Studying at Hua

Studying at Hua

At Hua, great importance is placed upon laying good foundations in language learning. Therefore, beginners are given extensive training in listening and articulation skills, through intensive sound exposure. Through this process of sound installation, students not only develop clear and accurate pronunciation, but also begin to understand the structures of English and the relationship between sound and script. With this in mind, Hua has developed a program of study that targets young learners who are able to absorb and reproduce sounds more easily. The program is divided into two stages: the Language Preparing Stage (KEEP/PRA, PRB）and the Language Developing stage（BLT1~4）

The Language Preparing Stage involves:

1. Using intensive Sound Exposure to train the students’ ears and to install all the sounds of English into their speech muscles so that they are able to articulate all the letters, vowel sounds, and consonant sounds.
2. Teaching students decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) skills through intensive sound exposure.
3. Making students aware of the intonation and rhythm of English, and teaching them to apply stress, contraction, elision and sound-linking skills through exposure to the teacher’s classroom language and training in reciting songs and nursery rhymes. Development of these skills leads to a greater language awareness and speaking fluency.
4. Learning to write neatly and correctly.
5. Laying solid foundations in all areas of English and helping students to become confident and interested in using English to communicate.

The Language Developing Stage involves:

1. Building upon the decoding and encoding skills introduced at the Language Preparing Stage.
2. Learning to communicate meaningfully through an increasing understanding of how language is structured according to syllables, chunks of meaning, and sentence stress.
3. Training students to use correct grammatical patterns, resulting in a developing awareness of the language and increasing speaking fluency.
4. Developing reading and writing skills.
5. Using a balanced combination of Sound Approach and Linguistic Approach to ensure that students develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills that will lead to communicative competency.

Class Organization

1. Each class period is 110 minutes long.
2. Each class period includes:

a. An oral quiz to check that students understand and remember what was taught in the previous lesson and that they have done their homework. This is also an opportunity for teachers to correct pronunciation and intonation, checking the progress of each student before moving on to the new material.

b. Presentation of new material using intensive sound exposure, flashcards, and other teaching aids. Students are expected to ask and answer questions and are encouraged to participate actively in each lesson, making the most of every opportunity to speak and therefore, to make progress.

c. A Dictation or recitation based on the main points of the lesson. This ensures that they go home with a correct piece of written or spoken English from which to review, and supplements their regular homework assignment.

d. Assignment of homework and checking of communication books For every class period, teachers and students must complete all four of these steps before the students are dismissed.

Assessment

1. Each semester, there is a mid-term and a final exam. Students who attain 70% or above can proceed to the next level.
2. On successful completion of each level, students will be awarded a certificate of achievement. In addition, students will receive an official certificate upon successful completion of the entire BLT course.
3. After each assessment, the top three students in each class will be named on their school’s Honor Roll and on the Hua website.
   

Rewards and Incentives

※Reward Vouchers

Any existing students who introduce a new student to Hua, will be entitled to receive a NT$500 voucher as soon as the new student has paid his/her fees and has completed the enrollment procedures. In addition, the new student will receive a complimentary articulation CD. (Not available for purchase.)

Note 1：Vouchers can only be used as part-payment towards tuition fees within the given period of validity. Vouchers that have passed the date of validity, are damaged, or lost, cannot be redeemed.
Note 2：Vouchers can only be issued if an application is made within two weeks of the new student’s enrollment. After this time, vouchers cannot be issued.

※Students from low income families

Hua Language Institute offers a 10% discount on tuition fees to those students who would like to study English, but are unable to due to genuine financial constraints. (Discounts of up to 50% are available depending on individual family circumstances.) Students who meet the following conditions are eligible to apply for tuition discounts:

1. Students attending any public or private junior high / elementary school in Taiwan。
2. Children from families registered by government or related organizations as low-income households.

Students who meet the above conditions should present the following documents to the branch secretary when registering:

（1）A photocopy of your household registration
（2）A photocopy of your proof of low-income status
（3）Copies of the student’s school report cards
（4） A brief letter of recommendation from a parent

Note 1：If a parent is registered as disabled, the above procedure applies, however, proof of disabled status is required instead of proof of low-income status.

Parental Observations

At Hua, we encourage parents to observe regular classes for two reasons:

1. By observing the class, parents gain a better understanding of what is being taught and the way the students interact in the classroom. Parents are also in a better position to help their children study at home. With this three-way cooperation, the learning process becomes more effective.
2. Parents who accompany their children to class can ensure that they travel to and from school safely.

Note 1：For KEEP classes, parents are free to observe the first four lessons only, as younger stud ents are more easily distracted by the presence of their parents.

How to help your child at home

In order to give your child more opportunities to practice English, you can encourage him / her review at home by:

1. Reviewing the main points of each lesson as recorded on his / her audiotape.
2. Checking your child’s communication book in order to keep track of what he / she is learning in class.
3. Checking that your child has completed all written / oral homework.
4. Encouraging your child to make use of Hua’s extra-curricular learning resources to continuously train their listening skills.
5. Making use of the techniques used in the classroom to teach your child at home.
6. Keeping in close contact with your child’s teacher(s) in order to understand and support your child.