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Nihongo Cup 2008

28th June, 2008

The 2008 Nihongo Cup Japanese Speech Contest for Secondary Schools took place on 28th June at the Embassy of Japan in London.

A record-breaking 248 students from 21 schools across the country applied for the contest. Seventeen finalists made their speeches in the grand setting of the embassy ballroom, and impressed an audience of over 100 people with their original ideas and Japanese language skills. William Wan won first prize in the Key Stage 5 category for his speech about the novel Yukiguni (Snow Country). "It's one of those experiences in life I will never forget," said William. "I feel really confident now about doing public speaking and I was very much the opposite beforehand".

Ebo Dadey, one of the Key Stage 3 finalists, also spoke positively about his experience of the Nihongo Cup: "It helps you extend your vocabulary and go to new areas of the Japanese language, and increases your confidence in talking in front of other people"

The prize-winners in each category were as follows. However, we would like to congratulate all the finalists for your excellent speeches at the embassy, and all the applicants for recording a speech in Japanese.

Key Stage 3

1st prize - Holly Harrison, Tavistock College
Awarded the Japan Foundation Nihongo Cup trophy and gold medal, and an iPod touch from ALL.

2nd prize - Jenny Eden, Tavistock College
Awarded the Japan Foundation silver medal and a digital camera from Ricoh UK Ltd.

3rd prize - Lauren Leete, Aldercar Community Language College
Awarded the Japan Foundation bronze medal and an electronic dictionary from JP-Books (UK) Ltd.

All other Key Stage 3 finalists received an obento set from the Japan Centre.

Key Stage 4

1st prize - Zain Ahmad Riza, Wycliffe College
Awarded the Japanese Ambassador's Nihongo Cup and gold medal, and an iPod touch from ALL.

2nd prize - Jisu Lee, St Helen's School
Awarded the Japanese Ambassador's silver medal and a digital camera from Ricoh UK Ltd.

3rd prize - Samantha Day, Aldercar Community Language College
Awarded the Japanese Ambassador's bronze medal and an electronic dictionary from JP-Books (UK) Ltd.

All other Key Stage 4 finalists received an obento set from the Japan Centre.

Key Stage 5

1st prize - William Wan, Whitgift School
Awarded the ALL Nihongo Cup and gold medal, an iPod touch from ALL, and the chance to participate in the Japanese Speech Awards (JSA) in Tokyo.

2nd prize - Alex Karmazyn, South Wolds School
Awarded the ALL silver medal and a digital camera from Ricoh UK Ltd.

3rd prize - Stephanie Tress, Wellington College
Awarded the ALL bronze medal and an electronic dictionary from JP-Books (UK) Ltd.

All other Key Stage 5 finalists received a tea set from the Japan Centre.

All finalists in all Key Stages also received goody bags from the Embassy of Japan, and all Key Stage 5 finalists received goody bags from JP-Books (UK) Ltd.

The event was organised by the Japanese Language Committee of ALL, in association with the Embassy of Japan in the UK and the Japan Foundation London Language Centre. We are very grateful to the Japan Centre, JP Books UK Ltd, JSA (the Japanese Speech Awards) and Ricoh UK Ltd, for sponsoring the event and donating the above prizes, and also to JRI Europe Ltd, and Soho Japan for their generous sponsorship too.

Finalists at the 2008 Nihongo Cup

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News, views, teaching ideas and course information designed for everyone involved in teaching Japanese in the UK. Volume 26 September 2006 Nihongo Cup attracts record number of entries Setting up a network for Stepping Out Japanese Works Teacher's Pages: Lafcadio Hearn: A love of Old Japan Undergraduates compete in new Japanese speech contest Download Download ZIP version

Mado is now available to you online!   To make the most of this interactive online only version simply download as usual and then save a copy to your desktop. From the saved copy you will be able to access the sound files with ease. Volume 25 April 2006 Undergraduates compete in new Japanese speech contest Head start inspires action in japanese Expanding the Japan-related Network Teacher's Pages: Waste not want not: Mottanai! Download Download ZIP version Volume 24 January 2006- Interactive version! The Launch of Ready Steady NihonGO! Why Practice Pronunciation? Japanese Clubs - 35 Years of Gonenkai Teacher?fs Pages: Japanese Pronunciation Download Download ZIP version Volume 23 September 2005 Setting standards for Japanese Manga and anime in your classroom The power of speech Teachers Page: Dealing with dilemmas Download Volume 22 April 2005 15 years of Urawa Higher Education Focus New Library books GCSE Reading Resource Download Volume 21 January 2005 Ready Steady NihonGO: Moving forward in 2005 Q & A: WJEC Level 1 Certificate in Japanese Resources: Using ICT in the Classroom Teachers Page: CV for the Future Download Volume 20 September 2004 Speech Contest; Finals Day report Annual Support Programmes Resources: Tobu reviewed Teachers Page: Kanji Mix and Match Download Volume 19 April 2004 Working together with other Japan-related organisations Standards in Japanese :The Languages Ladder Head Start 2004 reviewed Stretching Out reviewed Teachers Page: Reading for A Level Download Volume 18 January 2004 JLC Re-launches Speech Contest for Schools Stepping Out reviewed Ready Steady NihonGO Reports from the Primary Conference Teachers Page: Laughter Brings Good luck (Fukuwarai) Download Volume 17 September 2003 Refresher course at new centre Ready Steady NihonGO British Council Education and Training What’s New in the Library British Council Education and Training Teachers Page: Plan your Dream Trip to Japan with Dragons, Snakes and Ladders Download Volume 16 April 2003 Japan Foundation on the move Biggest ever Head Start The National Languages Strategy: Languages for all, Languages for life Top-ten online resources Teachers Page: Using ICT to keep up with current issues Download Volume 15 January 2003 Celebrating Japanese Teaching in the UK Taking Control – event review Japanese for Everyday Communication – event review Primary Japanese Jle-uk Tobu wins award Teachers Page: Haiku for the New Year Download Volume 14 September 2002 Starting Younger Getting to grips with Grammar The Green Paper Urawa Nikki Teacher Page: A Place Near Me Download Volume 13 April 2002 Japanese Degree Course Report Update Japan 2001: Education reviewed Teachers Page: Teaching Japanese through Mathematics Download Volume 12 January 2002 Class Acts: Success Stories from the UK Japanese Classroom Q & A: AS exam Resources: CD-ROMS reviewed Teachers Page: Writing a Diary Download Volume 11 September 2001 Symposium on Bridging the sectorial divide Flights of Fancy Resources: Preview of Mirai stages 3 & 4 Teachers Page: Making a Speech in Japanese Download Volume 10 April 2001 WJEC Teachers Page: Motivating through Manga, Download Volume 9 January 2001 Tobu Japan 2001 Special inc. Class Acts, Homestay UK, Higher Education seminar Resources: Ima reviewed… Teachers Page: Kanji Families Download Volume 8 September 2000 Homestay UK Teachers Page: Talking about Careers… Download (Part 1) Download (Part 2) Volume 7 May 2000 Starting Young Japanese A Level set texts… Teachers Page: Let’s Recycle Download Volume 6 January 2000 Staffing Japanese A level update Focus on A Level Resources… Teachers Page: Omikuji Download Volume 5 September 1999 Refresher Course reviewed Annual Support Programmes Exchanges with Japan Teachers Page: Talking Timetables, Download Volume 4 April 1999 Head Start reviewed The new A level Japanese ALL launches Japanese Language Committee… Teachers Page: Food, Fitness and Health Download

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