Japan American Society of San Antonio (JASSA)
P.O. Box 460444
San Antonio, TX 78246-0444
Website: www.jas-sa.org

19th Annual Japanese Language Speech Contest in San Antonio
The 19th Annual Japanese Language Contest is sponsored by the Japan-American Society of Texas, in cooperation with Japanese Teachers Association of Texas and the Consulate-General of Japan at Houston. The regional contest is organized by the Japan America Society of San Antonio. Additional support is provided by the Japan Foundation and San Antonio College.

Purpose          
This annual event offers participants an opportunity to demonstrate their oral communication skills in Japanese while competing in a statewide competition.  It brings attention to the Japanese language and promotes the knowledge and understanding of Japan by American.

Location      San Antonio College, Department of Foreign Languages/ESOL1300, San Pedro, San Antonio,
TX 78212-4299 Tel: (210)733-2368

Date and Time          
 Saturday, February 2, 2008. 9 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Qualification               Applicant must:

  1. Resident in Texas (Division I) or currently enrolled in a Japanese class at a school in Texas (Divisions II-VII)
  2. Not be a native speaker of Japanese.
  3. Not have a Japanese parents
  4. Not have visited Japan for more that three months since 2001
  5. Not have received any schooling in Japan after age six.
  6. Not speak Japanese at home.

Divisions        
Division I          College & Adult                       Free Speech (2-3 minutes)
Division II          High & Middle School             Free Speech (2-3 min.)

Division III       High School                              Poetry Recitation (3min max)
「雨ニモマケズ、風ニモマケズ」宮沢賢治
Division IV       High School                              Poetry Recitation (3min max)
「未来」玉城千春
Division V        Middle School                          Poetry Recitation (3min max)
「会いたくて」工藤直子
Division VI       Middle School                          Poetry Recitation (3min max)
「会いたくて」工藤直子
Division VII      Elementary School                    Poetry Recitation (3min max)
「会いたくて」工藤直子

Number of   Participants 

There will be a limit of 56 participants for Division 1 and 40 participants  per other divisions and 8 applicants form each school.  Applications will be accepted in the order in which they are received.  Once the limit of applicant’s number for each division has been reached, no more applications will be accepted for that division.  Therefore, it is important to send applications as soon as possible.

Status of this Competition   
This competition forms the preliminary rounds for the statewide competition, which will be held in March 2008 in Houston.  2 winners from I to V will be able to move on to the statewide competition.

Free Speech  

Content: Free speeches must be original, written by the contestant and not previously recited elsewhere.  The theme is open and to be selected by the contestant.  Personal experiences and anecdotes are welcomed and encouraged.

Tine limit: The time limit is three minutes, and the contestants must speak for at least two minutes.  Points will be subtracted for speeches which are over or under the time limit.

Notes: Contestants may use written materials or notes, but those who deliver their speeches without them will be scored higher that those who rely on notes.

Evaluation Criteria: Free speeches will be judged on pronunciation, grammatical ability, overall ability, content, delivery, creativity, enthusiasm, and understanding.

Poetry Recitation

Content: Contestants must memorize the poem specified for his/her division.  Each contestant should say the title and author of the poem, them recite the poem form memory.  The use of notes is not allowed.

Evaluation Criteria: Poetry recitation will be judged on pronunciation, flow and expression, accuracy of memorization, and delivery.

Prizes              Prizes will be awarded to the first , second, and third place winners in each division.

Registration   Applications must be mailed to JASSA, P.O.Box 460444, San Antonio , TX 78246-0444 or E-mail: [email protected]

 Deadline        January 18, 2008

For information, please contact:
Yuko Kawabe, Tel: (210)696-1613, (210)414-1357
E- mail:[email protected] or [email protected]

 

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