SJKC Child Weak in English? Find the Gap, Then Try 3 Home Routines

Is your child at SJKC (a Chinese-medium primary school) stuck in English, and do they freeze when they have to speak it?

In our experience, an SJKC child who is weak in English usually lacks time spent listening to and speaking English, not ability.

Find out whether the gap is listening, speaking, reading or writing, then try the three home routines below: about 15 minutes a day in total.

Where exactly is my child weak in English?

In our experience, most children are weak in only one or two of the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. There’s no need to rush out for more workbooks. This table shows what we often see at home:

If all four are weak, we suggest starting with listening. Once a child understands what they hear, speaking, reading and writing can follow.

Routine 1: how do we practise listening?

Five minutes a day of English at the right level gets your child used to its sounds and sentence rhythm. “The right level” means they understand about 70–80% of it, not every word.

1. Choose: an English children’s story or cartoon suited to their age, 3 to 5 minutes long.
2. Ask one question: for example “Where did he go?” Your child can answer in Mandarin.
3. Repeat: play the same clip for two or three days; it gets clearer each time.

Routine 2: how do we practise reading?

Reading a short passage and retelling it in their own words trains the core of reading comprehension: understanding a text and picking out the main point.

1. Pick a passage: 4 or 5 sentences from the textbook or a simple English reader.
2. Read it aloud: skip any word they don’t know for now.
3. Say the gist: first in Mandarin, then with the pattern “This story is about ___.”
4. Guess new words: let them guess from context, then check a dictionary together.

Routine 3: how does “Today I…” get my child speaking?

Each day, ask your child to say two or three English sentences about what they did. This puts the words and sentences they’ve learnt to real use, and builds a base for writing.

Give them fixed patterns to reuse every day:

• Today I ___. For example: Today I went to school.
• After that, I ___. For example: After that, I ate nasi lemak.
• I felt ___ because ___. For example: I felt happy because I played with my friends.

Don’t interrupt while your child is speaking. When they finish, correct one or two mistakes that keep coming back. A common one is the past tense: go becomes went, eat becomes ate, play becomes played.

What are the 3 common parent mistakes?

These are three mistakes we often see (our experience, not research findings):

1. Switching the whole home to English overnight: it rarely lasts more than a few days. A fixed 15 minutes of English each day works better.
2. Only doing worksheets: they make children familiar with question types, but they don’t build listening and speaking.
3. Comparing with other children: children at SK (national schools) or international schools use English in different amounts, and comparisons only knock your child’s confidence.

When should we consider an English class?

Our suggestion: if nothing improves after 4 to 6 weeks of steady practice at home, it’s worth getting a teacher’s help. Watch for these signs:

• Still can’t follow or won’t speak: progress stays slow despite the routines.
• Grades of D to F: for what each grade means, read MPT4 Results: What Grades A to F Mean and What to Do Next.
• Growing resistance: if your child avoids English altogether, rebuilding confidence comes first.

Before choosing, have your child assessed to see which skill is weak, then pick a class at their level that gets them speaking. Our checklist can help: How to Choose an Online English Class for Kids.

FAQ

Can my child do well in English if we only speak Mandarin at home?

Yes. Our advice is a fixed short English time every day, so your child listens and speaks more. Your own English doesn’t need to be strong; you only ask questions and listen. For more on this, read Will Learning Three Languages Confuse My Child?

Should my child learn phonics or grammar first?

Our advice: if your child can’t yet read words aloud, start with phonics so they can sound words out. Once they can read, correct grammar gradually as they speak and write.

Does weak English affect UASA?

Yes. UASA (Ujian Akhir Sesi Akademik) is the end-of-year exam for Years 4–6. In the UASA Tahap Dua format (2025) from KPM (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, the Ministry of Education), the English paper has 7 parts and 50 marks. The two writing tasks are worth 25 of them.

In 2026, Year 4 pupils sit MPT4 (Matriks Pembelajaran Tahun 4, the Year 4 Learning Matrix) English instead of UASA, according to the MPT4 FAQ (2026). For each UASA part, read UASA English Format for Years 4–6: The 7 Parts and Writing Templates.

How long should we practise each day?

We suggest about 15 minutes a day. In our experience, that works better than one long hour at the weekend; doing it every day matters more than doing a lot at once.

Want to know where your child is stuck in English?

Weak English can come from listening, vocabulary or a fear of speaking. YouSeed’s online English classes start with a free 1-to-1 assessment, fully online, to find where to begin.

See our online English classes for kids and book a free English assessment

Sources: KPM UASA Tahap Dua format (2025) and the MPT4 FAQ (2026) from LP (Lembaga Peperiksaan, the Examinations Board).