Jonathan Tiong

On the 14th November 2011, a day after a shocking performance on my chemistry exam, and a less than satisfying performance in physics, I said to my father, “I never thought I’d ever say this – but English Language will be my saving grace.”

I went to Tye & English in Year 9, having long identified English as my weakest subject. It was in an academic sense, my Achilles heel, given my strengths in all other subjects. As a year 9 student whose first language is English, my language skills were appalling. And I quote, “This essay is only the same quality as that of a Grade 5 student’s!” – Mr Tye (during our interview before I enrolled in his tutoring school).

As soon as I entered the school, with “essay writing” as the first module, my English standard increased dramatically. Despite each homework essay taking up as long as 5 hours to compose, the results were worth it. Having been taught by Mr Tye for over two years, I have seen him put in tremendous amount of hard work to prepare for each class. Each class he teaches is meticulously planned and supplied with detailed attention and appropriate information. Mr Tye is not simply any English tutor; his linguistic astuteness extends beyond that of any teacher or tutor of the English Language. And his language insights are always comprehensive and detailed. His coaching classes equip students with not only the linguistic skills needed in a classroom, but also the extra notch required to excel in our increasingly competitive society.

Today, essay writing is by far my strongest English skill. I can confidently say that Mr Tye has been the guiding factor towards not only this result, but also my English Language score which neither I nor my parents ever thought was possible. Having achieved a raw score of 45 in a subject I used to abhor as a prerequisite for VCE, I am enormously grateful towards Mr Tye for his hard work, faith in me as a student, guidance and encouragement. My ultimate ATAR – 99.6, is a phenomenal score which would not have been achieved were it not for English Language.

Mr Tye continually reminds us that ‘language reflects zeitgeist’. In much the same way, it can be assured that Mr Tye will always be aware of, and strictly scrutinising the ‘language zeitgeist’. As such, I would like to thank you Mr Tye for your linguistic sagacity throughout my VCE years and also for well equipping me with the English skills required in the ‘outside world’.

Jonathan Tiong
Doncaster East Secondary College, 2011