[PSLE MT] PSLE less weightage in Chinese / Mother Tongue
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goldenretriever:
Frankly speaking, I think that nowadays the Chinese is tougher compared to my times. Just look at their comprehension/cloze passages, and the type of phrases that the teachers expect to see in the student's compo. Even when you look at the composition guidebooks, they are filled with bombastic phrases, which I think is definitely beyond the kids ability. Lowering the weightage maybe a good thing cos MOE got to be realistic about the fact that most kids come from English-speaking family background. As a Chinese, I have always stressed to my kids that they must know how to read, write and speak Chinese fluently. However, the local environment says otherwise when almost every subject is taught in English.
I beg to differ.
During MY time, I've to read essays from renown writers like 冰心, 鲁迅, 巴金 and even learn simple 文言文 for P6. Ok, maybe I took CL1 during primary school, but if you compare the HCL at P6 now, the chinese level is world apart! I'm pretty sure the HCL these days will not ask to analysis, write reviews and compare writing styles etc for this kind of essays? -
Some of you may want to write directly to Mr Ng?
[email protected] -
Hi
I have submitted my feedback to MOE. I encourage more to do the same. We need to be heard. -
Hmmm... I'm wondering what kind of reduced weightage the ministry has in mind? If it is a 26% x 3 + 22% or 27% x 3 + 19%, I think it is still acceptable. However, any reduced weightage of Chinese in PSLE score must be quite demoralising to all the Chinese teachers, esp those teaching in primary schools.
I strongly feel that the 'weightage' of Chinese should be doubled when the children are still small, when they are less than 5 years old! MOE should take over to study how Chinese should be taught preschool level. If they have a good foundation understanding the Chinese characters at preschool level, they will have better success rate in Chinese at primary school level. Introducing Hanyupinying at P1/K2 is not helpful at all.
I came from a Chinese-speaking family, but my children are English-speaking. However, my youngest one at 5 years old loves to read Chinese books aloud to me every day and his mandarin improved in leaps and bounds over the past 1.5 years and he can recognise and understand the meaning of more Chinese characters than my other child at P2. Why? Because since young, I read a lot more interesting Chinese books than English books to him, compared to the pathetic Chinese reader books I read to his elder siblings when they were still small. -
tree nymph:
You are welcome
Hi Tam,tamarind:
Dear all parents,
Please use this feedback form and send your comments to MOE.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/feedback/
They will definitely reply you, I tried it before.
Based on my experience with maid issues, we can complain thousands of times in the internet forums, the gahmen pretends not to see. This is because one person can create many different accounts and post under different nicknames. The gahmen only wants to listen to comments from \"real people\".
Thanks for your link. I've submitted my comments.
Sending an email to feedback to MOE is the best way to complain. Everything is in black and white, and can be forwarded to the relevant people, that is, those who decide on the changes. -
Blobbi:
Blobbi,
Nolah. She means that they think of themselves as Singaporeans. Am I right, Tamarind?Way2GO:
What a laugh!
No matter how much potatoes they eat
They can never be angmo!
Yes you are right that is exactly what I mean.
The younger generation are smart enough to know that they will never be considered by the ang moh as one of them.
However, they are proud of being Singaporeans, and I think that being a Singaporean is now considered more \"prestigious\" compared to other countries in Asia, second only to the Japanese.
It is like the Americans. All those Americans whose parents/grandparents originally came from India, China, Japan, Korea, Europe, etc, all consider themselves \"Americans\".
Being Singaporean is like a new \"race\". Not Chinese and not ang moh. -
longreach:
My English was also poor. No matter how hard I tried, my best grade was B, never get A. I managed to get As in all the other subjects like Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, English Literature, etc, because I memorized the entire textbooks.
I did not have an easy time at secondary school as my English foundation was poor. And even struggle through for math initially as math was thought in mandarin in my primary school years. I guess my then situation was somewhat similar to those China students coming over here for education. Hard work can eventually pay off.
I knew a student from mainland China, she also said that she did well only because she memorized all the textbooks.
If we put in the hard work, nothing is impossible. -
As for those students who studied very hard, but still cannot do well in Chinese, they may not be using the effective methods to learn. Just like I cannot get an A in English no matter how hard I tried, I was not learning it correctly. We cannot do well in languages simply by memorizing the textbooks. Parents should put in effort to find out what are the correct and effective methods of learning a language.
I wonder why this madam never try to find more effective methods to learn Chinese for her grandchildren ?
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_517587.html
Do it quickly
THREE of my grandchildren who took their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) performed superbly in every subject bar Chinese, which devalued their performance and cost two of them a place in a top secondary school.
The one who was lucky got into the school of his choice only after appealing. He had scored A-stars in English, Maths and Science but managed only a B in Chinese.
Despite devoting most of his time to studying Chinese, it was this language which dragged his aggregate score down to 240 - and into the bottom classes of secondary school. Reason: the classes were divided according to PSLE scores.
By Secondary 3, he had worked his way back to the top classes. But it was the same story in his GCE O levels. He aced all his subjects bar Chinese in which he got a C. In junior college now, he is performing well in every subject but this time, his mother tongue may pose an even greater threat to his academic future. He failed H1 Chinese and the school advised him to retake the exam or compromise his scholarship applications.
Lose out on scholarships because of Chinese? If that happens, my grandson may be forced to fulfil his academic dream overseas. And with that, Singapore will lose another bright spark to a foreign country.
I am certain that thousands of students have suffered the same fate as my three grandchildren since the bilingual policy was introduced almost 40 years ago.
I worry because I have five other grandchildren who must take the PSLE. Our examination system should recognise a pupil's strengths, not penalise his weaknesses. The fairer weighting for a PSLE aggregate score is to calculate it based on a pupil's best three subjects. He should be required to only pass the fourth compulsory subject.
The Government should implement the new weighting immediately and not let another generation be penalised.
Chong Geok Kheng (Madam) -
tamarind:
Well, if her precious grandson is indeed a \"bright spark\", he won't do so badly in Chinese right. And I really hate it when this group of people always blame it on having to learn chinese for their move to a foreign country.
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_517587.html
Do it quickly
Lose out on scholarships because of Chinese? If that happens, my grandson may be forced to fulfil his academic dream overseas. And with that, Singapore will lose another bright spark to a foreign country. -
tamarind:
Ah Tamarind (& Blobbi), I caught your driftBlobbi,
Yes you are right that is exactly what I mean.
The younger generation are smart enough to know that they will never be considered by the ang moh as one of them........
Being Singaporean is like a new \"race\". Not Chinese and not ang moh.
the first time round though
I didn't elaborate in my response above.
Being Singaporean is a nationality
Chinese, Malay, Indian, etc is a race
You can change nationality
but u can never change the race
u r born with.
What is being a Singaporean?
Do we hv a Singapore culture dat
is distinctly Singaporean?
We all reach back to our deeper
roots dat is our forebears' for identity.
The Americans hv more than 200 years
of nationhood, yet the various races
remain quite distinct in the main, n is not homogeneous.
There remains a strong Jewish lobby.
Lets not deceive ourselves dat
there will emerge a 'Singapore race'
Even if the Singapore melting pot is all
mixed up thoroughly to become a homogeneous 'race'
u cannot separate all its distinct parts.
Dats y I say
What a laugh!
It does well to teach the young
dat why striving to be a united Singapore
regardless of race, language or religion
blah, blah blah
let's not forget their roots.
But we can digressing from the
subject matter in dis thread
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