Testimonials - TEFL Teachers

Our selection process, training, curricula, resource materials and professional environment ensure that every Hess teacher is passionate about educating their students. Our local and foreign teachers are patient, energetic, loving and intelligent. Foreign teachers, immersed in the exciting and challenging experience of living in another culture, are amazed by the warmth and friendship with which the Taiwanese welcome them.

Penny Cavanagh
CANADA

My name is Penny Cavanagh. In Calgary, Canada I was a retail manager for about 7 years and did some classical singing. I am currently 25 years old and have been working for Hess for just over 2 years. My first 10 months were in Hualien and the remainder in Taipei and Singapore.

I have had an incredible experience in Taiwan. I am a shy person but I am also adventurous. I have had the opportunity to teach English with Hess as well as work at main office as a project coordinator and in Singapore as a summer camp support coordinator. This year I took on the challenge of becoming a Head Teacher.
Teaching overseas is overwhelmingly good for you, heart and soul. You have a chance to teach wonderful kids, travel inexpensively, meet terrific people, and test yourself to the limit living in a different culture.

The most valuable and portable things I own are my experience and education. I haven't just taken a bite out of my debt; I paid it all off – about $8,000 Canadian in my first year. In my second year, I saved $10,000 after I paid off my return ticket and my college tuition and books of $2,500. I feel great about how much better my finances are now and I haven't had to scrimp. I have traveled to lots of places like Hong Kong, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and around the island. I have even taken up the very Taiwanese past time of shopping to no ill effect! I have probably read about 150 books and had time to enter a short story writing contest and will do it again this year.

Jean-Christophe Guedon

CANADA

When I decided to take the Hess TEFL training, I had no formal experience teaching English.  I was one of those English speakers who could tell you that something grammatically incorrect, but I had no idea why besides “it just sounded wrong.”  I remember being in training feeling like I was on information overload, there was so much I needed to learn and training only lasted a week.

After my week training with Hess, I still felt confused, but I had gained so many skills.  I didn’t really realize how much I had learned until I taught my first few classes.  Suddenly all those hours of training started to make sense.  I felt that I had actually begun to decipher the knowledge needed to effectively transmit ideas and concepts in a way that students would be able to grasp.  I know that had I entered the classroom without the training, I would have been lost and it would have taken me at least ten times more work to get to where I am know in my teaching career.

It has been almost seven years since I did my TEFL training with Hess and I still think back to my training often.  In fact I now do some training myself and I always try to compare myself to my trainers to make sure I am maintaining the high quality training I was fortunate enough to get.  I was inspired by the passion of my trainers, and this taught me to be the best teacher I can be.  Now, I am a parent myself and I feel confident that those same skills I learned in my TEFL training have made me a more effective parent. 

If you have a genuine interest in becoming a teacher, you need to make sure you the training to prepare yourself for the classroom.  Being a teacher is more responsibility than most jobs as you have the power to teach, to inspire and to develop young minds.  There is nothing we can do that is more important that that!

Joshua Wong

CANADA

The training at Hess helped in the classroom in many different ways.  First, being grouped with other new teachers during the initial training, helped me to learn more comfortably.  It gave me a sense of security in a foreign country to learn with others like me.  Watching all the videos, observing actual classes, doing the lesson plans and teaching demos provided a good foundation for teaching.  The follow-up trainings were also really helpful as they brought back the groups of new teachers together to discuss successes and challenges and explore solutions.   Overall the Hess training helped lay the bricks for a strong foundation of teaching principles which I was able to build on day by day, and lesson by lesson.

After leaving teaching, I returned to Canada and started a career in banking.  The idea of being well-prepared for a class, helps me prepare for each client meeting I have.  In addition, I tend to use more visuals, hand gestures, and examples to help explain investment concepts to clients.  Because of the Hess training, I learned that people learn at different speeds.  It's funny but the same goes with banking.  You can't assume that everyone is at the same level and you must adjust your communication to fit your audience whether they are students or clients.  I am very grateful for the valuable lessons that the Hess training provided me with for teaching English as a Foreign language.  I am even more thankful that these lessons have helped me in my job as a banker. 

Lara Christensen

CANADA

In June 2004, after teaching my tenth year in Canada, I took a leave, hopped on plane and jet setted for Taiwan. My childhood friend was there and had been bugging me for years to come teach with him. I had visited him in Taiwan in 1999 so knew a bit of what to expect, but honestly a short visit does not let you see or enjoy that true personality of Taiwan and Hess.

My job, once there, was to teach Kindergarten in the morning and work for the curriculum department in the afternoon, writing Kindergarten curriculum and the music for all others. I had to be trained on how to teach. I was skeptical that I could really be taught anything new about teaching, after all I had been teaching for 10 years. However, at the training I learned a lot of great and new ways to teach students. I even still use strategies I learned in the training now that I am back home teaching again.

The trainers were professional but fun and really knew their stuff. Because I had been at Main Office a few days I did know some of them already, mostly just by name. One Kiwi trainer did catch my eye, which was NOT in my plan when I took my year’s leave from home. Eventually the harassing I received by Chris in training turned into more.

For the next year we spent lots of time together as a couple and with our large group of friends. It was wonderful to share with someone the tales of the teaching and the insanity (but great fun) of driving a scooter through Taipei. There were trips to parts of the island, new food to eat, parties to attend, and trips to Hong Kong, China and the Philippines. We were also busy with work but loved our Kindergarten kids and challenges at Main Office.

For me, teaching Kindergarten was a definite highlight. Watching 3 years olds go from speaking no English to singing “You Are My Sunshine” to me at my farewell party is something I will never forget.

At the end of my year’s leave, I came to realize how much I loved Taiwan, my students, my friends and colleagues and of course, Chris, so decided to extend my leave by another year. During my second year, my parents and Chris’ parents both came to Taiwan to meet each other. It was an amazing time showing them our life in Taiwan. They got to experience Hess Kindergarten Christmas parties as well as the sights and sounds of Taipei. Everyone got along and it was around this time that we decided Chris would apply to immigrate to Canada.
We stayed working for Hess for another 9 months and then, after many goodbyes and shed tears, Chris and I packed our bags and made our way to Canada. We decided to take the long way home. Starting in Western China (Kashgar), we travelled by train, east to Beijing. Then it was onto the Trans-Siberian through Mongolia to St. Petersburg. From there we took the train through to Prague and all around Europe, finally catching a plane in Glasgow to head home to Calgary. It was an incredible 3 months and our experience of living in a foreign country was very helpful.

We have now been home in Canada for 5 years. Taiwan and Hess are never far from our thoughts. We keep in touch with good friends and often talk about all the great times we had. In July 2005 we were married. A couple of our friends from Taiwan even made the trek over for the wedding. And now, we have two children! It is Taiwan and Hess that brought us together and we will never forget it. We were just asked the other day, “would we go back?” Our answer, “You bet!"

Brian Kut

I really enjoyed the Hess TEFL course, I learned a lot of new teaching methodology and found myself thoroughly intrigues.  The instructors are also able to consistently keep the material fresh and engaging.  I now feel pressure to venture out into the world and put what I have learned in this 9 days to good use

Natalie Vardabasso

Hess, as an institution, is professional and helpful and the TEFL course provides explicit training for anyone wanting to teach overseas.  The principles of teaching learned in the course can also be applied to any teaching experience in Canada.  The instructors are particularly engaging and friendly, making this intensive course an overall fulfilling experience.

Testimonials - TEFL Teachers

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