Objectives
The Japanese Language Scholarship Foundation will host
its 20th annual All-USA High School Japanese Speech Contest.
The contest will provide opportunities for young learners of Japanese to make
presentations in Japanese and to inspire more students to improve their proficiency in Japanese.
It is also hoped that the contest will encourage students to further
their understanding of Japan, its people, and its culture.
The contestants will take part in the 20th annual contest, to be held on Sunday, May 26, 2024.
Eligibility & Application Requirements
Each applicant must;
- Be one of the top three winners of a sub-national/region/state/multi-school Japanese language speech contest held in the USA
and its territories between April 1, 2023 and April 21, 2024 - Provide a recommendation form completed on the applicant’s behalf by an official representative of that contest.
- Be a high school student in the spring of 2024.
- Not be a native speaker of Japanese of have a Japanese parent (Issei).
- Be a citizen or a Permanent Resident of the USA.
Aurora welcomes all students learning the Japanese language in the USA to enter the Aurora Speech Contest.
However, in order to enter the Overseas Students’ Japanese Speech Award Contest in Japan,
the student must be a citizen or a permanent resident of the USA.
If the winner is not a citizen or a permanent resident of the USA, we cannot send the contest winner as a USA representative.
In that case the runner-up would be eligible. - Not have had more than six months of schooling in Japan after age six.
- Not have entered an international speech contest in the past.
Rules and Judging
- Each speech must be five minutes or less in length.
- The choice of topic is open.
- Judges will base their decisions on the content and presentation of your speech as well as interviews in Japanese
with the judges after each speech presentation.
Required Application Documents
- a completed application form and Eligibility Questions
- a copy of the speech (script) in the applicant’s own handwriting or direct input
- a completed Recommendation Form by a representative of the regional speech contest
Awards
- TBD
Deadline
- All applications must be submitted by E-mail on or before Monday, April 22, 2024.
- Send all required materials as attachments
to speech@jlsf-aurora.org
- Subject Line: 2023 Aurora Speech Contest
Schedule
- April 22, 2024
All applications must be submitted by E-mailed on or before April 22, 2024 - TBD
Announcement of the Contestants - Saturday, May 25, 2024
Contestants arrive in Los Angeles attend Orientation, Welcome Party,
and Host Family Introductions - Sunday, May 26, 2024
Speech Contest - Monday, May 27, 2024
Free time. Contestants depart from LA.
All inquiries and requests for applications from representatives interested in entering the winners of their own speech contests should contact
the Aurora Foundation by e-mail at speech@jlsf-aurora.org for further information.