How to choose the best English course for your kids?

There are so many English courses and lessons out there in Singapore, making claims to improve your children’s English within months or weeks. These programs vary and have very different focuses such as speaking, vocabulary, test scoring and so on, so how to identify which is the best one for your child?

First of all, parents should assess the quality of English tutors that are conducting the program. Not only should they hold adequate qualifications, parents must also ensure that their teaching methods would help nurture your kids’ love of learning. Classes that are boring or too strict on disciplining could kill their interest in improving and learning more. If the English tutor is a fun, nurturing, and passionate one, your children would benefit more. This could maximise their English learning potential, subsequently being inspired by their teachers to do better in self-learning.

The second thing to take note of is the teaching approach that is used in the course. Is it a grammatical or communicative approach? The difference between these two is that the former emphasises on the technicalities of producing correct and grammatical English sentences. It focuses more on repetitive drillings and practice on one grammatical rule in the English language before moving over to another. The latter stresses more on using the language for different situations and purposes, such as assessing the settings and using the right form of language (formal or informal, different types of narratives). It would be the best if the tuition classes could seamlessly weave these two components together for a more holistic English learning experience.

It all boils down to one thing: what does your child need? Of course, most of the parents in Singapore would choose an all-in-one package to cover all the learning aspects for their children. It is alright to do so, but the tutors must tailor their teachings to complement your children’s strengths and improve their weaknesses in learning English.