都駒祭スピーチコンテスト September is always a busy time at

都駒祭
スピーチコンテスト
September is always a busy time at Komaba High School as students prepare
for the school festival. Every third year class produces and performs a play, and the first
and second year students are no less industrious. Haunted houses, short films, skits,
games, and exhibitions fill the classrooms, and students energetically advertise their
events in the hallways with colorful signs and costumes. I tried very hard to see
everything, but it is simply impossible. So I spent the two days of the festival enjoying
as many events as I could.
One event I would like to highlight is the first speech exhibition hosted by the
English Speaking Society (ESS). The ESS club members worked hard to organize,
decorate, and host the event. They recruited four judges: Komiyama sensei, Thomas
sensei, Max (my husband), and myself.
Weeks before the event, the ten students who would speak at the event were
busy preparing their speeches. They wrote, edited, and rewrote their scripts with the
help of the English teachers and practiced their speaking with me. Many hours of work
went into their speeches, and I was confident that they would do a good job.
However, they did more than a good job, they blew us away! Even though I
had heard most of their speeches before, their performances on stage were much more
impressive, emotional, intense, and meaningful. Their delivery was great, but I think the
content impressed the judges most. We all enjoyed good laughs at the comedic parts and
we were inspired by stories of companionship and lessons learned. We were intrigued to
learn more about Kendo, and the subtle differences between English and Japanese.
These are just a few of the great topics students spoke about.
The audience and the judges were very impressed. In fact, all weekend Max
kept talking about how impressed he was by the speech contest. He hopes that his
students have the chance to participate in a similar event someday. The English teachers
were inspired by the students’ speeches and they were all incredibly proud of the
students. However, I think the most significant experience was that of the students in the
speech exhibition. They are some of the best and most outgoing students in their
English classes, so it is rare for them to have a chance to listen to other students who
have the skills and enthusiasm for English that they do. I think it motivated them to give
their best performance.
A couple of our best speakers are going on to apply for a speech contest here in
Tokyo. I know that they are already working hard, and I think they will do well. I’m so
excited that our students are making an effort to have new experiences with English. I
hope that they will always find it rewarding.
〔要約〕
9 月には文化祭がありました。3 年生はどのホームも演劇を上演、1・2 年生はお化け屋敷やショートフ
ィルム、教室劇などの出し物で参加。私もできるだけたくさん見ようとはりきって２日間を過ごしました。
なかでも今回特にお話ししたいのは、ＥＳＳ（English Speaking Society）主催の英語のスピーチコン
テストについてです。部員たちは運営、装飾に加え、4 人の審査員（小宮山先生、トーマス先生、私の夫
のマックス、そして私）の手配などに大活躍、10 名の発表者は英語の先生の指導を受け、原稿作り、校正、
練習を経、本番に臨みました。
何時間もの練習につきあった私は、彼らがうまくできると確信してはいましたが、実際ふたを開けてみ
ると、私の予想など遥かに超えるできとなりました。それぞれ、伝えたいことがはっきりあり、感情がこ
もり、熱がこもり、聞き手の心に残るものとなりました。特に審査員の印象に残ったのは、弁舌もさるこ
とながら話の内容でした。大いに笑ったり、感心したり、例えば、剣道についてもっと知りたくなったり、
英語と日本語の微妙な違いになるほどと思ったりしました。
審査員として参加した夫は週末中このスピーチコンテストのことばかり話していました。いつか自分の
勤務校でも同じようなことができたらと願っているようです。このように、審査員にも聴衆にも強烈な印
象を残したスピーチでしたが、他ならぬ出場者自身が同輩の発表を聴き、大いに刺激を受けたことが最も
意義深かったのではないかと私は思います。
（その後、東京都の大会に 1 名が出場しました）

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