8 factors in choosing Chinese tuition and enrichment in Singapore

1. Objective (Tuition vs Enrichment)

   • Does your child need to strengthen his/her foundation through tuition?

   • Does he/she need a more challenging curriculum to stretch his/her ability through enrichment? Stretch the ability in order to (a) score well in school exams or (b) really to be enriched in the language?

   Personally, I am not interested in enrolling my son in an enrichment centre that emphasises a structure that is similar to his school. He is already feeling bored with the easy school curriculum. If he gets ahead of his school curriculum, he will be even more uninterested. It does make sense to me if he gets drilled with enrichment with the local syllabus so that he can improve from 92 to 94. The love for Chinese culture is my goal, not the miserable 2 marks that don’t make any difference to one’s life. Therefore, I enrolled him in an international enrichment company that emphasises more on China’s Chinese culture.

2. Curriculum

   With the objectives firmed up, then I move on to explore which international Chinese enrichment company has the best curriculum. It is not difficult to google search. And once anyone started to google search, social media marketing of those international companies will in return search for me. Then I can focus on asking questions that are curriculum-related to their sales consultants. I actually asked a friend whose child was already enrolled in a particular company.

3. Platform

   It is very common to request trial lessons. From the trial lessons, I can easily assess whether their online platform is child user friendly. Some online platforms like ‘Classin’ are pretty advanced compared to others.

4. Teacher

   Is the teacher high enough competency to engage my child and present the content and concept with great clarity? Is the chemistry between the teacher and my child good

5. Class Size

   Personally, I prefer a small group of about 4 students with the same level of competency. Class dynamic for group learning is important. But for Tze Yu, he prefers 1:1 as he feels that others may slow down his learning. I respect his choice and sign up for a 1:1 course.

6. Convenience

   Those parents who choose local centres would need to ensure the convenience of traveling from their houses to the centre locations. But for me, it is extremely convenient because I only need 30 seconds to activate the online learning apps on my iPad.

7. Schedule

   Finding a time that matches your family's complex schedule is crucial. The timing of the lesson must be something that is sustainable in the light of the family commitment.

8. Cost

   This is a very subjective factor. Some parents find $60/hr reasonable for a quality experience but others have a maximum of $25/hr budget. Therefore, those who have the spending power, simply need to ensure the first 6 factors are settled and then pay for whatever is necessary.

I look forward to hearing your views on the way you choose Chinese Enrichment lessons for your child.