The Massey University Japanese Speech Contest for Secondary School Students was held by the Japanese Programme of the School of Humanities on Friday 29 September on the Manawatu campus.
The event policy is not only to showcase great competitors but also to give opportunities to beginner level learners to give it a go. Nineteen local secondary school students competed with wonderful speeches and two Massey students who are currently studying 300-level Japanese came to support and encourage the young learners (they made awesome speech in Japanese as well!).
Over 50 people (secondary school students & teachers, Massey University students and staff, and parents) attended the event and all enjoyed listening to the high-quality speeches. The students used the opportunity effectively and we all saw a lot of potential for the future development of the Japanese language in New Zealand.
The judges were Dr Catherine Knight and Dr Yusuke Kuroda. The Japanese Programme of the School of Humanities truly appreciates the support from the Sasakawa Foundation, the Japan Foundation and Massey University.
Winners were:
- Category 1 (Year 10): 1st equal Jazmine Silapan (St Peter’s College) and Kip Powell (Awatapu College)
- Category 2 (Year 11): 1st: Ellie Kilty (Awatapu College)
- Category 3 (Year 12 and 13): 1st equal: Zia Macdermid and Nhung Le (Awatapu College)
- Open: Cassie Feasey (Awatapu College)