Comparing Chinese Enrichment (Primary/Preschool)

[RachelLee]

berriejam:

Which one is better in terms of teaching method? I am lookinf for chinese enrichment for my son for next year when he turns 4 and want to find a school that will aptly prepare him for P1 over the next few years. Any parents have experience in any of these school and care to share?

I don't believe in sending my kids to all these learning centres. I would rather do the observations myself. I used to send my daughter to Berries for a short while, but then I decided to withdraw as I don't think their teaching method is that useful. I can't say the same for the other learning centres. I have a personal Chinese tutor for my daughter. She's Ms Liu. She is very experienced in teaching pre-school, primary and sec level Chinese. I was lucky to have her as my son's tutor as he is now doing very well in P1 and even scored the highest marks in Chinese for his mid-year exam. You can contact Ms Liu at 97944428. Whatever it is, it's always better to do your research carefully before selecting your tutors. Hope I helped

[lgerline]

My son is in N2 berries and has been doing pretty well. During one of the makeup lesson (1-1 teaching), the teacher let him read K1 book and he was able to read well. I have been reading to him every night, both English & Chinese so I know his standard well enough. I am thinking of discontinue Chinese lesson next yr and let him spend time on other area like music or speech/drama(can only afford 1 -1.5hr on a Sunday). Should I continue with berries or my daily reading is sufficient? Any comment is welcome. :thankyou:

[Pinyin]

It is really helpful when a child loves to read and is self-motivated. Hence I applaud your efforts to read both Chinese & English books to your son on a regular basis. It will certainly stimulate him to learn and become effectively bilingual in the future. For me, I would bring my child to the library once every week so that she can find a book and read quietly on her own. After that, I will ask her to share with me on the books she read and discuss about the story, characters and talk about her opinion. I believe the interaction is very essential here. If you have the time to read and teach her, I don't think sending her to berries is necessary.


PS - It is also very important that you speak standard English and proper Chinese so that the child can learn correctly and effectively. This means that as parents we have to keep learning too. I have heard parents speaking to their children with a mix of Chinese and English which is not right. I know a friend who speak English to her daughter while her husband will use Chinese for communication. The child is speaking both languages very well now.

lgerline:

My son is in N2 berries and has been doing pretty well. During one of the makeup lesson (1-1 teaching), the teacher let him read K1 book and he was able to read well. I have been reading to him every night, both English & Chinese so I know his standard well enough. I am thinking of discontinue Chinese lesson next yr and let him spend time on other area like music or speech/drama(can only afford 1 -1.5hr on a Sunday). Should I continue with berries or my daily reading is sufficient? Any comment is welcome. :thankyou:

[Imami]

lgerline:

My son is in N2 berries and has been doing pretty well. During one of the makeup lesson (1-1 teaching), the teacher let him read K1 book and he was able to read well. I have been reading to him every night, both English & Chinese so I know his standard well enough. I am thinking of discontinue Chinese lesson next yr and let him spend time on other area like music or speech/drama(can only afford 1 -1.5hr on a Sunday). Should I continue with berries or my daily reading is sufficient? Any comment is welcome. :thankyou:

Hi lgerline! I am in a similar situation as you -

Son in n2 and with berries
We have been reading everyday for a few years now we read both English and Chinese books.

I have also been thinking of terminating berries but just thinking only. I believe I would continue with berries. When my kid was in n1 (with berries), the teacher said she believed my kid wouldn't have any prob in lower primary for Chinese, whether my kid continue with berries or not. That is a very bold \"prediction\", I thought.

Despite that I still continue with berries as I didn't know how to teach Chinese and would really like my child to love chinese as much as I do. Fast forward two years to today, I believe my child is good in Chinese (if you compare him to other kid's of the same age in terms of reading, speaking and writing). But still, I am continuing with berries to have a peace of mind.

One of the reason to drop berries, is to free up time for my child to go for either sports (inline blading, ice skating, swimming, rock climbing or golf) or music/dance classes. However, because berries have done such a good job, charging so value for money fees (some classes are so expensive), the teachers can connect to my child (this is very impt because my child is a little different from his peers), I really have no reason to drop it.

[lgerline]

Hi Pin Yin

Thanks for the feedback. I have decided to withdraw my son from berries next yr.
So far I never ask my son abt his opinion or share with me how he feels after reading the boy. Going forward, will do so to let him have a chance to express his thoughts & feelings.

[PlayfulFairy]

Hi all,


Anyone knows which is better?
My gal is currently in Tien hsia. Haven’t seen any improvement in her though she has been in Tien Hsia for 5 years since N1.

Heard from adults that Busy Bees is good but 2 Busy Bees students complain the lessons are boring…

[verykiasumummy]

i self coach my dc chinese… it shouldnt be too difficult…

[i3mum]

Does anyone has current year P2 Berries books (readers & workbooks) to let go? I m keen to purchase. Please pm me.

[SengkangMum]

Appreciate parents to provide feedback for Tien Hsia @ Kovan branch? Thinking of signing u my P4 gal with them after hearing so many positive feedbacks from KS forum. But now , they put me on their wait-list. It seems super hot for TS. Any reasons?

[crazymummy]

Hi, currently my girl is in Tien Hsia P1 enrichment class.

Now that she is going on to P2 next yr, am wondering shld I continue her P2 enrichment class or to switch her to the comprehension & composition writing class.

Can someone please share your views and experiences.