EduEdge English Tuition Center Singapore
Attention: Concerned Parents of Secondary School GCE O & N Level students
From: Mr Edwin Cheng, Former Subject Head of Curriculum Innovation & Head of Department (English), 20+ Years of Teaching Experience
Keep reading this page to find out how we did it!
Perhaps you’re not aware, but there have been TREMENDOUS changes in the GCE O & N Level English syllabus recently. MOE has completely revamped the system changing much of the content and structure of the exams.
To say that it’s a revamp is an understatement… it’s a 100% CHANGE in the syllabus.
And it doesn’t just affect the new Secondary One students, it affects Secondary Four / Five students who are just about to take the English Language papers for the national examinations as well.
It’s bad enough that our education system is so stressful… It will not help if your child doesn’t realise the IMPACT of this syllabus change. You are probably wondering what’s the big deal about a syllabus change?
Well, when we talk to most parents, most of them are unaware about:
1) The change itself, and
2) How To Help Their Child Navigate Through These New Changes And Make A Smooth Transition.
The difference between the NEW and OLD syllabus can be as different as NIGHT & DAY.
Some of the changes made are:
Old Syllabus | New Syllabus |
|---|---|
Paper 1 Writing | |
Continuous Writing - Marking for essays is largely based on language (30 marks) | Continuous Writing - Marking for essays is now based on content (10 marks) + language (20 marks) |
Why it is challenging for your child: - With a separate marking component for Content, students need to read widely and regularly from a variety of sources (newspapers, novels, poems etc) to ensure they can include relevant and engaging ideas in their essays. | |
Paper 2 Reading Comprehension | |
Section A - Questions are based on only one visual text - Visual texts are based on websites or posters. | Section A - Questions are based on two visual texts - Visual texts now include social media posts / excerpts (e.g. Tweets) on top of websites or posters - New question type: Comparative questions |
Sections B & C - Questions are designed to test general understanding and hidden meanings | Sections B & C - Questions are designed to test emotional quality (attitude, tone, emotions, values) on top of general understanding and hidden meanings |
Why it is challenging for your child: - Compare & Contrast is a higher order critical thinking skill. - Emotions, Attitude & Tone are abstract concepts which many students find it difficult to grasp. - Perspective-taking requires empathy (ability to see things from another person’s point-of-view instead of our own). | |
Paper 4 Oral Communication | |
- Part 1: Reading Aloud (10 marks) - Part 2: Spoken Interaction (20 marks) | - No more Reading Aloud section - Part 1: Planned Response (15 marks) - Part 2: Spoken Interaction (15 marks) |
Why it is challenging for your child: - Most students will find Planned Response to be more difficult because Reading Aloud is a section they are more familiar with since their Primary School days. - Students need to be able to think on their feet and share their responses with the Oral Examiners clearly and confidently. | |
Help Your Child Achieve The Best
English Grade With The Right Tutors
What the other English Tuition Centres may not tell you…
This syllabus change has left many schools, teachers and Secondary English tuition centres struggling to adjust to what the new syllabus is all about.
As you’re reading this, many are still teaching the old syllabus and using OUTDATED TEACHING MATERIALS TO TEACH STUDENTS. This means that no matter how much Secondary English Tuition you have sent your child for, he or she won’t do well not because of a lack of ability… but rather, because the materials and teaching methods given were outdated!
Not only are these outdated methods not helping your child - they are actually limiting your child's English potential!
The truth is, your child needs to experience the LATEST teaching methods in order to improve QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!
Since the start of EduEdge, we've helped over 2,000 students obtain twice the average distinction rate for English with our tested-and-proven methods - and now, your child can experience these unique methods too!
Simply fill in your name and email address in the form below, and I will send you a copy of "The Secret Science of Situational Writing", containing the formulas and techniques that has consistently helped our students ace their situational writing.
Sign up for our Diagnostic Consult Assessment right now and receive The Secret Science to Situation Writing - FULLY SPONSORED!
Schedule a 60-minute Diagnostic Consult Assessment with our Language Specialist today:
- Find Out Exactly What Your Child’s Strengths And Weakness Are And What They Should Focus on
- Discover An Easier and More Effective Way For Your Child To Learn English Using Our Unique ‘Formula-Style’ Method
- Learn How Your Child Can Tackle English Using A Step-By- Step Approach (just like solving Math Problem Sums!)
- Receive A Customised Road Map For Your Child To Achieve Their As.
Let’s have a brief recap why it is important to do well for O Level English
Language – Is English The MOST Important Secondary School Subject Ever?
However, despite the fact that English is the MOST important Secondary School subject, most students and parents do not treat the subject as being equally important as Math and Science… to the detriment of the child.
I have seen many academic dreams dashed because while the student has scored extremely well in the other subjects, their WEAK GCE O LEVEL ENGLISH SCORES PULLED THEIR L1R5 SCORES DOWN.
I hope that by now I have emphasised to you the importance of English to your child’s future!
Which is why, if you're looking for the best way to help your child QUICKLY improve their English before their National exams...
I have seen many academic dreams dashed because while the student has scored extremely well in the other subjects, their WEAK GCE O LEVEL ENGLISH SCORES PULLED THEIR L1R5 SCORES DOWN.
I hope that by now I have emphasised to you the importance of English to your child’s future! The next question that’s on your mind undoubtedly is:
Here’s a checklist to help find out if your child has the necessary skills to do well for the English exams. (Please tick the boxes)
Can you confidently state that your child has any of the above important skill sets?
I believe that the main reason why your child is facing these difficulties is because… Unlike Math and Science where there is the “right” answer, with English, there is no correct answer.
Yet, this has not discouraged teachers from using a ‘feels right or sounds right’ approach instead of using scientific methods of teaching.
There’s a reason why your child is having difficulties in English. It’s because of the way in which your child is being taught; while most Math & Science teachers recognise that there is a ‘method’ to teaching Science or Math… most English teachers do not realise that there is a ‘method’ to teaching English.
English is a process-based subject and as such, demands a step-by-step systematic, scientific based approach to teaching!
The 3 cutting-edge , research-backed English Teaching methods
that have been PROVEN to help students score an A1 for Secondary
School English…
Below are 3 teaching methods I personally use to improve our students’ scores.
These are the 3 cutting-edge teaching methods backed by educational research that I would like to share with you
– (We use them in all our classes)
Scientific Teaching Method #1
Summary: Increase reading & critical thinking with commercial advertisements
Students often complain to their English teachers that they have no idea how to read between the lines to tackle comprehension questions which are ‘Inferential’ and ‘Language Use’ in nature
Worse still, some have absolutely no idea what they are reading at all! Why would this matter to your child?
Currently, ‘Inferential’ and ‘Language Use’ questions typically make up to 25% of the whole paper. This figure is now set to increase to 60% with the introduction of the new syllabus where students are expected to understand the author’s choice of language at the word, phrase and sentence levels!
With visual texts now being included as a key defining feature of the new EL syllabus, students’ reading and thinking skills are further put to the test.
In response to this, I led a team of fellow teachers and pioneered an innovative teaching package: CRITICA (Comprehension Reading Improvement Through Inferring Commercial Advertisements).
CRITICA uses commercial advertisements as a rich visual stimulus and incorporates the Observe-Wonder-Infer (OWI) Thinking Strategy to engage students in the critical analysis of visual text to increase their reading skills.
Based on feedback on my research, students who were taught using CRITICA and OWI Thinking strategy reported greater learning motivation and a much higher increase in their critical thinking skills!
The very fact that my team’s research paper was published on the MOE EduMall site further supports the immense value and practicality of our project on relevant and innovative teaching practices that enhances student learning outcomes in English.
I have since included this into my Secondary English tuition classes at EduEdge
Scientific Teaching Method #2
they are simply AFRAID of writing!
- Does your child hate picking up the pen to write?
- Is your child clueless on how to brainstorm for writing ideas?
- Plan their writing?
- Or how to write clearly to be understood by their readers?
- Enhances student interaction in the classroom, allowing your child to enjoy his lessons more.
- Allows your child to absorb and learn better because they have fun on their writing assignments.
- Increases student’s self-confidence in the language. Self confidence is importance because it creates a ‘self-fulling prophecy’ where the more likely the student thinks he or she is going to do well,the more likely he or she will!
- Lowers the anxiety associated with completing writing tasks.
- Enhanced ideas for writing content
- Heightened awareness in the organisation of ideas
- Greater grammatical accuracy
- Richer vocabulary
- Acquiring knowledge
- Cooperative Planning
- Cooperative Drafting
- Cooperative Revision
Scientific Teaching Method #3
Assessment for Learning (AfL)
- Teachers understand WHAT and HOW their learners are thinking
- Students receive better quality FEEDBACK and SUPPORT
- Students know WHERE they are currently at in relation to their learning GOALS and what are the NEXT STEPS they could take to bridge this gap
- OUTCOME: GREATER ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Sharing assessment criteria and marking rubrics (how Cambridge examiners mark candidates’ script).
Help Your Child Achieve The Best
English Grade With The Right Tutors
Stage One l Scan l Your child will first begin with a ‘Diagnostic’ Session where an EduEdge Tutor will diagnose the student’s learning style and figure out the appropriate learning needs for the child. The child’s learning needs will be saved into our proprietary monitoring and progress system (Achievement Progress Tracker™ or APT for short) so that future secondary english tuition lessons can be tailored to fit the child’s needs. * Please remember this point as we will come back to it again *
The following week, lessons will be planned out in advance with the teacher catering to the learning needs of each child, and review the lesson plan with your child’s strengths and weaknesses in mind.
In order for your child to best benefit from our teaching, your child is expected to complete the weekly homework prior to coming in for the next lesson. This homework is specially designed by my colleague and myself so that we can better understand how your child is coping with the demands of the subject.
Your child’s work will then undergo a review by both his peers as well as the EduEdge team to help your child better understand how to improve his Secondary School English Language capability.
Your child will then reflect on his or her own strengths and areas for improvement, as this self-reflection is CRITICAL in order to make improvements. This system has helped us deliver results to our students, which will S-P-A-R-K off improvements in your child’s English grade! My colleague and I managed to obtain a 38.8% distinction rate for our students’ performance in the English national exams… with the national average being 23.3%… This is almost twice the national average! Anyone can achieve these results if they follow a logical sequence and systematic approach to studying English.
Help Your Child Achieve The Best English Grade With The Right Tutors
Our English Tutor Team
Who’s on the EduEdge Team?
Mr Edwin Edangelus Cheng
The English Language Specialist
Ms Rowena May-Yue
Top English & Literature Strategist
Your Child Can Be Our Next Success Story
Hear What Students & Parents Say
Let’s take a brief
moment to summarise
what EduEdge can
do for your child:
Help Your Child Achieve The Best
English Grade With The Right Tutors
You and your child are invited to a FREE Diagnostic Consultation + Assessment session to learn how our English Mastery Programme can support your child.
This programme has helped every 1 out of 2 students achieve a B3, A2 or A1 in the National Examinations and every 3 out of 4 students improve by 2 or more grades
You and your child can find out more how such Awesome English grades are possible during your Diagnostic Session (worth $150… but YOURS FREE only until the end of the month).
- What are your child’s current strengths and areas for improvement in English learning
- Where does your child stand in relation to the Cambridge English assessment bands
- How your child can greatly improve their English grades using our ‘Formula-Style’ method
Our English Specialist will give a comprehensive analysis of your child’s start point + precise, actionable feedback to cover learning gaps on the spot.
But you’ll need to act NOW as our seats are going Fast!
Truth be told, there are just few seats remaining in most time slots.
And that’s because…
EduEdge is Singapore’s only English Tuition Specialist with the ‘Formula-Style’ Method to Help Students Learn English using Formulas.
Yes, your child will quickly learn, understand and master English using formulas, just like Math and Science.
There are a total of 13 formulas across All 4 paper components to ensure that your child will tackle the English exams with utmost confidence!
As a responsible parent, I’m sure you’ll do everything you can to help your child.
You most likely want your child to ace the English exams in school and get into the desired stream / IP track during Secondary Two streaming year.
You most likely want to see your child rejoice over a good O / N Level English grade at the GCE exams.
And more importantly, you most likely want your child to do well enough in English to go to a desirable Junior College or Polytechnic, so as to be able to pursue their dreams and aspirations freely.
And guess what? This desire can very well turn into reality.
All you need to do is to find out what your child’s learning needs are and how the ‘Formula-Style’ method can further support your child.
Assessment for your child today.
(*only valid till the end of the month)
(If all of us are in class, our friendly Customer Service Officer will attend to you.)
To Your Child’s Future English Success,
EduEdge Learning Hub
P.S> Here’s a quick reminder: As my team and I are busy supporting our students in class, we can only offer a maximum of 3 Diagnostic Consultations per week… and this offer will be taken down once our schedule shifts into ‘high gear’. So don’t let another parent steal your coveted appointment slot and deny your child the chance.
P.P.S> The fact that you are reading this means you might be asking yourself whether your child is presently getting the Right support in English – if your child’s teachers or current tutor is familiar with the new English syllabus or if they are doing enough – your worries are not without basis.
—
So the best (and only!) way to find out is to schedule a consultation appointment NOW.
Remember: Any further waiting will delay the improvement in your child’s English grades… don’t wait until it is too late to turnabout her grade.
English is a compulsory L1 subject used in the admission criteria for your child’s JC or POLY choice.
