Comparing Chinese Enrichment (Primary/Preschool)

[Busymom]

titank:

Ok my selected trial list as follow:

Berries
Eduplus Language Centre
Hua Language Centre
Tien Hsia Language School
Xue Ni Language Centre
Han Language Centre

Maybe target this 5 1st.

Hi titank

Any verdict to share yet?

[cornucopia]

Dear parents,


Any parents been to any of these schools Tien Hsia / Beijing / Eduplus?
How do u find e school?

Thanks! :?:

[Busymom]

My DD goes to Tien Hsia at Orchard Shopping Centre. One thing that I really appreciate about them is that they are flexible on makeups. e.g. if you are travelling and if your kid is ill, you can simply call them and arrange for your kid to attend another lesson provided it is still in the same week. Otherwise, they will get the teacher to give extra individual time either before or after the next class. My sister who sends my nephew to Tien Hsia thinks they are good, shows results, etc. I am less on when it comes to tracking progress. But so far, my DD does not speak with angmoh accent, can recognise words and read some simple books (but not 100% correct), enjoys going to class. And one more plus point in my opinion, as she attends weekday classes, the class size can be really small, like 3-4 students to 1 teacher even at K1 level. Heard from some friends who went to Berries, the class was more crowded (i.e. more popular or lesser number of classes available??) and they resort to the nightime weekday class so that the teacher:student ratio would be better!!

[adafew]

Anyone tried MRC learning Centre? Seems like no one really tried Han Language Centre so should not really consider?

[cornucopia]

Hi!


My cousins used to go Han but now they are already in Army haha! My aunt said it's good but again was so many years back. Quality may change now. :?

[acforfamily]

Busymom:

Hi acforfamily


So have you heard of the Eduplus at Toa Payoh Safra? For the pre-schoolers, what sort of things do they do apart from recording, which I guess is getting the children to read a passage and have it recorded? And what do they bring back to revise at home?

hi busymom,
I don't know about the toa payoh one, but I think curriculum should be the same in all their branches. The pre-schoolers have the usual work they do in class and to bring home to revise. But that's was years ago, so things could have changed.

[ac23]

Hi,

For those presch in Tien HSia, at the end of the term parents will be invited to watch their children perform. I find this is good to build up their confident.

[adafew]

cornucopia:

Hi!


My cousins used to go Han but now they are already in Army haha! My aunt said it's good but again was so many years back. Quality may change now. :?

:? then maybe outdated liao...Anyway, just sign up for a free trial at Tien Hsia...Hopefully my DS1 enjoys that.

[mrswongtuition]

I was sourcing for a Chinese enrichment class for my 2.5yo boy & shortlisted Berries & Beijing Language school.


My personal comparison with the 2 schools:
Berries (attended 2 trial lessons)
The lessons were interesting but the teacher-student ratio was quite large. Maybe because we chose a weekend slot due to distance (we stay at Punggol & the nearest branch is Tampines). Quite pricey (ard $120/mth). & they were not very clear in explaining to me what happens if my son was ill or we are travelling & will miss classes.

Beijing Language School (attended 1 trial class & signed up)
Went to view the centre at Punggol Plaza, found quite small. Went over to the SK branch and preferred the environment there. The staff were very helpful in answering my queries in simple mandarin (they noted I have trouble understanding mandarin). The teachers there are all native teachers who are trained in early childhood education (this is my preference) & have 4-5 years teaching experience in China. Due to closer distance, we could take the weekday slot & the teacher student ratio was much better than Berries. They also have a CD of the songs sung in class which can be purchased termly for $5. It allows me to revise & reinforce the learning at home. My son loves the songs on the CD as they are very catchy, he’ll sing along after listening to the same song twice (FYI, my son does not speak a word of mandarin & if you ask him to, he’ll delibrately reply in english). Affordably priced at $60/mth or $170/term. & even before I signed up, the lady explained to me that if we are going to miss lessons, just inform them in advance & we can attend another lesson within the same week.

[smum]

Is it difficult to get into these Chinese Enrichment class? I tried to enrol my P2 boy into Tien Hsia weekend class. But it’s all full. I think I’m number 7 on the waiting list. Wonder if you need to start them young so that they progress upwards.