20.7.07
15.7.07
*P4-6: PSLE Oral Examination advice from Andrew!
Andrew is a Primary 6 student about to take his Primary School Leaving Examinations this year. Hear his advice on how to SHINE in every oral exam!
5.7.07
*P4-6: A Guide for PSLE Oral Exam
The PSLE Oral Examination for Chinese is separated into 3 components which are:
1. Reading the passage
2. Picture description
3. Conversation
5 minutes prior to the actual oral examination, here are a few things you should do while waiting for your turn:
1. Read the passage a few times
2. If you encounter any words that you really (I mean really and seriously) don't know how to read, skip it
3. In order to prevent missing out important parts of a picture, make it a point to describe it in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction
4. You're expected to describe the picture continuously; the more detailed you are, the better
Dos and Donts
1. Refrain from pointing at the passage or picture with your finger
2. Give your opinions about the things you see in the picture. Use words like "Wo jue de", "Wo ren wei" or "Wo xiang". If you can't tell if the person is an officer for example, (probably due to poor printings), use words like "Zhi yuan" as a general term to identify the character.
3. Try to control your reading speed;
> You might miss a word if you read too fast or
> Too slow and you might not be fluent enough
4. Stick to the theme and mood of the passage and read it as if you are really 'feeling' the story. Some moods include:
> Happiness
> Disheartened
> Angry
Dialogue of old people should sound slow, young characters should sound fast. It's all about the mood :)
5. Always remember to use the right mood for the passage but do not over exaggerate.
1. Reading the passage
2. Picture description
3. Conversation
5 minutes prior to the actual oral examination, here are a few things you should do while waiting for your turn:
1. Read the passage a few times
2. If you encounter any words that you really (I mean really and seriously) don't know how to read, skip it
3. In order to prevent missing out important parts of a picture, make it a point to describe it in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction
4. You're expected to describe the picture continuously; the more detailed you are, the better
Dos and Donts
1. Refrain from pointing at the passage or picture with your finger
2. Give your opinions about the things you see in the picture. Use words like "Wo jue de", "Wo ren wei" or "Wo xiang". If you can't tell if the person is an officer for example, (probably due to poor printings), use words like "Zhi yuan" as a general term to identify the character.
3. Try to control your reading speed;
> You might miss a word if you read too fast or
> Too slow and you might not be fluent enough
4. Stick to the theme and mood of the passage and read it as if you are really 'feeling' the story. Some moods include:
> Happiness
> Disheartened
> Angry
Dialogue of old people should sound slow, young characters should sound fast. It's all about the mood :)
5. Always remember to use the right mood for the passage but do not over exaggerate.
*P4-6:Picture description techniques
1. Do not directly translate english into mandarin (grammar to be exact) and never use english in mandarin as well. Don't use english as a medium to think up the structure of your speech but instead, use chinese.
2. Do not talk about irrelevant subjects or topics in a picture description.
3. Leave questionable parts of the picture to the conversation section and try not to dwell too much on the subject as time is of course, precious.
4. Describe the environment seen in the picture first
5. After doing so, get right to the point of systematically describing parts of the picture either in a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction.
2. Do not talk about irrelevant subjects or topics in a picture description.
3. Leave questionable parts of the picture to the conversation section and try not to dwell too much on the subject as time is of course, precious.
4. Describe the environment seen in the picture first
5. After doing so, get right to the point of systematically describing parts of the picture either in a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction.
*P4-6:Conversation for PSLE
The examiner isn't testing your knowledge, but he/she is testing how well you can express yourself and how fluent you are. Your point of view shouldn't be a short one-liner but instead, you should elaborate on the point you are tackling at.
P5-S4:*** ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR CHINESE 'O' LEVEL ORAL EXAM ***
1. Greet the examiner
2. Always keep an eye contact with the examiner
3. Put a smile on your face; it's not like the examiner's gonna kill you :)
4. Make a conscious effort to refrain from bad habits like shaking your legs. Doing so will give a bad impression of yourself to the examiner.
5. Read it aloud and with clarity, try not to 'press' your voice or you will sound like you're mumbling. You can prevent doing so by placing your paper more to the front and not so close to yourself
6. Be polite to the examiner; if he/she were to ask you a question and you don't catch the meaning, gently ask the examiner to repeat the question (e.g 'Qing Nin Chong Fu") For information's sake, "Nin" is a more respectful word to address the examiner
7. Refrain from using English words like "then", but instead, speak fully in Mandarin like "Hai You", "Hou Lai", "Er Qie", or "Jie Zhe Xia Lai". "Excuse me" can be said as "Bu Hao Yi Si". Speaking in English may also result in the deduction of marks
8. Skip the word if you don't know how to read it. For words that you're unsure of, find its closest pronunciation and say it quickly because the teacher might not be able to catch what you just said and will assume that you have read it correctly anyway
9. In a conversation, the first sentence makes the best impression. Try not to spend too much time thinking about what you should say on the first sentence. You don't have to think of really bombastic words or sentences to express yourself, just use simple words which you can say in confidence. Think on your feet, and you will be able to score.
10. Take note of a passage's mood (With a happy theme, read it as if you really are a happy person) and emphasize on important words. "Feel" what you say and don't read it with a single-toned voice.
11. Pause at regular intervals if a sentence is too long. Don't read the entire sentence or you may run out of breath. You can prevent doing so by reading the passage a few times (before you sit for it) and take note of its structure
12. Treat your examiner as a friend, and both of you will be able to converse and interact well with each other. The examiner isn't here to test your knowledge in a conversation, but instead, wants to see how well you can talk to him/her. This will in turn lighten up the tense atmosphere, so you can actually enjoy talking to the examiner.
2. Always keep an eye contact with the examiner
3. Put a smile on your face; it's not like the examiner's gonna kill you :)
4. Make a conscious effort to refrain from bad habits like shaking your legs. Doing so will give a bad impression of yourself to the examiner.
5. Read it aloud and with clarity, try not to 'press' your voice or you will sound like you're mumbling. You can prevent doing so by placing your paper more to the front and not so close to yourself
6. Be polite to the examiner; if he/she were to ask you a question and you don't catch the meaning, gently ask the examiner to repeat the question (e.g 'Qing Nin Chong Fu") For information's sake, "Nin" is a more respectful word to address the examiner
7. Refrain from using English words like "then", but instead, speak fully in Mandarin like "Hai You", "Hou Lai", "Er Qie", or "Jie Zhe Xia Lai". "Excuse me" can be said as "Bu Hao Yi Si". Speaking in English may also result in the deduction of marks
8. Skip the word if you don't know how to read it. For words that you're unsure of, find its closest pronunciation and say it quickly because the teacher might not be able to catch what you just said and will assume that you have read it correctly anyway
9. In a conversation, the first sentence makes the best impression. Try not to spend too much time thinking about what you should say on the first sentence. You don't have to think of really bombastic words or sentences to express yourself, just use simple words which you can say in confidence. Think on your feet, and you will be able to score.
10. Take note of a passage's mood (With a happy theme, read it as if you really are a happy person) and emphasize on important words. "Feel" what you say and don't read it with a single-toned voice.
11. Pause at regular intervals if a sentence is too long. Don't read the entire sentence or you may run out of breath. You can prevent doing so by reading the passage a few times (before you sit for it) and take note of its structure
12. Treat your examiner as a friend, and both of you will be able to converse and interact well with each other. The examiner isn't here to test your knowledge in a conversation, but instead, wants to see how well you can talk to him/her. This will in turn lighten up the tense atmosphere, so you can actually enjoy talking to the examiner.
*P5-6:MEMORIZE: PRAISES & CRITIQUE For PSLE Conversation, Composition or Comprehension
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My Profile
Profile : Designed by Local Ex-School teacher (34) Years of experience; Since 1980)
Employment History:
> Bedok View Sec -> 1980, Sec 1-4 Basic/Express and Higher Chinese
> Maris Stella High -> 1983, Sec 1-4 Normal/ Higher Chinese
> CHIJ -> 1984, Pri 1-6
> Monfort Sec -> 1986, Sec 1-4
> St. Theresa Convent -> 1989, Pri 2-6
> Stanford College -> 1984-1994, 'O' & Pre-U levels
> Top Grade Tuition Centre -> 1994-2004, Pri 1 - 'A' Level
> Home Tutor -> 2004-Now, Pri 2 - 'O' level
> Kong Hwa School -> 2007, P4,5 & 6,Chinese and Higher Chinese
I have tutor students mainly from these schools:
Pri School: ACS, MGS, Nanyang Pri, Ai Tong, Ngee Ann, CHIJ, Catholic High, Maris Stella, Tao Nan
Sec School: ACS(I), ACS(Barker), MGS, Fairfield Methodist, CHIJ, Catholic High, Maris Stella, RI, RGS, SJI, Dunman High, Anglican High, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, School of Science and Technology
In the past, i would tend to focus more on those gifted and intelligent Higher Chinese students hailing from top schools. But now I specialise in teaching those students who are unable to concentrate and on the verge of giving up Chinese. I find this to be more challenging yet fulfilling. Very often, every teacher will choose to teach the ace students, neglecting the weaker students in the process. I aim to fill up this gap to achieve the higher aims of education.
Teaching adults of non-Chinese nationalities for 10 years
I have also coached foreign adults who are learning Chinese for the first time( American, Britons, Australians, Japanese, French, Indians and Russians). Some decided to pick it up based on interest, some for career needs. Teaching them from scratch may seem difficult, but they are usually more diligent and focused making the process easier. Initially without any knowledge of Chinese word or phrase, they go on to be able to speak confidently even though it's not fluent and accurate. In addition, I would teach them Chinese culture and philosophy (bringing them to drink Chinese tea, Chinese restaurants to use Chopsticks etc.) Teaching them is always very enjoyable because they tend to be very keen to learn the language, appreciating its beauty.
Using Skype to teaching Singaporean living in America
In 2012, twice a week, I would teach her almost everything required in the O level Syllabus. She would email me the assignments and I would mark and go through the errors via webcam. Skype programs allow the other party to view your screen, facilitating easy exchange of materials. Through omy.com.sg, she was able to keep in touch with local news and do up newspaper article reviews which is required in the syllabus. Oral exam and Paper 2 components could also be prepared likewise over thousands of miles. In 2013 she came back to Singapore to do her O levels. The online skype lessons were very beneficial so that there will not be too big a gap in time where she lost touch of Chinese.
Disheartened with Chinese results?
Who should enroll? Those in: Higher chinese , Express60---->70,50---->60, B Syllabus
28% ----> 55% -> 1.5 years*
> Afternoon group tuition for Sec 1 - 3 (Higher Chinese)
*Can be proven with students' testimonials
+Guranteed Improvement in 1 year+
Description :
Catering to both strong and weak students!
TACKLING PSLE/'O' LEVEL ORAL EXAMS & ESSAY TOPICS with techniques like:
-> Analyzing mistakes
-> Establish strengths & boning up on weaknesses
-> Prevent losing marks
-> Time management
-> DAILY, INTENSIVE TUITION for PSLE & 'O' LEVELS
-> Preparing P5s & Sec 3s for 2008
Now focusing on 1 to 2 weak students with 30-40 marks to change their negative attitude towards Chinese, guaranteeing to improve them.
Starting from now, there will be intensive / long-term June holiday tuition.
> THOSE WHO JOIN MY INTENSIVE TUITION ARE
- UNABLE TO SCORE ANY HIGHER THAN THEIR BEST RESULT
- G'TD IMPROVEMENT IN 1 YEAR'S TIME
- TAILOR-MADE programs to ensure you to build up INTEREST & CONFIDENCE in Chinese Exams
- Specializes in individual tutoring for NON-Chinese
- Learn Chinese in a FUN way: CD/DVD ROMS, Newspapers, and the Internet.
- Preparing Secondary 1 ,'O' and the 'N' Levels
- Group size: 2 or 4
- Home tuition fees: Depends on students' level of standard
Objectives : To make sure students embrace Mandarin as a subject and incorporate the language into their daily lives by means of listening, hearing, reading and understanding, and ultimately motivating them to like the subject as a whole, which would lead to a significant improvement in their grades.
Outline :
1. Oral skills, picture description, listening compre & CD Roms
2. Commonly tested composition topics & writing skills
3. Comprehension & close passage techniques
4. Go through top-school exam papers
5. Analyzing past-year papers
6. Current affairs
7. Book reviews
Syllabus : Covering all syllabus set by MOE.
Days : Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Time : 8:00 am, 9:30 am, 3:00 pm, 4:30 pm, 6:00 pm, 8:00 pm
Location : Home tuition: 3 P.M - 4:30.P.M, 5-6:30 (Mon-Thurs)
Group tuition: 8 A.M - 7:30P.M (Weekdays-Sat)
* 2 to 4 students may attend tuition at my place around which should be around the East Zone. Most preferably Marine Parade, East Coast, Katong, Joo Chiat and Eunos.
Monthly Fees : S$160.00
Contact : 97641616
28% ----> 55% -> 1.5 years*
> Afternoon group tuition for Sec 1 - 3 (Higher Chinese)
*Can be proven with students' testimonials
+Guranteed Improvement in 1 year+
Description :
Catering to both strong and weak students!
TACKLING PSLE/'O' LEVEL ORAL EXAMS & ESSAY TOPICS with techniques like:
-> Analyzing mistakes
-> Establish strengths & boning up on weaknesses
-> Prevent losing marks
-> Time management
-> DAILY, INTENSIVE TUITION for PSLE & 'O' LEVELS
-> Preparing P5s & Sec 3s for 2008
Now focusing on 1 to 2 weak students with 30-40 marks to change their negative attitude towards Chinese, guaranteeing to improve them.
Starting from now, there will be intensive / long-term June holiday tuition.
> THOSE WHO JOIN MY INTENSIVE TUITION ARE
- UNABLE TO SCORE ANY HIGHER THAN THEIR BEST RESULT
- G'TD IMPROVEMENT IN 1 YEAR'S TIME
- TAILOR-MADE programs to ensure you to build up INTEREST & CONFIDENCE in Chinese Exams
- Specializes in individual tutoring for NON-Chinese
- Learn Chinese in a FUN way: CD/DVD ROMS, Newspapers, and the Internet.
- Preparing Secondary 1 ,'O' and the 'N' Levels
- Group size: 2 or 4
- Home tuition fees: Depends on students' level of standard
Objectives : To make sure students embrace Mandarin as a subject and incorporate the language into their daily lives by means of listening, hearing, reading and understanding, and ultimately motivating them to like the subject as a whole, which would lead to a significant improvement in their grades.
Outline :
1. Oral skills, picture description, listening compre & CD Roms
2. Commonly tested composition topics & writing skills
3. Comprehension & close passage techniques
4. Go through top-school exam papers
5. Analyzing past-year papers
6. Current affairs
7. Book reviews
Syllabus : Covering all syllabus set by MOE.
Days : Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
Time : 8:00 am, 9:30 am, 3:00 pm, 4:30 pm, 6:00 pm, 8:00 pm
Location : Home tuition: 3 P.M - 4:30.P.M, 5-6:30 (Mon-Thurs)
Group tuition: 8 A.M - 7:30P.M (Weekdays-Sat)
* 2 to 4 students may attend tuition at my place around which should be around the East Zone. Most preferably Marine Parade, East Coast, Katong, Joo Chiat and Eunos.
Monthly Fees : S$160.00
Contact : 97641616
S1-4:Listening Comprehension tips for 'O' Levels
> It may be easy, but do not get over-confident and think Listening Comprehension does not require any preparation.
> The listening comprehension are related to the following topics/subjects:
- News
- Stories
- Broadcasting
- Reports
- Short passages
- Speeches
You will have to answer 10 questions in the Listening Comprehension. This exam weighs 10 marks and would last for 30 minutes or so.
> Think "What, when, where, who, why?" and "How?", otherwise, you would probably run short of time
> Listen to more speeches so that you can bring out a more accurate tone while realizing your own flaws or mistakes.
>The Listening comperhension examination questions will be read by the radio station DJs so we should familiarize ourselves to their TONE and ACCENT.
> You can listen to these speeches by tuning in to radio stations like: 95.8, 93.3, 97.2 or 100.3.
> You can also go to these websites:
mypaper.sg/myvodcast.html
youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/777nie_sanjia.html#dhj
youth.zaobao.com/friday/popcorn.html
> These few days, try to spend as much time as you can to practice Listening Compre. by tuning in to the radio, hearing vodcasts and asking yourselves questions about what you have heard. In the examination hall, remain cool and calm, and you will have no problems with your L.C. All the best for your L.C Exam!
> The listening comprehension are related to the following topics/subjects:
- News
- Stories
- Broadcasting
- Reports
- Short passages
- Speeches
You will have to answer 10 questions in the Listening Comprehension. This exam weighs 10 marks and would last for 30 minutes or so.
> Think "What, when, where, who, why?" and "How?", otherwise, you would probably run short of time
> Listen to more speeches so that you can bring out a more accurate tone while realizing your own flaws or mistakes.
>The Listening comperhension examination questions will be read by the radio station DJs so we should familiarize ourselves to their TONE and ACCENT.
> You can listen to these speeches by tuning in to radio stations like: 95.8, 93.3, 97.2 or 100.3.
> You can also go to these websites:
mypaper.sg/myvodcast.html
youth.zaobao.com/friday/pages/777nie_sanjia.html#dhj
youth.zaobao.com/friday/popcorn.html
> These few days, try to spend as much time as you can to practice Listening Compre. by tuning in to the radio, hearing vodcasts and asking yourselves questions about what you have heard. In the examination hall, remain cool and calm, and you will have no problems with your L.C. All the best for your L.C Exam!
S1-4:Latest Listening Comprehension Samples
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S1-4: Chinese 'O' Level Oral Exam sample pictures
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S1-4:Chinese 'O' Level Oral Exam tippers
Conversation techniques:
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Good conversation phrases:
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Good conversation phrases:
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Secondary 4 Chinese Prelim Oral Exam topics (Selected schools)
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S1-4: 2007 COMPOSITION/ORAL EXAM HOT TOPICS
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S1-4: Tippers on conversations
1. There is an easy way to memorize what you can do in a conversation. Just follow this acronym: CREET,
which stands for: Concept, Rationalize, Experience, Examples, Thought
2. Don't just respond with a "yes" or a "no" but instead, elaborate further by explaining your reasons so the examiner won't have to continually prompt you to do so.
3. A speech requires you to be more expressive, but refrain from being too informal just in case you would or might accidentally utter an undesirable word of the language like "Bu shuang".
which stands for: Concept, Rationalize, Experience, Examples, Thought
2. Don't just respond with a "yes" or a "no" but instead, elaborate further by explaining your reasons so the examiner won't have to continually prompt you to do so.
3. A speech requires you to be more expressive, but refrain from being too informal just in case you would or might accidentally utter an undesirable word of the language like "Bu shuang".
P6 & S4 :Scans of testimonials
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Hear a testimony!
Listen to these authentic MP3 testimonies from Vincent's current students! Note that you will need a program that's able to support the file's .amr extension (ie: Quicktime Player) in order to listen to the testimonies.
(The file will be available for 7 days or when it hits 100 downloads. If it does, I'll upload it again.)
Click: Testimony 1, Testimony 2
(The file will be available for 7 days or when it hits 100 downloads. If it does, I'll upload it again.)
Click: Testimony 1, Testimony 2
S4: Testimonial from a student
Hi, my name is Wayne, I'm 16 years old and I would like to take the time to give a testimonial to Mr Kok regarding the tuition he has given to me in the past few years, which is 2 and a half years to be exact. The first time I attended his home tuition left me with an impression that his lesson was unlike any typical school teacher, which is good because he has a unique way of teaching by making use of television programs, (like Crossfire) CD Roms, the internet and even communicating via SMS. He's able to cater to my needs because at that time, I had no confidence in chinese at all. My results were very lousy, which is around 30 or 40 marks, so I didn't really dare to speak Mandarin to Mr Kok. So after a few more consecutive lessons, of course, I slowly began to embrace the language as a whole cuz I realized its importance to me since I'm a Chinese. My first and half-hearted attempt to write an essay ended up with 3 or 4 lines, but as time progressed, I got better at it and eventually, and I could write a full composition. I've got 47 marks in the next SA2 examination which is a noticeable improvement. By secondary 3, I am more fluent in speaking Mandarin and am also able to pass the tests. I feel this had also, in a way, made me feel more proud to be Chinese. Then again, all of this comes with lots of practice and determination, so nothing comes in easy. During the holidays, I finished reading up both textbooks A and B and did a couple of book reviews. When it was time to back to school, all the stuff I learned during the holidays had finally paid off and now, I am ultimately more confident in getting a better grade for the Chinese 'O' Levels. I am estimating a B4 - C6 with the inclusion of the oral examination marks. I hope this would clear up any doubts with Mr Kok and wish you the best for your exams as well.
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