NEWS

On December 2nd (Saturday), at the 16th Indonesian Language Speech Contest held at Kanda University of International Studies, APU students Miki Ueda (2nd year, College of Asia Pacific Studies) received the Grand Prize, and Yume Sakamoto (2nd year, College of Asia Pacific Studies) received the Award of Excellence. The competition, featuring participants from seven universities, recognized both students in Category A, which targets university students with less than two years of experience learning Indonesian.

Miki Ueda, originally from Gifu Prefecture, developed an interest in the Indonesian language and culture through a friendship formed with an Indonesian student during an online event hosted by the Self-Access Language Center (SALC). Discovering the contest during Indonesian language classes in her second year, she set it as a goal, diligently wrote sentences based on what she learned in class, and sought feedback from her teacher over and over again, ultimately earning the Grand Prize.

On the other hand, Yume Sakamoto, hailing from Kanagawa Prefecture, initially joined APU to master English. However, she felt that English alone was not enough, and her interest in Japanese language instruction for middle and high school students in Asia (through a program called Nihongo Partners) led her to take Indonesian language classes and utilize SALC, where she focused on practicing speaking.

Both Miki and Yume also serve as Peer Advisors (PAs) at SALC, supporting other students in conversation practice. Regarding SALC, they emphasized, "SALC provides many opportunities to meet enthusiastic language learners, and PAs offer tailored conversation support based on your level. We encourage everyone to make the most of it."

At APU, students have the opportunity to learn six languages from introductory to advanced levels alongside Japanese and English. With a diverse community of international students and faculty, daily interactions and practical language learning through SALC are integral to the APU experience.

For more information on the results of the 16th Indonesian Language Speech Contest held at Kanda University of International Studies, please visit the external site.（Only available in Japanese）