Korean Parent Interviews

It's been a little under a year. About nine or ten months.

Yes, they attend here.

In Korea it was just “Hi, hello, my name is so-and-so.” That was about it.

By Korean age, my eldest is in grade 5 and my younger one is in grade 1.

There aren't many native English teachers in Johor Bahru. Not just “not many” — they're really rare. I heard that here the children learn 100% from native-speaker teachers, and that made me curious. Also, even though my children go to an international school, they actually don't get much time with foreign teachers, because most of the teachers are local. So if they can't meet them at school, I wanted them to at least have that once or twice a week at an academy. I brought them here to learn the language and also to learn Western culture.

For the first year here, I didn't do any tuition at all. We came to learn English and Chinese anyway, so I decided not to stress the kids out over either language, and just let them play. Then one day it hit me: “They're having a great time — but what are they actually learning?” We'd been here over a year, so I wanted to check where they were. I could have gone to any academy, but I don't think of it as the children studying English so much as learning a culture. We didn't come to Johor Bahru only for English; we came to experience different cultures. I wanted them to learn Western culture, not only from local teachers, so I enrolled them here.

Minjun came to Johor Bahru without any English at all, and it's been about two and a half years now. He'd been taking classes at his school, and by this point he'd tell me, “Mum, I can follow the lessons, I can talk.” But when I looked closely at his teachers' reports, he understood maybe 50–60% and could roughly speak, but the academic content wasn't really sinking in. Writing was where I saw the biggest limit. You know how boys write one or two sentences — “I did this, then that, it was fun, next time I'll do this”? He was writing in English with exactly that structure. I was really worried about what to do. Then a friend told me about the academy her child goes to. Unlike other academies in Johor, it's rare in that it's staffed by native-speaker teachers, and it works like what we'd call nonsul (critical writing) in Korea — not just writing sentences in English, but building in a lot of how to think in English, to help children develop. He was changing schools, and I brought him here to level him up in between.

He's just entering his third month. Actually, about a month after he started, he sat a test again. His previous school reports always had comments like “vocabulary is lacking, grammar needs improvement, please support him at home.” After coming to MFS, his test result came back with “much improved, he's gained confidence in English,” and his grade went from a C to a B. At that point it had only been about a month. Of course I was also paying closer attention at home — “Didn't you learn this at the academy? How did you do it?” — but the academy was very proactive, and when I told them in the consultation what I was worried about, I think they paid extra attention to it. So I'm very happy sending him here.

Academically, the biggest change is how much more confident he is writing in English — it really shows. I asked Minjun, “Since switching academies, what do you think has changed the most? What do you like best?” and he said on his own, “My grades went up, and I got confidence.” I was so happy to hear that.

There are several. First, native-speaker teachers, which are rare in Johor. It's not a bad thing as such, but you know how children sometimes pick up a very localised English accent that surprises you — or surprises foreigners? When kids start speaking like that, mums stop and take a second look. Here they're taught pronunciation by native-speaker teachers with very clear pronunciation, and I really felt how much that matters. That's the first.

Second, it's not just about long-form writing. They do a lot of listening and speaking, but when it comes to longer writing, I could see they open up learning that's close to nonsul — thinking for yourself in English. So it's not just “he can write sentences”; I could see him thinking in English and his thinking expanding. I heard the lessons are discussion-based: “What do you think about this? Then let's write about it.” When I heard that from my son, I loved it. We don't send them only to improve writing. At school they have to write essays and think for themselves, and this is English learning that builds the power to think, so I'm very satisfied.

Third, the teachers are very friendly. Kids naturally say, “Mum, I hate tuition, I hate the academy.” But about MFS he says he likes it — “It's fun, they teach in a fun way.” They're a little humorous so the kids don't feel pushed away, the atmosphere isn't forceful, and it feels like playing — but they definitely get the work done. So he has a great time and goes to MFS without any resistance at all.

They're boy-girl twins, born in 2019, and they've been attending for about a year.

We've lived in Johor Bahru for a little over three years. When we arrived, the children were very young and we mostly relied on the school. As they moved up in grades, I felt the need for more academic support, so I'd been steadily looking into English academies and sending them.

I sent them to many different after-school academies. Since daily life here is in English, English academies were the first I tried. At school, Malaysian teachers make up most of the staff, so I felt pronunciation and grammar were somewhat weaker compared with Korean education, and that's what I looked into most. I tried several, but generally the feedback was lacking. It's hard to hear accurately from a young child what actually happens at the academy, so that was a real gap for me. That's when I found MFS.

I heard about MFS when it first opened, so we came right at the start. The academies we'd been to before had fairly dated facilities. What first surprised me at MFS was that every classroom had a smart TV; that even though it was freshly painted there was no chemical smell at all; the desk and chair heights suited to each age; and colours that don't distract children while they study. I think those things matter, so I noticed the wallpaper, the floors, everything. But the most important part was the teachers: all of them were native speakers, consistently. The principal I met first made a wonderful impression. She's British, and I sometimes find a traditional British accent a little hard to follow, but hers was an easy-to-understand British accent, and I thought that would be good for the children too.

They've been at school the whole time, but the gaps in formal schooling exist here just as they do in Korea. Parents differ, of course, but speaking and listening come fairly naturally from living abroad and being exposed. Grammar and writing were always the weak spots. Even homework the school had marked would still have errors when I checked it at home, and the classes at school were very large. After enrolling at MFS — where classes really are under ten children, matched to each child's level — my son and daughter are in the same class, yet I get feedback every single day, long separate messages, and careful videos beforehand about what the lesson will cover. The children have been gaining confidence. We actually changed schools recently, and after the move I could see even more clearly how much they'd grown over the year.

As you can see, before the lesson the teacher actually takes photos of the lesson content and sends them. Then each child also has their own separate photo chat. If you open it, for each of my two children separately, they explain in real detail how the child did, what they did well, and what they could work on more. I remember being really surprised.

Children say things at home about their lessons and teachers, but as a parent, once you've chosen an academy you don't really know what happens inside. I always ask after class, “How was today? What was hard? Did you get told off?” Beyond the academy's feedback, I wanted to check through my child too. Once, when I was adjusting the timetable, I asked, “If you could only keep one of your English academies, which would you pick?” Without a second's hesitation the answer was “MFS.” I thought, “My choice wasn't wrong,” and I could feel my child really is happy and enjoying studying on their own.

For the first month or two, as time went on, there was a constant question mark: “Is this right?” That's true of school and of academies alike. It's only been a year, but when we changed schools, both the children and I noticed that their grammar and writing — which had been really weak — had improved a lot. In Johor Bahru, it's unavoidable that a local intonation creeps into how children speak, which is a shame. But the native-speaker teachers give really close, hands-on care, and I like that the children get that exposure twice a week.

At first the children said, “It's too fast, it's a bit hard.” But after a month or two they understood it well and started copying that pronunciation themselves. The teachers correct grammar point by point in real detail. There are tests every month or at the end of each unit, and they film the test and send the video, so as a mum I can check that too. At home I go through the worksheets with the children, encourage them and look at what they got wrong. They say confidence is everything with a foreign language, and that's what has grown the most. I also think the atmosphere among the children is really good. They learn by cooperating, and lessons aren't just instructions handed down — it's a free atmosphere where, like at university, they discuss and share opinions. I'm very happy with it as an environment for them to grow.

An academy with 100% native-speaker teachers is really hard to find, and that was the main reason MFS was my first choice. Everything else is so good I'd like to name it all, but that's what I'm most satisfied with.

I was lucky — it's not far from home, so I came across MFS in passing and gathered information, and I've already had the chance to send my children for a year. But I think there are still parents who don't know about MFS. I started with a demo class too, so I could see for myself what the lesson would be like, and I had a long consultation with the teacher about my children. Honestly, once parents find out about MFS and come to experience it, I wonder if there's any parent who wouldn't enroll. Whatever school your child goes to in Johor Bahru, for parents who've come here for English education, I think this is an academy that resolves the biggest worries from many angles.

I've been in Johor Bahru about eight years. My daughter is eleven, and she's been at MFS for about a year. I'm a self-proclaimed MFS ambassador.

Yes. My daughter goes to an international school, but since English isn't our first language, I always wondered whether she was using English well there, whether she was learning proper English. So I was always looking at academies, and I tried one-to-one tutoring too, but I never felt sure that her English was improving, or improving properly. That's why we came to MFS.

I looked at a lot of the English academies here and tried one-to-one as well, but because the teachers weren't native speakers, I wasn't satisfied with things like pronunciation. Then I found out about MFS, heard that all the teachers are native speakers, and came.

I found MFS, heard we could book a demo class, and came. I was really amazed watching the principal draw the children into the lesson. It was so different from the academies we'd attended or I'd seen that I thought, “She has to come here.” My daughter loved the demo so much she signed up three more times. She still wanted to keep going, so we enrolled straight away.

I signed up because the demo class was free, and honestly I came with no expectations. But parents were allowed to observe, so we sat at the back. The principal taught the lesson, and it was on a difficult topic — a science topic — yet she was so bright and brought the children out so well that I was really amazed. And I remember being struck by how confident she must be in her teaching to let all the mums sit in and watch.

I went to consultations at a lot of other academies, but the biggest reason I chose MFS was the curriculum. It runs in four-month courses; at the end of each, there's a test and the child moves up a level, and then on to the eight-month stage. I thought, “This is really well structured.” Seeing her ability go up at the end of each level is why I enrolled.

What I can say with real confidence is that her writing has improved enormously — I've seen it with my own eyes. My daughter keeps a diary now and then, and I found she'd written it all in English. Before MFS she'd write one or two sentences; now she writes several pages. Seeing that, I could tell her confidence has grown.

She says the lessons are so much fun. If I have plans and suggest skipping the academy for a day, she says absolutely not — it's too much fun, she has to go. That's how much she enjoys it. I don't think she sees English as studying; she goes and has a happy conversation with her teachers.

I think mums sending their children to international schools in Johor Bahru feel the same as me. English isn't our first language, and an international school isn't a place to learn English — it's where you learn every subject. If you can't do English, you can't keep up in class. So I believe children should learn English properly and then go to school. Between the curriculum and the confidence she gains, I'm so satisfied that I've told friends I'd honestly rather she skipped school and studied only at MFS.

For me it's the feedback — a system I've never experienced at any other academy. Before the lesson they tell you the topic she'll be studying, and afterwards they explain in real detail how she did and what she was missing that day. I think that's what sets it apart from other academies.

No other words needed. If you take just one class, I think everyone will keep going to the end. Don't overthink it — book a consultation, try a demo class, and experience it for yourself.