Nikki Gevaña Bags Top Prize at 6th Kake Gakuen Speech Contest

September 24, 2016by Philip Sanvictores in PIJLC-NCF tagged JICC, Josef Carlo Orillo, Kake, Kake Trophy Speech Contest, Kenjiro Ogata, Leah Uychiongco, Maria Roldan, Nikki Gevaña, Philip Sanvictores, Speech Contest, Tatsuo Kitagawa, Yoshiya Yoshimi

An admirer of Japanese food and culture, Nikki Gevaña, emerged as top winner in this year’s 6th Kake Trophy Nihongo Speech Contest held last September 10 at the Nihongo Center Foundation (NCF), Makati Campus. Besting four other contestants, Gevaña also received the honor to represent the Philippines in the international round of the speech competition to be held on November 25, 2016 at the Okayama University of Science in Okayama, Japan.

Gevaña, who started studying Japanese last year, delivered her speech on the common theme “私にとって一番大切な物” (Watashi ni totte, ichiban taisetsuna mono/The Most Important Thing for Me). The speech, which won her an educational trip to Japan, cash prize, and tuition incentives, highlighted the importance of education and how it can be an impetus for improving one’s life and achieving success. Moving into the international competition, Gevaña also has a chance to grab a 2-year scholarship at any of the three universities under the Kake Educational Institution.

Other winners in the contest include Leah Uychiongco who came in at 2nd place and Maria Roldan at 3rd place. Uychiongco’s speech expressed how human life is the most important thing for her while Roldan talked about love and how it helped her get through life’s struggles.

Tatsuo Kitagawa, director of the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), together with Yoshiya Yoshimi, director of Kake Educational Institution, and Kenjiro Ogata, academic advisor of The Philippine Institute of Japanese Language and Culture (PIJLC) and NCF made up the prestigious panel of judges. PILJC and NCF president, Philip Sanvictores welcomed the guests and participants with his opening remarks, while faculty member, Josef Carlo Orillo took on the emcee’s role during the event.

The Kake Trophy Speech Contest is an annual competition showcasing the Japanese Language skills of PIJLC and NCF students. Winners get scholarships and tuition fee waivers from its main sponsor, Kake Educational Institution based in Okayama, Japan, and co-sponsor, PIJLC and NCF. The event is also supported by JICC representing the Embassy of Japan.

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References:

6th Kake Trophy Speech Contest Program
Nikki Gevaña, speech: 私にとって一番大切な物
 6th Kake Tropy Speech Contest Winner Announcement
Leah Uychiongco, speech: 私にとって一番大切な物
 Maria Roldan, speech: 私にとって一番大切な物
 6th Kake Trophy Speech Contest Photo Album

2016 NCF MANILA AND MAKATI UPCOMING CLASS SCHEDULES

January 14, 2016by Philip Sanvictores in PIJLC-NCF

NIHONGO CENTER FOUNDATION, INC.

Manila Campus

Contact number: (02) 735-3179 | email:manila@nihongocenter.com

http://www.nihongocenter.com/manila-campus.php

—————————————————–Beginners————————————————-

COURSE: Elementary 1
DESCRIPTION: Comprehensive course:
Conversation, Reading and Writing course with Hiragana, Katakana & 60 Kanji; 400 Vocabulary words. MNN Lessons 1-10
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Tuesday & Thursday	6:00PM–8:00PM (2Hrs)	34 Days	68 Hours
Saturdays	9:00AM–12:10Noon (3Hrs&10Min)	22 Days	68 Hours

*Minimum of 10 enrollees to START a class.
*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TARGET START DATE: January 16, 2016 (Sat Class) and January 19, 2016 (Tue/Thurs Class)
**ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING ;

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COURSE: Elementary 2
DESCRIPTION:
Continuation of the study of basic grammatical patterns, Simple Conversation, 143 Kanji characters; 700 Vocabulary words. MNN Lessons 11-20
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Saturdays	2:00PM – 5:20PM (3Hrs&20Min)	20 Days	64 Hours

*Minimum of 10 enrollees to START a class.
*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TARGET START DATE: January 23, 2016 (Sat Class)
**ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING ;

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COURSE: Nihongo Kaiwa 1 (Marugoto)
DESCRIPTION:
Plain Conversation course. NO READING & WRITING.
TERMS: one-time payment upon registration.
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Tuesday & Thursday	6:00PM – 8:00PM (2Hrs)	12 Days	24 Hours

*10-16 participants in a class. (Student must be at least 15 yrs. old)
*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TARGET START DATE: January 26, 2016 (Tues. & Thurs Class)
*ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING;

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COURSE: Intermediate 1
DESCRIPTION: Comprehensive course:
Conversation, Reading and Writing course with Hiragana, Katakana & 580 Kanji; 1500 Vocabulary. MNN Lessons 41-50
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Saturday	9:00AM – 5:00PM (8Hrs)	10 Days	64 Hours

*Minimum of 7 participants in a class.
*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TARGET START DATE: January 23, 2016 (Sat. Class)
*ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING;

NIHONGO CENTER FOUNDATION, INC.

Makati Campus

Contact number: (02) 892-4916 to 19 | email : makati@nihongocenter.com

http://www.nihongocenter.com/makati-campus.php

—————————————————–Beginners————————————————-

COURSE: Elementary 1
DESCRIPTION: Comprehensive course:
Conversation, Reading and Writing course with Hiragana, Katakana & 60 Kanji; 400 Vocabulary. MNN Lessons 1-10
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Monday, Wednesday & Friday	9:00AM–12:10NN (3Hrs&10Min)	22 Days	68 Hours
Monday, Wednesday & Friday	2:00PM-5:10PM (3Hrs&10Min)	22 Days	68 Hours

*Minimum of 10 enrollees to START a class.
*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TENTATIVE START DATE: Feb. 1, 2016 (Mon/Wed/Fri Class 2:00pm-5:00pm)
**ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING for MWF Class ;

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COURSE: Elementary 3
DESCRIPTION: Comprehensive course:
Conversation, Reading and Writing course with Hiragana, Katakana & 258 Kanji; 1000 Vocabulary. MNN Lessons 21-30
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Saturday	9:00AM – 12:10PM (3Hrs)	22 Days	64 Hours

*Minimum of 10 enrollees to START a class.

*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TENTATIVE START DATE: TBA (Sat. Class)
**ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING ;

*****************************************************************************

COURSE: Elementary 4
DESCRIPTION: Comprehensive course:
Conversation, Reading and Writing course with Hiragana, Katakana & 383 Kanji; 1300 Vocabulary. MNN Lessons 31-40
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Monday, Wednesdays & Friday	9:00AM–12:10NN (3Hrs&10Min)	21 Days	64 Hours

*Minimum of 8 enrollees to START a class.
*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TENTATIVE START DATE: TBA (Mon/Wed/Fri Class)
**ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING ;

*****************************************************************************

COURSE: Intermediate 1
DESCRIPTION: Comprehensive course:
Conversation, Reading and Writing course with Hiragana, Katakana & 580 Kanji; 1500 Vocabulary. MNN Lessons 41-50
SCHEDULE:

DAY	TIME per Session	Number of Sessions to attend	Total Number of Hrs. to complete
Saturday	9:00PM – 12:10PM (2Hrs)	22 Days	64 Hours

*10-16 participants in a class.
*FIRST COME FIRST SERVE POLICY. | LIMITED SLOTS AVAILABLE
*TARGET START DATE: TBA (Saturday Class)
*ENROLMENT STILL ON-GOING ;

——————————————————Non-beginners————————————————–

Students who studied Nihongo in other institutions, as well as, NCF students who stopped even for one semester are required to take an EVALUATION EXAM in order to assess his/ her current level of proficiency in Nihongo. This is to ensure that he/she is able to enroll in the course which is most appropriate for his/her level. Examinee should arrange the examination schedule with the Admin office and should pay the examination fee of PHP 250.00.

For Intermediate and Advanced Courses, please reach us at the above contact details.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL KARAOKE NIGHT (Dec 19, 2015)

December 19, 2015by Philip Sanvictores in PIJLC-NCF

Christmas is the most awaited and celebrated time of the year, the period to acknowledge and thank God for giving us His Son Jesus Christ for the Salvation of those who would believe as in John 3:16 (The Bible).

As anticipated everyone are all set to showcase their talents in a party themed A Christmas Carol Karaoke night at President Jose P. Laurel Hall 4/F in PJF Bldg., on Friday 18^th December 2015 from 6PM onwards.

Every Candidate and NCF Staff displayed their inventiveness by presenting themselves wearing decorated and colourful Christmas attire in Red, White or Green.

The host, Mr. Josef Orillo encouraged everyone to participate in the games, singing, dancing, exchanging of gifts, to have a fantastic time and announced that dinner is served so everyone could enjoy sumptuous mixed of Oriental favourite meal and juices as a treat before we start the program.

Ms. Maria Lynn Canlas, Building Administrator opened the party with a thanksgiving prayer and Mr. Kenjiro Ogata, Head Lecturer welcomed everyone, and officially started the party.

The party began with 6 Christmas Carol Karaoke Presentations from each class, choices of music are: Kisyuugumi Videoke Carol (Class 1), 12 Days of Nihongo Benkyoushimasu (Class 2), Star ng Pasko (Class 3), I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Class 4), Thank you for the Love & Merry Christrmas Happy Holidays Medley (Class 5) and Merry Christmas Dance Carol (Class 6). Judges were Mr. Kenjiro Ogata, Head Lecturer; Ms. Glenda Toral-Ferma, Deputy Adminitrator and Ms. Betty Mojica, Lecturer, Japanese Culture and Society with the following criteria for judging: Mastery and Timing, Choreography & Unity, Costume & Props and Christmas Relevance, such had made every presenters excitingly challenged. Every candidate performed with their all, and as a result every audience and judges were astonished! They are indeed handpicked.

Games made the night filled with fun and happiness too, we relayed messages via facial expressions, painted real life portraits of Christmas stories and played the stone, paper, and scissor twenty to share match.

The highlight of the evening is the exchanging of Christmas gifts with a twist – laughter, shouting, dancing and rejoicing filled the room as we pass along gifts to the left, right, across, behind as instructed to the beat of Hillsong’s We Have A Saviour Born Is The King ‘It’s Christmas’ this activity was amazingly crazy and F.U.N. as per Mr. Ogata!

There were prizes aplenty as sponsored by NCF Management and Mr. Ogata were given away for the game winners and Presentation’s top 3 winners, as announced by Deputy Administrator Ms. Glenda Toral-Ferma. Winners came forward as called, they were: Class 3-3^rd Placer, Class 4-2^nd Placer and Class 2-Grand Winners who really made their presentation unique, personalized and relevant.

A planner with a character pen was also distributed as NCF’s token of appreciation, for each Administrators, Lecturers, Workforce and Candidates who are part of this enormous and triumphant year.

The party concluded as each of us observed a moment of stillness with a prayer thanking the Lord Jesus Christ the reason for the season, undeniably.

NCF receives catalog of Madame Akie Abe Library (Nov 19, 2015)

November 19, 2015by Philip Sanvictores in PIJLC-NCF

Madame Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, donated to the Nihongo Center Foundation (NCF) numerous books on Japan and Nihongo education. The donation was personally conveyed by Mrs. Abe, who was accompanying her husband – the Prime Minister – during the 27th APEC Summit held in Manila in mid-November 2015. A simple but meaningful donation ceremony was held on November 19, 2015 at the Manila Diamond Hotel.

Mrs. Glenda Toral-Ferma, Deputy Administrator and Faculty member of the Nihongo Center received the donation during the Presentation Ceremony. She was accompanied by selected Nurse and Careworker candidates undergoing Japanese Language Training under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Also present during the turnover rites were officials of the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines and the Japan Foundation Manila.

The donation consisted of books on current approaches to teaching Japanese Language, as well as books on Japanese culture and history, publications on Sights of Japan, various magazines, and personal books written by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Madame Abe herself.

Mrs. Abe had a fruitful exchange of opinions and insights with the NCF representatives on how Japan views Filipinos in the service industry and how Filipinos view Japan as a country and people. She expressed her appreciation of the warmth and hospitality of Filipinos and their innate nature for caring of the sick and the elderly. The Filipino nurses and care workers in turn expressed their gratitude to the Government of Japan for opening the doors for Filipinos health workers.

Photo Credits: Japan Embassy and Japan Foundation Manila

2016 EPA Nihongo Course Begins (Nov 6, 2015)

November 6, 2015by Philip Sanvictores in Featured, PIJLC-NCF

The NCF Class of 2016 of the Preparatory Nihongo Training Program for Filipino Nurse and Certified Care Worker Candidates under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was formally opened on November 6, 2015 at the Jose P. Laurel Memorial Hall, Philippines-Japan Friendship Center, R. Papa Street, Sampaloc, Manila. A total of 112 students were admitted into the Program or 32% of the total 352 candidate-students. The rest are enrolled at the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Taguig City.

This is the second year that the Nihongo Center Foundation (NCF) was tapped by the Japan Foundation Manila (JFM) to conduct the Japanese Language Training Program on its behalf for the entire 6-month course. The first batch started in November 2015 and 89 graduates left for Japan in June this year. Similarly, the current batch will end their language training in end-May and those who pass will leave for Japan in June 2016 for the second phase of Nihongo training before they are deployed to pre-matched hospitals and caregiving institutions in Japan.

NCF President Philip B. Sanvictores led the opening ceremony and delivered an inspirational Message after the Opening Remarks given by Mr. Hiroaki Uesugi, Director of Japan Foundation Manila. Director Nimfa de Guzman of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) read the Message of Atty. Hans Leo Cacdac – Administrator. Finally, Economic Affairs Minister Makoto Iyori of the Embassy of Japan, who had just assumed his post in Manila encouraged the student-candidates to study hard and to do their best. Other guests who attended the opening ceremonies were First Secretary and Labor Attaché of Japan, Mr. Hiroyuki Enoki, Mr. Tetsuya Koida, Assistant Director of JFM, Mrs. Marilen Laurel-Loinaz, Treasurer and Administrator of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Foundation, Inc.

The Head Lecturer, Professor Kenjiro Ogata was the last to address the students. He enjoined them to concentrate on their studies as this will be the single most important tool for a successful work life in Japan that could help create a brighter future for them and their families. Speaking mainly in English, Prof. Ogata surprised the students when he fluently spoke in straight, flawless Tagalog; he also introduced the NCF Teaching Staff for the EPA.

¹Welcome Remarks of Mr. Philip B. Sanvictores, NCF President