Speaking Japanese just got harder

The 6th Japanese language speech contest, held last Thursday at the Sana’a Culture House, rejuvenated the confidence and learning process of Yemeni students learning Japanese. The event brought together the community, encouraging students’ progress in speaking in front of an audience a foreign language, hoping to alleviate stage jitters.

 
The contest was divided into two sections: reading and a speech contest, where the contestants compose and deliver their own speech. They were scored based on the level of their composition, pronunciation and originality of the speech.

 
Although nervous, the contestants braved their fears. “It’s a nice experience for me, even if there is the dread of the stage, reciting in a foreign language in front of the audience,” said Noha Jagman, a participant. Fuad al-Harby agreed, “I was so nervous, but the presence of my friends and teacher gave me strength to continue.”

 
And the other section of the contest is Aofa al-Na’ami, a contestant, said that the composing this year was nice, and the speech ideas were original, and she was impressed by the beginner’s performance this year.

 
There were nine contestants in the speech round, speaking on a range of topics, from peace to challenges, life and family. Farouq, another participant, gave the speech I Have a Dream, in which he explained how why he held onto his dreams. “Allah gave us a mind to think, different between humans and animals, and this is my way to achieve my dream.”  Mr. Yamaguchi, Ambassador for the Japan Embassy, was amazed by the level of the contestants, “The contestants in the reading contest have been studying for a 5 to 6 months and the reading contest is a good tool to learn the Japanese Language.”

 
This contest is the sixth held in Yemen, sponsored by the Yemeni-Japanese Friendship Association. There are similar contests held in Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA, sponsored by the Japanese foundation that works to spread Japanese culture around the world.

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