Three students from The University of Findlay were selected as finalists for the Japan-American Society of Central Ohio (JASCO) 8th Annual Japanese Language Speech Contest at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. They competed against only seven other finalists on Saturday, March 3.

To enter the 2007 Japanese Language Speech Contest, each student was required to write an original three-minute speech in Japanese, practice it and record it on tape. A manuscript written in Japanese also was required with each submission.

Only high school and college students studying Japanese, who have not lived in Japan for more than six months and do not come from homes where Japanese is spoken, were eligible for the competition.

According to Hiroaki “Hiro” Kawamura, Ph.D., chair of the department of language and culture and associate professor of Japanese, “Everyone has to participate in the speech contest in his or her second and third year of the Japanese language program. The process is far more important than the result. The experience of writing the speech, then writing it in Japanese, and then practicing reading it aloud in Japanese is very beneficial in the learning process.”

During the March 3 competition, finalists were required to deliver their memorized speeches in Japanese on a stage in front of an audience. That was followed by a question–and–answer session with the judges.

Students selected as finalists in the competition included sophomore Chung-Yang Cheng, Taipei, Taiwan; senior Kenneth Skapik, Adena; and freshman Erin Taylor, Oregonia.

By Brooke Jacobs
Senior, Pre-Medicine Major
Bucyrus, Ohio