Non-Jakartans dominate Japanese speech contest
Non-Jakartans dominate Japanese speech contest
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Brimming with confidence, a teenager takes a deep bow to pay
respects to the audience packing the Japanese Cultural Center
hall at the Summitmas I building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman in South
Jakarta.
Moments later fluent narration comes out of her lips. She is
talking about the beautiful scenery seen during her train trip
between Cianjur and Bandung, both in West Java.
Except for her physical appearance, the way she speaks, her
intonations and gestures may suggest that she is a native
Japanese.
The 17-year-old student of state SMU 1 in Cianjur, Kiki Rizki
Yuniar, was among 12 Indonesian students taking part in the final
of the third National Japanese Speech Competition on Saturday.
The annual competition was held by the Japan Foundation in
cooperation with the Directorate General of Basic and
Intermediate Education.
Kiki, who has learned Japanese for four years, titled her
speech Cianju-ru Bandon kisha (The Cianjur-Bandung train).
The competition judgment covered the substance of the speech,
fluency in using the language, gestures when on stage and the
answers to questions raised by the jury after the speech.
Ahmad Riza Zulfikar from state SMUN 8 in Malang, East Java,
came out the winner. Kiki finished second, followed by Dewa Ayu
Utami Kinasih from state SMUN 4 in Denpasar, Bali. Aji Prasetyo
from Satya Wacana Christian senior high school in the Central
Java town of Salatiga won the best performance award on people's
choice.
The prize for the top three participants was a Japanese
Language Program in Kansai, Japan. They are also given a chance
to contest the annual Japanese Speech Award in Japan.
Compared to English, Japanese is not commonly learned in
Indonesia, although every year more and more people study the
language either in private courses or in school.
The Japan Foundation's program coordinator, Widjayanti
Tundjung, said Bali displayed the most significant increase in
the number of students taking Japanese as an optional foreign
language in high school.
"Even high schools in small villages in Bali provide Japanese
classes for their students," she said.
An average 600,000 Japanese tourists visit Indonesia annually,
contributing about US$650 million per year to state coffers.
Earlier last week, the Japan Foundation also staged a talk
show on language programs in high school and Japanese classes.
"We want to open people's minds to choosing a language program
in high school is a good option," said Widjayanti.
Indonesian high schools divide their third-grade students into
three majors: science classes (IPA), social classes (IPS) and
language classes.
Only a few high schools offer language classes, as fewer
students are interested.