ALUMNI TESTIMONIALS

Laura Kho

The time I spent there is probably one of the clearest and happiest memories I have of my childhood. My teacher was Ms. Beverley. I loved English and writing and reading as a young child, the work we did in public schools was deathly boring and I was always too advanced for that anyways. Even in tuition classes I was always the youngest in the class. In ELC I learnt to write stories, perform in plays (I remember a play about New York), read and generally love the language. 

I am not from a rich family or an English speaking family for that matter. But my mom wanted to cover all bases and ELC helped with the English bit - and not just academically but being able to love the language and use it to its full capacity. I feel that it’s a myth that children cannot be multilingual - early exposure and engagement is key.

The way they teach English and other subjects in school is deathly boring - not the fault of the teachers but because of the syllabus and the whole exam-oriented system) and ELC definitely helped bridge that gap for me.

Early childhood exposure to multiple languages is so important. I think ELC ignited a love for the language, a lifelong love of reading and the ability to move seamlessly between my mother tongue, our national language and English.

Laura Kho is now a psychiatric pharmacist, working in Kuching

Ian Bong Zhe

Classes at ELC didn’t feel like your usual school or tuition classes. “Fun” was a pre-requisite for every class, and learning was never boring throughout the 8 years I was there.

Because of Cambridge syllabus foundation that I had, I have always felt that my proficiency in English were a few levels ahead of what was being taught at school.

The students were strongly encouraged to read books from the ELC library. That helped to nurture my reading habit, and I’m now officially a bookworm!

The best part of ELC are the teachers! I loved all my teachers. Classrooms were safe spaces, and all the students wanted to be there. The teachers understood us.

When I was diagnosed with anxiety at the age of 10, and couldn’t make much sense of what I was going through, Teacher X patiently helped me understand my reality. I will never forget that.

Even for one of my friends, who was a known troublemaker due to his ADHD, he was met with so much acceptance at ELC. The teachers knew how to engage him and he didn’t cause any problems there.

I also remember this one time where my class had to put on a play, and I was required to hold the “maidens” hand for one of the scenes. I was very shy and had zero confidence in my acting. Teacher Vicky however, was very encouraging, and helped me overcome my stage fright.

It really is an understatement to say how amazing my ELC teachers were.

Ian Bong Zhe is in his final year of medical school at Melaka Medical College.