By Deemah Pulak
Sophomore Sandra Nguyen nervously walked to the front of the class to present her poetry piece in preparation for the Regional Japanese Competition. Richardson students took home seven awards, and six of them will advance to state.
“Every day, my teacher made me and the other competitors stand up in front of the class and recite my poem,” Nguyen said. “Every single day she would critique us, but that was beneficial to all of us who were competing.”
Competitors in the Japanese Competition participated in one of the three categories – poetry recitation, free speech or a skit.
“My students are always hard workers, and I enjoy working with them,” Japanese teacher Mihoko Yamamura said. “I was very pleased with their performance at the competition.”
Nguyen competed in Level 2 Poetry Recitation. She had to recite a prepared poem, which was judged based on her annunciation and clarity.
“I thought I didn’t do as well because in the competition, you have to speak like you’re a native,” Nguyen said. “Everything has to sound and be correct with no mistakes. My teacher gave me a recording of how she said the poem, so I just followed that.”
Nguyen placed third, and said the competition was an experience to remember.
“I was pretty shocked because I thought I didn’t do as well as I thought,” Nguyen said. “I was really happy, and it was a great experience to meet all these other people. Hearing them speak and compete taught me a lot.”
Sophomore Maggie Herrick and freshman Amy Nguyen participated in Free Speech. They had to create their own prepared speech about any topic and recite it in front of several judges.
“They really like working for the competition, and they had a good attitude,” Yamamura said. “They did well because they were committed to their work.”
Herrick placed third, while Nguyen placed second for her speech. Both Herrick and Nguyen will compete at state in Houston this May.
“The students are willing to learn,” Yamamura said. “They like it, and they are motivated by the competition, which is great.”
Sophomores Alfred Chou, Austin Nguyen, Adam Mola and freshman Kevin Hollingsworth competed in the Skit category and placed third. They will also be going to State.
“We were confident that they were going to get first, but we were all still happy with a third,” Yamamura said. “If you enjoy learning, then that’s the best way to succeed.”
Freshman Kitty Yu competed in Level 1 Poetry Recitation and placed 5th.
“I had a great time competing at this level,” Yu said. “I’m happy with what I got out of it because it was my first year competing, and I hope to compete again next year.”
Yu said that the continuous practice that Yamamura made her do every day was worth it.
“It was kind of nerve-racking at first when we started to present,” Yu said. “But I realized that she did it to prepare us for the best.”
Yamamura said it’s important for students taking Japanese as a language to compete in the competitions to complement what they learn in class.
“I want the students to try out in real life what they learned,” Yamamura said. “Doing good in the competition is like a motivation for the students. It’s a great privilege that these students can compete not only in Regionals and State, but they can move onto Nationals and Internationals.”
Nguyen said she enjoys competing and hopes to continue using Japanese in the real world.
“Learning Japanese is rewarding to me because I have family in Japan, so it makes it easier to communicate with them,” Nguyen said. “Japanese is a special language which requires a lot of work, especially because there are three different alphabets. I think it’s kind of brain stimulating.”
For those who want to excel in Japanese, Nguyen says to be diligent and punctual.
“Don’t get behind, and always keep practicing,” Nguyen said. “Repetition is really important to master a skill in Japanese.”