The Alternative Story (TAS) - Discussion

[Pigrabbiit]

ksmummy:

I have an extra copy of TAS's Creative writing book to sell(very good condition - bought another copy cos thought the previous one missing). PM me if interested.

Hi ksmummy,

I'm interested. Can I know if the book suits P1 kids? thank you

[jasmineong]

Ya, so far my kids’ teachers are also very dedicated and they teach very well. They have been under 3 different teachers before. The teachers standard of English seems good when I speak to them. Nowadays, they are advised to come at least 5-10 mins earlier

for revision on those areas that they are weak in for synthesis and grammar which is very useful to help them reinforce their weak points.

But important to keep checking if your child can understand. I think if your child could not understand, then also no point.

[JKKiasu]

Hi,

Is teacher Martin from TAS still at Singpost? What level does he teach?

[Laurenwkids]

From what I know yes, I have a friend whose child is P5 and is at Singapore Post but she is not under Teacher Martin but under Teacher Mae Ann. Both teach P5/6 at Singapore Post. I think the difference is Teacher Mae Ann’s class is more focused on high ability. You may need to call to find out if you can go for trial as I heard the class is full or almost full. Not sure, because I remember my friend saying the class is pretty full.

[applepie]

My kids are currently with both TAS and TLL. Was considering relieving them of their packed schedule by giving up one of them. Asked them and they said they will not give up TLL lessons no matter what. I am now undecided whether to continue to let them continue both or I will decide on their behalf.


In my opinion, TAS is setting a good English foundation for them but then, TLL’s incorporation of current affairs into their lessons which make it so interesting for the kids, have made me quite torn in making a decision.

Any advice ?

[kaka]

applepie:

My kids are currently with both TAS and TLL. Was considering relieving them of their packed schedule by giving up one of them. Asked them and they said they will not give up TLL lessons no matter what. I am now undecided whether to continue to let them continue both or I will decide on their behalf.


In my opinion, TAS is setting a good English foundation for them but then, TLL's incorporation of current affairs into their lessons which make it so interesting for the kids, have made me quite torn in making a decision.

Any advice ?

May I ask what is the reason for your kids' choice? Why they would not give up TLL (I heard the workload can be difficult and intensive)? Do they not like TAS lessons?

[glendt]

applepie:

My kids are currently with both TAS and TLL. Was considering relieving them of their packed schedule by giving up one of them. Asked them and they said they will not give up TLL lessons no matter what. I am now undecided whether to continue to let them continue both or I will decide on their behalf.


In my opinion, TAS is setting a good English foundation for them but then, TLL's incorporation of current affairs into their lessons which make it so interesting for the kids, have made me quite torn in making a decision.

Any advice ?

Same here My kids are both at TAS and TLL. At first I was a a bit pai seh to be so kiasu. But my kids like both and so for now we are staying with both.

My kids started with TLL first, now they are there and have many friends and so they are reluctant to leave. The learning for them is interesting as they get to do presentations and I find their worksheets very good and current.

However, as I find it is more like an enrichment and I wanted my kids to be strong in their grammar, synthesis and comprehension and also be able to tackle the compo component well, I sent them to TAS.

My kids are much more familiar with comprehension questions now and can tackle synthesis fairly well although the synthesis is getting harder and harder.

For composition, they also pick up the writing styles from TAS and I can see improvement. Also I realize that as the class progresses, TAS way of teaching also changes as the students advance. Now for compo recently, my kids were saying they were writing about darkness and being stuck in the lift and the teacher was teaching them how to come up with their own personification versus in the past where they would memorise the good phrases and apply. The teacher told me after they would adjust the strategies once the students grasp the previous way of learning and now they can advance to this higher level. So I am pleased with this, they do not keep using the same methods but try to fit the methods to the students.

But I must say I also like TLL a lot as they spark off interesting discussion topics and give my kids good general knowledge. My kids enjoy their lessons there too as they are interactive. If can manage time-wise, I say go for both as both give a different learning aspect of English.

[TTYL1]

Hi glendt and applypie,


May I know the difference in the teachers of TAS and TLL? Which teachers are stricter, or more engaging, give feedback etc? I think teachers are very important.

[glendt]

Teachers from both centres are good. At least those that my kids are under. They are professional and they can engage my kids well. I have spoken to TAS’s teachers more as they will give feedback to parents if you are there to pick up your children and you want to talk to them. For TLL teachers, there is no interaction so I base what I say on what I can pick up from what my kids say.


The TAS teacher that my older one is under is stricter but both TAS teachers expect certain rules to be followed like they need to bring their books all the time, they must do their homework if not they need to stay back at times. In this way, my kids are rather disciplined in their learning. For TLL, I am not too sure but my kids say the children in their class will listen when the teacher is teaching so I am sure they can control the class well.

[applepie]

Thanks glendt, i fully agree with your comments. anyway, we have decided to let them continue until end of the year before we make a decision.