Osaka City University, Osaka Prefecture University and Kansai University held their 5th Japanese Speech Contest for international students on November 21 (Sun).

These three universities signed an agreement in 2008 to increase the number of mutual exchanges between universities. The speech contest was held as one of their collaborative programs.

This year, our Bekka student from China, Ms. Chang Xiaoyun participated in the contest and won both the gold award and the audience award. As a result, Kansai University was given the group award!

Interview with Chang Xiaoyun

Q1. How did you first get interested in learning Japanese?

When I was in high school, I became interested in the Warring States Period in Japan through Japanese animation, but there was not much content about it in my home country, China. I wanted to somehow be able to read comics and books about the Warring States period written in Japanese on my own, so I started studying Japanese in earnest after entering university.

Q2. Please tell us briefly about your speech.

First of all, I drew the audience's attention with a funny dish called "Mapo Tofu with Strawberries". Then, I talked mainly about the similarities between original dishes and cross-cultural exchange, including anecdotes of friends who actively engaged in and enjoyed cross-cultural exchange.

Q3. Please tell us your impression about entering the speech contest.

I had never participated in a speech contest before, so I was very anxious at first. After writing the manuscript, my teachers checked my grammar mistakes and helped me practice my speech, which increased my confidence. I really appreciate them from the bottom of my heart.

On the day of the contest, I was surprised how interesting the other speakers' speeches were. It was of great benefit to listen to such wonderful experiences of interacting with other cultures from their life, work and learning Japanese.