Comparing English Enrichment Programmes

[durianlove1974]

slmkhoo:

Did he attend preschool? What did he learn there? What language do you speak at home? Is his spoken English OK? Meaning, does he use complete sentences, decent grammar and vocab? Do you read to him at home? Does his school have some kind of learning support programme? You can ask his teacher.


Not all kids find phonics useful in learning to read. Some kids learn by whole word recognition, then work 'backwards' to figure out some phonics rules. So it could be that phonics is not the best way for him to learn to read.

I can't advise you about tuition, but however busy you are, can you spend 15 mins a day reading to your son? Don't teach or test him during the time, but just read for enjoyment. Choose something he wants to hear, and let him learn to enjoy the world of words. Over time, he will improve his mastery of English, and will gradually pick up the reading habit. Hope this helps.

I second this! Best if it is 30 min to 1 hr.

[Ivy karena]

happyheart:

Ivy karena:

Dear Mummies,


Please help to advise wat kind of tuition or enrichment class at a really affordable fees.. to go for as my P1 son doesn't really know a lot of words in English, cannot really read...as he does not have a basic foundation in reading, phonics, etc.......

At wits end...I cannot coach him personally as I'm a working mother & also lack of patience... :oops:

Need advise URGENTLY.....

Thanks in Advance~~~

English is a language subject and foundation is very important. Since you are unable to coach, you may consider enrolling him with tuition centre like I CAN READ that focuses on teaching phonics. I am sure there are othercentre that you can explore. Once your son know how to read using phonics, words will come easy to him and he will start to enjoy reading. Please do not panic since he is only in P1. I believed there is no major exam at lower primary. He still has time to catch up.

Ya, really thinking of enrolling him in phonics class. Ha can speak well in English. But when it comes to asking him to read story books, he was like STUNNED. :roll:

When give him assessments to do, he cannot read the instructions... :roll:

[Ivy karena]

slmkhoo:

Did he attend preschool? What did he learn there? What language do you speak at home? Is his spoken English OK? Meaning, does he use complete sentences, decent grammar and vocab? Do you read to him at home? Does his school have some kind of learning support programme? You can ask his teacher.


Not all kids find phonics useful in learning to read. Some kids learn by whole word recognition, then work 'backwards' to figure out some phonics rules. So it could be that phonics is not the best way for him to learn to read.

I can't advise you about tuition, but however busy you are, can you spend 15 mins a day reading to your son? Don't teach or test him during the time, but just read for enjoyment. Choose something he wants to hear, and let him learn to enjoy the world of words. Over time, he will improve his mastery of English, and will gradually pick up the reading habit. Hope this helps.

Yup, previously was with PCF, doesn't really learn much. He can speak well in English as we talk to him in English at home. Spelling wise slowly picking up..but when comes to reading story books & instructions on the assessments, he was totally LOST.... :scared:

Really worried abt his studies.. cannot cope.... :gloomy:

[ngl2010]

Ivy karena:

slmkhoo:

Did he attend preschool? What did he learn there? What language do you speak at home? Is his spoken English OK? Meaning, does he use complete sentences, decent grammar and vocab? Do you read to him at home? Does his school have some kind of learning support programme? You can ask his teacher.


Not all kids find phonics useful in learning to read. Some kids learn by whole word recognition, then work 'backwards' to figure out some phonics rules. So it could be that phonics is not the best way for him to learn to read.

I can't advise you about tuition, but however busy you are, can you spend 15 mins a day reading to your son? Don't teach or test him during the time, but just read for enjoyment. Choose something he wants to hear, and let him learn to enjoy the world of words. Over time, he will improve his mastery of English, and will gradually pick up the reading habit. Hope this helps.

Yup, previously was with PCF, doesn't really learn much. He can speak well in English as we talk to him in English at home. Spelling wise slowly picking up..but when comes to reading story books & instructions on the assessments, he was totally LOST.... :scared:

Really worried abt his studies.. cannot cope.... :gloomy:

My son picked up reading from watching Thomas The Tank Engine videos when he was about 4 years old. He didn't attend any preschool at that time. As the story is narrated slowly and the words are on the screen (just like karaoke), he managed to match the words and the sound so his reading skills began from there. Maybe you can try if your son still interested in Thomas The Tank Engine?

[sharonkhoo]

Ivy karena:

Yup, previously was with PCF, doesn't really learn much. He can speak well in English as we talk to him in English at home. Spelling wise slowly picking up..but when comes to reading story books & instructions on the assessments, he was totally LOST.... :scared:

Really worried abt his studies.. cannot cope.... :gloomy:

What feedback have you received from teachers? Has he been tested for dyslexia? Don't worry about the other subjects yet as long as he understands the concepts taught in class. Settle the reading issue first. I have seen many non-English-speaking kids start in pr school with hardly any English, but once they start understanding English and get the hang of reading, they can catch up quite fast.

[ammonite]

Check his vision too. Ask him to describe what he sees on the page. Does he see a clear image of the word, or are there multiple images that shift or are blurry etc. Do speak to his teachers about the difficulties because it must be very hard for him in school.

[iLoveChubby]

Ivy karena:

Yup, previously was with PCF, doesn't really learn much. He can speak well in English as we talk to him in English at home. Spelling wise slowly picking up..but when comes to reading story books & instructions on the assessments, he was totally LOST.... :scared:

Really worried abt his studies.. cannot cope.... :gloomy:

You may want to read storybooks TO HIM or WITH him as he might not be confident enough to read a whole book by himself yet.
Like slmkhoo has mentioned, min 15 mins a day is good enough.
Also on the selection of books - start with picture books, read the lines together with him, get him interested with the different themes, build up his confidence before you move on to very simple chapter books.

Mindstretchers and Just Ed are few centres that are affordable but with v big class size. However I reckon your kid may need a centre that can give him the attention (ie smaller class size) or you may wish to consider private tutor(at P1 level, you can get undergrads to teach, not nec to pay high rates to qualified MOE teachers).

[Coolkidsrock2]

I agree with the suggestion on checking on his vision as well.


Sample of the visual difficulties which may be experienced can be found in the weblink below. My DS has visual processing concerns and this had improved with therapy. Tuition will not help if there are other concerns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meares-Irlen_Syndrome

[mummy so kiasu]

durianlove1974:

slmkhoo:

Did he attend preschool? What did he learn there? What language do you speak at home? Is his spoken English OK? Meaning, does he use complete sentences, decent grammar and vocab? Do you read to him at home? Does his school have some kind of learning support programme? You can ask his teacher.


Not all kids find phonics useful in learning to read. Some kids learn by whole word recognition, then work 'backwards' to figure out some phonics rules. So it could be that phonics is not the best way for him to learn to read.

I can't advise you about tuition, but however busy you are, can you spend 15 mins a day reading to your son? Don't teach or test him during the time, but just read for enjoyment. Choose something he wants to hear, and let him learn to enjoy the world of words. Over time, he will improve his mastery of English, and will gradually pick up the reading habit. Hope this helps.

I second this! Best if it is 30 min to 1 hr.

Agreed. No short cut. Bed time story is a must. Once a week tuition can't help much. Mummy needs to put in some effort in order to get better results. Start with reading at least one bedtime story a day. It can also help to cultivate his interest in reading.

[senseimichael]

mummy so kiasu:

Agreed. No short cut. Bed time story is a must. Once a week tuition can't help much. Mummy needs to put in some effort in order to get better results. Start with reading at least one bedtime story a day. It can also help to cultivate his interest in reading.

I second this too. I am a daddy and not a mummy, but my firstborn benefited a lot from my bedtime reading when he was a toddler. Mummy has since taken over the role for my third son, but it is still a very important role.