Source: Kumiko Nakamura, 785-532-1921, kunakamu@k-state.edu.
News release prepared by: Megan Wilson, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
K-STATE STUDENT PLACES IN PRESTIGIOUS JAPANESE SPEECH CONTEST
MANHATTAN -- Lenka Hruskova, a non-degree undergraduate in architecture, Manhattan, participated in the recent 22nd annual Japanese language speech contest hosted by the General Consulate of Japan in Chicago.
Hruskova was one of 76 contest participants. She was invited to deliver her speech as a contestant in Category III, the division for high school students with more than three years of Japanese learning experiences and college students with less than one year of studying.
Hruskova, a student in K-State's Japanese II class, has studied the Japanese language for only six months, the shortest amount for any participant in the competition. She received the "Bonjinsha Award," given for fourth place in Category III, which includes assorted Japanese books worth approximately $200.
"Lenka gave the speech flawlessly with such great confidence and entertained the audience with her witty observation of the American culture and her American classmates in the Japanese class," said Kumiko Nakamura, instructor of the Japanese II class. "I find it quite an achievement for her, considering the fact that she was the contestant who had the shortest period of Japanese language studying within the category. The chairwoman of the judges, Dr. Ito-Watt, as well as a few instructors of Japanese, personally congratulated me and gave me such praise on Lenka's wonderful performance."
In her speech, Hruskova discussed her experiences with the Japanese culture since she arrived in the U.S. as an exchange student from the Czech Republic in summer 2007.
"I love learning foreign languages, so I wanted to learn Japanese," she said. "However, at my home university there is no Japanese class; it is hard to find a Japanese class anywhere in the Czech Republic. So, I welcomed the opportunity to start learning Japanese while at K-State."
Although nervous while giving her speech, Hruskova found the experience worthwhile. "The only reason I went for the contest was that I saw it as a chance to learn a bit more Japanese than I would by just taking the class,'" Hruskova said. "And even though it was a lot of work in addition to my busy architecture schedule, it was worth it."
"I didn't have much time to memorize the speech, so I just kept practicing it on my way to and from school, speaking out loud to myself," she said. "Some people who saw me on campus probably thought I was mad, but it worked."