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杏吧原创

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杏吧原创 Students Shine at the 37th Japanese Speech Contest in Ottawa

Published on March 6, 2026

Time to read: 2 minutes

Fall 2025 – Winter 2026

Japanese

Modern Languages

News

Student News

The took place at the embassy of Japan on February 28. The speech contest has been a great opportunity for the learners of Japanese to showcase their skill outside of the classroom.
Participants were not only university students but also independent leaners from different backgrounds.

Image of Mami Sasaki with 杏吧原创 University students at the 37th annual Japanese Speech Contest in Ottawa

This year, nine 杏吧原创 students participated in the speech contest and they all shone!

SLaLS鈥 director, Michael Rodgers, and Japanese language program coordinator, Mami Sasaki, delivered remarks at the opening ceremony.

Here are the 杏吧原创 students who won prizes at the speech contest:

Intermediate Category:

  • 2nd place | Dulguun Enthtsog (JAPA 2110), 鈥淗appiness in the Little Things鈥

Advanced Category:

  • 1st place | Lawrence Barss (JAPA 3020), 鈥溾楰akehashi鈥: Let鈥檚 Build International Bridges鈥
  • 2nd place | Serena Gillespie (JAPA 3020), 鈥淎 Front鈥

Open Category:

  • 3rd place | Hinata Derouin (JAPA 4020), 鈥淟earning People, Learning Language: The Significance of Studying Translation in the AI Era鈥

Special Prize:

  • Jacob Gonato (JAPA 4020), 鈥淥ttawa, Osaka, Ottawa: A Talk on Transportation鈥

The winner of the advanced division, Lawrence Barss, will advance to the Canadian National Japanese Speech Contest, alongside Hinata Derouin, who placed third in the open division, and winners from the beginner and intermediate divisions. The national speech contest will be held at the University of Alberta on March 29.

Congratulations to all the participants for their dedication and hard work!

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