Comparing Chinese Enrichment (Primary/Preschool)

[hquek]

24hr-mum:

for ch shows, let him watch sun 10am-11am kids drama


or watch playhse disney but turn the language to chinese mode

kid dependent. Mine will just ignore the tv totally if program is in chinese and there are no subtitles. Except! for xi yang yang...that's the only show he watches.

[Fuzz]

ADave:

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!

Hi ADave, sorry I don't know any tutor in Jurong area. The one my boy goes to is in Tampines near where my parents stay. Hope you can find someone soon. All the best!

[krazy]

we just got back from a trial class at Berries. Sad to say, i was not impressed. The teacher seemed unprepared and the teacher assistant wasn't of help too.


During the story telling time, the one with the ppt presentation, the teacher got the teacher assistant to tell the story but she was tongue tied after like 2 slides and then the teacher took over.

What is the ratio of teacher to pupils in the class? Cuz the teacher wasnt able to handle the children and they were noisy. I sat in the class during the session and i could hear other children running outside the classroom. They were also shouting and knocking into the walls and i could hear them from inside the classroom.

I wonder if this is just with this centre or are things better at other centres?

The reading materials are good though so i dont want to strike out Berries as yet... Just a little disappointed with the trial.

[lostbunny]

krazy:

we just got back from a trial class at Berries. Sad to say, i was not impressed. The teacher seemed unprepared and the teacher assistant wasn't of help too.


During the story telling time, the one with the ppt presentation, the teacher got the teacher assistant to tell the story but she was tongue tied after like 2 slides and then the teacher took over.

What is the ratio of teacher to pupils in the class? Cuz the teacher wasnt able to handle the children and they were noisy. I sat in the class during the session and i could hear other children running outside the classroom. They were also shouting and knocking into the walls and i could hear them from inside the classroom.

I wonder if this is just with this centre or are things better at other centres?

The reading materials are good though so i dont want to strike out Berries as yet... Just a little disappointed with the trial.

I think it depends on the centre and the teacher. My colleague just feedback to me that her girl recently attended a trial class in Tampines Central and she loves it.

[LittleLambie]

krazy:

we just got back from a trial class at Berries. Sad to say, i was not impressed. The teacher seemed unprepared and the teacher assistant wasn't of help too.


During the story telling time, the one with the ppt presentation, the teacher got the teacher assistant to tell the story but she was tongue tied after like 2 slides and then the teacher took over.

What is the ratio of teacher to pupils in the class? Cuz the teacher wasnt able to handle the children and they were noisy. I sat in the class during the session and i could hear other children running outside the classroom. They were also shouting and knocking into the walls and i could hear them from inside the classroom.

I wonder if this is just with this centre or are things better at other centres?

The reading materials are good though so i dont want to strike out Berries as yet... Just a little disappointed with the trial.

Which centre is this? :shock:

[Callie Tan]

lostbunny:

krazy:

we just got back from a trial class at Berries. Sad to say, i was not impressed. The teacher seemed unprepared and the teacher assistant wasn't of help too.


During the story telling time, the one with the ppt presentation, the teacher got the teacher assistant to tell the story but she was tongue tied after like 2 slides and then the teacher took over.

What is the ratio of teacher to pupils in the class? Cuz the teacher wasnt able to handle the children and they were noisy. I sat in the class during the session and i could hear other children running outside the classroom. They were also shouting and knocking into the walls and i could hear them from inside the classroom.

I wonder if this is just with this centre or are things better at other centres?

The reading materials are good though so i dont want to strike out Berries as yet... Just a little disappointed with the trial.

I think it depends on the centre and the teacher. My colleague just feedback to me that her girl recently attended a trial class in Tampines Central and she loves it.

Yes it really depends on the teachers. My girl is in Tien Hsia. Luckily her K2 teacher last year was quite fierce beco there were these 2 naughty boys in the class... I saw other K2 classes were quite noisy as the teachers are not strict... So even in the same centre You will see different scenarios.

[krazy]

Little Lambie:

Just sent you a Private Message.

LittleLambie:

Which centre is this? :shock:

[wuff]

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,
Your kid's chinese tutor sounds great! Does the tutor teach them to read or recognise simple chinese words as well? Is it possible for u to send me his/her contact pls?

[Callie Tan]

wuff:

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,
Your kid's chinese tutor sounds great! Does the tutor teach them to read or recognise simple chinese words as well? Is it possible for u to send me his/her contact pls?

Actually I intend to do some formof fun teaching for chinese at home in additional to the school and her enrichment centre... any interesting ideas to share besides reading together and flash cards?

[Praline]

To make Chinese fun… I have several Chinese kids apps on my iPad and my 3 yr old girl loves to play with them. I also let her watch Chinese cartoons on YouTube like xiyangyang.