1. What is English Ninjas Curriculum and Teaching about?

At English Ninjas, we prioritise the process and value the power of learning. Students are given space and time to learn at their own pace.

With a focus on current affairs, children’s literature and critical thinking, our in-house materials, pedagogy and technology aim to nurture thinkers and learners. We specialise in English Language from Primary 1 to O Levels, General Paper JC 1 and 2, and English Literature from Secondary 1 to JC 2 [IP Year 1 to 6].

Read more on our Corporate Values and Vision.

2. Is the teaching in English Ninjas in line with MOE schools? How are your materials prepared?

We design our in-house curriculum to pique curiosity and encourage students to think critically. We also ensure that our curriculum is up to date with the various changes in the MOE syllabus even as we incorporate current affairs, global issues and seek to move beyond the classroom and widen our students’ world view.

The Growth Mindset is a fundamental belief that guides the way we implement curriculum and create learning in our lessons. Our emotions debriefing tools facilitate conversations with our students to communicate their thoughts and emotions. This helps in creating a learning environment that nurtures resilience and empathy towards themselves and others.

3. What do you cover in your lessons?

For a thorough and balanced coverage, our Regular English lessons for Primary School students covers all components of the English Language paper except for Listening Comprehension. Compositions are covered at least twice a term.

For those who would like to delve deeper into Composition Writing, we do have Regular Composition Writing specific classes just for Primary School students! This means that students work on their composition writing every week.

It is possible to attend both Regular English lessons as well as Composition Writing lessons as there is no overlap of materials.

5. What do you covered in the Composition Writing class? What is it like? Do students work on a composition every week?

In our Composition Writing class, students work on a Composition title over every 2 lessons: The first lesson focuses on understanding the title, brainstorming of possible storylines as a class and organising their stories. Every student is encouraged to come up with their own storylines to answer and stay relevant to the title.

During the second lesson, writing techniques will be introduced before students start working on writing their composition. By the end of the lesson, students will complete a full composition!

6. Do you proivde model composition and word lists?

Memorising model composition and word lists are easier and feel safer in a way. However, this takes away confidence as there is no learning there and it does not set our students up for success.

We practice critical thinking in our classroom, asking our students questions about their conclusion, assumptions help he/she think through their thought process.

7. There are no exams in Primary 1 and 2. How will your lessons prepare my child/children for exams in Primary 3 and beyond?

Even though there are no exams in P1 and P2, our lesson plans are curated to expose students to exam-based syllabus such as practice paper, composition writing and we incorporate termly reviews. These give our teachers insight to assess our students’ learning progress and identify areas of improvement that they can work on with the students.

8. Why is there no Composition Writing class for Primary 1 and 2?

Success in Composition Writing involves content and language, which is developed through Grammar, Vocabulary and Sentence Structure. This is best worked on in a class that covers all components including Composition Writing.

9. What is your average class size?

All of our classes are 6-8 students per class to keep the student-teacher ratio low and ensure that every student gets attention from their teacher. Our P1 classes are capped at 5 students.

10. What is your class schedule like?

Our weekday classes typically start from 2:45pm with the last class ending at 7pm, while weekend classes start from 9am and end at 5:45pm.

Class schedules may differ depending on demand and teacher availability.
Find out more about our Class Schedule.

11. How are the terms like in English Ninjas?

Each term lasts between 10 to 13 weeks. There are no classes on Public Holidays* or scheduled holidays as specified in our Term Calendar. We do take breaks in June as well as December and offer workshops during those times too.

*Do refer to point 16 for more details.

12. Do you offer remote lessons?

Most of our classes are available for hybrid lesson arrangements as it enables us to meet students' needs when one of them is feeling unwell or there is a logistical challenge in getting to class. This means that for all our students, classes can be attended either in-person or remotely on Zoom.

The total headcount of students attending the lesson in person and online is 7-8 to ensure that the teacher can pay attention to every student.

Having said that, to best benefit from remote lesson arrangements, students need to be organised, self-motivated and confident in using Zoom and Google drive functions. From our experience, online tools to maximise learning are dependent on the student's ability to stay focused and their willingness to engage in the lesson.

In addition, we strongly encourage younger students (i.e., Primary 1-3) to attend lessons in person as younger students require more supervision and tend to respond better to lessons in person.

13. Do you offer trial lessons?

Yes, we do offer a four-lesson trial for students and parents to experience our teachers and materials before making the decision to commit as a regular student.

Four weeks gives all parties time to gather observations and for us to give you feedback on how we can meet your child’s needs.

14. How often will I get feedback from Teachers?

A holistic post-trial review/feedback will be given upon completion of 4-lesson trials.

Our teachers communicate regularly with parents regarding their child’s progress. If you have questions, you request to speak with your child’s teacher(s) and our team will schedule a call or a face-to-face chat.

15. What is your replacement class policy?

Replacement classes will be offered on a best-of-effort basis within the same week cycle. Our weekly lessons cycle begins on every Wednesday and ends on the following Tuesday.

We provide a maximum of three (3) replacement classes per term for lessons.

As always, we do our very best to accommodate everyone’s schedule. However, do note that replacement classes are offered on a best-effort basis.

Replacement options available:

(i) existing class within the same week cycle
(ii) carried forward as a special replacement in the Holiday workshops
(iii) missed classes are to be made-up within the same term* and cannot be carried over to a new term

*Once attendance is confirmed for a replacement class, another one will not be offered should the student fail to turn up for the scheduled replacement.

Do note, there will be no replacement classes or compensation for students who fail to attend class without giving 24 hours prior notice. A copy of a medical certificate is needed for booking a replacement class. Parents should call, send an email or text the Centre 24 hours before the start of class in order to request for a replacement class.

16. What is your public holiday class policy?

There is no classes will be held on Public Holidays.

Students whose class(es) are affected by any public holiday will be offered a class within the same lesson cycle affected by the public holiday. An alternative Special Replacement Class (SRC) will be offered in lieu of lesson missed during a public holiday if the student is unable to attend a lesson with the same cycle.

After being scheduled for a lesson within the same lesson cycle or an SRC, the lesson will not be replaced should your child not be able to make it without a valid medical certificate. SRC are to be made up within the same term and cannot be carried forward to the next term unless the public holiday falls within the last two weeks of the term.

However, for public holidays that are in-lieu, regular classes will continue as per usual. For instance, Hari Raya Haji falls on Sunday, 10 June 2022. There will not be any classes on Sunday. However on Monday, 11 June 2022, classes are still on-going.

17. What is your enrolment procedure?

Register here! Our enrolment team will contact you within 2 working days to discuss your child’s needs and find a suitable class for your child.

You may also call or Whatsapp us at 8428 0026. It would be helpful to have the following information on hand:

A) Child’s class level,
B) School and
C) Area(s) of concerns

18. Do you offer private lessons at English Ninjas?

We offer short term and long term private lessons on a case-by-case basis.
Students whose needs are not met in a group class setting may be offered private lessons.

19. Will there be any homework?

At English Ninjas, we designed our materials to be done in class so homework is minimal. When there is homework, it consists of completing a small part of the work, corrections or Draft 2 of a writing piece.


HYBRID - REMOTE LESSON ARRANGEMENTS

In order to have a pleasant and effective learning experience for your child and to the other students, we seek your cooperation and understanding as follows:

All links and passcodes to our digital lessons are strictly confidential. You are not allowed to share it with any other student, aside from your child, to avoid disrupting the lesson.

  1. If your child is facing any technical difficulties, please reach out to our English Ninjas' Tech Support Team immediately at (65) 8428 0026.
  2. If the teacher has not started the class yet, you may be placed in a ‘Waiting Room”. As time is needed to move from one virtual classroom to another virtual classroom, we seek your kind understanding and patience.
  3. Kindly ensure that your child’s web camera is switched on throughout the class.
  4. Students are encouraged to interact with other students and the teacher when the teacher grants permission to students to do so.
1. How are your classes conducted remotely? Is it safe?

We use Zoom, a virtual classroom tool to deliver classes to our students without the need for them to be physically present in the classroom.

A series of security measures on Zoom to lock our virtual classrooms are:
[1] All of our classes are hosted using private meeting IDs that are also password protected.
[2] We are using a ‘waiting room’ feature that allows us to screen our participants before we let them in based on our attendance sheet.
[3] Zoom has a feature that requires the teacher, who is sharing the screen, to allow a “takeover” of the screen sharing function. In other words, intruders are not allowed to share their screen easily to show obscene images.
[4] A teacher is required to be present in a virtual classroom before any student can join.
[5] In the event that an unidentified participant is inadvertently added to the classroom, we will be able to remove them.

2. What happens if my child experiences any technical issues? How does he/she re-join the class if they get disconnected in between the lessons?

We strongly suggest that you and your child conduct a demo session before the actual lesson.

In the event your child gets disconnected in between the lesson, you can try to login and enter the Zoom password that is assigned to you. If you still experience any technical difficulties, please try to get on an alternative device.

● We strongly encourage logging in through a desktop or a laptop.
● It will be ideal to close all other non-related applications running during the lesson to have the best Zoom learning experience.

3. The lesson audio is unclear/ there is an echo.

We highly recommend that your child use earphones/headphones for the best experience.

4. Can my child access the live Zoom lesson on two or more devices? / Can I share access with my friends?

No, we only permit one student to be connected to the live zoom class at any point in time. This is because we need to be fair to all students who have paid for academic support. Attendance will be taken before the start of the lesson. Unidentifiable students or duplicate students will be removed from the lesson.

5. Why are the Zoom lessons not recorded? / Why am I unable to record the live Zoom lesson?

Due to the sensitivity of the materials, we are not permitting video playbacks to protect the organisation’s intellectual property interests. As such, we seek your kind understanding to get your child to pay close attention during the lesson and clarify any questions he/she has.

Besides, our teachers are also available to address any English-related questions on the main EN WhatsApp line during this period.

6. Can my child still learn effectively without the printed worksheets?

Not to worry! Here are some alternative ways suggested for your child to learn without printed worksheets:

Follow the teacher’s teaching and take down notes. Answers can be written on foolscap paper/ blank sheets of paper. The teacher will be using google docs and share-screen functions during the Zoom lesson.

Alternatively, here are some free apps your child may use to annotate over the PDF worksheets:

Mac Users: Preview (MacBook)
Windows Users: Adobe Acrobat DC, DocHub