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Hess Educational Organization
6 Reviews
57%Overall
Rating
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In our stimulating Western-style classes, students quickly become free thinkers who are creative and active learners. Our kindergarten children form strong bonds of love with their teachers during this crucial stage of development. Out of class, our Young Scholar’s and Junior High school students study very hard to master a difficult discipline. In our exciting and interactive lessons these learners develop as much confidence as they do knowledge while they blossom into effective independent English speakers. More and more students are discovering their talents in our excellent program of performances, competitions and activities.
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Ratings and Reviews
25 of 47 people found this review helpful
Review of Hess in Taiwan.
80%Overall
Rating
23 of 42 people found this review helpful
Great time in Taiwan!
80%Overall
Rating
I had a really good time in Taiwan. I made a lot of great friends and the teaching atmosphere was great. The Hess branch I taught at was near Myanmar and it turned out to be a great school. Go try it out!
23 of 45 people found this review helpful
HESS Taichung
80%Overall
Rating
HESS is good if you are a first-time teacher, or if you want to get a job before you travel overseas. They give you brief training and help you find a house and get set up. Your experience mostly depends on the individual branch you work at - mine was well-organised with friendly staff who were very helpful, and the other foreign teachers were great. The pay is pretty standard for new teachers - if you are qualified, you could get much better pay. The materials and lesson plans are all prepared for you. HESS has kindy classes too which is great for energetic people.
23 of 45 people found this review helpful
Hess Language School, Taichung, Taiwan
80%Overall
Rating
This is a great place to start for first-time teachers. The lesson plans are given to you, you have a 10 initial training, followed by a few days observing other teachers, and they organise all the paper work and visas for you. Some people have a great time, some have a miserable time, it's very much dependent on individual attitude and also the branch you are assigned to. It's definitely worth a shot!
29 of 46 people found this review helpful
Don't risk it
10%Overall
Rating
While it's true that the quality of Hess varies from branch to branch, you really have no way of knowing what you are getting until you are locked into a contract. The owner of Hess is in it for the money. Period. The managers are kept not based on how they treat their teachers, but on how the numbers look. They promise so much, but in my case NONE of it was delivered. They messed up my visa paperwork, my health insurance card, and they made mistakes in my pay EVERY month...it just happened that the mistakes worked out in their favor. Hess has systemic problems that start from the top; while there are so great people who work there, it's really hit and miss-and all of the craziest people I met in my years in Taiwan were at Hess! I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone-the horror stories far outweigh the good experiences once you are here and talk to a variety of people who have worked there. My advice is look elsewhere, anywhere else....
28 of 42 people found this review helpful
Teaching English in Taiwan-Hess Review
10%Overall
Rating
Accepting an offer of employment from Hess Language School
Accepting an offer of employment from Hess Language School to teach English in Taiwan; the offer of employment from Hess can make you feel rather secure about putting up all that money and travelling to Taiwan for Hess’s training programme, but it is very important to bear in mind that candidates only have a prospect of gaining employment with Hess at the end of training.
The offer of employment is dependant on successfully passing training. Hess training is more akin to a selection process, or a nine day job interview, coupled with assessments and testing throughout. To actually be employed by Hess, as an English language teacher in Taiwan, a candidate must successfully pass this.
Training is, in my view, conducted very rapidly, one could speculate, to minimise cost. A major problem for trainees is that assessed practical demonstrations are given with only very limited and arguably inadequate amounts of time for adequate preparation. Demonstrations must be carried out in accordance with the Hess curriculum and Hess teaching style, which the trainers go through rapidly. There are also daily tests and a final exam at the end of training to contend with.
If you are not adept at public speaking you will most likely struggle with training, as you will be required to use Hess teaching methods to teach from the Hess curriculum, in front of assessors and your classmates, throughout training.
I am aware of a trainee who was told by Hess’s Head Trainer that his demonstrations were average, after only his third ever attempt at one in his life, and that as a consequence he would not be offered a contract with Hess; this was despite Hess being fully aware that he had never before taught English when they made him the offer of employment in the first place. In this persons case he had travelled from the other side of the world to take up Hess’s offer of employment. If your scores are, likewise, rather average you can expect to be similarly removed from training, and refused a position with Hess.
If you wish to teach English in Taiwan, and you are looking for employment before you get there, I recommend finding another alternative. I would additionally recommend that if you do decide to go, be prepared to find work once you get there. Also, check out this website it may help: tealit (dot) com.
This program was great because it required no previous teaching experience, but Hess walked you through the process and let you sit in on other classes for a week or so before you start to teach. The Taiwanese co-teachers were all very helpful and supportive, and the teaching material was thorough and self-explanatory.
My only big complaint is that I had to teach 6 days a week between two schools, so the back and forth got a bit tedious and stressful at times. Be sure to arrange a schedule with Hess that you can handle!