Six York University students enrolled in the Japanese Studies program in the Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguists at the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), were each presented with an award at the 40th Ontario Japanese Speech Contest (OJSC) held online on March 6.
Supported by the Consulate General of Japan in Toronto and the Japan Foundation along with firms and institutions across the province, the OJSC has offered an invaluable opportunity for students since its inception in 1983. OJSC provides learners with a platform to demonstrate their knowledge and performance of the Japanese language. Students learning Japanese at universities and language schools present their speeches in four categories: Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced and Open.
York students participated in the Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced categories this year, exhibiting excellence in content and delivery of their speeches.
The students and speeches they presented include:
Grand Prize: Hyokyoung Han (AP/JP3000) for “My political participation”
Beginners first: Elvin Yam (AP/JP1000) for “Not the end”
Beginners second: Janel Acheampong (AP/JP1000) for “Seita and Alex”
Advanced second: Shirley Ho (AP/JP3000) for “The food service industry’s new normal”
Canon Special Prize: Keying Ren (AP/JP1000) for “Is uniform unique?”
Special Prize: Harmony Ro Newcombe (AP/JP2000) for “My name is not Harmony”
Among the winners who received various prizes, Han was awarded a return ticket to Japan as the grand prize, which she plans to use to visit the country for the first time. Han and Yam will be participating in the National Japanese Speech Contest (NJSC) in their respective categories on March 26, scheduled to be held at the University of Alberta.
“The Japanese Studies program is extremely delighted by this year’s success of York students, which further builds on the strong performance in last year’s contest where six York students were also awarded prizes,” says Noriko Yabuki-Soh, associate professor, Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, LA&PS.
Yabuki-Soh and department colleagues Associate Professor Norio Ota and Faculty members Kumiko Inutsuka, Akiko Mitsui and Eri Takahashi coached the students leading up to the contest. Yabuki-Soh and Inutsuka also served on OJSC’s organizing committee to support the planning and operation of the event, which attracts more than 50 participants each year.
Visit the Japanese Studies program website to learn more.