Looking for English Tuition in Singapore that’s effective and affordable?
Home tuition agency Nanyang Academics’ English teachers are equipped with the best expertise and experience to help your child master the language and deliver outstanding results at all levels
Good English is half the battle won
Good English language skills are core to the success of your child’s education journey. English is important not only because it is a compulsory subject and is required to satisfy the L1R4/5 requirement for Junior Colleges. Strong command of the English language is a prerequisite for performing well in the PSLE and A/O Levels. A bad English mark on an otherwise sterling exam score sheet will be a blemish that affects university entrances. Additionally, the level of English proficiency has direct bearing on your child’s ability to tackle other subjects such as Maths and Science. Reading, writing and comprehension skills are not just confined to English classes. We all rely on these abilities throughout our lives. They are extremely vital to all subjects and the development of these skills should be given a high priority in early childhood education. As your child grows older and delves deeper intellectually, language mastery will become evermore important. Whatever field of study your child chooses to undertake, it is a given that his/her ability to read and write will be fundamental to a sound understanding of the subject matter.
Reading and writing are life skills
The importance of reading and writing skills cannot be underestimated. Before you write off the need to excel in them because your child is not interested in a career as a novelist, think again.
Do you think mathematicians and scientists would be able to advance their careers if they do not possess good language skills?
Let’s say your child has a real aptitude for numbers. Bear in mind the job of mathematics geniuses do not revolve around solving equations. They need to understand complex concepts and to apply their knowledge in a practical way. All these require very strong reading and comprehension skills. Likewise, if your child has a thirst for scientific knowledge, he/she will have to read a wealth of research in order to fully comprehend the findings and apply them to real life situations. Poor language skills will prevent a scientist from presenting his ideas clearly and coherently.
Are your child’s English grades worrying you?
In Singapore, English is the predominant medium of instruction at all levels of academia and in the corporate world. Despite English being our everyday language, this does not directly bring about high marks at the examinations. Ironically, what is perceived to be our most important subject is also the most feared by many Singaporean students. This is understandable for a few reasons.
The first has to do with our unique Singlish culture. Slangs play such a dominant role in our local society that young children often are unaware of whether something is proper English or Singlish. Even parents themselves are so used to speaking Singlish that they tend to revert unknowingly to their old habits when trying to converse in proper English with their kids. How often do we sprinkle our sentences with “lah”, “leh” and “mah”? This manner of speech is so ingrained in the Singapore way of life that changing it is almost inconceivable.
Secondly, many parents tend to attribute the inability to master English to the fact that their kids just simply do not have a flair for writing. This is wrong. The love for reading and writing is something that needs to be nurtured over time from a young age. It takes practice to write well and guidance from dedicated teachers would no doubt be beneficial. Even talented musicians do not become famous overnight. For them, its endless practice in their strive to make it perfect. Likewise, the idea that writing is not something that your child is genetically predisposed to do well is a fallacy.
Too complex to handle?
Thirdly, most Singaporean parents are perplexed by the complexity of the English syllabus and are at a loss as to how to go about guiding their kids. Teaching English is an immense task. There’s grammar, spelling, vocabulary, sentence structure and synthesis. But the real challenge comes from teaching their children how to compose good essays and tackle open-ended comprehension questions. The teaching method has to be such that it develops critical thinking and the ability to express views critically and logically, and so on. One look at the PSLE English syllabus and it is clear that schools’ curriculum will spare no effort in getting pupils up to speed on these core competencies. It becomes progressively more challenging at O and A Levels when students are expected to display an even more in-depth mastery of the language across oral, composition, comprehension, analysis, knowledge of global events and so on. The syllabus for secondary school English focuses on reading, writing, comprehension and editing. The emphasis falls on language use for impact questions, requiring students to demonstrate a greater awareness and understanding of figurative language and the use of literary devices.
Helping your child solve the GP puzzle
The General Paper (GP) is certainly a subject to be reckoned with. Examiners there are committed to awarding good marks only to students who show a keen interest in world affairs, are intellectually engaged and able to express themselves clearly, and show the potential to be opinion leaders.
To do well or score an A in GP, students will need to put in more than sheer hard work. This is because there is no fixed GP textbook and the amount of reading can be endless. Given that students are already coping with a heavy-going curriculum, they will benefit from having dedicated private tutors who are able to set assignments to cultivate analytical thinking in young minds, challenge their perspectives on global issues and encourage them to think out of the box.
A good English grade is not beyond your means. Your child can do it!
Your child’s speech and language development starts from the time he is a baby. The process picks up speed when he/she enters primary school and starts to build the working foundation for his/her English skills. Our team of home tutors are expertly trained to equip your child with the techniques and skills needed to master the language from primary school up to JC levels. Our strategy is to instil in our students an innate liking for the English language, stimulate their awareness of its nuances and encourage them to probe deeper into issues. Ultimately, they will no longer feel that English is a difficult subject, but one that is interesting and challenging.
Our aim is to make home tuition effective yet affordable. Through this, we turn our passion for teaching English into a space where you and your child are able to appreciate the beauty of the language and experience the joy in being a master of your own words.
