Media and News
Teenager learns three languages, then tops the nation in her fourth
Release Date: 28-Oct-2010 | Go Back
Year 11 scholar Hing Yan Choy – or “Sammy” among her friends – has won first prize in the 41st National Japanese Language Speech Contest in the High School Division, after winning the NSW division in September.
Having moved to Sydney from Hong Kong three years ago, Cantonese-speaking Sammy joined Roseville College with less than a year of Japanese language study, in addition to her Mandarin and English school-based lessons.“My parents don’t speak Japanese, so in order to translate the Japanese computer games that I really enjoy, I knew I had to learn another language,” says Sammy. “I learned one year in Hong Kong, before continuing Japanese studies at Roseville College with Mrs Goulding – and, yes, I still play the Japanese computer games for relaxation and fun!”
“The contest requires entrants to choose a topic of personal interest, and prepare and present the speech in written and oral form,” explains Sammy. “Of course, my topic was how computer games inspired me to learn Japanese and, to many people’s surprise, even how they have helped me improve my school-marks in areas like (Chinese) History.”
After her HSC, Sammy, also a proficient artist, hopes to combine her talent for languages with her love of visual art by pursuing a double degree in visual communication and international studies. “I have my goal and am studying hard to achieve the necessary marks because the entry mark is very high. I would like to continue my Japanese and hope to spend a year of my degree studying in Japan,” she says.
Roseville College performs well in language studies, with students exposed to French, Mandarin Chinese, German and Japanese. Roseville College Japanese teacher, Mrs Hiromi Goulding won’t take the credit for Sammy’s achievement, and believes part of Sammy’s success lies in the passion she has for using the language; not just learning it. “Sammy ‘gets’ the sense of humour and cultural nuances that are part of Japanese language and study,” she observes.
For winning the High School Senior Division, Sammy wins a return air ticket to Japan from Japan Airlines, and an accommodation package from the Central Japan Railway Company. She also received a certificate and a gift bag from the Japanese Foundation, Sydney. Visit speechcontest.jpf-sydney.net/ for details.
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