2020 SBHS Japanese Skit Winners
Posted by Corey Burdick on 4/22/2020 12:30:00 PM
COVID-19 couldn't stop the ninth annual Japanese speech contest from continuing as planned. Luckily, physical distancing was easily maintained given the online nature of the contest. Video submissions were due March 22. According to Japanese Language instructor at SBHS Sinyoung Evans, three high school students won top honors.
Annika Imobersteg won first place in the intermediate division for her skit that introduced Japanese people to several places in the United States including Vermont and Hawaii. Annika is a senior and currently enrolled in Japanese 3.
Avery Houston and Jaden Cypes, both juniors currently enrolled in Japanese 2, won second place for their video at the introductory level. In their skit, they created a commercial for Cabot Cheese for Japanese audiences.
"The process of making the scripts from scratch and memorizing the lines creates good learning opportunities and all the participants enjoy the experience. Our SBHS students have been successfully completing their tasks and receiving good results every year," Evans said.
Evans, who has been teaching at SBHS since 2007 explained that the skit contest was developed in 2012 by members of the Association of Japanese Language Teachers of Vermont in order to promote Japanese language programs in colleges and high schools as well as to enhance communication skills and cultural understanding among students.
The contest is held every spring and participants are comprised of students enrolled in Japanese language courses across Vermont including SBHS, EHS, UVM, SMC, Champlain College, Middlebury College, Bennington College and others. "Based on the proficiency levels, students create their scripts and video tapes and upload them to the contest sites. Following the guidelines and rubrics, we Japanese instructors and selected native speakers of Japanese in the region score them and decide which entry is the first, the second, or third place in each section," Evans explained.
Congrats to all!