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HESS International Educational Group (Traditional Chinese: 何嘉仁國際文團隊; Pinyin: Héjiārén Wénjiào Jīgòu) is the single largest private provider of English education in Taiwan (Republic of China). Hess has an estimated 60,000 students enrolled. Founded in 1983 by Joseph Chu and Karen Hess, it has become a large business, with schools across the island.〔("About Hess" ) Hess Educational Organization Website, accessed 2006-09-10.〕 Hess also provides books and resources to other English schools across Asia to teach English as a foreign language, and has a chain of bookstores, which was founded in 1990.〔("Hess Bookstore" ) Hess Educational Organization Website, accessed 2006-09-10.〕 In addition to the ROC, Hess also has branches in Singapore, Mainland China, and South Korea as well as connections to Japan. Hess hires native-speaking English teachers from countries where English is the primary language. As per Taiwan government law, these include the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.〔("Native Speaking English Teachers Requirements" ) Hess Educational Organization Website, accessed 2006-09-10〕 After one year of employment, Hess employees earn a TEFL certificate, but it is not affiliated with any outside official educational body.〔("Native Speaking English Teachers Introduction" ) Hess Educational Organization Website, accessed 2006-09-10.〕 All foreign teachers working for Hess are legally employed to work as Native-Speaking Teachers (NSTs) in the ROC, and Hess offers document-processing assistance to all its staff. Like most employers in Taiwan, Hess aids new teachers to join the national healthcare program and contributes part of the costs on a monthly basis. ==Core curriculum== The primary curriculum of Hess instruction is the Step Ahead series (formerly called the "N series"), aimed at elementary school children. Step Ahead consists of 16 levels lasting three months each and is meant to go from third grade to junior high school level.〔("Elementary School Programs" ) Hess Educational Organization Website, accessed 2006-09-10.〕 For children in grades 1-2, there is the Kids Club or Kids World series (or "K series" for short), which has eight levels.〔 At the junior high level, Hess has developed several curricula for further study. Hess has several adult learning courses through its International Studies Institute.〔("Adult English Programs" ) Hess Educational Organization Website, accessed 2006-09-10.〕 Hess has several key books that comprise their curriculum for students: *KK/Phonics - The first thing students learn. The KK method of noting phonetic sounds is used. In higher levels, the Phonics book is replaced by one with a focus on KK instruction. *Reading - Each of the 16 levels has a different reading book to introduce vocabulary and grammar. *Patterns - The book focuses on grammar, such as verb tenses, the making of questions (who, what, when, where, why, how), comparative and superlative adjectives, the passive voice, etc. *Student Book - contains activities and conversations that students use to practice their English. Hess writes and produces its own curriculum, from books to audio CDs to props and artwork. Authors for Hess curriculum include teaching specialists, design specialists and current and former Hess teachers. Hess has published supplements to their primary curriculum, including storybooks for children, English learning CDs and DVDs, and activity books containing classroom games and projects. Hess publishes secondary curriculum materials for use at other schools. However, the core books are exclusive to Hess schools. According to Hess, it has published more than 1,000 different titles, with 800,000 books used by students each year.〔("Hess Publishing Company" ) Hess Educational Organization Website, accessed 2006-09-10.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hess Educational Organization」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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