Setting one big goal to achieve by the end of the year might seem unattainable to your child, especially if he or she often feels unmotivated. Breaking down this big goal into tiny steps throughout the year is more manageable. It might also help to include small rewards after your child has successfully scaled a few of these steps.

Think of it as a loyalty card that you get when you go to a chain sushi restaurant.

After a few stamps, you are rewarded with a plate of free sushi. As you keep going, you get more “freebies” like fried chicken or dessert. This keeps you going back so that you can attain the ultimate big prize at the end. In the same way, small rewards such as a little more screen time on the weekend, or getting to eat at McDonald’s, might keep your child motivated to persevere and attain the ultimate goal.

Many adults struggle to stay motivated in their daily lives so it is understandable that children also find staying focused academically to be a daunting and sometimes exhausting task.

What keeps a person going would be knowing that he or she has the support of loved ones. Where possible, praise your child’s efforts in achieving his or her goals. If your child experiences a failure of any kind, help to identify the root of the problem, and address the matter calmly. Discuss why it is important for your child to overcome this problem, and reassure your child that no matter what, you will always be there for him or her. Your supportive attitude will go a long way in building a trusting and loving relationship with your child.

“Do more practice papers! Then, you’ll get better!”

Sound familiar? If you have said this before, you should know that it isn’t an effective method for all children to improve. Doing an endless amount of assessment books and school examination papers is futile if specific weaknesses are not fixed. Your child would simply be making the same mistakes over and over again until they become habitualised.

Instead, sit down with your child to get to the crux of the matter. Once you can fix fundamental issues, your child will see improvements in his or her grades. Improvements are one of the best tools to motivate any learner.

Is your child struggling with a specific section because he or she is…

• • unsure of the answering techniques?
  • not able to identify the correct point?
  • having difficulty understanding the passage?
  • having trouble identifying clues that can point him or her to the right answer?
  • weak in grammar (e.g. tenses, word forms, subject-verb agreement)?
  • rushing to complete the section and thus not analysing the given text, questions and/or options carefully?
  • not checking his or her work to ensure the answer is complete and correct?

Once you have identified and worked on foundational weaknesses, your child will be able to tackle the various sections of an examination with confidence, no matter how difficult they may seem. It will be then be easier to motivate your child to keep up his or her good work.

Turn Your Child’s Weaknesses Into Strengths with LiteracyPlus

At LiteracyPlus, our strategy-based curriculum allows pupils to be equipped with answering techniques to help them overcome any areas of weakness. We teach pupils that there isn’t a text that might be too difficult to handle as long as they stay calm and apply the techniques they have honed during their weekly lessons. To find out more about our Enhancing English Language Skills (EELS) programme, click here.

Have questions about our programme? Reach out to us!

Due to Safe Management Measures, do contact us via Whatsapp or email so that we can respond to your queries.

enquiries@literacyplus.com.sg

9612 8696

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