My son is 9 years old and he's in fourth grade. They have English twice a week at school but the teacher says it's a bit tight. I see that a lot of parents in the WhatsApp group pay for someone to come to the house, but I'm not sure if it's really worth it or if it's just marketing from the academies.
I'd see it this way: at 9 years old it's fine to have two classes a week at school, but if the teacher says it's tight and your son shows interest (or at least isn't bored), an extra class a week at home with someone competent can make quite a big difference. When I started teaching three years ago I noticed that kids who had private tutoring tended to speak more English in regular class, they gained confidence, and then their results improved quite a bit. That said, the most important factor is whether your son is willing to put in the effort, because if he sees it as a punishment this won't work. If you try it, find someone who actually knows how to teach and isn't just a native speaker chatting with the kid in English.
Honestly I think it really depends on your kid! if he's actually struggling with the language and you see he's getting frustrated, private lessons can help him build confidence, but if he's just getting by maybe reinforcement at home watching movies or apps like Duolingo is enough and you save money. What I'd do is try first with free resources and see if it clicks for him, because at that age the important thing is that he doesn't hate English, there'll be time to push harder when he's older!
With two classes a week at school plus an extracurricular activity, you'd be looking at around 3-4 hours of exposure to English, which is pretty decent at that age. What I'd check is whether your kid actually needs it or if you guys are just comparing yourselves to other parents in the WhatsApp group, which happens a lot. If the teacher says he's keeping up but the kid doesn't complain or get anxious about the language, he's probably fine as is; but if you see he's really struggling or falling behind, one private lesson a week definitely helps, especially because it's more personalized than being in a big academy with 8 other kids.
I've been selling houses for 28 years and I've seen it all, I've even camped out with my kids while they were learning English vocabulary 😄 but look, the thing about private lessons at 9 years old really depends on what your kid is actually like. if he's the type who enjoys learning and asks questions, one class a week can be useful to reinforce what he's getting at school and give him a bit more confidence. now, if he's just getting by "okay" but without frustration, he's probably fine where he is.
what I would do is pay attention to whether the kid shows curiosity or if he struggles with pronunciation, grammar, like the basics. if you see he avoids speaking in class or that he's falling behind, then yeah it makes sense to add an extra class with someone who comes to the house. but if it's just because other parents are doing it... that's kind of like when everyone wants the most expensive house in the neighborhood without actually needing it 😅 plus at that age, 30-40 minutes of good extra exposure is worth more than two hours of boring videos.
my advice: try something cheaper first, like an app or youtube videos focused on his level, and if you see he gets bored or that he really needs it, then you find someone. sometimes kids make progress on their own in july and august without classes, which is weird but it happens. give it one more term at school and you'll already know if it's necessary.
If the teacher says it's "somewhat tight" that's already a red flag, but honestly it depends more on how your kid feels about the language than on how many hours add up. I'd only get a private lesson once a week if you see him frustrated or if he's actually interested in moving faster, not because everyone in the WhatsApp group is doing it. Sometimes an extra hour works better than nothing if you find someone good, but it's not like at 9 years old it's urgent to have a perfect level, most kids pick it up just fine later on.
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