High School Division Application
Application Period is Now- September 30th
*You may not be able to access the application form if you use an account from high school. Please sign out from Google Chrome and sign in again with your private account to fill out the form.
High School Division Application Form (available soon)
*The application form (Google Form) will ask you for your Google account.
On this page, you see:
- High School Division Eligibility
- High School Division 2025 Schedule
- High School Division Application Guidelines
- Video Submission Guidelines and Requirements
- Video Upload Instructions
- Information about Travel Support
High School Division Eligibility
Based on teacher recommendation (and subject to review by the selection committee) applicants enter one of the two competition categories: HS I, and II. 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 HS II, the selection committee will merge HS I and II.
Basic Qualifications
- A high school student recommended by a teacher who is a member of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese or its affiliate.
- Japanese is not his/her dominant language.*
- Has spent less than one year (combined) at full-time, secondary-level (grades 3-12) Japanese educational institutions accredited by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan
*The dominant language is the language which a bilingual or multilingual speaker has greatest proficiency with and/or uses more often.
Category-Specific Qualifications
These levels are determined by teacher recommendation based on the “ACTFL oral proficiency guidelines 2024” — not the level of the course in which the student enrolls — and subject to review by the selection committee.
HS I
- Possesses intermediate-low to intermediate-mid level speaking proficiency
- Has not won any award in previous J.LIVE Talk competitions
HS II
- Possesses intermediate-high and above speaking proficiency
- Has not won any award in previous J.LIVE Talk competitions
High School Division 2025 Schedule
Please click the tabs for Preliminary, Semi-Final, and Final round for more details.
Entry deadline: September 30th, 2025
Submit the online preliminary round application form by by 11:59 PM EDT September 30th, 2025. You will need to have the endorsement form filled out by your instructor and the Parent/Guardian consent form filled out by your parent or legal guardian (if you are under 18 years old ), and have a video completed before you can submit the application. Please see Video Submission Guidelines and Requirements for the theme and the length of the video.
Notification of the result: October 6th, 2025
The Contest Committee will notify the contestants whose applications will move to the semi-final round via email. They will be provided with the semi-final round application form. The names will be announced on our website once they complete the semi-final round application.
Deadline for the required materials: 11:59PM EDT October 10th , 2025
Semifinalists must submit the semifinal round application form (the link to be emailed with the preliminary round result notification) including a 1 minute video describing in Japanese what they plan to present should they be selected as finalists.
Notification of the result: October 13th, 2025
The Contest Committee will notify each semifinalist as to who will move onto the final round. The names will be announced on our website.
Deadline for the required materials: 11:59 PM EDT November 2nd, 2025
By November 2nd 2025, finalists must submit via the Google form link to be provided (1) their short abstract in English (150 words) and (2) a PowerPoint (or equivalent) presentation to accompany their talk.
Competition Day: November 9th, 2025
J.LIVE Talk 2025 will be an in-person event held on the GWU campus.
High School Division 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 (September 30th, 2025):
Before You Submit the Application Form
- Download the endorsement form and get it completed by your recommending 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.
- Learning is a lifelong process. Describe what you would like to learn as you grow into adulthood. For example, you can talk about what you plan to study in college, or what kind of skills you would like to master, etc. Explain why.
- 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" (NOT "private") 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
- Go to YouTube.
- 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.
- Once you create (and sign into your) YouTube account, click 'Upload' in the upper right corner.
- 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).
- Select the privacy setting "Unlisted." (NOT "private")
You may ignore the other fields (Description, Tags and Category).
Note: There are many video tutorials on uploading to YouTube. Please search YouTube videos for "how to upload videos on YouTube."
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 info
jlivetalk [dot] com (info[at]jlivetalk[dot]com).
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 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 school 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.