Canada Japanese Video Contest

First Prize

My name is Ifrah Saeed. I’m a recent University of Toronto graduate. My first experience with learning Japanese was when I self-studied in high school, but I formally started taking classes in my first year at UofT. That was where I met Annalie and Connie, the two friends from the video who also had a strong passion and interest in Japanese culture. Coming from a school where a lot of people thought it was weird for a South Asian girl to want to study Japanese to finally having friends that wanted to talk about Japanese dramas and music was amazing! I wanted this video to depict those real and sometimes exaggerated experience and feelings I had when I first started learning Japanese as well as how things have changed now for the better since I started this journey.

What is the most meaningful moment in your life? Ifrah Saeed, Connie Ji, Jin Young Annalie Roh, University of Toronto

Second Prize

My name is Ruthie Ha, and I’m in 9th grade. I have been learning Japanese for a year and am still learning now. I started learning Japanese when I went to high school (8th grade). I decided to take the Japanese course because my older brother had taken it before me, and said it was very fun. I’m glad I took it, because in that year I had a lot of fun learning Japanese, thanks to my wonderful teacher, Ms. Matsuo. This video took a while to make, but I’m very pleased with the results. I learned how to animate through YouTube videos and the internet using an app called Animation Desk on the iPad and have been animating for several months. So when Ms. Matsuo told me about this opportunity, I thought it would be fun to try an animation, but I never thought I was going to win! This has been a very fun and challenging experience for me, so thank you!

Welcome to my classroom- Japanese, Ruthie Ha, Hugh Boyd Secondary School