Comparing Chinese Enrichment (Primary/Preschool)

[mummy of 3]

Hi Twinkle 70,

My DD1 just started to go for chinese enrichment also.
Hope she understand what the teacher is teaching...

[swpf]

Hi, my daughter is k2 this year. She has no interest in Chinese. Her k1 teacher sort of complain she couldn’t even remember the 2 words she taught each day. My initial plan is to get a private tutor for her. But my friend said kindergarten students wouldnt like it as it is to dry. Should I put her in s&d class or enrichment class? Is it true that in p1 students are expected to know Han yu pin yin? Does this mean i must put girl to enrichment which teaches han yu pin yin? Can someone pls advise me… I am worried she cannot cope when she goes to primary school

[MMM]

Serendipity:

Thanks MMM!


Wonder what the charges are like? How long is each lesson? Thks!

It is $250 per term. 1 hr 15min each lesson.

[MMM]

swpf:

Hi, my daughter is k2 this year. She has no interest in Chinese. Her k1 teacher sort of complain she couldn't even remember the 2 words she taught each day. My initial plan is to get a private tutor for her. But my friend said kindergarten students wouldnt like it as it is to dry. Should I put her in s&d class or enrichment class? Is it true that in p1 students are expected to know Han yu pin yin? Does this mean i must put girl to enrichment which teaches han yu pin yin? Can someone pls advise me... I am worried she cannot cope when she goes to primary school

During 1st half of P1, the focus is on HYPY, so it's good for the kids to have that knowledge. But subsequent to that, while they are still being taught HYPY, Chinese characters will be the key. Eg. During compo writing, they are not allowed to substitute a chinese character with hypy.

Personally, I feel that it's good for kids to learn Chinese characters and have an interest before exposing them to HYPY. This probably explains why some centres will only start to teach HYPY towards end term 3 and beginning term 4. If the child is exposed to HYPY first, they may be over reliant and loses interest in chinese character recognition.

If possible, the school usually encourages family to have bilingual setting. eg. 1 parent speak to the kids in chinese and the other in english so that kids are exposed to both languages.

It's really subjective given the background,etc... eg. some are non chinese /speaker. This may sound extreme to some. But to us, since we are chinese, I told the kids that they must learn the language and there is no excuse for them to hate the language. In addition, I told them, there is potentially one day they have to work in China so they better master the mother tongue.

[Fuzz]

My boy is 4 and also weak in Chinese. He used to hate it and refuse to answer when we try speaking to him in Chinese.


A few months ago, I bought him some chinese cartoon dvds to try to make Chinese more fun. We also found him a tutor whom he likes v much and he has tuition with his cousin who’s also 4, so it’s more fun for both of them. The tuition is 2 hours but they spend at least 45min playing games or doing fun things like art/craft, and the whole time the tutor will be speaking in Chinese. I find it’s been v helpful. They seem to learn more when they’re having fun!

So if your kid hates Chinese, don’t keep forcing him/her to read books or write words etc. As long as they don’t enjoy it, they will never learn the language well.

I went through the same thing when I was young, hated chinese, but still managed to get B4 for o levels due to memorising everything and hours of tuition. But now my Chinese sucks and I can’t remember most of it. I learnt it only for the sake of exams and didn’t understand the importance of chinese at that time. We can’t expect our kids to know the value of it at their age and if they don’t enjoy it, they’ll never learn it well.

So if you’re choosing chinese enrichment or tuition, it’s a good idea to check their programme, see if it’s more hands-on and fun. Just my 2 cents worth!

[Champion]

twinkle70:

Hi..hi...


I am new here. My gal is in K2 this year. Thought of signing her up for Storyisland. Anyone has sent their children there and have something to share?? A bit worried now as think I maybe too late to start her for enrichment class...

Hi twinkle70, I have just dropped you a P.M. regarding Chinese Enrichment class for K2 around Jurong West area....

[ADave]

Fuzz:

My boy is 4 and also weak in Chinese. He used to hate it and refuse to answer when we try speaking to him in Chinese.


A few months ago, I bought him some chinese cartoon dvds to try to make Chinese more fun. We also found him a tutor whom he likes v much and he has tuition with his cousin who's also 4, so it's more fun for both of them. The tuition is 2 hours but they spend at least 45min playing games or doing fun things like art/craft, and the whole time the tutor will be speaking in Chinese. I find it's been v helpful. They seem to learn more when they're having fun!

So if your kid hates Chinese, don't keep forcing him/her to read books or write words etc. As long as they don't enjoy it, they will never learn the language well.

I went through the same thing when I was young, hated chinese, but still managed to get B4 for o levels due to memorising everything and hours of tuition. But now my Chinese sucks and I can't remember most of it. I learnt it only for the sake of exams and didn't understand the importance of chinese at that time. We can't expect our kids to know the value of it at their age and if they don't enjoy it, they'll never learn it well.

So if you're choosing chinese enrichment or tuition, it's a good idea to check their programme, see if it's more hands-on and fun. Just my 2 cents worth!

Hi Fuzz, my son is the same age as yours. We are malay family and mostly speak english at home with him. I am preparing him for mandarin as 2nd language for p1. We brought him to Tien Hsia for trial and he doesnt like it at all. The teacher also couldnt handle him :(. I am now thinking of getting a private tutor for him doing 1-1 and also someone who can translate back in english so its easier for us parents to keep track of his progress. We are residing in Jurong west. DO you know of any tutor? Thanks!

[mambobb]

yap_susan:

Hi Toddles,

I just realised I didn't answer your qn abt Tampines central branch. Not sure if it is newer/ better, but to me it is a bit far for me.

Hi yap_susan,

May I know how much is the course fee? My DD1 currently 4yo, which one should she attend? :?

[yap_susan]

Hi, per term is $385 not inclusive of readers and registration fees.

[Funz]

Cannot say anything about Berries since no experience with them.


DD and DS are with TH@JP since N2 till now they are in P2 and K2 respectively. So far, I will say I am pretty happy with TH. They follow the MOE syllabus pretty closely. So much so that at times, their tingxie list is similar to DD’s school’s list. As for teacher turnover, I think it happens everywhere, even in our kid’s primary school. However, I noticed so far, most of the teachers who take DD and DS in each level that they were in are still there taking that same age grp and they still remember my kids.

There is a pretty big change in the teaching method from preschool to primary school. For their preschool method, they were still taught many rhymes and they play games or act out the rhymes. And every end of term they have a performance for the parents. Once in P1, no such activities. All desk work, a lot of writing and from 1.5hrs extend to 2hrs. DD was complaining initially but eventually got used to it.