How to Teach Letter Sounds to Preschoolers and Why
Practical guidance on how to teach letter sounds to preschoolers, when to start phonics at home, and how to support early reading before Primary 1.
Read More
To find out which of our classes is suitable for your child, contact us to book a free assessment of his or her abilities to get a customised recommendation from one of our experienced teachers.
My English School is an English enrichment centre in Singapore, known for ability-based English classes for children from Nursery 1 to Primary 6. Since 2012, we have grown to 15 centres and counting islandwide and supported more than 40,000 families, each starting with a free placement assessment before their child joins a class.
One structured pathway from age three to Primary 6 The same reading and Primary English progression carries your child from preschool right through to the PSLE year.
Placement by ability, not birth year Children move at the pace that fits their reading stage, so nobody is stuck marking time or stretched too thin.
Small class sizes So every child receives individual attention on reading and speaking.
Primary English aligned to MOE's 2020 English Language Syllabus So what your child learns in class supports what they're tested on in school.
My English School offers a wide range of English enrichment classes for children from Nursery 1 to Primary 6, organised into three programmes. Each one builds on the last, so your child follows one structured pathway rather than switching centres or curricula as they grow.
Our Primary Programme covers Primary 1 to Primary 5, followed by a dedicated PSLE Preparation Class for Primary 6. Primary programmes are aligned to the MOE English syllabus, so what your child learns in class transfers directly to what they're tested on at school.
| Programme | Age | Focus | Key Outcome |
| Reading Programme | N1 to K2 | Phonics, early literacy, reading fluency, comprehension | Confident independent readers |
| Primary Programme | P1 to P5 | Grammar, vocabulary, writing, comprehension, oral communication | Well-rounded academic English skills |
| PSLE Preparation | P6 | Exam strategies, writing mastery, comprehension | Readiness for PSLE English |
Reading Programme classes suit children who are still building phonics and early reading skills, whatever their age. Most children in these classes are in the preschool years, but a primary school child who needs the same foundations joins on the same basis, based on their current reading ability, not their grade. Primary Programme classes suit children already reading independently who need structured support for MOE English topics. PSLE Preparation is built specifically for the Primary 6 exam year.
A free placement assessment settles the question for you. One of our teachers observes your child's current reading and speaking ability and recommends the class that fits, not simply the class that matches their birth year or school level.
My English School's Reading Programme is built specifically for early reading. It takes children from Nursery 1 through four ability-based levels into fluent comprehension, and it's the strongest predictor of how smoothly a child settles into Primary 1.
My English Foundation Class: hearing and reproducing English sounds accurately, then connecting those sounds to the letters that represent them.
My Reading Readiness Class: blending sounds into words and building the phonics skills needed to decode independently.
My Reading Class: reading fluency and vocabulary, so books become easier to enjoy rather than a decoding exercise.
My Primary Preparation Class: comprehension and the reading stamina that Primary 1 expects from day one.
Promotion follows readiness, not the calendar. A child moves to the next level once they've met that level's goals, whether that happens mid-term or at year's end. This is an ability-based curriculum that places each child at the right level, not the right age, and it applies at every centre.
Reading, writing, listening and speaking are taught as integrated skills rather than isolated drills. A single storybook lesson builds vocabulary, comprehension and speaking confidence together, not one at a time.
Explore the full Reading Programme or find out more about My Reading Readiness Class.
Every level below sits inside the same Reading Programme, so a toddler who starts at three follows one continuous path into Primary 1, not a series of disconnected classes.
At age three, lessons focus on building familiarity with English sounds, words and simple sentences. A typical class might centre on a picture book: the teacher reads aloud, children echo key sounds and words, then act out or point to what's happening in the story.
This is especially helpful for bilingual children building confidence speaking and reading English, which describes many Singapore households where Mandarin, Malay or Tamil is also spoken at home. It's also well suited to children who are simply quieter or less confident speaking English yet, regardless of the language spoken at home.
Nursery-level classes introduce phonics in a structured way. A typical lesson pairs a phonics song with letter-sound practice, then a short guided reading activity where children start blending sounds into simple words. This is where learning phonics formally begins, through My English Foundation Class.
K1 and K2 lessons shift the balance towards reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. A typical class works through a short story: children read a passage aloud, then answer comprehension questions and discuss what happened next. This stage matters most for the K2-to-Primary-1 transition, which is why we also run a specialised Primary 1 preparation course for children heading into Primary 1 the following year.
Many Singapore households speak Mandarin, Malay or Tamil at home alongside English, and that's the norm here, not the exception. Our classes are especially helpful for bilingual children building confidence in speaking and reading English. They’re also well suited for children who need more practice with spoken English before they feel comfortable using it in class.
Reading isn't the only skill Primary 1 expects on day one. Handwriting is too, and it depends on fine motor control that most children are still developing at three, four and five.
What stands out about My English School is how small our classes stay. We cap every class, so a teacher can genuinely track how each child is doing rather than manage a room.
Our Primary Programme covers Primary 1 to Primary 5, followed by a dedicated PSLE Preparation Class for Primary 6. Primary programmes are aligned to the MOE English syllabus, so what your child learns in class transfers directly to what they're tested on at school.
The curriculum follows MOE's 2020 English Language Syllabus and reflects the latest PSLE examination format, including the weighting shift towards the Oral Communication component. Lessons teach transferable comprehension and writing skills, not memorised model answers, which matters because exam questions change every year even when the skills being tested don't.
The Primary Programme runs across five levels, each building grammar, vocabulary, composition writing, comprehension and oral communication in a spiral structure, so topics return at increasing difficulty rather than being taught once and left behind:
This carries through to our PSLE Preparation Class, which sharpens exam strategy, writing mastery, comprehension and oral confidence for the Primary 6 year specifically.
Choosing between English enrichment centres in Singapore usually comes down to a handful of practical questions. Here's what's worth checking before you commit to one.
Curriculum Structure: is there a clear, sequenced curriculum, or does the centre teach whatever fits the week?
Class Size: how many children share a teacher's attention in one lesson?
Teacher Training: are teachers trained specifically in the centre's own curriculum, and how often do they get refreshed on it?
Placement Method: is your child placed by age or by an actual assessment of their ability?
MOE Alignment: does the Primary content map to MOE's English syllabus, or is it generic English practice?
Branch Convenience: is there a centre near home or your child's school pick-up route, with time slots that fit your week?
Trial or Assessment: can you see how your child responds before committing to a term?
These two get used interchangeably, but they're not quite the same thing.
| Aspect | English Enrichment | English Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Builds reading, writing, listening and speaking as connected skills, on a structured multi-year curriculum | Usually relies on repetitive drilling for a specific exam paper or a current gap in schoolwork |
| Pacing | Ability-based, following a child's own reading stage | Often follows the school calendar or an upcoming test date |
| Best fit | Parents wanting a long-term foundation from the preschool years onward | Parents wanting focused, short-term support for a specific weak area |
My English School operates as an English enrichment centre: a structured, ability-based pathway from Nursery 1 to Primary 6, taught by our own trained teachers, rather than one-off exam coaching.
What stands out about My English School is a structured, research-backed curriculum built by educators with real classroom experience, not just marketing copy about "expert teachers."
My English School was founded by Gerold Kaske, who has worked in Singapore's education sector since 2006. Before moving into education, he held management roles at SAP, McKinsey and BHP Billiton, and holds engineering and electronics degrees from Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Southampton. Gerold looks after My English School's overall direction and the school's growth across its centres. Liew Su Min joined him at My English School after 16 years with the Ministry of Education, first as a primary school teacher, then developing curriculum materials at MOE Headquarters. She is NIE-trained and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Queensland..
Our curriculum is built in-house by Lucy Day Werts, whose background spans linguistics, computer science and a former editorial role at Princeton University Press, and Jenny See, a former MOE Level Head for English with NIE qualifications including a Master's in Education.
Teachers undergo in-service training quarterly, covering MOE syllabus and exam format changes, updates to My English School's own materials, and specific language-teaching skills.
Our Reading Programme is rooted in Rudolf Flesch's structured phonics method and the US Department of Education's Reading First Program, built around five elements: phonemic awareness, phonics-based decoding, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Singapore's own Nurturing Early Learners framework backs the same approach, emphasising progressive, structured literacy development in the early years.
Your child's progress is tracked and shared with you at scheduled Parent-Teacher meetings. Between meetings, you can always ask our Education Advisers to arrange a conversation with your child's teacher.
Trusted by more than 40,000 Singapore parents since 2012, My English School now runs 15 centres and counting islandwide. We exist to lay a strong foundation in English literacy and to nurture curious, creative learners and critical thinkers, from Nursery 1 through Primary 6.
Joy · Age 3 · My English Foundation Class
Elson · Age 6 · My Primary Preparation Class & My Primary 1 English Class
Ekaterina · Age 7 · My Primary 1 English Class
Learn how to enrol in our English enrichment class for kids at any of our 15 centres across Singapore. Families can easily access our programmes at conveniently located centres across the island.
Bukit Timah/Bukit V
Choa Chu Kang
Clementi
Downtown East
Jurong East
Jurong West
Khatib/Wisteria
Novena
Parkway Parade
Potong Pasir
Punggol
Simei/Eastpoint
Tampines
Tengah
Tiong Bahru
Woodlands
Yishun/Northpoint
Every child starts with a free, no-obligation placement assessment. It's how we make sure your child is neither under-challenged nor overstretched from their very first lesson, rather than guessing based on age.
Book an appointment. Contact your nearest centre by phone, email or the form below. Assessments are by appointment, so drop-ins can't always be accommodated.
Meet a teacher. One of our teachers assesses your child's current reading and speaking ability directly.
Get a recommendation. You'll receive a class recommendation matched to your child's ability, plus help with scheduling.
Contact us by phone or email for issues relating to payment and schedules.
To give feedback, suggestions or for general enquiries, send an email to enquiry@myenglish.com.sg.
You can also call our hotline at 6567 2374.
Explore helpful articles and resources designed to support parents in nurturing their child’s English language development at home.
Practical guidance on how to teach letter sounds to preschoolers, when to start phonics at home, and how to support early reading before Primary 1.
Read MoreFees start from $59/lesson. Programmes are billed on a termly basis. Contact your nearest centre for exact fees, since these can vary slightly by programme.
Most children start around age three, when they're ready to build familiarity with English sounds and simple sentences. There's no fixed cut-off either way. Some children are ready earlier, some later, which is exactly what the free placement assessment is for.
English enrichment builds reading, writing, listening and speaking together on a structured, multi-year curriculum. English tuition usually relies on repetitive drilling for one exam paper or a specific gap in schoolwork. My English School runs as an English enrichment centre: ability-based classes from Nursery 1 to Primary 6, not one-off exam coaching.
Classes are capped at up to ten children, small enough for a teacher to give every child individual attention on reading and speaking each lesson.
For most families, yes, particularly around the K2-to-Primary-1 transition, when English becomes the main language of instruction under the MOE curriculum. Structured phonics and reading practice before Primary 1 tends to make that shift considerably smoother.
Our in-house curriculum team developed the materials for exclusive use across My English School centres, drawing on backgrounds in MOE teaching, linguistics and curriculum publishing.
All teachers are trained to deliver lessons in an engaging, structured way, and undergo in-service training quarterly covering MOE syllabus changes, updated materials and specific teaching skills. Teachers are selected on qualifications, experience and their ability to work well with young learners.
Teachers monitor and record each child's progress throughout the term, shared at Parent-Teacher meetings or an informal chat before or after class. You can also ask our Education Advisers to arrange a conversation with the teacher at any time.
A replacement session can be arranged, subject to our terms and conditions, through our Education Advisers.
Opening hours vary by centre. See our Centre Locations page for current hours, and our course calendar for course holidays and public holiday closures.
Promotion is based on your child's own readiness, not their age. Progress is tracked against a skills checklist, and once a child meets a level's goals, a short test confirms the move to the next level, whenever that happens to fall in the year.
Yes. The Primary Programme follows the expectations and assessment criteria of Singapore's MOE English syllabus. Materials may look different from what your child sees in school, but the content taught goes as far as, and beyond, what's required.
Visit us between 10am and 5pm on:
