I must say we are sometimes caught in an awkward role. We are not the students’ school teachers nor their parents. We provide supplementary classes for primary school children who may need an extra boost in their studies. However, I believe we have a greater responsibility than that. Besides helping students improve their academic studies,[…]
One year ago, on this day, Wallace and I decided to start a Facebook page to help primary school children with their school work as a form of contribution back to society. The page got noticed pretty quickly and soon we were answering academic questions and discussing parenting issues with our Facebook fans. It was[…]
I played this youtube video for my students today. What has this got to do with learning English, you may wonder. I try to give my students an article to read every week- I want them to be updated with current affairs, cultivate a habit of reading and also learn the writing style, vocabularies of other[…]
My advice to my students- always plan your compositions! It just takes five minutes but it organises your thoughts. There’s also a lower risk of going out of point if you have written an outline. I want my students to start this good habit from young. As seen here, my Primary 3 students from the[…]
Spotted a grammar mistake while watching Crime Watch. What’s the mistake? Crime Watch does a great job educating the public on law and order in Singapore, but it should get a new transcriber. (See photo in previous post) The error: I saw him took. Correct: I saw him take. After verbs of perception (see watch,[…]
Derek who is ________ university undergraduate spoke to us for ________ hour during Assembly. 1) an…a 2) a…an 3) a…a 4) an…an The answer is 2. Rule: Use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound and “an” before words that start with a vowel sound. -Hour starts with a vowel sound, since it[…]
A pilot visited the Primary 1-2 class today. The kids were captivated by his stories and had endless questions for him. The poor pilot must feel interrogated because the questions were sharp, tough and excessively morbid. “What happens if there is a crash?”, “What do you do when there is a crash?”, “what if someone[…]
Kids, here are some inspiring words from one of my favourite writers. This applies to your studies and life. It’s OK to make mistakes during your exercises. Most importantly, learn from your mistakes so that you won’t repeat them in your exams. In life, it’s OK to make mistakes too; we are not saints. However,[…]
I happily announced to the class that we will start a new tradition today and asked them to guess what it was. As a “family,” I want to start celebrating everyone’s birthday because each student is special to us. I increased the suspense, bringing out more items from the bag as clues. First the lighter,[…]
Interesting note: I told my students to write a composition about their father and add personal anecdotes in the story because that appeals to readers and makes the essay more interesting. A handful of them wrote about how they would always approach their fathers to sign their exam papers if they did badly. hehe The[…]