Despite the increasing level of difficulty
to do well in primary schools,
the basics never really change,

so we know that for our children to do well in English, establishing a strong foundation is important.

The Misconception(s)

As parents of young children entering primary school, or have children already in primary schools, we usually try to prepare them to the best of our abilities. However, from there, most of us either do not act on it, or do not know exactly how to help our children establish that ‘all elusive’ strong foundation which many preach about but do not give specific steps to achieve. So we either bail, or listen to any hearsay-methods from equally clueless parents, or push the blame onto the (let’s face it) already stretched-too-thin teachers at school. Then when the situation gets worrisome, we consult people who say, let’s send our children for group tuition, says one parent. That place asks for expensive fees, so I think the teachers are really good, says the other parent. Oh that teacher is a tyrant, and that should help my child sit down and memorize the different tenses and the grammar rules, says yet another parent. But we need to consider what is suitable for learning style of our nimble child.

Request for English home tutor for a personalized approach in building my child’s foundation!

Primary school English taught is foundational, and it includes a lot of rules and to a large

extent, some form of memorization if one is serious about picking that language up. It is intuitive to some who already are exposed to the proper use of the language a lot, or are just naturally blessed with the flair for languages. However, to many others, what is intuitive to us is usually not the proper usage. Not first knowing, and then mastering the rules would lead to a situation which is not foreign to many students: having to choose between “has had” and “had” in a multiple choice question (MCQ) during the exams, getting it wrong, but then not exactly knowing why. The best case scenario then would be your child emerging from primary school, but still able to communicate effectively and speak in a convicted manner even though his/her command of English is not perfect. The worst case (and increasing case) of many students would be the lack of ability to communicate effectively, struggling to put together sentences, and having to rely on Singlish, sporadic Chinese or Malay words, to communicate. That is okay, with the laymen and in Singapore, but that would eventually be detrimental to his or her future in interviews or conversations with the top guns in the company he/she is working for!

Okay…I get it. So, do I trust the school teachers to do their jobs?

Yes, of course! Those teachers in the school your child is enrolled in right now are more often than not, not only qualified, but also extremely passionate about the subjects their teaching as well as educating your child(ren)! While not dismissing the above points, it is a fact that schools today (not just in Singapore) do not have teacher-student ratios that can ensure that your child gets that one-to-one attention he or she needs in order to benefit most from a class. When one teacher has to look after almost-40 children (in most primary schools), despite our desperate wishes that that teacher can be an octopus, they simply are not. So on top of teaching in class, they also have to ensure discipline, spend quality classroom time handling the difficult children.

Though we should not dismiss the fact that most of your child’s teachers are incredibly passionate, we cannot ignore the limitations of classroom teaching and the fact that most children cannot benefit most out of their education unless there is reinforcement outside the classroom.

 Sign up for English Tuition now to do something for my child’s future! 

So this is where you tell me, my child needs tuition…

Yes! And one-to-one tuition is recommended! The next question now would be: yeah, sure, I want the best for my kid too…but will that be worth it? I mean, especially at primary school level?!

The answer again will be yes and we will break it down into clear reasons:

• English is a universal language, and we cannot the stress the importance of your child mastering it, beginning from his/her young age. And he/she cannot master it unless he/she masters the basics, which are taught only in primary school! Many of the seconday school students we have come across fail to do well not because they have no potential but they (or their parents) failed to realize the problems of not mastering the basics of a language.
• Some researchers have gone ahead to try and convince us that your attention span (in minutes) is equivalent to your age (in numbers) at any given point. While we do not buy their theory fully (for every human being is different, and we refuse to believe that a 21year old can only focus for 21 minutes each time), the essence of their message is clear: a child can only focus for that long, and the length is compromised when the teacher student ratio is like 1:40. Hence, for that outside-classroom reinforcement, one-to-one tuition is helpful! But now your question is, wouldn’t it be decadent for my child to spend so much so young? Shouldn’t I let him/her take things in his/stride?
• Sure, but you don’t have to look upon tuition as a only a grade-boosting feat, look at this as an investment where your child will no longer have to struggle as much in future. Let this be a time where she learns and have fun as well! One-to-one tuition means that your tutor can cater activities to suit your child’s interest best! Look at it, also, maybe as a 2 hour nanny hour each week so you can take a breather, but with your mind knowing that your child is being educated, and taught instead of merely just playing with his/her toys and that the watchful eye is passionate about teaching as well!

This sounds oddly kiasu, but don’t let your child lose out on this! But not just for the sake of grades! Help your child build a strong English foundation for your, purely for the sake of learning and the enjoyment of the process!

 

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or call us at 9890 3415 NOW!

Tutor Qualification	Primary
Diploma	SGD 16-20
A-Level Graduate	SGD 18-20
Undergraduate/NIE Trainee	SGD 24-29
Graduate/Full-time Tutor	SGD 25-30
Current/Ex Teacher	SGD 35-50
*Tuition rates (hourly) above serves as a guideline only.