On the 17th of August, AUT hosted their annual Japanese Speech Competition for Secondary Students. In this competition, you are required to prepare a speech in Japanese on a topic of your choice. In the Year 12&13 category, there is a chance to win a return trip to Japan. The top three speakers from this category are selected to do a Q&A session with the judges and the best student wins the price. From our school four senior students, Ziqi, Samantha, Midori and I attended this day and two students participated in the competition. Midori Uchida, whose speech topic was ‘Why I Learn English’, participated in the Open Division for native Japanese speakers. My speech topic was ‘Anime Saves Lives’, and I participated in the Year 12&13 category. It was a long day with around 32 students presenting but AUT provided a LOT of sushi at lunch so it was worth going. In the end we all received participation certificates and had a photo session. The Q&A session was really intense and 1st place among the top 3 pupils went to a student from Rangitoto College. I was not selected to do the Q&A but I received the special ‘Highly Commended’ prize. Overall, it was an eventful day with lots of opportunities and we tried our best. I recommend other senior students taking Japanese to try taking part and have fun.
Bhavya Jasti
