Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why is there a change in my child’s teacher and class timing?

 

Some of our teachers are unable to teach during the circuit breaker because they are primary care-givers of parents or toddlers with no other available help at home. This means that they are unable to carry out live lessons uninterrupted, or mark work within the learning cycle.

 

Also, some of our teachers will be taking Maternity Leave during this period, so we have arranged for other teachers to take over their classes.

 

Additionally, to play our part in reducing transmission of COVID-19, TWC will no longer be doing cross-deployment of teachers between centres (e.g. a teacher may be teaching at both Bukit Timah and Toa Payoh centres in the same week previously, but will now be deployed to teach at one centre only). This measure is in place for essential service providers during the circuit breaker, and we do not want to be caught unprepared should the measure continue when we return to our classes in the centres. 

 

Given the circumstances, the affected classes will experience a change of teacher and/or change in timing. 

 

2. I do not have a printer. Can I have worksheets sent or couriered to my home?

 

As TWC is not classified under essential businesses, our printing vendor is unable to serve our needs at the moment. TWC staff are working from home during the circuit breaker period, and are not allowed under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 to enter the centres’ premises to do any form of printing or work from there. Hence, we are sorry that posting and couriering of worksheets are not possible during the circuit breaker period. 

 

If you do not have access to a printer, here are some alternative ways for your child to learn without the physical worksheets:

• Follow the teacher’s teaching and take down notes. Answers can be written on foolscap paper/ blank sheets of paper.

• If you have an additional device available, you may download the lesson on the second device and refer to it while the teacher is teaching. The answers can be written down on your device or on a writing pad if it is easier for you.

• 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

    • Foxit Reader

3. I like the current lesson format. Can you add a ‘live’ segment to it?

 

We have done our best to research for options to integrate a ‘live’ segment into the current lesson format. However, there are some technical limitations to do so. To prioritise the ‘live’ element as requested by many parents, our lessons will be entirely on Zoom, which is most widely-used and the most straightforward tool for our users.

 

4. What if I like the current arrangement and do not want to use Zoom?

 

Unfortunately, the current version will not be available after 4 May because our teachers will be teaching Zoom lessons instead of creating the videos. Every weekly lesson we create takes 2.5 to 3 work days per level, per course, so we will not have the manpower to meet the recording demand. While we will no longer have the current version of e-learning, we are sure your child will enjoy the ‘live’ lessons since it will be fully interactive.

 

5. Do I have to top up for Zoom lessons?

 

Zoom lessons are offered at a reduced rate of $45 per lesson (before GST) in Term 2 (2020). If you have already paid for Term 2, you do not need to top up for the Zoom lessons. For Term 2, you were charged for physical lessons, and we will roll over the credit to offset your fees for Term 3 when it is time for re-enrolment.

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6. Why can’t Zoom lessons be offered immediately?

 

We would love to do it as well but here is why we can’t:

• There are teachers who are unable to teach ‘live’ from their home for diverse reasons. Therefore, we have to re-deploy teachers and re-design our timetable.

• We have to organise online workshops to train teachers to familiarise them with the software as much as possible and to avoid classroom management pitfalls when teaching via Zoom. 

• We have to set up the hardware and software for all our company computers remotely and are unsure what challenges we may face at this point. 

• With the current measures disallowing cross-workplace deployment, we have replanned our teacher deployment to better protect our community in view of the possible implementation in enrichment centres. 

 

7. What if my child missed a Zoom lesson?

 

If your child missed a lesson, he or she can always arrange for a make-up lesson in another available slot within the same week. For e-learning, there are a lot more choices for alternative slots. Alternatively, please approach our Customer Service Officers and we are always happy to work out a viable solution for you, wherever possible.

 

8. What about security issues associated with Zoom?

 

TWC was unsure about specific security issues in March, hence we chose what we thought was the safest format for our students and our company. However, now that the security issues are widely made known with solutions implemented, we will follow MOE’s publicised protocols and put the necessary measures in place to ensure that our online environment is protected as much as possible.

 

9. What would the marking arrangement be like when we use Zoom?

 

Like our regular centre classes, the Zoom class teacher will be the person marking and monitoring your child’s work.

 

Homework submission can be done by scanning or taking clear photos of your child’s worksheets and writing assignments, and emailing them to your child’s teacher. Here are some free mobile apps you can make use of to take clear photos of your child’s work: 

• Camscanner

• Scanner for me

• Scanner App: PDF Document Scan

• Genius Scan - PDF Scanner

• ScanGuru: PDF Docs Scanner App

 

10. For the online lessons, would I be charged the $9 Admin / Material Fee since there will not be worksheets sent to us?

 

The $9 Admin / Material Fee is waived for online lessons in Term 2. The course fee for e-lessons will be $45 before GST (Normal prices: $60-$75), and there are no other charges or discounts apply. Please refer to our email for the latest updates on Term 3 fees.

 

11. Why can’t TWC give me the whole term’s worksheets now?

 

TWC has one of the biggest and most qualified in-house curriculum teams in the English enrichment industry. We do not use the same sets of learning or teaching materials repeatedly over the years — our curriculum specialists update and revise our teaching materials regularly. All our worksheets are reviewed before being sent for printing to ensure that the content and teaching approach are current. As such, our worksheets are printed only 2-3 weeks before the actual lessons by an external vendor, which explains why we are unable to provide the whole term’s worksheets at one go. This is also why we are unable to produce booklet form worksheets during the circuit breaker. 

 

12. Why can’t I drop off my child’s completed work at my TWC centre for the teachers to mark?

 

During the circuit breaker period, we are legally unable to visit our workplaces to perform non-essential tasks (as defined by the government). Therefore, if you drop off physical copies of your child’s completed work at our centre during this period, we will only be able to collect and mark them when the circuit breaker period is over. 

 

13. Can you call me instead of sending me emails? I do not read emails. 

 

As we have limited manpower, the fastest and clearest way to reach out to everyone is via an email. For emails with very important updates, we will also send out an SMS notification to all our customers. We regret that it would be impossible for our team of Customer Service Officers to reach out to every parent with a call the same time that we send out an email.
 

14. Why can’t I pay by credit card during this period?

 

As TWC centres are not operational during the circuit breaker period, we are unable to take credit card payment. Instead, payment can be made securely and conveniently via PayNow or Online Bank Transfer. You may reach out to our Customer Service Officers, who will guide you on these payment methods.