The school is located in Yutenji, a warm residential neighborhood near Shibuya. Evergreen is about 3 min from Yutenji station, and near the school there are several restaurants, convenience stores and other local businesses. Classrooms and other facilities are situated on three floors. The first floor is designed to welcome visitors, and the 2nd and 3rd floors houses our classrooms.
There are 3 classrooms on the second floor and 2 classrooms on the third floor, each one equipped with computers, whiteboards, projectors and other equipment to make lessons more interactive and engaging for students.
The building has a lot of windows that let in natural light and brighten things up.
Based on years of experience with teaching Japanese, the texbooks choosen as the best fit to help students is without a doubt the みんなの日本語 `Minna no nihongo`. It has been proven over many years that this series gives beginner learners the right approach by introducing the first important grammar points through small lectures supported by constant attention by our teachers through further easy to understand slides and explanations.
Regarding the N3 level course, it will focus more on grammar, Kanji and listening exercises using different drill books. The textbooks of the N3 course are 中級を学ぼう (chukyu wo manabou). This textbook has two versions (a blue one and a green one), which divides the N3 course into two parts. The first part of the N3 level course will be based on the blue one which will help the students in that difficult transition from the N4 level to the N3, from simple readings to more demanding ones. After completing the first part of the course, you will be ready to switch to the green one, which will cover all the required points to take the JLPT N3 test and give you the right grip to use Japanese for every day conversation.
Regarding the N2/N1 level, considered the advanced levels, the school education system is more aimed to get you to pass the JLPT and build a solid base of a business Japanese knowledge essential if you want to work in Japan.
The textbook that will be with you during the advanced course is 上級で学ぶ日本語 (jokyu de manabu nihongo). The methodology used in this book is teaching through topics adequately explained by our teachers.
Japanese could be very hard to learn if you`re a self learner, and your mother tongue is English or a European Language. Bearing that in mind, here at EVERGREEN, after many years of experience teaching foreign lanuages, we`ve developed our own system and way to make the most out of helping you.
Lessons will be based on the main textbook of the course you`re using. Our teachers also use supplementary materials such as PowerPoint slides made by the teachers that focus on the student weaknesses and more in depth explanation.
Lessons will be interactive using the whiteboards and slides; in addition, questions will be posed to students along with explanations of grammar points from the books and then review them by doing exercises as a class.
Homework will be assigned on the topics studied, but we will try not to overwhelm you with it. EVERGREEN tries to give you the right balance between study and free time.
Kanji will be covered in the following way: the book is used to introduce the Kanji writing system, which will be the 漢字みんなの日本語. Every lesson is made up of 5 Kanji characters, and the next day, the Kanji will be repeated and 5 new Kanji will be introduced through short readings. Every Kanji will be broken down with an explanation on its meaning and pronunciations.
After completing the first two introduction Kanji books, the course will use the SOU MATOME N3 Kanji Book.
EVERGREEN Japanese School has a strict and selective criteria to choose its teachers. All of our teachers have acquired the right qualifications to teach Japanese. They are selected based on their experience and on their ability to interact with students!