JLfest 2024 | The 17th Annual Japanese Language Festival
JLfest 2023
4コマShibai Competition
Impromptu Speaking in Japanese
Speaking to an audience spontaneously requires the ability of the speaker to organize ideas within a very short time and deliver them convincingly.
This competition aims at enhancing oral communication skills and speed thinking while under pressure among Japanese language learners.
It also boosts students' confidence in public speaking as well as their creativity skill.
The contestants compete under two (2) categories, namely Category 'JLPT N4 & below' and Category 'JLPT N3 & above'.
RESULT ANNOUNCEMENT
CATEGORY A: JLPT N4 & below
Note: The organizers decided to withhold the awarding of the 1st Prize under this category for this year.
2nd Prize Winner:
Maximillian Yap Jia Ming
SMJK KATHOLIK, PJ
3rd Prize Winner:
Benjamin Tan Jun Kai
SMK TROPICANA
CATEGORY B: JLPT N3 & above
Note: The organizers decided to withhold the awarding of the 3rd Prize under this category for this year.
1st Prize Winner:
Tan Ai Lin
Self Study
2nd Prize Winner:
Ooi Wei Ling
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
PANEL OF JUDGES
Edward LEE
President
JAPANESE LANGUAGE SOCIETY OF MALAYSIA
Dr Normalis Amzah
Lecturer
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA
MARUTANI Shinobu
Japanese Language Lecturer
Tang Lee Hong
Japanese Language Teacher
SMK ST GEORGE, PULAU PINANG
Comments from the Judges
"This year we saw a wide variety of storytelling approaches used by the contestants, from monologue to dialogue, personal experience to fantasy, and using body gestures as well as onomatopoeia to replace words that they were not familiar with. Using an illustration twice was also an innovative move. This year there was so much richness in which the stories were crafted and presented. I was also delighted to note some marked improvement in a contestant. Last year, she managed to write a couple of notes on the Jamboard, and this year, she spoke a couple of lines!!
Unfortunately, this year some contestants could not present as they spent the whole 7 minutes crafting the story, despite being warned at half time. As this is an 'impromptu speaking' competition, if the contestants did not speak, marks could not be given. What's a waste!
A piece of advice to future contestants. Perhaps it would be more time efficient if you think in Japanese, rather than in your language and translate. Difficult? ...Well, you have one year to practise! "
EDWARD LEE
「このコンペでは、参加者のみなさんの「独自性(originality)」や「創造性（creativity）」をたくさん見ることができました。イラストと自分の経験を結びつけて話す、イラストから想像を広げて物語を作るなど、「自分のストーリー」を作り出しました。すばらしかったです。
みなさんのストーリーから、「魅力的なストーリー」につながるポイントを２つ見つけました。
【１】問題が起きる
みなさんのストーリーには、「道がわからない」、「お腹が痛い」、「人生の交差点」、「（何か）飛んでくる」など、いろいろ「問題」が出てきました。「それで、どうしたの？」と、私も話に引き込まれてしまいました。
【２】「誰かが話したことば（the words/lines spoken by someone）」を入れる
コンペでは、登場人物のモノローグ、家族との会話など、「誰かが話したことば」を入れた発表がありました。「誰かが話したことば」＋「声、表情、ジェスチャー」で、出来事や人の様子・気持ちが生き生きと伝わってくると感じました。
最後に、少し残念だったことを1つ。何人かの発表者は、ストーリーを考えたのに話す時間がなくなってしまいました。time management、大事ですね。」
MARUTANI SHINOBU
"I think the competition is challenging because it requires skills such as speaking, and quick thinking all at the same time. However, it is a good platform for participants who have the skills and would like to test themselves with such challenges. The organizer also is aware of these challenges and has provided a workshop to equip the participants with knowledge and requirement for the contest.
Students should make an effort to attend the workshop provided before attempting the contest. This would make the participants aware of the rules and requirements of the contest and their participation more meaningful."
DR NORMALIS AMZAH
"I could see a lot of creative thinking among the contestants as they worked on the Jamboard. From their stories, we could see how they think and feel as well as catch a glimpse of their personal experience. It's a pity that some of them have used up their time in the preparation work, leaving no time to present their stories."
TANG LEE HONG