English Tutor
Mark the way an examiner marks, then show the student the two sentences that cost them the band. Primary phonics through to General Paper, across Singapore or online.
Apply as an English tutor- S$35 – S$90 per hour
- Part-time contract
- Island-wide in Singapore, or online
We are looking for English tutors in Singapore who can hear the difference between a student who cannot write and a student who has never been shown how. Both hand in a weak composition; only one of them needs more practice. The rest of this page describes the papers you would be working in, what the marking actually demands, and how a match is made.
English is the subject where effort and marks come apart
- A student can read three model compositions a week and still write the same flat narrative, because nobody has taken one of their own paragraphs apart in front of them. That diagnosis is your value, and it is why English tutors are kept for years rather than a term.
- You teach the same student across four different examinations of the same language — Editing, Situational Writing, Continuous Writing, comprehension, the summary, listening, and the oral — so the work stays varied even within one weekly slot.
- Oral is coachable and most families know it. Reading Aloud and the photo-based Stimulus-based Conversation at PSLE, and the video-based Planned Response and Spoken Interaction at O-Level, all reward rehearsal out loud with someone who will interrupt.
- Language work carries across the report card. A student who learns to lift a point out of a passage and paraphrase it writes better answers in Social Studies, Literature and Science comprehension too.
- NIE-trained tutors and MOE ex-teachers are preferred and earn at the upper end of our range, precisely because band descriptors are second nature to them.
The role
What a term with your students looks like
- Mark continuous writing against Content and Language rather than by feel — under the current O-Level syllabus 1184 those carry 15 marks each, so a student with clean grammar and a thin plot loses as much as the reverse, and they should hear which side they are on.
- Rebuild situational writing from purpose, audience and context up: an email to a principal and a report to a club committee are different registers before they are different formats.
- Drill the summary — the squeeze inside the comprehension paper that quietly decides so many grades. Teach lifting, then paraphrasing, then cutting to the word limit without dropping a point.
- Run oral out loud every session it is due: pronunciation and pacing for Reading Aloud, and for the conversation, teaching a student to give a reason and an example instead of a two-word answer.
- Work backwards through comprehension question stems — inference, vocabulary in context, language-use and attitude questions each want a different shape of answer, and students lose marks answering all four the same way.
- For lower primary, hold the line on phonics and reading fluency, and report honestly to parents when a decoding problem is being mistaken for a comprehension problem.
Who tends to do well in this role
- Strong command of written English and the patience to explain why a sentence is wrong, past 'it just sounds off'. Tense consistency, subject-verb agreement and run-ons come up every week.
- Familiarity with at least one of the local examination tracks you would teach — PSLE English, O-Level English Language, or A-Level General Paper — including how its papers are weighted.
- Willingness to mark scripts between lessons and return them annotated. English tuition without marking is conversation, and families can tell the difference.
- A recognised qualification or a solid track record with local students. NIE training or MOE teaching experience is preferred and is reflected in the rate offered.
- Reliability with schedules and reachability for parents, especially during the exam run-up when timings shift.
Pay
Rates for English tuition
S$35 – S$90 per hour
Paid hourly in SGD, on time. Where you land in the range depends on the level you take (lower primary sits at the bottom, JC General Paper and O-Level exam-year work at the top), your credentials, and the format — one-to-one commands more than small group. NIE-trained tutors and MOE ex-teachers are preferred and earn at the upper end.
How it works
From your application to your first marked script
- 01
Send us your application
Use the contact form on this site and tell us which levels you are comfortable teaching — lower primary reading, PSLE, O-Level, General Paper — and which components you are strongest in, whether that is composition marking or oral coaching. It is the only application route we use.
- 02
We check your background and subject claims
Our team screens your background and verifies the subjects and experience you have listed. If you say you have taken students through O-Level Paper 1 and Paper 4, expect us to ask about it.
- 03
We match you by level and neighbourhood
You are matched with students by the exact level and components you teach, and by area, so a Primary 4 comprehension student and a JC General Paper student do not both land on the far side of the island.
- 04
Agree the schedule and begin
You settle the weekly slot directly with the family and start. We stay reachable if the fit is wrong, if the level turns out different from what was described, or if scheduling needs to change around the exam calendar.
By area
Prefer students near you?
This role is available island-wide. Browse tutor jobs by region.
All locations
Every region and town
ViewCentral Singapore
High demand across PSLE, O-Level, A-Level and IP-track subjects.
ViewEast Singapore
Steady demand for primary, secondary and JC tuition, with strong PSLE and O-Level interest.
ViewNorth Singapore
Growing demand for primary and lower-secondary tuition.
ViewNorth-East Singapore
Broad demand from primary through JC, with high PSLE and Secondary volume.
ViewWest Singapore
Strong demand across all levels; close to major universities for tutor supply.
ViewQuestions
What English tutors ask us before signing on
Am I expected to mark compositions between lessons, and is that time paid?
Marking is part of the role and most tutors return one annotated script per week per student. Our rates are hourly for contact time, so tutors typically account for marking either by doing part of it live with the student — which is often more useful anyway, since they see the pen move — or by factoring it into the rate they agree for the assignment.
The O-Level code changed. Do I need to know 1184 rather than 1128?
Yes for current school candidates. Syllabus 1184 replaced 1128 for school candidates from 2023, and the most consequential change for tutors is Continuous Writing splitting 15 marks Content and 15 marks Language, alongside the video-based Oral. If your experience is with 1128 you are not out of date on the language itself, but you should read the current SEAB syllabus before taking an exam-year student.
Can I teach only oral, or only composition?
You can state a preference and we will note it in your profile, but most families book English as one subject and expect the whole paper covered. Tutors who specialise narrowly get fewer matches. If oral coaching is your strength, say so — it is in demand and it is the component parents most often feel unable to help with at home.
How do I handle a student whose English is weak because of what is spoken at home?
Very common in Singapore and not something to treat as a deficiency. The usual pattern is a student who understands everything and writes in transferred structures — dropped articles, tense drift, direct translations that read oddly. It responds to targeted sentence-level work rather than more essays, and you should tell parents that plainly instead of prescribing extra practice papers.
Do I supply my own materials and past papers?
Bring what you use. Most English tutors work from the student's own school worksheets and returned scripts, since the fastest gains come from marking what the school already flagged, supplemented with your own comprehension passages and composition prompts.
Can I take General Paper students as well as PSLE ones?
If your background supports it, yes, and some tutors do span that range. They are different jobs though — GP asks for argument, current-affairs substance and a coherent position, while PSLE asks for narrative craft and oral confidence. Tell us honestly where your ceiling is and we will match accordingly.
Ready to take on English students?
Tell us the levels you teach and the components you mark best. We will come back to you about students in your area.