All About Getting Help for Students Weak in English
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Hi,
My gal also in K1 this yr, she’s also slow in learning… eg. i want her to learn to write and spell Jan to Dec, she can write but got problem to spell out when i give her in spelling… i did send her to phonics class for a yr but it doesn’t seem to improve, still can’t blend and try to pronounce on her own, unlike my elder boy who after attending 1 yr phonics, can read independently… -
Thanks to all parents who have responded to my mail so promptly. Yes, I do understand that teaching my son personally will yield the best results, and we're already doing that (spending around 30-60 mins with him every night). However, this pose a bit of a challenge cause both my husband and myself are working full time, and we also have to coach my younger daughter and eldest son.
That is why I'm thinking of engaging a tutor to take over some of the teaching sessions so that we can coach the other 2 kids.
Hi Tamarind, I've read many of your emails in this forum and have also checked out your blog previously. It's amazing that you can teach your son so well. Are you interested to provide tuition? I'm staying in Clementi. :lol: -
Every child learns differently. Some may do well on phonics, some need to learn using other methods.
I honestly think that there’s no such thing as ‘slow in learning’. It’s just that we have not discovered the child’s learning style.
Getting a tutor might help if the tutor knows that he/she is doing. However, you will still need to reinforce when the tutor is not around. -
hi isaiahmum,
I taught both my kids to read by using the Peter and Jane series of books, not the complete series, just 1 book from each level. I started them young, around 2+, if I rem right.
:? Is it really necessary for parents and kids to learn phonics? I've no problems with pronounciation/spelling despite not knowing phonics. -
mathsparks:
i also do without phonics...
:? Is it really necessary for parents and kids to learn phonics? I've no problems with pronounciation/spelling despite not knowing phonics.
Hi isaiahmum,
I think many boys are not interested in language. Yours happens to be one of them. I don't think your son is weak learner... you just need more patience and find out what might kind of books might hook him... -
:hi5: hyperkiasu! you're not so kiasu, afterall.
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isaiahmum:
Hi isaiahmum,Thanks to all parents who have responded to my mail so promptly. Yes, I do understand that teaching my son personally will yield the best results, and we're already doing that (spending around 30-60 mins with him every night). However, this pose a bit of a challenge cause both my husband and myself are working full time, and we also have to coach my younger daughter and eldest son.
That is why I'm thinking of engaging a tutor to take over some of the teaching sessions so that we can coach the other 2 kids.
Hi Tamarind, I've read many of your emails in this forum and have also checked out your blog previously. It's amazing that you can teach your son so well. Are you interested to provide tuition? I'm staying in Clementi. :lol:
I am too busy to give tuition, got to wait until both my kids grow up.
I think it is difficult to find a good tutor for K1 kids, because there is no syllabus for kindergarten, most tutors don't know how to teach. They will probably ask you to buy lots of assessment books. The best option is to teach him yourself, if that is not possible, then the next best option is to send him to a good enrichment class but you still have to spend time revising with him everyday.
Also, I think that some boys are late developers. It is too early to label a child as a slow learner at 5 years old. All he needs is one to one attention and a really good teacher who can grab his attention.
My son is like your son in many ways, but by teaching him consistently at home, his speed of learning has improved. -
Dear all,
Research has found that phonics can help the majority of children to read and spell better. In fact, phonics is now compulsory in all schools in UK :
Phonics to be compulsory in schools
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1513565/Phonics-to-be-compulsory-in-schools.html
http://www.synthetic-phonics.com/phonics61.html
In fact, I am surprised that Singapore schools have not made phonics compulsory, following UK. In my girl's primary school, the English head of department mentioned the importance of phonics. It seems like teachers expect kids to know phonics before entering P1.
Some kids may be able to learn to read entirely by sight words, but most kids do not have this ability. I know some kids are able to remember a word after one repetition. But most kids require many repetitions to learn a word. I know this from personal experience because I have 2 kids who are far apart in learning abilities. Also remember that some parents are much more hardworking than others For the majority of kids of average and above learning ability, phonics is very helpful for remembering new words and spelling.
In my http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-teach-phonics.html, I wrote that I used a combination of phonics and sight words by the Peter and Jane series. These are the most effective methods to teach kids to read. In fact, I only teach my son to read for only 15 mins a day, and the results are amazing after only one year. -
isaiahmum:
sometimes, ability is not the issue, but exposure.Hi parents
I'm new to this forum and wish to seek some advice. My 4.5 years old (K1) son is not learning well at his cc. Have recently switched him to a kindergarten. He is not motivated to learn. Have sent him for some behavioural therapy by a child psychologist, and she said that his development is age appropriate. However, I'm concerned because at his age, he's still not able to write his alphabets well and can't read at all. Brought him to ICR but he refused to go into the classroom and kept crying. Will be sending him to Zoophonics in Aug to join his twin sister's class (he'll be more willing to go since the sister is there).
1. is the curriculum at his old cc and current kindergarten systematic?
2. what is your boy doing during his free time since now he no longer goes to a cc?
3. what are the activities you have been doing with him in the evening? lf it is too dry, at this age, it can easily turn the kid off.
ds1 could not speak a word of mandarin when he was in K1; with timely chinese enrichment, he is able to converse with his grandma in mandarin by P1. ds1 was not able to blend phonetic words when he was in kindergarten, so i introduced sight words.
Unless the environment is nurturing, it is very scary for a kid to play 'catching up' even for enrichment classes like ICR; so it is still best to start at home; Tamarind's blog on teaching phonics is a very good start; i used a slightly different approach, inspired by her, with adjustment to suit my boy's learning style.
Him going to Zoophonics is a good start. But you have to do constant revision cos the more the kid does well in class, the more motivated he may be to learn more.
MHO. -
[quote]
I honestly think that there's no such thing as 'slow in learning'. It's just that we have not discovered the child's learning style.[/quote]there is no such thing as 'slow in learning' for average kids; there are kids who are obviously slow in learning as their learning is hampered by developmental issues/dyslexic/adhd etc. in this case, it is not as simple as discovering the child's learning style; it involves understanding the child, motivating the child, accepting their standards, adjusting own expectations and trying to fit into mainstream expectations of how much a child needs to know by which age (apparently for primary sch kids) even if it means extra effort by parents to coach at home. cos once the preschooler hit P1 and still couldn't catch up, the gap to patch would have became wider.
while we should not be caught up in the kiasu-race, we should also not be afraid to seek help if things does not seem right.
personally, i feel that motivation to learn precedes progress in learning; if the kid has this motivation to learn, the progress is somewhat secondary as hardwork can make up for the shortfall in ability. MHO.