$250 for what?

[nltempany]

I took my 7 year old to a language class trial. And this is what I observed:

- A room which resembled a jail cell rather than a child's place of learning and inspiration. It was totally devoid of color and interest.

- A teacher who was timid and lacked any confidence for children.

- Poor standard materials. A couple of color pencils in cheap Ikea containers and photocopied paper which was completely unsuitable to the child's age.

Im really surprised at what I observed. I guess I'll have to try a few other schools before i put them all in the same category. I would really like my daughter to learn French. If anyone can recommend a good language school in Olympic area I would be grateful.

 

[carang]

the problem with "language" classes, especially english classes is that there are vastly different capabilities in HK. you can have a near native 3 year old who has a huge vocabulary and you can get a 10 year old who can barely speak his/her name.

separating kids and finding appropriate materials can be tricky for this very reason. they all need to start somewhere so that the teacher can figure out exactly what level each child is at and then design curriculum accordingly.

as for storing the pencils in an ikea container.... ummm, what is wrong with that?

you cannot judge all centres by a not so stellar experience in one. some are around to churn out as many students as they possibly can. others actually care about the kids and the quality of their classes.

 

[enaezhang]

I would recommend private lessons, as carang mentioned, the vastly different level of the students in the same class is a big problem of language teaching. 250 might be a bit low, but by adding 50-100, you can get a descent French private tutor who can teach your kid according to her interest and level without even traveling to a tutoring centre.

I don't want to advertise here, but I do have a friend taking French private lessons because he wanted to go to France to study cuisine in the near future. He speaks highly of tutor and recommended him to us if anyone want to learn French or Spanish (The tutor is bilingual), the charge is 350/hr, but I think you can discuss it and get it down to 300. Anyway, let me know if you are interested, I'll send you a PM.

Good luck!