Since late January, students in the Japanese program have been preparing for the 33rd National Japan Bowl, which will be held at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC on April 4 and 5.
Japanese Teacher Dr. Mariko Sato-Berger said that she decided to sign up because of “three students in AP Japanese being so outstanding academically.” These students are senior AJ Botsaris, junior Ryan Foster, and Sophomore Gabriella Karpiuk. Dr. Sato praised their ability to work well in groups and their motivation.
Each year, 200 students around the country compete in the quiz bowl style competition, which tests students’ proficiency in the Japanese language and culture. For the grand prize, the highest placing students win an all-expense paid trip to Japan over the summer. Dr. Sato has been coach of the Japan Bowl team since 2006. Last year, the level three team ranked 5th nationally.
The students participating in the competition are divided into three teams based on their placement within the program.The level two team is composed of sophomores in their second year of study, the level three team is composed of juniors in their third year of study, and the level four team is composed of fourth year students who are currently taking the AP Japanese Language and Culture course.
Dr. Sato said the team wasn’t sure if they would sign up for the competition at first, but after they decided to do so there was not as much time to prepare. “The biggest difference in this year’s prep is that [the team] only had two months [to prepare] instead of the usual 10 months,” she said. The shortened amount of time to practice has created some challenges for students competing in the competition, with students having to take a faster approach to memorizing content and practicing.
“There’s literally so much content that I don’t even know where to start it sometimes. There’s like a million quizlets,” said AJ, who is on the level four team. “There’s information on this, and the guidelines for what we have to study are really nonspecific, so [preparing] is kind of just taking a shot in the dark.”
Ryan, who is on the level three team, said that he thinks that as a result of the shortened amount of time to prepare, the biggest challenge is “to actually be able to learn everything.” As a result of this, Ryan said he expects the team to encounter challenges with the culture section in addition to practicing their language skills.
Gabriella, who is on the level two team said, “[The team] has been cramming a lot of the information a bit at the last minute, but we’ve still been putting in extra effort even at this time.”
“Preparing for the National Japan Bowl is one of the toughest challenges in the study of Japanese language and culture,” said Dr. Sato. “It requires strong memorization skills, knowledge of vast topics of Japanese culture, including geography, history, social issues, the US-Japan relationship, rite of life, and Haiku and Osaka this year. This is in addition to a huge repertoire of language work. It also requires speed of thinking, good teamwork, and critical thinking.”
The team have been regularly meeting during their Japanese classes, after school, and on Zoom meetings for practice. Students have even taken it upon themselves to self study.
AJ said, “[The team] has been meeting every Friday. We have really long meetings talking about the competition, what’s happened in previous years, and what to prepare for when we study outside of school. We have a daily log, and we’ve been making quizlets.”
Students shared similar sentiments when asked about how they feel about the upcoming competition, emphasizing the importance of doing their best no matter the outcome.
“It’s my first time committing [at the] national scale, […] but I think that with enough hard work, we can still do pretty solid,”,” said Gabriella.
“We’re going to have fun, we’re going to do our best, and whatever happens, happens,” said AJ.
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