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SPEECH CONTEST
 
30th Annual Speech Contest [2016]
SpchCont
Each year since 1987, the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago sponsors a Japanese language speech contest to promote the study of Japanese in the Midwest. The contest is held in the auditorium of the Japan Information Center on the fourth Saturday in March. Please refer to the eligibility requirements and browse the results and entries from past competitions below. If you have any further inquiries related to the contest, you may contact the JIC at jic@cg.mofa.go.jp with the subject line: "Japanese Language Speech Contest."

 
30th Annual Japanese Language Speech Contest in Chicago (2016)
 
Date & Time: Saturday March 26, 2016, 10 AM - 5 PM
 
Application Deadline: Deadline for Heritage Learners only extended to 2/23, EXLUDES CATEGORIES 1-3 (Please note that all materials below must arrive in the Japan Information Center by this date regardless of the postmarked date)

30th Annual Japanese Language Speech Contest in Chicago Application Forms [FOR HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS CATEGORY]:
Place: Japan Information Center
Consulate General of Japan at Chicago
737 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1000
Chicago, Illinois 60611
 
Purpose: To promote the study of Japanese language in the Midwest and deepen the mutual
understanding and friendship between Japan and the United States.
 
Sponsors:

The Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago
The Japan America Society of Chicago
The Osaka Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International

 
Subject: Category 1:
  1. Self Introduction
  2. Favorite Things
  3. Interesting of memorable experiences or events in their life
Category 2-4:
  1. Any topic is acceptable
 
Categories: Contestants will be divided into one of the following four categories:
Category 1
  • Elementary School & Middle School Students who are learning Japanese as a foreign language
  Category 2
  • High School Students who are learning Japanese as a foreign language
  Category 3
  • College Students who are learning Japanese as a foreign language
  Category 4
  • Middle School and High School students who are heritage Japanese learners
 
Eligibility: This contest is open to all individuals who reside in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin:
Category 1-3
  1. Are non-native speakers of Japanese.
  2. Have not lived/studied in Japan for more than two years after the age of 6.
  3. Were not raised in homes where Japanese is spoken regularly.
  4. Have not participated twice in the same category of this contest in the past.
  Category 4
  1. Are non-native speakers of Japanese.
  2. Have not schooled in Japan for more than two years in total after the age of 6.
 
Judging Criteria: Content, Organization, Language, Delivery, and Memorization
 
Grand Prize: Round-Trip Airline Ticket to Japan
(Please see other prizes in the Results PDFs listed below)
 
Past Contest Results:


2016 Grand Prize Winner
Ms. Yu-Han Wang [center] with
Mr. Toshiyuki Iwado [right]
Consul-General of Japan in Chicago
Mr. Shuei Nishizawa [left]
Director, Administration, Midwest Region,
Japan Airlines
wang
Speech scripts for the Grand Prize Winner
Ms. Yu-Han Wang [2016]
(Buena Vista University)

Special Award Winner
Ms. Julie Iijima [2016]
(Minnesota Japanese School)

Osaka Award Winner
Ms. Janet Kang [2016]
(University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign)

Grand Prize Winner
Ms. Errol Phalo [2015]
(Macalester College)

Grand Prize Winner
Mr. Phillip Bachman [2014]
(University of Minnesota)