【Location】Yishun
【Child’s Age/Grade】Secondary 1 girl
【Core Issues】Chinese grade dropped from C to D; essay off-topic; afraid to speak in oral class; resistant to Chinese lessons
【Ramblings】As a Chinese parent working hard in Singapore, I really don’t want my child to lose her Chinese roots! but after trying 2 group tuition classes and 1 private tutor—spending a lot of money—my child became even more scared of Chinese. That was until we found Sino-bus’s one-on-one customized courses.
Now her Chinese is steadily at b grade, and she even takes the initiative to chat with me about dramas in Chinese! I have to share this on the forum to help other anxious parents avoid the pitfalls I went through! Let me start with the pitfalls! The first group class had over 30 kids crammed into one classroom.
The teacher only taught general knowledge points; my child was weak in grammar, but the teacher couldn’t pay attention to her at all. Her homework was full of mistakes, and she lost more confidence the more she studied. Later, we switched to a private tutor who was from China. All the examples she used were about “beijing hutongs” and “Shanghai lanes”—my child grew up in Singapore and couldn’t relate at all.
After 10 lessons, she cried and refused to go anymore. Then my best friend recommended Sino-bus’s one-on-one customized courses, saying it’s a “Chinese program exclusive to Singaporean kids.” I booked a consultation with my last shred of hope.
Right after I filled in my child’s details—Secondary 1, poor grammar, no ideas for writing, likes K-pop and Marina bay—the course consultant called back in less than half an hour. Instead of pushing sales right away, she first analyzed the characteristics of Singapore’s Chinese education: “Local kids don’t lack vocabulary; what they lack is a connection between Chinese and daily life scenarios. One-on-one customized courses can precisely fill this gap.” I was blown away by the first Sino-bus trial class.
The matched teacher, Ms. Zhang, has years of experience teaching Chinese in Singapore. She started the class by taking out a K-pop poster my child likes: “Look at the stage lights of your idols—how do we describe them in Chinese? Today we’ll use the ‘ba’ sentence structure: ‘The lights ba the stage illuminated like daytime.’ Try rephrasing it?” My child’s eyes lit up immediately, and following the teacher’s guidance, she said, “The stage ba the lights held in its arms”—a sentence she would never have thought of before! A true one-on-one customized course means even the teaching content follows the child’s life.
When my child went to watch fireworks at Marina bay on the weekend, Ms. Zhang set the course theme as “Recording the Fireworks Spectacle in Chinese.” When my child participated in a hawker centre charity sale at school, the class turned into “Creating Chinese Hawker Cry Slogans.” Compared to the “one-size-fits-all model essays” from the previous group classes, this customized approach that integrates Chinese into familiar scenarios made her completely lose her resistance—now she looks forward to Sino-bus classes every week. What gives me the most peace of mind is Sino-bus’s complete tracking system.
After each class, Ms. Zhang sends a detailed report, marking my child’s progress—“Mastered 3 uses of the ‘ba’ sentence structure this week; can actively describe daily scenarios in Chinese”—and areas for improvement: “Need to strengthen argumentative essay logic.” The monthly phase tests clearly show her grades rising: from D to C+, then steadily to b—every step is solid.
Once my child had a cold and fever and couldn’t attend class, and the flexibility of Sino-bus’s customized courses shone through. The teacher adjusted the time immediately and even changed the class to a “Chinese Story Healing Class,” telling the little story of *Lee Kuan Yew and Chinese* in a gentle tone. She didn’t fall behind on learning, and her health was taken care of too. This kind of humanized customized service is something none of the previous tuition classes could offer.
——————Parent Interaction Zone——————
@Lion City Mom Lily:
Can this one-on-one customized course be for K-stage kids? My child learns Chinese characters really slowly.
【Original Poster’s Reply】
Absolutely! When I consulted, I learned Sino-bus has corresponding one-on-one customized courses for kids aged 4-16. For K-stage, teachers turn Chinese characters into pictures of Singapore botanic Gardens, Zoo, etc., and teach recognition through nursery rhymes and animations—it’s much more effective than rote memorization.
My neighbor’s K2 child learned over 200 characters after 3 months! @Working Dad Mark: It’s online one-on-one customized courses—I’m worried my child will get distracted in class.
【Original Poster’s Reply】
That’s what I worried about at first, but after the class, I realized it was totally unnecessary! One-on-one teaching means the teacher keeps an eye on the child the whole time, and designs interactive games like “Chinese Character Solitaire” and “Role-playing.” My child used to sneak play with erasers during group classes, but now she can follow the teacher’s train of thought for the entire 40-minute class, and sometimes even raises her hand to answer questions actively.
Honestly, I used to think Chinese was hard because we hadn’t found the right method. The best thing about Sino-bus’s one-on-one customized courses is that they don’t do “one-size-fits-all”—they precisely target each child’s weaknesses and interests. My child used to only copy templates for essays, but now she can describe Singapore’s HDb flats, hawker centres, and Merlion in Chinese, with life breathed into every word. She used to be afraid to speak Chinese, but now she takes the initiative to write Chinese letters to her grandpa in China.
Last week, my child even volunteered to join the school’s Chinese speech contest, with the topic *My Story with Chinese*. She specifically mentioned: “My Sino-bus teacher told me that Chinese isn’t just words in textbooks—it’s a bridge connecting me to my hometown.” Listening to her fluent Chinese speech, I really had tears in my eyes.
If your child is also struggling with Chinese, I sincerely recommend trying Sino-bus’s one-on-one customized courses. No more forcing your child to memorize boring model essays, no more anxiety about finding the right teacher—let professional customized courses help your child find joy and confidence in learning Chinese. Feel free to ask me anything in the comments; as someone who’s been there, I’ll answer everything I know!
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