Our Students
Who are our students?
All data below is current as of March 2010. Please note: data is based on all students since the school first started, so may not reflect current trends.
We have had students from a total of 61 countries. The breakdown of nationalities is as follows:
Japanese level of students when they started with us:
Age distribution of our students:
Students' preferred accommodation option:
Number of students choosing each study length:
Number of students multiplied by corresponding study length:
57% of our students were male, and 43% female.
Student Interviews
Check our video page, and our blog!
Testimonials
96% of GenkiJACS students say they would come back again!
Here's what our students had to say about us:
- "The teachers are awesome!"
- "Great location!"
- "I had a great host family. They were very welcoming, and always tried to make my stay in Fukuoka fun and interesting. I was very happy with them."
- "I was pleasantly surprised. You feel almost part of a family here. The teachers were open to talk about what you want. They aren't afraid to stray from the lesson. I learned a ton!"
- "The atmosphere was very welcoming and supportive. I had a great time and learnt a lot. I'd come again!"
- "I live in America. Coming to Japan is obviously a big deal. And still, I would certainly consider returning to GenkiJACS. Thank you!"
- "Very good teachers, small classes. If I were to come back to learn Japanese, I would come here."
- "My host family has been very kind and helpful. Thank you for finding a good place for me to homestay. Without them I couldn't have managed to settle here."
- "I really appreciated how open the teachers were to questions and suggestions. The trips were also very educational and fun."
- "Great senseis, fun lessons, a good way to teach conversation."
- "I was surprised by the friendliness and amount of teacher/student interaction outside of the classroom."
- "The classes were relaxed and interesting and the teachers could easily explain things I had trouble with."
- "I want to come back here the next time I come to Japan to study! It was a great experience with which to finish my time in Japan. Thanks so much to everyone at GenkiJACS!"
- "Very high standard of teachers and service."
- "Friendly and competent teachers! Also, the very small class sizes. It is a large plus that you do not put students with different levels into one class in order to reduce the number of classes!"
- "Relaxed atmosphere, friendly teachers with excellent teaching skills! Small groups!"
- "The teachers and classes: good attitude and always listening to wishes about class content."
- "My host family was the best! They are really nice people and if you need something they will help you!"
- Host family have been wonderful, very kind and helpful."
- "I really loved the atmosphere and the teachers. The teachers are absolutely great and I that I learned here a lot more than the past 2 years at Germany. Genki 1/2 are the best textbooks for learning Japanese!"
- "The homestay was fantastic. I could not have asked for a better homestay experience."
- "Couldn't ask for nicer host families!"
Meryl Gormand, France
I recommend GenkiJACS School to anyone who wants to learn and practice Japanese in a fun and efficient way. It is a GREAT school. First of all, the staff is wonderful. They are nice and understanding and they will help you with any problems you might encounter. The teachers are well-qualified and they will do everything to make you feel comfortable and make sure that you learn at your own pace. Plus, the classes are small (we were only two students in my class); so, you have like private classes for a really good price.
Furthermore, the school atmosphere is fun. You get to party with the staff as they often organized gatherings, which most of the time includes tasty Japanese food!!! Also, the school is at a very convenient location since it is in the center of Fukuoka, only 5 minutes away from the main train station.
Regarding the homestay, I have been staying in a host family in which I had such a great time. They were so nice and I got to practice the Japanese I learned at school when I came home at night. I also got the chance to learn about and experience the Japanese culture in a unique way.
So, to sum up, if you are looking for a Japanese language school, Genkijacs might be one of the best schools you can find in Japan!
Abs Tangri , United Kingdom
English Teacher
I was at GenkiJACS for about 3 weeks in the summer of 2005 and I cannot recommend this place enough. I had a great time there and would definitely go back again.
The teachers were top notch. In every instance they were able to teach to extremely high standards whilst simultaneously making interesting and, perhaps more importantly (especially for me), fun lessons. Whatever I am studying I will never improve if I am not enjoying the subject. The ethos instigated by the GenkiJACS' teachers meant that this was not a problem - it was always fun and consquently I was able to learn a lot on my intensive course.
Lessons aside there was lots to be done outside the school. I had been to Fukuoka many times before but I had never seen how beautiful it was. I hired a bike from the school during my 3 weeks there and regularly went exploring the city. It was surprising to find stunning beaches, serene parks and great shopping all situated so close to one another. For those of you interested in nightlife there is something going on every night though special mention must be made to the beach party thrown by the school. Yaki niku, birthday cake, birthday cake fights and beach American Football are just some of the highlights of that great night.
So there you go; great school, great teachers, great lessons, great city, great fun. If you decide to head to this city in Northern Kyushu I am sure you will not regret it.
Gavin Ferguson, America
Student
I am a U.S. university student, and I attended GenkiJACS from May 23 to June 17, 2005. During that time, I took a conversation course and a one-on-one lesson focused on reading Japanese fiction.
The courses at GenkiJACS were quite intense, but the teachers were enthusiastic and always went out of their way to come up with creative and enjoyable lessons. As one homework assignment, for example, I had to figure out the punch lines to several joke haikus about salarymen. For another lesson, we went to a nearby park and interviewed people about Japan. Because the lessons were so engaging, I looked forward to coming to class everyday.
Outside of class, the teachers at GenkiJACS were absurdly friendly and helpful. I gained much invaluable practice just speaking Japanese around the school and at various activities. They also went to great lengths to make sure everyone enjoyed their stay in Japan, taking us on field trips and offering movies at the school, for example. In addition, they were also there to lend a helping hand through various tribulations my classmates and I encountered.
Looking back, I am very pleased with the progress I made in the four weeks I studied at GenkiJACS. More importantly, however, I came away more motivated and better equipped to continue studying Japanese.
Alex Steinberg, Germany
Business Consultant
I volunteered to write this note of recommendation for Genki Japanese and Culture School, as I have been very delighted about the quality of teaching and the overall service. My name is Alex Steinberg, I am a business consultant and have studied many languages due to my work around the world. I studied at Genki from March 25 to May 15, 2005 in an intensive one-on-one course.
I strongly recommend Genki to you! The teachers are highly qualified, dedicated and warm-hearted. They have helped me to progress rapidly in my Japanese studies and made it a great study experience. I had a good feeling throughout the entire time.
Genki has a fresh philosophy of teaching and effectively responds to the individual needs of the student in a very flexible way! Beyond the course work, Genki has provided me with great additional help, such as finding an apartment, dealing with the landlord, and even introducing me to local people, so that I would have more practice to speak Japanese. Further Genki has given me much practical help such as finding my way around the city, running all sorts of errands and other interesting activities.
Genki is optimally located in the center of Fukuoka, allowing easy access to coffee shops, restaurants, and many interesting places to hang out before and after class. Fukuoka itself is a great city. Having traveled all over Japan, and having visited most of the main cities I find Fukuoka to be the most beautiful, convenient and fun city. The city offers many great parks, tourist attractions and places to hang out.
I strongly recommend Genki to you. You will have both a great study experience and fun! When I studied at Genki, I felt like part of a family!
Pascal Tremblay, Canada
Cirque du Soleil Staff
My name is Pascal. I’m from Montreal, Canada. I studied at GenkiJACS for only 2 months, but this is what I remember from it:
At that time, I had just started to learn Japanese, so my knowledge was very basic.
First of all, the most important thing when you study something is to have your own self motivation, but this alone is not enough if you are not being led by a professional teacher to direct that motivation. That’s the kind of guidance I got when I went to GenkiJACS. The teachers there really helped me to get into it. They made learning a funny and interesting experience.
The school is very dynamic, and the teaching quality set the standard for all other schools I attended (and I should mention that it hasn’t been equaled yet!). I would also recommend this school because it’s very inexpensive for that level of quality, and also because it’s located in Kyushu , which is to me the best place to live in Japan . The quality of living there can not be found anywhere else: the food, the people, the sea and of course GenkiJACS made my experience one that I will never forget.
I know finding a school from abroad is difficult, but I’m really glad I chose GenkiJACS.
I hope that you too have this great opportunity to learn and live Japanese culture in a friendly and professional environment. Gambate!
Aaron Chambers, Canada
Student
Genki JACS is a wonderful school. At Genki JACS one experiences an atmosphere conductive to learning but that is also very friendly and fun. The staff is excellent, helpful and easily some of the kindest people I have ever met. While I studied at Genki JACS my skills in Japanese advanced rapidly and, even more importantly, I was able to meet many nice people and experience the astonishing Japanese culture first hand. But not only that, I was also able to meet people from all over the world and learn many things, first hand about their cultures as well. Overall, Genki JACS is a school I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in learning Japanese language and about Japanese culture.
