I'm at a loss with my p5 son's Chinese

[mistychances]

pixiedust:

Since our boys are same age and seems to be similar 'pattern', I just want to share my 2cents worth :

thank you very much pixiedust before i talk to other parents & come to this forum, i always think there's something wrong with my boy becoz i simply cannot understand why is it that the chinese words/meanings cannot be drilled into his head whereas he has no such prob with english.

of course, now i realised that it is partly due to his lack of exposure to the lang since young & that is my fault. But since p3, i've been working hard to get him back on track but it just gets tougher due to the increasing std with each level :stupid: that is why a lot of times, i totally lose my cool :?:

pixiedust:

Looking back, I see that >90% of the exam paper is 课外. Think about the gazillions vocabulary and words, to consistently do well,

Precisely, but problem here is he can't even handle his vocab for his own level, even words from his earlier level are not really mastered. that's why i find it hard to progress & that frustrates me :stupid:

pixiedust:

Back to the forgetfulness issue, it is necessary to keep repeat writing the words. Read the book1 of 五读 when you get it. We are both P5 parents so I can understand the lack of time and volume of words that build up.

Yes, I have read that one way of storing into long term memory is repetition. Like my brother said, make him repeat & repeat every day, & one day, it'll definitely be stored Gosh, if only we have the energy & time to do so

Meantime, i must keep reminding myself not to waste time by scolding him or getting upset with him. It is definitely counter productive.

让我们一起加油 ! :celebrate:

[tamarind]

pixiedust:

Looking back, I see that >90% of the exam paper is 课外. Think about the gazillions vocabulary and words, to consistently do well, the child really has to be reading at least 2 years ahead of his level. eg P5 should be at least Secondary 1 standard kind of reading - my personal opinion.

I agree with you that kids should be reading at least 2 years ahead of his level.

In fact my girl has been reading Chinese novels (each novel has over 70000 words) popular with upper primary kids in China since she was in P1. However, she did not suddenly know how to read these books. She has read many picture books and comic books before she can read these novels with full understanding.

I wrote earlier that comic books serve as a bridge to help kids progress to read novels. Kids still have to read many novels in order to do well in Chinese.

We cannot expect P5 kids who still cannot read Chinese story books independently, to be able to understand books meant for secondary level.

Also, it is much more important to build up their interest in learning Chinese, rather than just worrying about their results. We don't want to continue to push our kids to repeat/memorize things everyday. We want them to be interested enough in a language to learn it independently, which can be easily done if they want to.

[tamarind]

mistychances:

Yes, I have read that one way of storing into long term memory is repetition. Like my brother said, make him repeat & repeat every day, & one day, it'll definitely be stored Gosh, if only we have the energy & time to do so

Meantime, i must keep reminding myself not to waste time by scolding him or getting upset with him. It is definitely counter productive.

In Book 1 of 四五快读, the author explains that the period of time in between repetitions are very important. That is, we do not ask a child to repeat 20 times in one day. Read here for more information :

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/SzQMM0_2kGI/AAAAAAAABas/fiu6YIcA5gk/s1600-h/b2.JPG


My younger boy is the type who needs to repeat more than 20 times in order to remember. However, even if he repeats 20 times in one day, he still forgets the word after a few weeks. I followed the method in the book and it is much more effective for him.

Most importantly, even after the child has mastered all the words in the 四五快读, it is necessary to read regularly everyday. When the child is able to read at least 2000 words a day (estimation only) from interesting story books, then all the Chinese words that he learned will continue to stay in his long term memory.

[mistychances]

tamarind:

she did not suddenly know how to read these books.

I always wish that when I wake up in the morning, DS can SUDDENLY excel in Chinese :lol:

tamarind i totally agree with you in cultivating interest in the lang which I'm trying to do at the same time by letting him watch chinese movies etc.

I guess it is tough for me coz DS is already in p5, as much as i want him to enjoy learning, I'd still want him to perform. And since he's got a good memory for everything else except chinese, I believe, with more effort, he should be able to overcome the problem.

I wish I had seen the importance of exposure to the lang when he was little. Now, we just have to work doubly hard & I'll continue to help him in anyway for now & for future

[ksme]

Here’s my story.


As at end P3, my son does not read Chinese books at all other than school textbooks. Getting him to read was a big headache and although I bought several different Chinese books for him, they sat on his shelves without being touched. During the dec holidays that year, I gently pushed him to read the Doraemon comics. He got hooked and I quickly got a few more for him to read. Then in P4, his school teacher forced the class to read chinese story books (novels) borrowed from the school library. He had to read 1 each term which was manageable. That’s how he started reading chinese novels. I don’t think he knows all the words in the books but he knows enough to enjoy the stories. During the school holidays, I went to library to borrow more chinese books for him. All kinds of novels. I gently pushed him to read and he finished some and put aside some which are not so interesting to him. I also gently nudged him to read some of the other books which were still sitting on the shelves. Glad he enjoyed some of them. I think he read about 15 or so novels last year plus 10 or so comics. He is in P5 this year and does not have much time even for English books. I am waiting for the June holidays for him to read Chinese books again.

I think the reading has helped him in his word recognition. He had a very good Chinese teacher in P4 who can click well with the kids. So lucky for us many factors were in our favour and we were able to at least build the interest in the language. Apart from the books, we also watched Chinese movies like red cliff and some of the other chinese fighting shows. He got to know 曹操，诸葛亮，刘备，关羽 etc.

On the results - his results are not consistent. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Then again, his english results are also like that. I am hoping that over time (next 1.5 years to PSLE), he can achieve more consistent results. Unfortunately, results are not controllable by us. However, if we can help them build up the interest in the language, that will stay with them for life.

Hope the above gives some hope to all of you. My kid is not there yet, but with persistence, he can only get better. 加油！

[mistychances]

tamarind:

My younger boy is the type who needs to repeat more than 20 times in order to remember. However, even if he repeats 20 times in one day, he still forgets the word after a few weeks. I followed the method in the book and it is much more effective for him.

Most importantly, even after the child has mastered all the words in the 四五快读, it is necessary to read regularly everyday. When the child is able to read at least 2000 words a day (estimation only) from interesting story books, then all the Chinese words that he learned will continue to stay in his long term memory.

tamarind

thank you very much you've certainly enlightened me with that

[Brenda10]

mistychances:

I guess it is tough for me coz DS is already in p5, as much as i want him to enjoy learning, I'd still want him to perform. And since he's got a good memory for everything else except chinese, I believe, with more effort, he should be able to overcome the problem.


I wish I had seen the importance of exposure to the lang when he was little. Now, we just have to work doubly hard & I'll continue to help him in anyway for now & for future

To achieve the result within a shorter timing should have reading, listening, speaking and watching CL show daily.

[tamarind]

ksme:

On the results - his results are not consistent. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Then again, his english results are also like that. I am hoping that over time (next 1.5 years to PSLE), he can achieve more consistent results. Unfortunately, results are not controllable by us. However, if we can help them build up the interest in the language, that will stay with them for life.

ksme,
I totally agree with you !

[tamarind]

Brenda10:

mistychances:

I guess it is tough for me coz DS is already in p5, as much as i want him to enjoy learning, I'd still want him to perform. And since he's got a good memory for everything else except chinese, I believe, with more effort, he should be able to overcome the problem.


I wish I had seen the importance of exposure to the lang when he was little. Now, we just have to work doubly hard & I'll continue to help him in anyway for now & for future

To achieve the result within a shorter timing should have reading, listening, speaking and watching CL show daily.

Brenda10,
You are right. Especially now that the oral component is going to more important, parents must focus on reading and speaking. If a child can speak well, he will also be able to write well.

Also, since kids can use dictionary in PSLE exams, there is no need to worry about practicing how to write many words. Parents should focus on teaching kids to recognize and understand as many Chinese words as possible.

[Brenda10]

Hi Tamarind


FYI, as of now the Electronic Dictionary is introduced in Paper 1 - CL compo. Only.
Paper 2 - (other components like MCQ and open and end question etc) is not allowed to use unless the exam format is revamp again in future.