Students Testimonials

It has been a very long journey ever since I started learning at CMA. Upon joining, I felt a little nervous. However, after attending a few lessons, I overcame my nervousness and started to look forward to going to class.

You might expect an increase in my workload after joining CMA and while it is indeed true, I did not complain. However, I did find that a lot of my fellow classmates could not cope with the stress that came with the additional work and slowly started giving up. I would like to tell them not to put too much pressure on themselves but persevere at the same time as hard work reaps good results.

CMA has helped me tremendously in my school work especially in Mathematics. I now find it easier to complete my work due to my ability to calculate sums a lot faster than my peers.

At school, I have friends who are weak in math. I would recommend CMA to them so that their Math would improve as I think they would find CMA interesting and useful to them.

I have achieved Mental Arithmetic Dan Level in year 2014 and this year, I have finally passed my Abacus Arithmetic Dan Level's examination. Despite the difficulties that i have faced along the way, I persevered and eventually succeeded.

What do I want to be in the future? Well I want to be a Math teacher and CMA has helped me in my road to achieving my ambition by helping me build a strong foundation in math.

Before I end this testimonial, I would like to thank Teacher Ong and all the CMA Punggol's teachers that taught me. They have shown confidence and resilience when faced with challenges on numerous occasions and they have never failed to show patience in helping and teaching me whenever I face a problem in class. If they had not helped me, I would not have succeeded.

Chia Zong Yan
November 2016

“ I have been studying in CMA for 6 years. I enjoy the lessons very much at CMA. CMA helps me in my Mathematics. It trains me to calculate mentally and accurately. That’s why I will have some extra time during an exam to check my work thoroughly. So most of the time, I will get marks that are 90 and above. I think the teachers in CMA are very caring and patient. They will teach me how to do the questions patiently and correctly. When we have finished our class work early, the teachers will give some IQ questions and jokes to entertain us and let us think of an answer for the questions. This will allow our brain to think and if we get the correct answer, the teacher will give us one extra stamp. Once the card is full with stamps, we can redeem a gift. I really appreciate CMA for teaching me so many things and I would like to thank the teachers who had taught me for the past few years.“

“I have been with CMA for many years and I am now 14 years old studying in Temasek Junior College doing 6 years integrated program.

I still remembered back in the days when i first joined CMA, I was an active child, I refused to sit down and do my work. I would climb under the tables, waiting for my teacher to find me but the teachers were patient with me and guided me along the way. Through CMA, my focus and concentration has imporoved tremendously. Also, I feel that the CMA teachers inspired me a lot as they are dedicated to their job. They told me their life stories and I learnt a lot from there.

CMA is helpful and useful in many ways. I can now use my mental calculation to impress my friends and help my parents calculate bills during grocery shopping. For example, when there is promotion on free gift on a minimum amount spent, my mother would ask me to calculate the total just right for the qualification as she did not want to spend more than the required amount. Both my friends and relatives are impressed at my ability to calculate faster than them and I feel a sense of accomplishment whenever I calculate correctly.

This skill has also helped me ace my exams as I do not need to do as much working, which is time-consuming. During my primary school days, I would use mental calculation to check the working of my Math especially when I have limited amount of time left in an examination to check my paper.

I would like to sincerely thank them from the bottom of my heart for teaching me so many things.”

“Cherlyn Lee is a focused yet bubbly child who holds the record for the Fastest Addition of 10-digit numbers in the Singapore Book of Records.

I love thinking quickly! It's even more fun and easier without the abacus! At first when i came to CMA, I didn't know what was going on. But the questions got easier after a while. Also the competitions are fun and not scary at all. Now in my K2 class, English spelling is very easy to me, too, because the words are easy and I can remember them fast. Every day, my parents practise mental arithmetic with me for two hours. I'm happy to have won three trophies so far. My parents brought me to Universal Studios to celebrate! ”

“I have been with CMA for one and a half year. I have fun learning all the new things every day. I like the work that I do and hope to improve my work. My teacher always encourages me and helps me to be more confident. I have been chosen many times to show my mental arithmetic skill at public events. I have fun doing aural mental arithmetic on the stage. I won first place for Mental and Abacus Arithmetic at CMA 2nd National Competition. I have great fun leaning in CMA and hope to do very well. Thank you! ”

“My name is Justine Jen. I am 6 years old. I have been attending lessons in CMA for one and half years.

Every week I look forward to my lessons as the lessons are always enjoyable. In class, I love to solve all the challenging questions given to me, and I love to do the online practices too. As there are many types of questions I can choose to do.Principal Tay and the teachers are all very patient and encouraging. They have taught me many things which I don’t learn in my kindergarten. Now not only I can solve many difficult questions accurately but also in a much faster speed. I am very happy. I want to thank my grandma, daddy, mummy, my teachers for their support and patience. I will continue to work hard so that they can be proud of me.

“I love CMA two-hand abacus training as it helps me to do my calculations accurately and at the fastest pace. Whenever I go out with my mother to buy groceries at the supermarkets, I will help her count the amount she has to pay. Also the moment I enter into my taxis, I will calculate the total amount of money to pay at the end of the journey. When my father want to change the amounts of the books for his piano students, he will look for me and ask me to calculate for him. I really enjoy the mental arithmetic abacus lessons. Even though I am tired, I will still look forward to go for my lessons.

I like CMA because it is a good training centre and it helps children learn their mathematics well.

Zheng Lao-Shi is a kind hearted and funny person. He is very patient, loving and encouraging. He will reward us with a stamp chops when we complete all our homework and we can use it to exchange for free gifts. Zheng Lao-Shi I LOVE YOU!

“Hi! My name is Jovan. I am 7 years old. I've started learning in CMA since I was in kindergarten 1. In CMA, I learnt an easier method to calculate numbers, by using abacus. Now, I can calculate numbers that are more complex in a faster way. I find it very fun and challenging! When I go out with my mother, I will help her calculate the total amount and change she will get back. I feel very happy when I calculate the amount correctly. I’m like a calculator.

Every Friday, I look forward to go to my CMA lesson. During the lesson, I’m given a chance to do aural mental arithmetic in front of the whole class. It builds up my confidence when I got the answers correct. My friends would cheer for me and I can also change my practice CD. I felt really happy! Even if I got the answer wrong, they would still encourage me to do better next time. I enjoyed reciting time tables. At the end of lesson, I have fun singing the CMA song with the action.

In 2007, I entered a CMA Mental Arithmetic competition in Malaysia, I won two trophies, I was very happy because they were my first ever worn trophies!

Teacher Tay is my most favourite Teacher in CMA. With him around, lessons are never boring. He teaches the class in a delightful manner. I really enjoy his lessons very much. At times, he even does funny actions to make us laugh. When I don't know how to do my work, he will teach me how to do it patiently and make sure I get it right. When I’m feeling unhappy, he will comfort me by talking to me nicely and even give me a hug! Teacher Tay is a teacher that has a great passion in teaching. I love and respect him a lot.

My wish is to be Teacher Tay's best student! I thank Teacher Tay very much for teaching me CMA."