<img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-60214 alignright" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/learnConAdv.jpg" alt="" width="366" height="299" srcset="https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/learnConAdv.jpg 366w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/learnConAdv-320x261.jpg 320w" sizes="(max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px" />Forest Gump’s mum once said: “Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re gonna get.” Sometimes, don’t you have the same thought when it comes to selecting a <a href="https://learnconcierge.kiasuparents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tuition centre or enrichment class</a>?
Choices are aplenty, but you won’t know which one suits your child until you actually give it a try. The problem is, you can’t go around testing one centre after another because by the time you think you’ve hit THE IDEAL ONE, your child would have gotten so stressed out changing teachers, plus you’d have wasted a whole lot of money and effort.
So, what should you consider before deciding on which centre/class to sign your kid for? We pinpoint the following three:
<h4>#1 Can the centre give results?</h4>
For most parents, the No. 1 reason for sending your child for tuition is in the hope of improving his/her grades. This happens a lot during the post-examination (especially mid-term) period. Getting a good teacher is the first step in helping your child achieve better results. Therefore, you will want to look out for the centre’s track record and its teaching staff’s qualifications, e.g. years of experience and credentials. More importantly, try to find out about the tutor’s teaching style and whether his/her methods can motivate your kid to excel.
Tip 1: Make sure your child will be taught by the teacher that you signed up for. There have been cases where students attend a centre to benefit from a certain tutor yet get short-changed with replacement or stand-in tutors that don’t meet the mark.
Tip 2: Your child has to make an effort too. Don’t expect a centre to guarantee results if the student is not willing to learn and improve. Teachers can only facilitate. Ultimately, it is up to your child to score the homerun.
<h4>#2 Will your child fit in there?</h4>
Some children do better with 1-to-1 tuition while others enjoy the challenging interactions in a group class. Understand what works better for your child before shortlisting your choices. If possible, arrange for a sit-in session to get a better grasp of the environment and also to speak to the teachers there.
Tip: Be aware of the centre’s policies on matters such as make-up classes. We’ve heard horror stories of centres that don’t allow students to replace lessons and yet their teachers have no qualms about postponing classes when they have to be absent for personal reasons. You’ll want to choose one that allows you flexibility to reschedule classes when your child has to skip a lesson.
<h4>#3 Is it practical?</h4>
Consider the location of the centre and whether it’ll be feasible to send your child there. Someone may have recommended you to a great <a href="https://learnconcierge.kiasuparents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tuition centre</a> in Sengkang, but if it means having to commute three hours from your home in Jurong there and back by public transport, it’ll probably be better to find a more convenient alternative.
Also, consider the cost of tuition and your family’s budget. Parents in Singapore are said to spend up to S$1.1 billion a year on tuition; some forking out several hundreds or thousands of dollars each month, <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/tuition-industry-worth-over-1b-a-year">according to this report by The Straits Times</a>. However, not every parent can afford to pay premium dollars charged by one of those ‘prestigious’ centres nor send their children to <a href="https://learnconcierge.kiasuparents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tuition or enrichment classes</a> every day of the week. 
Tip: Beware that your child doesn’t suffer from tuition burnout. Be objective about whether your child really requires that much tuition or extra enrichment classes, especially when his/her timetable is already maxed out. It is important to prioritise as attending more classes than what your child can cope will result in decreased concentration and motivation.
<h4><a href="https://learnconcierge.kiasuparents.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-60212 size-full" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/600x250-new.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="250" srcset="https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/600x250-new.jpg 600w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/600x250-new-320x133.jpg 320w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></a></h4>
<h4>Let KSP’s LearnConcierge help you</h4>
Instead of worrying and stressing over whether a centre can really guarantee an improvement of results from &#8220;Cs&#8221; and &#8220;Ds&#8221; to &#8220;As&#8221;, or if a more expensive enrichment centre equates to better quality, or how credible the teachers are and how well they can motivate students, leave it to our experts to find the right centre for your child!
 Experience our new <a href="https://learnconcierge.kiasuparents.com/">LEARNConcierge</a>, a one-stop portal to get FREE recommendations on HUNDREDS of tuition and enrichment centres in Singapore!
 Whether you&#8217;re looking for a good tuition centre to improve your child&#8217;s results or an enrichment centre where your child can pick up a new skill, leave it to us to find the most suitable options to match your child&#8217;s learning requirements, so you don&#8217;t have to do the search yourself!
<a href="https://learnconcierge.kiasuparents.com/">Get FREE recommendations now!</a>

Your Top 3 Considerations for Choosing a Tuition/Enrichment Centre

What does “Chinese” mean to your child? How do we get our children to be interested in the Chinese Language? Learning Chinese may be daunting for many students, but it does not have to be difficult for your child!
In working with students of varying proficiency level in Chinese, what we have learned is that language proficiency works hand in hand with language confidence. Language confidence is not simply about being able to articulate with confidence, it is using the language with the certainty that the audience can understand them.
What are some of the ways by which we can build Language Confidence in our learners?
<img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-50754 size-full" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u36736/KSP-week-3-advertorial-content-image-R2.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="400" srcset="https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u36736/KSP-week-3-advertorial-content-image-R2.jpg 700w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u36736/KSP-week-3-advertorial-content-image-R2-640x366.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" />
<h2>1. Emphasising Word Recognition of High Frequency Words</h2>
There are four main skills that we focus on when learning a language, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. When we speak of language confidence, many will inevitably think of speaking.
However, students will first need to process the sentence in their mind before they can articulate their thoughts in Mandarin. It is therefore important that students are exposed to high frequency words which will help them to connect phrases and sentences.
Parents can help their children by pointing out high frequency words to help them make sense of the sentences which the child is reading. For example, at Primary 1 level students will be taught vocabulary relating to family. Beyond reinforcing “姐姐” and “弟弟”, it is important to help students understand how to chain a sentence together using high frequency words like “有”, “和” and “也”. When students have fully grasped the meaning of these high frequency words, they will be able to chain sentences together effortless.
These high frequency words will also help them to form a variety of sentences. They can use these words to talk about themselves or make comparison with others
<h2><img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-50743 aligncenter" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u133359/pai-table.jpg" alt="pai" width="652" height="218" />2. Quantity of Vocabulary over Quality of Vocabulary</h2>
As with any other language, expansion of vocabulary is essential in mastering the Chinese language. The question that many of us will ask is “How do we get our children to be interested in learning new vocabulary?”
Some focus on the vocabulary which is found in the 识读 and 识写 section of the Chinese textbook so that they have a quality learning in building a foundation. However, the mastery of a language requires a substantial quantity of vocabulary which can be used to support the quality learning.
Instead of focusing on the selected list of vocabulary which students learn in school in order to score for the examinations, parents can free up some of the practice time to let their child be exposed to a wide variety of books. Allow the child to choose the books that they read, as long as they explain how they have chosen the books (hopefully in Mandarin too!).
Not only will this allow them to seek out the genre of books which they are interested in, it will help them to gain proficiency in Chinese through the comprehension of different texts.
By focusing on the reading to help them gain exposure, it will also take the stress off our learners when they revise for the Chinese examinations. Pulling together what the vocabulary they have learned in school with the complementary vocabulary that they have gained through reading, students will be able to breeze through the examinations with a more complete set of vocabulary.
Equipped with both literacy and proficiency, this language confidence will continually grow as a healthy cycle of learning as students see the positive results of their holistic learning.
<h2>3. Focus on Healthy Learning Habits</h2>
There are learning routines that parents will set in place for their children, but very often these learning routines may not be the best for students who already find Chinese difficult.
Healthy Learning Habits go beyond learning routines, it is about a cycle of deliberate practice. Students are well exposed to deliberate practice in writing as they practice 习字and prepare for their 听写, but they may not have been exposed to the deliberate practice in reading and exposing themselves to new vocabulary.
The golden age for developing proficiency in reading is between the ages of 6 to 12, and students should have developed mastery in at least 1500 Chinese words so that their understanding of the language can be sustained.
It takes time for students to develop deliberate practice in reading, but we can set our learners up for success by putting into place a specific time for reading. 10 minutes of purposeful reading a day not only goes a long way in learning, it also helps to build an encouraging environment for young learners as they see their parents learning together with them. The consistent and deliberate effort will build language confidence in our young learners as they see the adults taking a journey in learning Chinese together with them.        
<h4><img onerror="kspReplaceCdn(this)" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-50757 size-full" src="https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u36736/KSP-week-3-advertorial-content-image-R1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="400" srcset="https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u36736/KSP-week-3-advertorial-content-image-R1.jpg 700w, https://wp.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/files/u36736/KSP-week-3-advertorial-content-image-R1-640x366.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" />       </h4>
Learning Joy believes that every child is able to excel in Chinese through an enjoyable learning process. Developing a comprehensive reading programme that will help student master 2000 high frequency words within 4 years, the Learning Joy programme provides a fun and engaging environment for your child to use Chinese skillfully. If you would like for your child to gain this language confidence in Chinese, contact us for a free 2-hour trial to experience our programme today!
语乐学堂Learning Joy The Phrontistery @ Cairnhill CC 1 Anthony Road #01-04 Singapore 229944
 T: (65) 6262 6612 | E: <a href="mailto:info@thephrontistery.sg">info@thephrontistery.sg</a> | W: <a href="http://www.thephrontistery.sg">www.thephrontistery.sg</a>
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