We speak to the second year student about her prize-winning experience. Jess Polito, a second year student of Japanese and Linguistics, has won the Individual Presentation Category of the 20th annual UK-wide Japanese Speech Contest for University Students. This is the second consecutive year in which a student of Japanese at the University of Edinburgh has taken a top prize at the contest; in 2024, Minju Kim won the Speech Category for her talk on Japan and Korea.Entrants to the contest are tasked with choosing a theme for their presentation, which they deliver in Japanese in front of an audience. For the Individual Presentation Category, the speech must be eight minutes long.In this article, Jess tells us why she chose her theme “Learning Japanese Changed Me!" and what it was like to deliver her talk at King’s College London earlier this month. Jess delivering her speech "Learning Japanese Changed Me!" at King's College London. Photo courtesy of The Japan Foundation. Engaging an audience with a range of Japanese knowledge The Japanese Speech Contest is a collaboration between the British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ) and the Japan Foundation. As well as judges, the audience is made up of Japanese learners with a range of experience - from beginner right through to advanced - along with teachers, family members etc.In choosing her theme, Jess says “I worked hard with Atsuko-sensei [from Japanese Studies at Edinburgh] to pick something that would engage the whole audience. Choosing a theme that was interesting, accessible and that would allow me to use Japanese appropriate to my skill level was one of the most challenging parts of the preparation!” “I chose “Learning Japanese Changed Me!" because it meant I could relate to almost the whole audience, as well as talk about something I am properly passionate about- Japanese!” Channelling fear into motivation Like many of our students of Japanese, Jess came to Edinburgh having never formally learned the language before.She had self-studied for around a year, though “much to the confusion and amusement of my friends and family; “it’s so random”, “what’s the point?” they would often tell me”. Talking of why she decided to take a degree in Japanese, Jess explains “I knew that if I didn’t, I would regret it for the rest of my life. The main point of my speech was that I have come to accept my pitfalls, mistakes and failures and channel them into motivation.” Jess (right) with her mentor Dr Atsuko Moriyama “It seems obvious saying it, but actually doing it, actually overcoming the fear of not being good enough is extremely mentally challenging. Using class time to its full extent - speaking Japanese as much as I can, even if I embarrass myself or mess up, has been so rewarding and will ultimately benefit me the most in the future.” From her decision to enter the contest in September last year, Jessica’s progress as a Japanese learner has been nothing short of remarkable. Observing her commitment and passion flourish over the past five months has been an inspiring experience for me as her mentor - a privilege I will always cherish. On the day, her honest storytelling and emotional delivery left a profound impression on the audience, making her achievement even more memorable at this landmark 20th anniversary event. Atsuko Moriyama Tutor in Japanese Gaining new skills Learners on our Japanese programmes are supported to develop a range of skills for confidence building and future employability. Before the contest, Jess had never done any kind of public speaking in a formal setting – “let alone in a second language!”.Speaking about how she approached the challenge, she says “I focused a lot on being charismatic - as if I was talking with the audience rather than just to them. This was something Atsuko-sensei and my other Japanese teachers gave me advice on, and it definitely paid off.” “My mum, sister, auntie and boyfriend came to cheer me on which made all the difference to my confidence, they’d never really seen me speak Japanese before so I was so happy to perform for them.” It was such a fantastic experience and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me. It’s given me lots of motivation to keep studying Japanese as hard as I can on my year abroad and in the future! Jess Polito Award-winning Japanese and Linguistics student Are you interested in Japanese Studies at Edinburgh? Edinburgh is the only university in Scotland to offer undergraduate degrees in Japanese. Our four-year MA Honours programmes enable you to learn the language in the context of Japan’s history, politics, philosophy and culture, past and present. You can start the language as a complete beginner, or at a more advanced level - we will place you in the right course for you. Our programmes are not for native speakers, but we also welcome heritage language learners. Find out more about studying undergraduate Japanese More news and features Read our interview with Minju Kim about the Japanese Speech Contest 2024Read our interview with Francesca Lutje-Wilkes about winning the University’s book collecting prize for her collection of female manga artists Tags Asian Studies Life at LLC Undergraduate Publication date 21 Mar, 2025
