[329] Japanese-Language Students Compete In Regional Speech Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 26, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919, or lrollins@mtsu.edu

JAPANESE-LANGUAGE STUDENTS COMPETE IN REGIONAL SPEECH CONTEST
MTSU Hosts April 3 Event in Collaboration with Consulate General of Japan

(MURFREESBORO)—Students of the Japanese language from 11 universities will compete for top rankings and prizes at the third annual Tennessee Area Japanese Speech Contest, which will be held Saturday, April 3, in the Business and Aerospace Building’s State Farm Lecture Hall on the MTSU campus.
In collaboration with the Consulate General of Japan in Nashville and the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, MTSU will undertake the role of host from Vanderbilt University, which has previously served as host for the contest for Japanese-language students.
“It is an honor for MTSU to host this contest, as it is expected to invite about 250 visitors to the campus (including) not only Japanese-language educators, but also the local Japanese community,” said Dr. Priya Ananth, MTSU assistant professor, foreign languages and literature, and coordinator of the event.
“It is a great opportunity for the Japanese-language students to showcase their Japanese-language skills at a regional level; for the teachers of Japanese language from all over Tennessee to network and interact; and for the middle Tennessee Japanese community to come and encourage the growth of Japanese language and culture in this area.”
According to organizers’ reports, students from Japanese-language programs offered at Austin Peay State University, Belmont University, East Tennessee State University, Maryville College, University of Memphis, Murray State University, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, University of Tennessee at Martin, MTSU, University of the South at Sewanee and Vanderbilt University have been invited to take part.
Regarding MTSU entrants, “We are anticipating five students to participate from MTSU, for sure, with a possibility of two more who are being sent as alternates,” said Ananth, who added that the maximum number of participants allowed from each university is six, with two alternates.
Last year, 52 student competitors represented eight Tennessee-area universities and were cheered on by more than 100 well-wishing spectators. This year’s contest, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 11 a.m. to about 6:30 p.m., with a reception for participants following the contest.
During the competition, a panel of judges will rank competitors within their respective levels of language proficiency—beginning, intermediate and advanced. Following the judging outcome, prizes will be awarded to the to top-ranked contestants as follows:
• Grand prize: Round-trip American Airlines ticket to Japan
• First prize (in three categories): Dual-language electronic dictionaries
• Second prize (in three categories): Toshiba portable DVD players
• Third prize (in three categories): Brother multi-function centers
For more information about this year’s contest, please contact Professor Ananth at 615-898-5357or via e-mail at pananth@mtsu.edu.
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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.