THE 18TH CANADIAN NATIONAL

JAPANESE LANGUAGE SPEECH CONTEST

GUIDELINE

March 28,  2007

 

 

1.       DATE AND TIME

March 31, 2007 (Saturday), 3:30 pm – 7:00 pm

 

2.       PLACE

Education North 2-115

University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta

           

3.       ORGANIZER

The Organizing Committee for the Canada National Japanese Language Speech Contest

 

4.       PRIMARY SPONSOR

 

The Japan Foundation

 

5.       CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS

(In alphabetical order)

Alberta Education

Alberta Japanese Businessmen’s Association

Consulate-Generals of Japan

Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta

Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta

Grant MacEwan College

Mitsui & Co. (Canada) Ltd.

Prince Takamado Japan Centre for Teaching and Research

Prince Takamado Japan Canada Memorial Fund

University of Alberta

University of Calgary

 

6.       GENERAL ELIGIBILITY

These criteria apply to all contestants.

1)                  All contestants must be currently studying Japanese as a foreign language.

2)                  All contestants must be of a nationality other than Japanese (individuals possessing dual nationality, including dual Japanese citizenship, are eligible to apply).

3)                                      All contestants must be 18 years of age or over.

4)                  All contestants must be the first-place winner in their category in the district speech contest in which they were entered (district speech contest must have been held within three months of national contest).  However, if for any reason a category winner is unable to attend the national contest, then, based on the recommendation of the district contest’s organizing committee, the runner-up in that category may attend the national contest as the representative in the relevant category for that district.

5)                  Past participants in a Canadian National Japanese Speech Contest may not compete again in the same category or a lower category.

6)                  As a rule, entry is limited to students currently studying Japanese at an educational institution recognized by the organizing committee of the district speech contest.  However, potential contestants who are adjudged by the organizing committee of their district contest to meet the eligibility requirements for a given category (as outlined below) are eligible to participate in the national contest.

 

7.       ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS BY CATEGORY

 

In addition to the general eligibility criteria, contestants must also follow these specific category guidelines.  If any questions arise regarding a contestant’s eligibility, the organizing committee’s decision will be final.

 

1)      BEGINNER

i)                    Neither parent of the contestant is a native speaker of Japanese.

ii)                   The contestant has studied Japanese for less than 130 hours or one year.

iii)                 The contestant has not stayed in Japan for more than three months in total since the age of six.

 

2)      INTERMEDIATE

i)                    Neither parent of the contestant is a native speaker of Japanese.

ii)                   The contestant has studied Japanese for up to 350 hours.

iii)                 The contestant has not stayed in Japan for more than six months in total since the age of six.

 

3)      ADVANCED

i)                    Neither parent of the contestant is a native speaker of Japanese.

ii)                   The contestant has studied Japanese for 351 hours or more.

iii)                 The contestant has not stayed in Japan for more than three years in total since the age of six.

 

Note: The hours of Japanese study are defined as the hours of post-secondary study up to the date of the contestant’s district Japanese speech contest.

 

8.       TITLE AND SUBJECT OF SPEECH

1)        Title and subject of speech are the choice of the contestant.  The contestant must solely prepare his/her speech.

2)         Materials prepared by contestants.

i)          Speeches read from a prepared script will be subject to severe point deductions.

ii)         When registering on the day of the contest, contestants must submit one copy of the script of their speech.  Speeches which deviate substantially from the content of the submitted script will be subject to penalty.

3)         The speech lengths for each category are as follows:

                        Beginner                                   3 min.

            Intermediate                              4 min.

            Advanced                                 5 min.

            Speeches deviating substantially from these time constraints will be subject to penalty.

 

9.       COMPOSITION OF JUDGING PANEL, AND JUDGING STANDARDS

1)         The judging panel shall consist of five members, chosen from Japanese consular staff, Japanese industry, and Japanese community groups.

2)         The judges shall judge the content, presentation, pronunciation, grammar, and other elements of the speeches in accordance with the standards for each.

 

10.     AWARDS

1)         Prizes for category winners will be allotted by the organizing committee.

2)         Past first-place category winners shall be excluded from consideration for prizes.

3)         Participants who do not win prizes shall be awarded participant prizes.

 

11.     FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

Dr. Kaori Kabata
Department of East Asian Studies
400
Arts Building, University of Alberta

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E6

Phone: (780) 492-1565

Fax: (780) 492-7440

E-mail: kaori.kabata@ualberta.ca