided the participating students in their practices and supported them through their language journey: Akiko Sharp, Yoko Kodama, Hinako Ishikawa, Hitomi Krebes, and Hitomi Nishikawa. Another big thank you to the Hokkaido University of Education students who took time out of their busy schedules to help improve University of Calgary participants’ speech skills.