College Divisions Application

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Application Period is September 13th- October 6th

*You may not be able to access the application form if you use a school Google account.  Please use your private account to fill out the form.

College Divisions Application Form

• College Divisions Eligibility
• College Divisions 2023 Schedule
• College Divisions Application Guidelines
• Information about Travel Support 

 

College Divisions Eligibility

Based on teacher recommendation (and subject to review by the selection committee) applicants enter one of the three competition categories: College I, II, and III. All applicants must have all basic qualifications, as well as the relevant category-specific qualifications. Heritage speakers who have the basic qualifications are encouraged to apply. Notes: The selection committee reserves the right to place a contestant in a different category based on the committee’s evaluation of his/her YouTube video submission, and/or online interview to be conducted if necessary. In the event there are not enough successful applicants in College III, the selection committee will merge College III into College II.

Basic Qualifications

• Will be registered in a Japanese-as-a-foreign-language class at the undergraduate or graduate level in a 2-year college or 4-year university as of the J.LIVE Talk final round date. Note: If there are extenuating circumstances that make it impossible for you to be enrolled in a Japanese class in the necessary semester for the competition, please contact us by email and explain your situation. The Executive Committee will determine your eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
• Has earned a minimum of six college-level Japanese-as-a-foreign-language credits (calculated based on a semester system) or more than 84 contact hours of study in college-level courses (as determined by the student’s university and subject to review by the selection committee) by the time of application. Note: AP Japanese Language and Culture course credits officially accepted by a college/university may be counted as college-level Japanese-as-a-foreign-language credits. 
• Has spent no more than four years at full-time, secondary-level (grades 7-12) Japanese educational institutions accredited by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan
• Has not won a gold award in any category in previous J.LIVE Talk competitions, nor has participated in any summer program with a scholarship offered by J.LIVE Talk.

Category-Specific Qualifications

These levels are determined by teacher recommendation based on the “ACTFL oral proficiency guidelines 2012” — not the level of the course in which the student enrolls — and subject to review by the selection committee.

College I

• Possesses intermediate-low to intermediate-mid level speaking proficiency
• Has not won any award in previous J.LIVE Talk competitions

College II

• Possesses intermediate-high to advanced-low level speaking proficiency
• Has not won any award in Category II or III in previous J.LIVE Talk competitions

College III

• Possesses advanced-mid to advanced-high level speaking proficiency
• Has not won any award in Category III in previous J.LIVE Talk competitions

 

College Divisions 2023 Schedule

 

College Divisions Application Guidelines

In order to participate in an individual division of J.LIVE Talk, applicants must submit the relevant online application form by the submission deadline (October 6, 2023):

• College Division Application Form 

Before You Submit the Application Form

• Download the consent/endorsement form: College divisions consent form (PDF).
• Fill out and sign Part 1 and Part 2.
• Have Part 3 filled out and signed by your instructor.
• Complete a video for submission.

 

Video Submission Guidelines and Requirements

As a competitor, you are required to provide a short video of you speaking Japanese (see below for specifics). This video will be used to evaluate your qualification and proficiency level. Therefore, you may not enlist the assistance of your instructor or a native speaker of Japanese.  This online accent dictionary may be helpful.

Your video should be 2-3 minutes long and show you speaking for its entire duration. (No slideshows, please.)

• Begin your video by stating your name. Do not mention the name of your school.  Make sure you do not wear clothes with college logos.
• Describe what a college education means to you. You can interpret this prompt however you like. You can talk about your personal experiences, e.g., a particular life lesson you have learned as a college student; your dreams for the future and how college is helping you prepare for it; etc. Or you can approach the topic in more broadly socio-cultural terms, e.g., why you think a college education is necessary in today's "knowledge economy"; how you think higher education should be improved for future generations; etc.
• You are expected to speak naturally.  Do not edit your speech.  You will be disqualified if you read from a pre-written script.  Imagine an audience in front of you and talk to this audience. Pay attention to your gestures, voice volume and eye contact.  Our Tips for Preliminary Round Video Presentation may be helpful.
• Upload your video to YouTube and select "Unlisted" as the privacy setting.

If you have any questions regarding how to upload the video to YouTube, see Video Upload Instructions below.

Please note that, if we decide to use any part of your video for promotional or other purposes in the future, we will obtain your consent beforehand.

 

Video Upload Instructions

1. Go to YouTube.
2. Click 'Sign in' in the upper right corner. You can sign in with your Gmail account. If you do not have a Gmail account, create one. Or, you will need to create a separate YouTube account using your email address.
3. Once you create (and sign into your) YouTube account, click 'Upload' in the upper right corner.
4. Select a file to upload. Make sure to use the following format for the title of your video: 'JLIVE Talk + Your Name' (e.g., JLIVE Talk Sachiko Suzuki).
5. Select the privacy setting "Unlisted."

You may ignore the other fields (Description, Tags and Category).

Note: There are many video tutorials on uploading to YouTube, such as this tutorial.

Once your video is uploaded, YouTube will create a URL link for your video. Provide this URL link when submitting the online application form.

If you cannot upload to YouTube or prefer to send your video in a different way, please notify the J.LIVE Talk Committee at [email protected].

 

Information about Travel Support

Travel subsidies of up to $500 in total to cover all or part of the following travel expenses will be provided to eligible college division finalists whose home institution is located more than 100 miles away in driving distance from George Washington University (See Google map):

• transportation (air, train, or gas for auto travel) between a finalist’s college address and GW
• one night's accommodation (up to $150)
• parking fee at the George Washington University campus

Meal expenses are not covered, although breakfast and lunch will be provided on the day of the competition. The maximum subsidy for accommodation expenses is $150. For instance, if your flight ticket costs $200 and your hotel stay costs $250, we will reimburse you $350 since the maximum allowance for accommodations is $150, and your transportation cost is $200.

Travel subsidies are given only on a reimbursement-basis, and will be processed after the completion of the event. We need your social security number to process your reimbursement. Please provide it when you come to GW for the contest. To receive your reimbursement, you must also provide all the receipts within two weeks of the final round. An E-ticket itinerary is OK as long as it shows the total cost for the ticket and your credit card information.