Indeed, language is unlike Maths and Science where it’s best to build the foundation over a period of time.
Still, half a year is not short- there’s still time to catch up.
2. I see you bring kids to the museum and library for excursions. Are you doing this for the P6 too? I’m afraid there’s no time for them.
The excursions are for the lower primary kids where I want to get them interested in the language, boost their confidence in talking to people and enjoy their Saturday classes.
The P6 class goes through a more intensive exam-oriented format where I go through smart ways to answer the paper. They also practise writing compositions weekly and I give them tips/formulas to make their essay shine next to their peers. They are given school exam papers every week to prepare for the big day.
3. So all work and no play?
Well, I try to make the class interesting too. While we still have to prepare for the PSLE, we don’t want the poor 12 year olds to hate my class and end up not learning anything.
There are exciting competitions/quizzes which test the transformation and synthesis, vocabulary, grammar— all the components in Paper 2. We invited celebrity host Pornsak once for them to “interview” for their compositions.
4. I see your slogan is that it’s more than curriculum. Do you pledge that for the P6 kids too?
Definitely! PSLE is only one of the many exams in life. My duty is to build their foundation in English so they can benefit in future. They are given selected news articles to read so they can model after good writing and also keep abreast with the latest current affairs. It’s never too early to read the news!
I also encourage critical thinking and all students are free to question me.