「第17回 森田杯・英文毎日杯 日本文化英語プレゼンコンテスト」で、英語グローバル学科４年生のペアが優勝しました。

English below. 

 

「森田杯・英文毎日杯 ペアで紹介する日本文化英語プレゼンコンテスト」(主催：京都外国語大学外国語学部英米語学科、後援：京都市・毎日新聞社ほか)の本選大会が12月16日に京都外国語大学(京都市)で開催され、本学文学部英語グローバル学科４年生の北朱莉さん＝写真正面左＝と曾田梨瑞さん＝同右＝のペアが優勝し、二人にそれぞれ森田杯と副賞が贈られました。同大会における本学学生の優勝は2021年に続く２回目で、通算４度目の入賞を飾りました。決勝大会には全国から予選を勝ち抜いた大学生10組が出場。日本文化をテーマに、ペアによる10分間のプレゼンと質疑応答で英語の発表技術を競いました。

　北・曾田ペアの演題は、「Osusowake: The Complex Exchange of Goodwill (おすそわけ：ややこしい善意の交換)」。ふたりは、「近所づきあいにおけるおすそわけは、時に返礼品への期待や嗜好の不一致などで悩ましい経験となることがある。それでも隣人とのコミュニケーションの機会を生み出してきた功績は大きく、おすそわけは我々の善意を象徴する日本文化となっている」と発表しました。ふたりのユニークな喜劇仕立てのプレゼンが披露されると、会場は何度も大きな笑い声に包まれました。

表彰式を終えたふたりは、「笑いを織り込んだ私達の舞台を皆さんに楽しんでいただけて幸せでした。これからも努力を怠らず、挑戦し続ける社会人になりたいです」(北さん)、「この優勝は、先生のご指導やゼミの仲間の協力のお陰で叶ったものです。ゼミのすばらしさを改めて感じました」(曾田さん)と話しました。

　ゼミの指導教員として北・曾田ペアの演出を担当した英語グローバル学科/グローバル・コミュニケーション専攻の清水利宏教授(英語スピーチ・プレゼンテーション研究室)は、「ふたりは重要な論点を笑いに転換して訴えることに挑戦し、見事に成功させました。ユーモアで聴衆の心を開くというのはプレゼンにおける理想形ですが、容易にできるものではありません。今回の優勝は、聴衆を楽しませつつ分かりやすく伝えたいと願うふたりの情熱が成しえた結果だと思います」と話しました。

　本学英語グローバル学科は、８年度連続で全国規模のコンテストで上位入賞を続けています。今回の優勝により、今年度は既に４つの大会で入賞を収めています。

 

（写真提供：京都外国語大学）

 

A pair of fourth-year students from the Department of English and Global Studies won the 17th Morita Cup and English Mainichi Cup Japanese Culture English Presentation Contest.

 

The Morita Cup and the English Mainichi Cup: English Presentation Contest of Japanese Culture in Pairs (organized by the Department of English and American Languages, Faculty of Foreign Studies, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, in cooperation with Kyoto City, The Mainichi Newspapers and others) was held on 16 December at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies in Kyoto City, and the final competition was held.

The pair of Akari Kita and Rizu Soda, both fourth-year students in the Department of English and Global Studies in the Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, won the competition and were presented with the Morita Cup and a supplementary prize respectively. This is the second time that a student from the University has won the competition, following 2021, and the fourth time in total. Ten pairs of university students from across the country who had won the qualifying rounds competed in the finals. The theme of the competition was Japanese culture, and the pairs competed on their English presentation skills in a 10-minute presentation and question-and-answer session.

　The title of the Kita/Soda pair was "Osusowake: The Complex Exchange of Goodwill". The pair explained that "Osusowake in neighbourhoods can sometimes be a troubling experience due to expectations of returns and disagreements over tastes and preferences. Nevertheless, it has done a great deal to create opportunities for communication between neighbors and has become a symbol of our goodwill in Japanese culture". The audience laughed out loud several times as the duo presented their unique comedic presentation.

After the awards ceremony, the presenters said: 'We were happy that everyone enjoyed our stage performance, which was filled with laughter. I want to become a member of society who will continue to work hard and take on challenges in the future" followed by "This victory was made possible with the guidance of our teachers and the cooperation of our fellow seminar members. I once again felt the brilliance of the seminar".

　Professor Toshihiro Shimizu (English Speech and Presentation Laboratory) of the Department of English and Global Studies/Global Communication, who was in charge of staging the Kita/Soda pair as their seminar supervisor, said: 'The two of them took on the challenge of turning an important topic of discussion into a funny appeal and managed to succeed brilliantly. Opening the audience's mind with humor is the ideal form of presentation, but it is not so easy to do. I think this victory was the result of the two students' passion for communicating in an easy-to-understand way while entertaining the audience.’

　For the eighth year in a row, the English Global Studies Department has won the top prize in the national competition. With this victory, the department has already won four competitions this year.