J.LIVE 2017 Report

2017 JLIVE finalists standing with certificates — *Watch the competition on Youtube (video by Brayboy Creative Video)*

On Sunday, November 5th, nine finalists from colleges and universities across the United States competed to win trips to Japan, scholarships and cash prizes at the third annual J.LIVE Talk 2017, held at The George Washington University.

J.LIVE (Japanese Learning Inspired Vision and Engagement) Talk 2017 invites college level Japanese learners to showcase their 21st century presentation and communication skills. The competition encourages contestants to make use of audio-visual materials, audience interactions, and other innovations to enhance the messages they deliver in Japanese.

This year, the judging committee received over 30 video entries from 13 universities in eight states, including California, Wisconsin and Ohio. The nine finalists were selected as a result of the preliminary and semi-final rounds by two separate judging panels.

On the day of the final round, an audience of over 130 watched the nine finalists give their presentations live. A panel of five final round judges (Mr. Takehiro Shimada of Embassy of Japan, Mr. Shin’ichi Hori of Mitsui Co., Dr. Nanako Machida of Nanzan University, Ms. Chiyo Kobayashi of Washington CORE, and Ms. Kyoko Vaughan of Hayfield Secondary School) evaluated each presentation by taking into consideration not only the speakers’ linguistic proficiency, but also their presentation’s vision, charisma, and audience engagement. Judges also evaluated each speaker’s interpersonal skills by asking them two or three questions in Japanese. Then audience members were given the chance to ask questions, although these answers were not directly taken into account by the judges.

Winners

Gold Award Winner: David Burnett, University of Wisconsin-Madison: お笑いが教えてくれたこと 'What comedies have taught me'
Silver Award Winner: Asma Khan**, University of Maryland, Baltimore: コミュニティーカレッジでの経験 'Experiences at a community college' **Ms. Khan also won the Kakehashi Award.
Bronze Award Winner: Herbert Fletcher, Georgetown University: レベルアップ 'Level up'

Gold Award Winner: Gus Holdrich, Baylor University: 家族 'Family'
Silver Award Winner: Kevin Yuan, Georgetown University: 言葉の力 'The power of language'
Bronze Award Winner: Youyou Huang, Georgetown University: 孤児院ボランティアの重要性 'The importance of volunteer workers for orphanages'

Gold Award Winner: Yi Zhao, George Washington University: 音楽 'Music'
Silver Award Winner: Logan Lampkins, University of North Carolina, Charlotte: 日本とアメリカのテーマパークの比較 'A comparison of Japanese and US theme parks'
Bronze Award Winner: Jennifer Shin, Johns Hopkins University, SAIS: 電車の中の日本 'Japan as seen on the trains'

Cash awards of $300, $200 and $100 were presented respectively to the Gold, Silver, Bronze award winners of each category. Gold award winners also received incredible prizes in the form of trips to Japan. The Category I Gold award winner, Mr. David Burnett, received a scholarship for an eight-week summer intensive Japanese language course at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan, along with an ANA round-trip ticket from the U.S. to Japan and a living stipend of $3,300. The Category II Gold award winner, Mr. Gus Holdrich, received a scholarship for a six-week summer intensive Japanese language course at the Naganuma School, along with an ANA round-trip ticket from the U.S. to Japan and a living stipend of $2700. The Category III Gold award winner, Mr. Yi Zhao, received an ANA round trip ticket from the U.S. to Japan.

Kakehashi Award

Ms. Asma Khan received the special Kakehashi Award: participation in an all-expenses paid group tour of Japan from January 8 to 16 in 2018, fully sponsored and organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC. It was given to Ms. Khan on the basis of her suitability to represent the United States as a “friendship ambassador” and on the merit of her final presentation’s topic and delivery.

Guests and Sponsors

In addition to watching excellent presentations, the J.LIVE Talk audience also got the chance to learn about the Japan-America relationship in a variety of ways. A networking breakfast was held before the competition, and speakers from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, USA, JET Alumni Association in Washington, D.C., Kizuna Across Cultures, Waseda University, and Washington Japanese Heritage Center shared information on their programs and initiatives. In the Exhibit Room, contestants and audience members alike were able to speak face to face with representatives from the JET program, the Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese (MAATJ), Nanzan University, and TOP NY in order to explore career paths beyond university and other opportunities. The Kinokuniya Bookstore booth also featured goods for Japanese language learners.