Looking for Quality Home Tutor to provide English Tuition in Singapore?

English Tuition at Home

The solution to lead your child towards English mastery and alleviate your worries.

Have you been seeking...

• Expert English tutors who are familiar with the school syllabus, especially when there is no standard English textbook used in schools
• A patient and experienced home tutor to help your child excel in all components of the English examinations
• Home-based lessons to ensure the students’ comfort and reduce time wastage on commuting
• Budget-friendly English tutor starting from $20/hr
• Choose the most suitable tutor from a good selection of qualified English tutors
• Receive English tutor profiles within 24 hours for your selection and arrangement of phone interviews

Benefits You Can Gain From Tutor City's English Tutors

• Improved confidence and proficiency to score well in English examinations and assessments can be achieved within a shorter time frame with private English tuition. Cut out the distractions of English tuition in a large group setting and harness the advantages of personalised attention and tailored lesson materials from an experienced English tutor who works alongside your child to improve on his weakness and gain confidence from his or her strengths to ace all assessment components.

• A trusted and established home tuition service provider that puts your needs first. Our tuition agency has over a decade of experience in catering to the requirements of parents and students in Singapore. Count on us to promptly deliver profiles of skilled English who are available to provide tuition at your preferred location, time, and budget, within 24 hours.

• Move away from rigid English lessons and receive actionable strategies and tactics to cater to your child’s learning needs. No matter whether it is the MOE or International Baccalaureate (IB) English and literature syllabus, our qualified tutors are familiar with and confident to coach your child. Gain customised and practical feedback which can be implemented effectively for your child to improve essential English skills in areas such as vocabulary, grammar, reading, listening, comprehension and writing. Let your child learn at a pace best suited for them with private English tuition instead of following a dry and rigid lesson catered for a class.

• Our agency has a vast selection of 20,000 home tutors specialising in English, including trained school teachers, accomplished professionals, and outstanding university students from both local and overseas institutions. Choose the tutor who best suits your budget (starting from $20/hr), and specific needs, and receive the solution your child needs to keep up with the demanding English curriculum and not fall behind their peers.

• Optimise your child’s English language mastery by reducing energy and time wasted on travelling, especially when your child’s schedule is packed with CCA and other enrichment activities. Enjoy the convenience and safety of having English tuition in the comfort of your home at a time that best suits your family’s schedule. Reduce the logistical headaches of finding an available timeslot or scheduling replacement lessons in a tuition centre.

• Make good decisions on the English tutor most fitting for your child. Conduct phone interviews or seek our consultation to make an informed decision on tutor selection from the curated selection of English tutors based on your requirements. Our tutor-matching service comes at no cost to you, if an English tutor doesn't meet your expectations after the first lesson, you'll only need to pay for that single lesson. We'll keep working to match you with another tutor that better suits your needs.

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Over 400 Positive Reviews from Satisfied Parents

Our track record of helping students achieve their goals speaks for itself. Check out our numerous positive Google reviews!

"The process is fast, smooth and prompt. I was struggled for months to find a good tutor! Glad we have Benson help up in searching for a good tutor for my P2 child. The tutor was very good and knowledgeable compare to other agencies. Very resourceful. Highly recommended."

Anna Chong

"Mr. Wee has been recommending tutors for my 3 children for many years. I am very impress by both his professionalism and impeccable service. His attention to details and efficiency has helped me source out many great tutors. The tutors are very knowledgeable and all my children's school grades have improved. Thank you so much."

Verneavia Tang

"Finding of tutor was fast and efficient within a day. I hope to find a tutor that can teach 3 subjects and they manage to find for me with a reasonable fee."

Sharon Gwee

"The turnaround time is pretty fast, and the tutors are more experienced than other agencies I have dealt with. Even my kids felt that the tutors are more knowledgeable compared with the ones they had previously. Highly Recommended."

Wendi Ng

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How much does English tuition cost in Singapore?

The hourly fees for English tuition generally fall between $30 and $120 per hour, depending on the qualifications and experience level of the tutor.
 

1. Includes students in polytechnics, universities and graduates tutoring part-time.
2. Language proficiency range from basic to advanced so rates will be quoted upon knowing each learner's needs.
3. If your child has special needs, go to our SPED page to understand the certifications and fees that SPED teachers are quoting.

English tuition in Singapore doesn't necessarily have to come with a hefty price tag. In fact, you can find reasonably priced options based on your requirements. Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of different categories of home tutors can help you choose an English tutor profile that fits your budget.

Tutor City is committed to helping your child realise their potential and excel in English by facilitating effective learning. Our team of English Tutors are proficient in teaching students at various levels, ensuring that your child receives personalised attention and instruction.

Our database boasts a comprehensive list of more than 20,000 active English home tutors who are highly qualified and experienced in coaching students to help your child prepare for national-level English examinations, such as PSLE, O levels, A levels, IB, IGCSE and AEIS.

We take pride in selecting capable English tuition home tutors who consistently deliver top-notch lessons and are committed to providing an enriching tutoring experience for your child.

With our extensive experience of over a decade serving parents and their children, we possess the expertise to identify the perfect match to cater to your requirements quickly and offer valuable guidance to help you make the most informed decision. Saving you time, effort and trouble to do so.

Our English tutors are adept at teaching students at a variety of levels, including K1 and K2, PSLE, O level, A level, IB, IGCSE and AEIS.

• Preschool English, Phonics, K1 and K2
• Lower Primary English Tuition (P1-P3), Creative Writing
• Upper Primary English Tuition (P4-P6), PSLE English, Foundation English Tuition
• AEIS English Tuition
• Secondary English Tuition, O level English Tuition, N level English Tuition, IP English Tuition, IGCSE English Tuition
• Junior College English, A level English Tuition, H1 General Paper, H2 Knowledge and Inquiry
• IBDP English Tuition, IPDP SL English Tuition, IBDP HL English Tuition
• Polytechnic English Tuition, Adult Conversational/Business English, Oral English Tuition

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How does English Tuition with Tutor City’s home tutor solves the struggles students face?

With the ever-evolving English syllabus in schools, to make learning more useful and relevant in daily life and the future workforce, it is challenging for parents and students to keep up with the changes and adequately prepare your child for all components of the English assessment. This includes oral, listening, vocabulary, grammar, comprehension and writing.

This causes a lot of anxiety and stress. Mastering the English language is just like building a house. Without a solid English foundation, your child is likely to struggle and feel deflated as the difficulty of the subject increases as he or she progresses to the next academic level.

We have listed some common challenges students face when learning English and how Tutor City’s private English tuition is the right solution to ensure your child does not fall behind.

Subject mastery challenges students will encounter when learning English

• Poor vocabulary and grammar usage for comprehension, composition or essay writing. Read our guide on how to score for the comprehension cloze of PSLE English. 
• Poor pronunciation of English words and syllabus
• Unable to either properly and logically verbalise their thoughts for oral component during assessments resulting in silence or short answers
• Failure to infer meanings of the various passages in the comprehension, usually due to poor English literacy skills
• Difficulty understanding comprehension questions and unable to answer them well
• Struggle with essay writing due to a lack of ideas, poor language usage or lack of writing techniques
• Unable to answer questions well due to problem with sentence structure to score better marks
• Limited vocabulary leading to poor understanding of the exam questions, incorrect answers and failure to increase language marks in writing.

Learning challenges students will encounter when learning English

• Difficulty memorizing basic grammar rules and words to increase vocabulary usage
• Inefficient time management strategies lead to an incomplete paper

• Poor self-confidence and disinterest in English due to past or repeated failure
• Fear of any form of essay or composition writing due to negative mindset
• Carelessness and forgetfulness to reduce mistakes in grammar, sentence structure, misspellings and punctuation during English exams
• Language barrier due to poor oral and comprehension skills, not able to understand communication or adequately express themselves

How Tutor City’s home tutor can help students overcome challenges to improve English grades

Having recommended English home tutors to parents and students for over a decade, we have developed an understanding of the unique problems that students face when learning English and the difficulties that parents encounter in selecting a competent English tuition tutor.

Learning the ropes of English may be a lonely and isolating experience if your child has no one to turn to for motivation, self-assurance and guidance, to walk them through their learning journey until they gain confidence in the subject.

That is why English tutors from Tutor City process the positive teaching aptitude and is enthusiastic, patient and has strong communication ability to explain complex grammar rules, impart writing and oral techniques and is genuine to guide your child throughout until he or she excels.

If your child is facing difficulties in English, don't delay until the situation exacerbates. Reach out to our proficient English tutors to help your child enhance their skills.

Are you ready to get a private english tutor for your child? Fill in the online form now!

Why English Home Tuition is Effective

Here are some advantages private home tuition can help your child in English:

1. Make significant progress in their English grades within a shorter span of time. As there are several components in learning English from listening to writing. Having a personalised home tuition lesson is effective as the tutor will be laser sharp in identifying the weakness of your child and utilise more relevant teaching strategies. For instance, if your child already has a good understanding of grammar rules, time can be focused on expansion of his or her vocabulary to score more points. This optimises and shorten your child’s learning timeline to see results as compared to in a tuition centre setting.

2. Safe and secure environment for English learning. If your child is struggling with oral communication such as pronunciation or facing anxiety and fear of speaking in a group due to English language barrier, English home tuition can help them feel safe and supported since it is in the comfort of your home. Watch as your child flourish to become a more confident English speaker or overcome their hesitant to ask questions under the coaching of our qualified and patient English experts.

3. Customised resources and materials. Since there is no standard English textbook, experienced English tutors are able to pick out the resources that are useful to your child, this includes model essays or compositions, past year exam papers, oral practices and even top school learning materials so that your child can gain an edge other their peers. When it comes to preparation of tertiary level English assessments such as General Paper or IBDP English, tutors can prepare materials to increase students’ general knowledge and current affairs awareness.

4. Schedule tuition classes to your convenience and reduce travelling time. Save time that would have been spent on commuting to and from a tutoring center, and instead, use the time for more meaningful activities instead.

5. Ability to select English tutor that works for your child. Unlike other subjects that are topical in nature such as Maths or Science, learning a language such as English requires “buy-in” from the student and the willingness to put in effort in their daily life if they want gain mastery of it within the shortest time. This includes using the language more through speaking, reading, watching the news and practising their writing. Parents will need to select the right English tutor with the aptitude to establish rapport your child since each student has different personality and motivational factors. Unlike a tuition centre where you have limited choice of who is teaching the class, acquire the freedom to select a tutor who works best for your child through private English tuition.

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What is the importance of English Tuition?

English is the dominant language in the world and is important allowing a person to successfully navigate his daily life and interactions socially, expressing his ideas, thoughts in the form of oral or written communication and also as in a professional business setting.

However, in Singapore it is not hard to notice that most students do not have good proficiency although we are an English-speaking country and that it is a common instructional language in schools. The reasons are because first: most students in Singapore usually do not have access to perfect role models of Standard English, and second as a result of our bilingual education system and multi-ethnicity culture, the Singapore colloquial English, known as ‘Singlish’, which is a hallmark of Singapore’s version of English.

Although there is no fault in speaking Singlish in the private setting, the problem comes when your child cannot distinct between what is internationally acceptable standard English and Singlish. Or worse, begin to incorporate Singlish into formal English assessments such as composition or essays.

Moreover, as your child moves into tertiary education in Singapore such as junior colleges, polytechnics, IBDP or local/foreign Universities, their English examination grades will be an important criterion that has significant weightage on whether they can enrol in their ideal course or faculty. It is hard to enter a university without passing English.

Having private English tuition to provide individualised attention for your child is ideal for providing an expert role model to correct incorrect English usage, closely monitor your child’s progress in terms of areas of improvement, scaffold your child’s learning by coaching your child to take charge of his or her learning by not providing them with the solutions right away and being a strong source of support as your child navigate through the education system and blossom into a more confident, articulate and eloquent English user. 

MOE English Curriculum

If we take a look at the English language teaching framework and aims of schools, we will notice that at the primary and secondary levels, the specific skills students will need to acquire are listening, speaking, reading, comprehension and writing.

At this stage, students will pick up linguistic and literacy skills such as grammar, vocabulary, contextual language usage through a variety of texts that can be literacy, such as stories or informational texts such as non-friction articles.

<MOE English Language Syllabus 2020 Primary and Secondary Schools>

As your child progress to secondary education, learning of English language will deepen into the more advanced level of using the language in both speaking and writing and then representing, this means being able to confidently, coherently and cohesively present their ideas, arguments or thoughts to communicate based on a given purpose, context and audience either in a speech such as through a presentation or written format such as essays or summaries.

At this stage, more advanced English skills such as generation, selection and organisation of ideas, development and expression of ideas, revision and editing is important. Students are also expected to have a more advanced knowledge of grammar and vocabulary usage.

<MOE General Paper Syllabus H1>

In Junior Colleges, whether your child select the General Paper H1 course or the more advanced English Language and Linguistics (ELL) H2 course, the focus is now on adopting a critical and inventing thinking procedure to be able to formulate good reasoning, informed and insightful personal pieces such as essays in response to issues that are of local, regional and global significance. For ELL students, they are also expected to acquire knowledge of English language usage in different social and geographical contexts and also display deeper skills in communication and information pertaining to English linguistics, this assessed through analysis, adaptive writing and commentaries.

IB English Curriculum

<IB English Language and Literature Syllabus Assessment Model>

The IB English Language and Literature are divided into two levels, namely the Standard Level and the more advanced Higher Level. This course is different form the other subjects offered in the IB curriculum as there is a high level of flexibility so there is no structured curriculum.

The teacher has the freedom to choose works from an approved list of text and authors and students will write essay that include their interpretation, critical analysis and formulate their own responses based on those literary texts studied. Besides engagement with a range of text, students will also need to develop English skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, presenting and performing.

So, what are the key critical skills to score well in English? We have provided a list for you to refer to:

Primary/Secondary Levels

• Ability to listen and interpret English visual information in various format such as images, videos, diagrams to understand the message based on context, connection, interpretation and inference. One example is listening and visual comprehension in primary school examinations.
• Reading and comprehension skills such as accurate understanding and construction of the meaning of text.
• Ability to infer and respond critically based on the implied meaning behind text based on understanding. This requires language usage skills such as ability to formulate sentences to express thoughts, ideas and opinions.
• Speaking and communicating confidently such as having English language fluency, proper pronunciation, correct choice of words to achieve a certain aim (e.g.: describing a picture, relating an experience, in a group discussion)
• Ability to write clearly, with accuracy in spelling and sentence structure.
• Ability to generate, select, organise, develop and express ideas using English Language, such as in writing compositions.
• Ability to proof-read, review and edit own writing.
• Possess excellent grammar skills including at words, phrase and sentence levels.
• Possess wide range of vocabulary to display rich usage of English Language in listening, reading, speaking, writing and presenting.  

Tertiary Levels

• Research skills to gather relevant information and ideas of either significant issues on the individual, society, region or the world or on any literature texts and their background.
• Critical thinking and analytical ability to identify relationship and connection between components of English language text, which can be friction or non-friction.
• Synthesize, evaluate, create and develop insightful ideas, arguments or conclusion from a wide range of English language sources. More importantly, possessing strong English language ability to present them in a logical, clear and structured manner in written form.

English Skills Covered by Tutor City’s Experienced English Tutors

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The time spent in the classroom alone is insufficient for achieving high scores in English.

For students to excel and score high marks in all different parts of English assessments, they will need to be immersed in the language not just in the classroom alone but also in their home environment and social settings. Secondly, students need to spend significant amount time to put into use and practice and what they have learn to continuously refine their English oral, writing or language usage skills.

In the classroom, due to limited lesson duration, the school teacher will only have time to conduct lessons and cover the basic English materials in the syllabus. This might be sufficient for most students to achieve a pass or average grade, but this is hardly sufficient for your child to excel in the subject.

Much burden is placed on the student to put in effort outside the classroom, during their own personal time to achieve a good English proficiency. This include reading a variety of friction and non-friction text, catching up with global issues and current affairs through watching the news, reading commentaries, taking initiatives to expand their vocabulary and grammar knowledge and writing compositions or essays.

Being children and teenagers, we know that nearly 90% of the students would not take the initiative to do the above voluntarily as they would rather spend time on Youtube, Tiktok or gaming during their free time.

This is especially difficult if your child is already not doing well in English and find completing English work a stressful and dreadful chore.

Stop for a moment and imagine your child has a companion who is able to be there alongside him as he navigates the complexities of English grammar rules, or exposing him to more vocabulary words through interesting articles that are of interest to him such as the newest Kpop news. Being his cheerleader when he is feeling demotivated to finish his work and instilling discipline in your child when he is not keeping up with the required weekly readings or fail to double check his work.

Only a private English tutor can provide this degree of commitment and attention.

With dedicated focus on your child’s specific learning needs and weakness, your child will gain the benefit of an English teaching strategy tailored to him or her. For instance, if your child is an auditory learner and not a visual learner, making your child read chunks of English text by him or herself will be less effective. A good English home tutor can recite the text together with your child to better retain the information or have him or her record the vocabulary words, spell them out and listen to them as an examination revision strategy.

Unlike the school or tuition centre classes which follow a structured curriculum, a English home tutor has the freedom and flexibility to prepare additional resources and materials which they feel will benefit or interest your child. These include specific questions in areas which your child is weak in extracted from different assessment books or past year exam papers, or even podcast or videos on different issues to exposure your child of language use in different context.

With the combination of supervision, personalised feedback and customised strategies through private English tuition lessons, it is no surprise that students will see their English examination grades improve by leaps and bounds within a short period of time.

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English tutors in Singapore: The different profiles

Are you aware of the types of English home tutors available in Singapore? Do you know that each tutor profile comes with its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages that can significantly influence your child's English learning. We urge parents to take advantage of flexibility English home tuition offer and choose the most suitable tutor profile for your child.

To assist you in this task, below is an overview of the different tutor profiles and their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Full-time English Home Tutors

Similar to other working professionals, full-time tutors dedicate their careers to offering private lessons in English, often working over forty hours a week. They provide tuition to students of diverse abilities, educational backgrounds, and education institutions.

Full-time English tutors comes from different career fields and education qualification but typically they hold qualifications at the tertiary or bachelor’s level such as diplomas or degrees in English, Literature, Social Sciences, Humanities courses or other related fields.

This is why they have strong language skills such as excellent written and verbal communication as well as a deep understanding of English usage and rules including grammar, syntax and vocabulary.

Based on their highest qualifications and comfort level, some full-time English tutors might have a specific area of speciality. This can include creative and composition writing, general paper for junior college students and others are proficient in IB, AEIS or IGCSE curriculum.

Some full-time tutors have also qualifications such as Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) or Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certifications which provides them with specialised knowledge to teach English to non-native speakers and adult foreign learners. 

Advantages of Engaging Full-time English Home Tutors

Typically, full-time tutors can have a few years up to decades of teaching experience. This makes them very knowledgeable of the school’s syllabus including what materials to prepare for lessons (this is important since there is no official English textbook) and a good understanding of how their tutee’s background and culture will impact their English language learning experiences.  

For instance, in a household where English is not the dominant language such as expat families, the tutor might cater time to practice pronunciation and conversing with the tutee to improve his oral communication skills.

Due to regular contact with different profiles of parents and students, full-time English tutors have the ability to handle children of different ages, from primary school age 7 all the way up to 18-year-old junior college students and even adult learners who are new to the language.  

Full-time English tutors can readily customise their teaching materials and approaches to suit the unique characteristics of both children and adults.

They are also familiar with the concerns of parents and are open to provide actionable feedback including ways that you could incorporate more English language usage or materials to support your child at home. For instance, this could include providing recommendation of English resources such as appropriate TV programmes, books and games for your child to strengthen their language ability.

Since full-time English tutors rely on tutoring as their main source of income, they are highly dedicated and reliable when it comes to sticking to the tuition schedule.

They also understand the significance of establishing a rapport with your child in a private tuition setting, and they are likely to continue to tutor your child as they progress through the academic levels.

They are less likely to switch students frequently, recognising the importance of building a stable relationship with their tutees, this is important as learning English is progressive and it is greatly beneficial to have a tutor who is very familiar with your child’s abilities and habits.

Disadvantages of Engaging Full-time English Home Tutors

The hourly rate charged by full-time English home tutors is generally higher compared to part-time tutors, this is due to expertise that is accumulated based on experience in tutoring English over the years and also the fact that additional time is spend writing lesson plans, researching and selecting materials and even curating their own proprietary worksheets and questions.

Due to the good results that English full-time tutors often provide (or else they will not be able to carve out a career in this competitive profession), some star-tutors will have less flexibility in their schedule for parents to book their English tuition slots at their convenience due to their commitments to other students. This happens as they have a regular group of students who engage their service even as they progress through the academic levels.

Working Professionals English Part-time tutors

Individuals who work part-time as English tutors either have a full-time career as their primary job, while offering home tuition as a supplementary source of income. These tutors can come from diverse educational or cultural backgrounds, while a portion of these tutors can be local, some of them can be native English speakers or has past work experiences teaching English in overseas schools or adult training institutions.

Advantages of Engaging Part-time English Home Tutors Who Are Working Professionals

Engaging part-time tutors for English tuition offers the most value for parents who has set a tutoring budget as they can provide quality English lessons due to their unique mix of tutoring experience and English qualifications. For example, if your child is in primary school and has average English grades, you might not need a tutor with professional teaching qualifications or a degree holder.

Part-time English home tutors offer their tuition service at a lower cost than both MOE and full-time tutors. This lessens the financial burden for families with multiple children or can better optimise your tuition fees to allow your child to have lessons in other subjects too.

Although part-time English tutors might hold different day jobs, they all have the common characteristic of the love towards the English language. This can positively influence your child and instill their interest in the subject, for instance they can share the content of books they recently read or theatre plays they attended.

Due to their work experiences, such English tutors can emphasize to your child the importance of mastering English well drawing examples from their corporate life and bringing in real-world examples and knowledge to impart to your child. Some of these examples could be the importance of oral skills in the presentation of business proposals to clients and writing emails to disagree with certain work policies. 

This would make learning English more engaged, relevant and enjoyable to your child.

Some part-time tutors with more years of tutoring experience are well-versed with the school curriculum. Look out for part-time tutors that has received positive feedback and testimonials from their current or past students, demonstrating their effectiveness.

Disadvantages of Engaging Part-time English Home Tutors Who Are Working Professionals

As working professionals, their schedule might not be as flexible which could limit their available tuition slots for the lessons. Typically, their slots will only be available after office hours during the weekday or the weekends. Sometimes due to their busy work-schedule they might need to reschedule lessons.

Unlike Maths or Science subjects which has a fixed topics and structured content, part-time English tutors might need to work more closely with your child to be informed of the learning objectives or literary texts covered in their schools for them to include in the tuition sessions.

Most part-time tutors do not hold professional teaching qualifications and might not be updated with the most recent changes in syllabus or assessment requirements. However, this can be overcome by engaging in frequent communication with your child about their school work.   

Student English Part-time Tutors

English tutors in this group are students who are studying in polytechnics, universities, or pursuing a master's degree. Usually, they are currently pursuing a course relevant to English language, for instance in linguistics, literature, social sciences, arts and humanities.

They offer English tuition services as a means of supplementing their income and these tutors have a closer age gap with their tutees and can be more energetic and enthusiastic.

Advantages of Engaging Part-time English Home Tutors Who Are Students

English tutor who are students offer the most budget-friendly tuition fees as compared to all the rest of the tutor profiles.

If you assumed that student tutor will provide subpar English tuition lessons, you might be misunderstood. Many student tutors choose to tutor part-time because they have achieved excellent grades in their O or A levels and possess proficient language skills which they could impart to your child.

Their recent experience navigating Singapore’s education system and stress of sitting for a high-stake national exam makes them more sympathetic to your child’s feelings of anxiety and nervousness in mastering English language. This make them being able to establish rapport with your child quickly and help to provide both instructional and mental support in your child’s learning journey.

This is especially useful for students who have difficulty communicating their difficulties to people in authority such as teachers or parents. The student tutor can relate the tutees concerns to you so that you can better support your child.

The student tutors provide greater flexibility for scheduling tuition lessons, and makeup lessons can also be arranged more easily. Parents can also arrange more lessons with student tutors during their school term breaks for English enrichment tuition lessons or to catch up with the syllabus.

Disadvantages of Engaging Part-time English Home Tutors Who Are Students

Ultimately, student tutors are not certified teachers and their average tuition experience is between one to four years. With lesser experience, some of them might not have taught enough students to be able to handle all types of tutees. Therefore, it is important for parents to consider whether the personality of a selected student tutor is suitable for your child.

At times, student tutors may experience an irregular school schedule as a result of exams, CCAs, or other school obligations. This can limit their ability to schedule home tuition sessions, so parents need to communicate in advance and expect to exercise some flexibility for student tutors.

It is important for parents to engage the services of a reliable and trusted tuition agency to conduct thorough screening and shortlisting of student tutors, this is to ensure that they are committed to tutoring your child and that their qualifications and education history are valid.

MOE-Trained English Home Tutors

English home tutors in this category consist of two profiles: the MOE teachers who are currently teaching in schools or ex-MOE teachers who have left service and no longer teaching in schools.

Tutors in this group are officially trained in NIE and are professionally certified teachers.

Advantages of Engaging MOE-Trained English Home Tutors

Tutors in this category are very sought-after, as some parents are willing to put in the budget to help their struggling child achieve the desired English grades and not fall further behind.

MOE-trained tutors are very familiar with the school syllabus and are content matter experts. They know how curriculum, syllabus are planned and might have experience setting papers and know the marking criteria very well. They can help to point on focus areas which your child should work on, such as writing techniques to make their composition stand out from other students. They are also aware of the teaching strategies to help weaker students and can impart practical techniques which can help your help improve his English grades within a short amount of time. This is possible due to the large number of students taught and vast classroom teaching experience.

Disadvantages of Engaging MOE-Trained English Home Tutors

MOE-trained English tutors are highly sought after by parents due to their teaching qualifications and effectiveness, resulting in them charging the highest tuition rates among all tutor profiles.

Hiring such tutors can be a significant financial commitment, especially if multiple subjects or children in the household require tuition. The supply of current MOE-trained school tutors is limited because of the new regulatory procedures implemented by the Singapore Public Service Division in 2021.

School teachers are only allowed to teach tuition if approved by their school principal and for valid reasons. This makes it challenging for MOE school teachers to be available for English home tuition.

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Different Types of English Tuition in Singapore

1. English tuition in the tuition centre

English tuition in a tuition centre can be in a large or small group setting which ranges from a group of 6 to sometimes 30 or more students. Students usually have to travel to a physical location for tuition classes that are set out on a fixed schedule.

Some English tuition centre only specialise in English tuition, there are a couple that only focus on creative and essay writing. This allows the centre to pay attention on curriculum and developing good English teaching strategies as compared to the other centres offer tuition in multiple subjects.

As compared to private English tuition, there is little freedom to select the English tutor, especially one that can match your timeslot and preferred tuition centre outlet. Usually, the popular English tutor’s classes are packed full, and you might be put on a waitlist with an indefinite waiting time. Moreover, there is also additional time spent on commuting and make-up lessons can be hard to schedule since the lessons are less flexible as there is a need to cater to other students and classroom availability.

2. Home English tuition

Parents can hire an English tutor to provide one-to-one tuition services either in the comfort of your own home or at the tutor’s place (if your place is not conducive) at a timeslot which is convenient for you.

A private English tutor does not play the role of a teacher, which is defined as someone who will deliver lessons in a more formal and bigger setting. Therefore, the skillsets of being a good tutor can be different compared to that of a teacher.

Home tuition is in a more intimate and private setting, effective home tutors are better able to aid weaker students in mastering English quickly because they are usually equipped with good interpersonal skills. This allows them to build rapport and credibility with their students to elevate their joy and learning experience as compared to a group setting. 

3. Private small group English tuition

Due to budget constraints, some tertiary students or their parents might hire a private English or General Paper tutor to teach a small group of 2 to 4 students who can be friends or classmates at an indicated location, such as the tutor’s place or a co-working space and split the hourly tutor fees among themselves.

Besides reducing tuition costs, small-group private English tuition is popular at the tertiary level (upper secondary or JC, IB, AEIS, IGCSE) because students can share their ideas such as story board, argument or viewpoints through discussions. The communication among the students will help in their language usage and expression.

Lastly, learning in a group enhances motivation as the interaction can help students to be more engaged and look forward to attending the English tuition sessions.

4. Online English tuition

Online learning has taken off post-covid, and both tuition centres and private home tutors offer the option of online English tuition for students who prefer this.

This option can be explored, for instance, if an English tutor is not able to meet your schedule due to the commuting time needed to travel to your place as he or she has a lesson prior to yours. Remote English tuition is advantageous if you would like to minimise your child’s contact with people so as not to fall sick, especially when it is close to important examinations such as PSLE or O/A Levels.  

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How to select a English home tutor for tuition lessons?

To help you narrow your search, here are some essential qualities you should look for in an English tutor:

1. Experience

Experience is one of the most important things when looking for the right tutor. The English tutor that is perfect for your needs to have experience in teaching similar levels. The experience will mean that they are familiar with the latest syllabus and examination practices.

At Tutor City, we will only recommend tutors to you who have experience teaching English to students of a similar level. It will allow them to polish your skills and help you get the highest academic grades in no time. That is why you can count on us to recommend a perfect fit for your educational needs.

2. Qualifications

You should always check qualifications before opting for any tutor. The teachers need to be trained by MOE and NIE to help students in the best way possible. Besides that, you also need to check the tutor's personal English grades and academic achievements.

All tutors at Tutor City are more than capable of teaching English the right way. During your selection process, we will highlight all the qualifications of a tutor. It will help you make the right decision to choose a tutor that you think will be perfect for you.

3. Syllabus Familiarity

The MOE syllabus keeps on updating and changing. That is why you need a tutor who is aware of these changes and teaches students accordingly. Syllabus familiarity will supplement the student's learning progress as tutors can help them excel in no time.

At Tutor City, we include everything in our tutor’s profiles. You will get to know how experienced they are and how familiar they are with the current syllabus. It will allow you to make the right decision that will enhance your learning progress in no time.

4. Additional Learning Materials

English tutors that have been tutoring for a long time tend to gather their resources over time. They take notes and content from various schools and compile them to benefit from the best English practice. These additional learning materials will help you enhance your skills and use of English.

At Tutor City, we will always indicate our tutor's profiles if they can provide you with additional learning resources and materials. It will allow you to make an informed decision.

5. Feedback

Each student is unique with different learning styles. That is why it is essential to understand how they will teach the student. To assess this, you need to check the feedback from previous students and clients.

At Tutor City, we include feedback from previous clients of tutors so you can understand their teaching style better. It will allow you to select the best tutor so you can witness a significant improvement in English academic grades.

Support from Tutor City to select a suitable English tutor

Tutor City is committed to helping you select the best English tutor for your child. Here is the support you will receive when hiring a tutor for English tuition:

• Carefully screen and highly qualified English tutors with excellent teaching skills and experience
• Fast response time of within 24 hours to receive tutor profiles for your selection when you put in a English tutor request form
• Arrangement of a phone interview with the shortlisted tutor
• Free consultation with us to understand your requirements and advise you on a suitable English tutor profile
• Follow up service on the feedback of the English tutor after your first lesson
• Flexibility to change tutor if you find him or her unsuitable, only the lessons taught will be charged
• 100% no fees charged to you for our English tutor-matching service

Tutor City: Singapore's Premier English Tuition Agency

Tutor City is Singapore’s premier English tuition agency, we strive to provide top-notch customer service to help students find their ideal English home tutor.

Our mission is to help parents save time and effort in looking for an English tutor by offering customer-friendly tutor-matching services through our qualified tutors that are thoroughly screened, regardless of the budget and tuition location.

Put in a tutor request form with us now.