ABC Pathways, any comment?

GingerSo

Please share.

qqbaby123

又貴又唔好，D外籍老師時常轉 :-|

GingerSo

    

hicat

聽聞好貴，但佢地考劍橋試好叻。係咪真架？？

psmama

yes, I'm interested in it.
The fee is 1380/4 lesson. Each lesson last for 1.5 hour.
But any parents of young kids  ( age 3/4 ) studying there can share the experience?

hsbb

It is too expensive with 8 to 10 kids a class!
NO WAY!
I don't mind paying more but i think the maximum of kids should be 4 or 3 if i am paying this price.
personally, i don't see much use to take the Cambridge test once the kid is in primary school...

GingerSo

youngmami

Hi psmama,

I have a bad experience about 6 months ago when I took my son (4-yr) to attend their free trial lesson.

That day we parent were grouped together in a small room, listening to the very 'hard-sell' introduction of a women (I think she's the one in-charge) and kids were grouped together in a classroom for a trial lesson.  

Then the seminar lasts for nearly 1.5 hrs, very boring.  After about 1 hour, I couldn't stand any more so went out and went to see my son and found he's crying.  The native speaker tutor (who's a middle age man) told me my son complained to him that he's hungry but he tood no action at all !!  He didn't come to find me to pick my son.  He didn't give my son any snacks (or even a cup of water).  I can't imagine if I come to see my son after 1.5 hrs, what would be happened??!!  

My son is a quite talkative (and his English standard is not bad) boy but that morning's experience really scared him.  

So I strongly believe this centre is NOT NOT suitable for small kids (3/4 yrs) !!!  

Their tutor is not professional at all!  Just like an ordinary foreigner walking on the roads.  A professionally trained tutor to lead a class of this age kids should have basic knowledge of taking care of them, right ?

               

kittylock

Hi psmama,

I've attended their seminar more than a year ago, and my feeling is .... they're very commercial. Most of the time they just emphasized on their good student performance in the Cambridge Test (but don't know the number of failure cases) and their JV staus with HK Cambridge Press. However, they seldom talked about their teaching method and the ways to assist student if required.

I know one of the mum had had bad experience with this centre too. After attending several lessons, the teacher told the mum that her kid was not co-operative and so not suitable for class tutorial and better change to one-to-one private lesson ($500/leson) in order not to affect other children!!

Actually her kid was totally ignored by the tutor (as seen by other mums)!! She quit thereafter of course!

A very money-oriented eng centre!!     

bbqueen

kittylock 寫道:
A very money-oriented eng centre!!     

Agree!

GingerSo

All negative comment wor.

psmama

dear kittylock and bk moms,
yes, I called the ctr last week and asked for further information. They said they cannot tell me the details on phone and even on the advertisment, it mentioned about they have a VCD to introduce their course. And I asked if I can come up to pick up the VCD and watch it at home. They said its better come to have a briefing. They arrange a weekday afternoon to go through a briefing for me.
On that day 2 ladies came to me together. They introduce their cambridge test and the recognition and about their cambridge press company while I am looking for english course for K1 and K2 kids. Surely not mentioned about the kind of activity in the 1.5 hr class and course material. I asked them about this and they sad the activity is depends on individual tutor. They will conduct different activity.    How come such a famous english learning ctr has no management about the class activity.
The most I concern is that whether they got the suitable schedule for my 2 kids. THEY SAID IT IS NECESSARY TO GO THROUGH AN ASSESSMENT FIRST TO CHECK THE LEVEL AND IT COST $380 EACH. And i said my kids now study in K1 and K2 and most likely it will be level 1 and level 2. I just want to know if they have class in weekdays afternoon around 5pm but they refused to do so. They said they cannot tell me the schedule until I finished the assessment.  
I asked what will they arrange if there's no suitable time table for my kids after the assessment, they said I have to wait for other kids with same schedule request and minimum no of student of each class is 5. If after 1 yr there's no class for my kids, I can credit the assessment fee to purchase the product in their ctr, eg, dictionary.
Highly agree with other moms, it is a money oriented learning ctr and I have no confident to let my kids wait for it.

MountainView

I am not sure if you need to pay a lot just for this type of cambridge test training. Like my son, he finished all starter, flyer, mover tests by just studing worksheets and 5 days lessons from school only (after school programs).
He did it all well not because he has taken these exercises but because of on-going English training we did since kinder. I never join this centre, but I feel like they are quite expensive for classes mainly for cambridge test preparation.

isme

MountainView 寫道:

He did it all well not because he has taken these exercises but because of on-going English training we did since kinder. I never join this centre, but I feel like they are quite expensive for classes mainly for cambridge test preparation.

Agree!!

Don't go there!!

psmama

yes, I think on-going english training is enough. It's better than go to the cambridge test training ctr, especially the money-oriented one !!!

florenceng

Don't do the assessment test because it just wastes your money!  My son did it one & a half year ago.  After finished, they just tell us to wait & don't have any follow up.  I fill in three schedule (Sat/Sun) on the application form.  Each time I phone to them, the answer is just class is full & no new class can be arranged for me.  Also, no refund!  

If no new class on Sat/Sun, why don't they ask us to do the test?  Why don't they have any kind of follow up?  I call them many times but talking to them is just a waste of time.  Very poor management!   

psmama

agree !