[PSLE MT] PSLE less weightage in Chinese / Mother Tongue

[rains]

tree nymph:

To the people who say YES to lowering the weightage of MT


Have you ever wondered - if MOE really lowers the weightage of MT in PSLE exams, do you really think that your kid will do better in PSLE and hence able to get into a better/good secondary school?

The general trend is that most kids are 'English educated', therefore most of them are probably not as good in Chinese language but better in the other subjects. Now if the chinese weightage is lowered, your kid should do better in the PSLE, so WILL (in general) the other kids! That means the entry level for the good secondary schools will also go up and the competition will still be there.

so if you think that by lowering the weightage of Chinese in the PSLE exams will increase the chances of your kid getting into a better/good secondary school, I say, THINK again.

Hi treenymph,

I think most people who support the lowering of weightage of MT at PSLE are not looking at getting better score. There are many, like me, who simply wish to remove the immense pressure to excel in Chinese.

When I look at my kid's textbooks, they are clearly of a much higher level than when I was in primary school. I liken the artificial increase of standard to 揠苗助长 - remember the story about the boy who forcefully pulled the plants up to help them grow? Many who are in the yester-era started with terribly simple textbooks and we turn out more than fine. Sometimes I wonder if I had been born in this era, would I have excelled in Chinese?

What they are learning at P4 is similar to what I had learnt in P6, if I remember correctly. I don't understand why there's a need to make the learning of Chinese so advanced. Is it to match the standard of the PRCs, or at least not look so bad when they come in?

For someone who was even repulsed to Chinese cartoons when she was 6 becos of the inability to understand the language, I'm honestly very glad that she's able to write a compo of a decent length after 4 years, albeit with some wrong words. I feel dismayed to receive her Chinese teacher's calls a few times a week to tell me how my kid's Chinese REALLY needs improvement. She's only 10. The last thing I want is for her to feel inadequate in the face of Chinese language. She's starting to pick up Chinese storybooks and putting in effort to look up words she doesn't understand. I'm really happy at the progress thus far, altho she won't excel in the language this year. But apparently, it's not enough for the Chinese teacher.

Lowering the weightage of MT will at least relieve me and her some pressure when I teach her Chinese. I find that I don't feel so uptight the moment I read the news about the lowering of weightage of MT, altho I still hope that she can do well in the subject nonetheless.

I really feel that Chinese is a language worthy to dwell a lifetime on, not just for PSLE. But if kids feel like a failure just becos of a one-time exam, I'm afraid it'll turn them off the language for a lifetime. I myself know of several parents whose kids felt that Chinese left a 'black mark' on their report cards and decided to give up on the language altogether after PSLE. They just managed a pass for their Chinese in secondary schools, and were thoroughly thrilled to give it up totally at A level, and for the rest of their lives. I thought that's such a waste. We've lost many kids due to the current common weightage at PSLE, so why don't we try another method to at least maintain their interest in Chinese?

[Joy]

:celebrate:


its been a long long time since I SEE CHINESE...something so familar, esp I took this as my A level subject.

HyperKiasu:

Joy:

[quote=\"HyperKiasu\"]木已成舟 liao....

:lol:

never mind, 谁笑到最后谁才笑得最好.... :D[/quote]

[dimsum]

rains:

There are many, like me, who simply wish to remove the immense pressure to excel in Chinese.

There are many.... who simply wish to remove the immense pressure to excel in English/Maths/Science

rains:

Lowering the weightage of MT will at least relieve me and her some pressure when I teach her Chinese.

Lowering the weightage of English/Maths/Science will at least relieve me and her some pressure when I teach her E/M/S

Do you get it? Why do we only shift the goalpost for students who are having difficulties in Chinese? The playing field is not level anymore.

[Way2GO]

Altum:

AFAIK,

What does AFAIK means?

[MMM]

rains:

What they are learning at P4 is similar to what I had learnt in P6, if I remember correctly. I don't understand why there's a need to make the learning of Chinese so advanced. Is it to match the standard of the PRCs, or at least not look so bad when they come in?

Don't this apply to all other subjects too???? I remember learning ABC when I was in P1. Multiplication and division were also introduced much later and not P2. As a whole, the competency level have moved on. This applies to Chinese as well.

[Way2GO]

dimsum, rains does hv a valid point,

though I think the proposal of reducing the weightage of MT
is not the right solution.
I believe that doing so will de-emphasize the subject importance
in the eyes of students and schools and lead to further
deterioration of MT.

Why can’t MOE devise a system that caters to such students
and yet do not penalize those who are good in languages?

[Way2GO]

MMM:

rains:

What they are learning at P4 is similar to what I had learnt in P6, if I remember correctly. I don't understand why there's a need to make the learning of Chinese so advanced. Is it to match the standard of the PRCs, or at least not look so bad when they come in?

Don't this apply to all other subjects too???? I remember learning ABC when I was in P1. Multiplication and division were also introduced much later and not P2. As a whole, the competency level have moved on. This applies to Chinese as well.

This is true too.
rains is being selective in trying to support her argument

[sunflower]

MMM:

rains:

What they are learning at P4 is similar to what I had learnt in P6, if I remember correctly. I don't understand why there's a need to make the learning of Chinese so advanced. Is it to match the standard of the PRCs, or at least not look so bad when they come in?

Don't this apply to all other subjects too???? I remember learning ABC when I was in P1. Multiplication and division were also introduced much later and not P2. As a whole, the competency level have moved on. This applies to Chinese as well.

Yup, the rise in standards is across all subjects, not just Chinese.

[sunflower]

Actually, learning Chinese is not very difficult, provided we’re immersed in the environment that requires us to use Chinese daily. Unfortunately, with the high standards of English that are required of us, and the fact that we don’t really need to use the language constantly in our daily life, most placed emphasis on English and neglected Chinese, thus resulting in the deterioration of Chinese standards in our children.

[sunflower]

Chinese learning tends to be boring previously as it requires a lot of memory work. The traditional teaching methods require us to memorise and write the words countless times, believing this will help us attain certain competency.


However, now they’re trying to revamp Chinese teaching methodology to make it interesting in the attempt to capture students’ interests, hoping that this will relieve the boredom of memory work. The brains will easily remember things if interest is cultivated. But of course it’s not enough just to depend on school teachers. Parents and the whole environment that the child is exposed to contributes much more to the child’s learning of the language.

I don’t know abt others but I feel my child is just lazy to use her brains (懒得动脑) to remember all these words as it requires a certain amount of concentration and boring hard work, unlike playing computer games. The fact that it’s difficult to remember is also because we hardly need to use it daily, which adds on to the difficulty as it does not come naturally. Ultimately, it becomes a chore and everyone just treats it as a subject to pass in exams.

JMHO.