Japanese Language Contest for New England College Students
On April 11, 2015 the Consulate General of Japan held the Fifth Annual Japanese Language Contest for New England College Students. This year students from around New England presented 19 speeches and 24 essays.
The assigned theme for the essay division was “My Japan.” To see the winning essay, click here.
The contestants in the speech division gave impressive speeches to a large audience on topics of their own choice, including “I want to learn to speak my mother’s mother tongue,” “Bad puns,” and “Peaceful coexistence.”
Participants in both divisions expressed warm feelings for Japan in works that were extremely difficult to rank. After deliberation the judges finally awarded prizes as shown below.
Essay Division:
Advanced:
1st Place: Yu Zhao (Bowdoin College)
2nd Place: Katherine Carter (Bowdoin College)
3rd Place: Tianyi Wei (Boston College)
Intermediate:
1st Place: Shuaichen Yang (UMASS Amherst)
2nd Place: Eric Paik (Brandeis University)
3rd Place: Chu Rou Tang (UMASS Amherst)
Speech Division:
Advanced:
1st Place: Yining Dai (Middlebury College)
2nd Place: Xixi Zhao (Northeastern University)
3rd Place: Yilun Chen (UMass Amherst)
Intermediate:
1st Place: Xiwen Zong (Boston College)
2nd Place: Zhechun Wang (Mount Holyoke College)
3rd Place: Michelle Lin (Boston College)
Thanks are extended to the following for their cooperation: Kodansha America, Shoyeido Incense Co. and the Boston Red Sox.
Consul General Himeno makes remarks
Essay contest winners
Scenes from the speech contest