The Tenth Japanese Speech Contest on 3 March 2007


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Quick glance

The grand winner
The Embassy of Japan in Jordan and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Jordan jointly organized the Tenth Japanese Speech Contest under the patronage of H.E. Professor Abdelrahim Hunaiti, President of the University at its Mohammed Ali Bdeir Auditorium on 3 March 2007. The contest has been organized annually since 1997. Over 150 guests were present at the contest. In addition to the audience from Jordan, Japanese language teachers from Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen joined it to celebrate the tenth anniversary.

A total of 22 participants joined the event which consisted of two divisions, namely reciting Haiku and conventional speech. The contest aims at providing students learning Japanese with an opportunity to contemplate, examine their speaking proficiency, and find pleasure in speaking Japanese.

Haiku is a type of very short lyric poem written under certain rules and rhythm, just like ghinnwa in the Arab world. It is composed of three lines, which depict the world of nature or human emotions. The three lines of Haiku must consist of five, seven, and five syllables as follows:

Ka mi bi na ya
Ko i shi ta so u na
Ka o ba ka ri

Paper dolls
They all kook as if
They want to be in love

Each contestant clearly recited a poem and presented her/his impression on it. It is worth mentioning a participant introduced a haiku of his own making.

As for the speech session, the contestants were given a chance to choose one of the three themes, namely “the most in Jordan”, “I want something”, and “If”. Various topics were therefore selected ranging from the peace of the world to affection for music. They excelled in presenting their speeches as many talked in native-like Japanese pronunciation that Japanese judges expressed their admiration for the students’ talent.

After an incredibly close contest, Ms. Amani Abu Qdais won the Speech session and Ms. Natasha Quariab got first place in Haiku session. The first through third place winners from each division were given trophies and awards. Two most outstanding contestants will be members of the Jordanian delegation to visit Japan this summer under the Youth Exchange Program arranged by the Embassy of Japan and the Higher Council for Youth of Jordan. H.E. Mr. Shigenobu Kato, Ambassador of Japan and head of the jury for the contest, praised all the contestants for their hard work at the end of the event.

The participants and their supporters also enjoyed Japanese entertainment and cultural activities organized by the students of Japanese language and JICA volunteers. Some students tried to translate a Japanese movie into Arabic and did vice versa for an Arabic movie. Musical entertainment was provided by JICA volunteers.

The Japanese language education in Jordan started at the University of Jordan in 1993 and the number of the students is now larger than one hundred in institutions. It has been rapidly increasing for the past three years and the language skill of the students have also improved.

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The champion in Haiku division
A presentation in Haiku division

The JICA volunteers played Japanese songs		 The students sang a Japanese song