Dear Teachers and Students,
On Saturday, May 3, 2008, the 2008 Florida Statewide Japanese Speech & Skit Contest will be conducted in the Deuxieme Maison (DM) building, Room 100 at Florida
International University (University Park Campus) in Miami.
There will be two categories for this speech contest: prepared speech and skit categories. There will be award categories at the middle school, high school, and college levels,
ranging from Level 1 to Level 4 and, for prepared speech only, a special award category for students who lived in Japan more than one year. The students should be enrolled in
the level at which they are currently studying (block schedule schools included). Competition rules and judging guidelines are included in this packet of information along with the
registration form.
There are a few important changes and additions to this year’s competition:
1.In the Speech Contest, participants are now allowed to use a digital visual aid (one picture or a series of up to five pictures on a Powerpoint or Keynote program) to enhance the
audience’s experience of the speech. This visual aid does NOT factor into scoring; the judges will still be looking for a well-prepared and performed speech, regardless of how
visually appealing the aid is.
2.In the Skit Contest, schools may now submit an unlimited number of teams per level. This is to ensure the participation of anyone who would like to compete, especially from
schools that have numerous students in their Japanese program.
3.Unlike previous years in both the Speech and Skit Contests, awards will be given to students at all levels earning specifically-defined achievement levels, based on the average of
the judges’ scores. So there may be more than one medal awarded for any one place at a level in an award category (middle, high, college).
4.This year marks the beginning of our state Yonkoma Manga Contest. In an attempt to include students who may not be able to attend on the day of the event, we would like to
extend an invitation to submit yonkoma manga for awards. Students may create these manga by hand or with digital tools. They may also work individually or in pairs; both
students must be currently-enrolled Japanese language students. We would like to feature these manga during our May 3rd event as a digital slide show.
All contestants’ teachers must be members of the Association of Florida Teachers of Japanese (AFTJ). It is strongly encouraged that teachers accompany their students to the
competition. Registration will begin at 9:30am and end at 10:00am, with the prepared speech category beginning promptly at 10:00am. Parents and friends are welcome to join the
audience.
Only contestants who pre-register will be allowed to participate. The registration form is enclosed. The contest registration fee is $10 per student, whether they compete in both
categories or not; this fee includes a catered lunch during the break between speech and skit competitions. Please note that this fee is non-refundable. Contestants and their
families assume the risks and responsibilities of participation.
Teachers, please collect all completed student registration forms and checks and send them as a school addressed to William Collazo postmarked by April 12, 2008. If you have
any questions about placement of a student or about any other details regarding this event, please e-mail William at wcollazo@browardschools.com.
Make checks payable to AFTJ and mail your registration forms to:
William Collazo, AFTJ
7015 NW 98 Terrace
Tamarac, FL 33321
COMPETITION TIMELINE
March & early April 2008
Students prepare speeches, skits and manga; students notify their teacher of their intent to participate
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Postmark deadline for teachers to collect and send application forms and checks to the above address
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Deadline for e-mail submissions of speech and skit scripts and visual aids to above e-mail address. Manga must be submitted by this date either by regular mail or digitally.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Florida Statewide Speech & Skit Contest at FIU, DM 100, beginning with registration at 9:30 AM
PREPARED SPEECH CONTEST
Competition Rules and Judging Guidelines
Description: The contestant speaks on a topic of their choice, which is related to Japan. Students must submit their topics with their registration. Topics must be given
in Japanese and in English at the time of submission.
Conditions: The contestant may bring his/her script, notes, outlines,
and flash cards. However, reading a script or frequent use of
these supplements will cause them to lose points. Starting this year,
a participant may have a visual aid as a digital backdrop to the speech.
Dress Code: Professional attire.
Time Limits: Level 1 - Two minutes
Levels 2 & 3 - Three minutes
Level 4 & Ryuugaku Keikensha (more than one year) - Four minutes
There will be different award categories for middle school, high school and college.
Criteria for
Evaluation: Language usage, vocabulary, structure, pronunciation,
intonation, length, and performance (examples: enthusiasm, expression, language)
The visual aid will NOT be considered as a part of the evaluation process.
General Rules:
Judges’ decisions will be final.
Any presentations exceeding the set time will be stopped by the judges, yet no penalty will be assessed.
Judging Guidelines: These are the questions the judges will be using as guidelines for scoring.
A. Communication Skills
1. Does the student’s ability reflect the level in which they are competing?
2. Are the words easily understood? Are they relatively free of their native language’s influence?
3. Does the speech flow naturally, without extended pauses and with proper rhythm?
B. Presentation and overall effectiveness
1. Does the student develop the topic of the speech and focus on the topic with relevant details?
2. Does the student seem comfortable and confident with his/her speech?
3. Does the student show he/she is familiar enough with the speech so as not to have to read it from his/her notes?
4. Does the student speak comfortably within the established time frame?
SKIT CONTEST
Competition Rules and Judging Guidelines
Description: Students will perform an originally-written memorized skit.
Conditions: Contestants will be allowed a total of 5 minutes for their skit. The
topic of the skit is of their choice and must be submitted at the time
of application for inclusion in the program.
Each school may enter an unlimited number of teams for each level.
There is a maximum of five students per skit.
The skit MUST be an original skit, written by the participants.
Students may use basic props, but time for set-up and take-down of props
after the skit has begun will be included in the 5-minute time limit.
Time Limit: 5 minutes
Criteria for Language usage, vocabulary, structure, pronunciation, intonation,
Evaluation: creativity
General Rule: Judges’ decisions will be final.
Judging Guidelines: These are the questions the judges will be using as guidelines for scoring.
A. Are the words understood by native speakers? Is the pronunciation relatively free of the first language accent? Do speech sounds approach native speech?
B. Does the students’ intonation and rhythm sound natural in Japanese?
C. Do the students get their point across and communicate their intent? Do they successfully develop the topic of the skit?
D. Is the speech confident? Is the skit well memorized?
E. Is the content of the skit creative? Have the students used their imagination?
YONKOMA MANGA CONTEST
Competition Rules and Judging Guidelines
Description: Students will create a themed, four-frame comic by hand or digitally.
Reference: Refer to NCJLT’s website for samples of this style of manga at http://www.ncjlt.org/yonkoma.html.
Conditions: Contestants must create the manga with a theme that fits in one of the three contest categories: Comical, Historical, and Cultural. A single card
may only be submitted for one category.
A contestant may submit a maximum of two cards, whether by
handmade or digitally created. ALL characters must be original
creations; no use of copyrighted images and materials will be
accepted for submission.
The manga must be on a 8 1/2 X 11 inch white paper or the equivalent
size digitally. The measurements and specifications must match the
template provided in this information packet.
The student must write his/her name in the material used to draw the
comic in the location shown in the template. Students must write their
name in katakana unless the names are of Japanese origin in which case
they may use kanji.
Parameters: Participants may create the manga by hand with any writing utensil
(penciled creations will need to be darkened for scanning purposes).
Contestants may create the manga digitally using any image-creating
software available to them. The file must then be converted to a standard
image file (jpeg, gif, etc.) for submission.
Contestants may work individually or in pairs to complete the manga.
Both students must be currently enrolled in an AFTJ-affiliated Japanese program.
Criteria for Language usage, vocabulary, structure, creativity, overall appearance
Evaluation: appropriateness to theme/category
General Rule: Judges’ decisions will be final.
Template:
*Note: Each square must be 3X4 inches and be drawn in the order shown. The student’s name must be written vertically in the space on the left in place of “（名前）”. The squares
should be centered on the paper as a “landscape” format.
Florida Statewide Japanese Speech & Skit Contest 2008
REGISTRATION FORM
Directions: Print or type in all information. Fill in or circle all information as necessary. Failure to do so may result in the invalidation of your presentation.
Name:________________________ ___________________________ Level: ____________
First Last
Home address:_______________________________________________________________________
Number & Street City State Zip Code
E-mail address:______________________________________
(Please write clearly as you will be added to a competition e-mail list for information reminders and last-minute updates).
Telephone numbers: ( )____________________ ( )____________________
Home Mobile (optional)
Name of school or organization:_________________________________________
Name of your Japanese teacher:_________________________________
* Write a √ next to the events you will be entering and include the titles:
_____ I. Prepared Speech Contest
Speech title in Japanese: _______________________________________
Speech title in English: _______________________________________
_____ II. Skit Contest
Skit title in Japanese: _______________________________________
Skit title in English: _______________________________________
Number of members participating in skit (circle one): 2 3 4 5
Names of other members: ________________________________________________________________
_____ III. Yonkoma Manga Contest
____ Hand-made ____ Digitally-created * Name of Partner (if applicable) ___________________________
Category (circle one): Comical Historical Cultural
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