NEWS

APU Student Wins Award of Excellence at the KIU Korean Speech Contest

Jan 17, 2025

On November 23, 2024, Kasumi Nozoe (College of Asia Pacific Studies, 3rd year) won the Award of Excellence in the recitation category of the 12th KIU Korean Speech Contest hosted by Kyushu International University. The category evaluated participants based on expression, pronunciation, writing ability, and memorization skills.

Ms. Nozoe started learning Korean from scratch after entering APU. She has completed Korean III, an intermediate-level course, and has continued her studies independently since then. Throughout her learning journey, she has actively sought support from the Center for Language Education and her instructors.

Comment from Ms. Nozoe on the award

Having participated in English speech contests during my junior and senior high school years, I dreamed of one day competing in a Korean speech contest when I began learning the language at APU. With that goal in mind, I dedicated myself to studying. This year, I decided to showcase the skills I had developed over three years at university by taking on the challenge of a speech contest.
During my preparations, my Korean instructors and friends supported me tirelessly, helping me practice repeatedly and offering detailed guidance on pronunciation and expression. I owe this award to their dedication and support, and I am deeply grateful to them.
This experience has reinforced my belief that APU provides an enriching environment for focused language learning, offering opportunities to expand one’s potential significantly. The contest was a moment of profound realization for me—I’m truly glad I never gave up on studying Korean. I intend to continue improving my Korean skills and furthering my language proficiency. Finally, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Korean instructors and friends who have guided me thus far. Thank you very much.

Comment from Korean Language Instructor Cho

Ms. Nozoe is a very dedicated student who actively sought opportunities to use Korean outside of class, and she prepared diligently for this contest. She particularly struggled with the pronunciation of one word, '산꼭대기 (sankkottegi: mountaintop),' but she practiced repeatedly without giving up. By the day before the contest, she had mastered it perfectly, which was truly impressive. This accomplishment is a testament to her enthusiasm and hard work in learning efficiently within a limited timeframe.

At APU, students can study six Asia Pacific languages—Korean, Chinese, Malay-Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Spanish—from the beginner to the advanced levels, in addition to Japanese and English. APU’s diverse community includes international students and faculty members who speak these languages natively. By learning and actively using these languages, students contribute significantly to promoting intercultural understanding in a multicultural and multinational environment.



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