Individual Division Eligibility

High School Division

All applicants must satisfy all qualifications. Heritage speakers who satisfy the basic qualifications are encouraged to apply.

Qualifications

A high school student recommended by a teacher who is a member of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese or its affiliate.
Possesses speaking proficiency of intermediate-mid and above (based on the “ACTFL oral proficiency guidelines 2012” )
Japanese is not his/her dominant language.*

*The dominant language is the language which a bilingual or multilingual speaker has greatest proficiency with and/or uses more often.

College Division

Based on teacher recommendation (and subject to review by the selection committee) applicants enter one of the two competition categories: Category I, II, and III. All applicants must satisfy all basic qualifications, as well as the relevant category-specific qualifications. Heritage speakers who satisfy 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 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: For instance, 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. This includes actual recipients of a summer scholarship offered by J.LIVE Talk.
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