O-Level English

[bandmate]

Thanks for the suggestions! I went to buy a few English guidebooks by Longman and my initial plan was to buy the vocabulary book..but somehow or another, I bought all the other longman english guides except the vocabulary!! I prefer to do expository essays so I guess I'd better read more. One question though, how can I remember distinctly an evidence from an article or passage I've read? I do read quite a little now and then but the articles don't strike me hard enough for me to remember them, especially the statistics which I believe, would be very useful to convince the readers...

[twilight]

O levels english is not GP. My teacher said usually examiners will let you off if you don’t quote statistics, or you quoted wrong statistics. I didn’t memorise specific examples, but rather the general trend in the world. In the essay I wrote for O levels, I quoted examples like global warming and terrorism. It’s more like the current situation in the world rather than a specific situation in a specific country. Of course if you can remember stuff which you can use for your essay, it is to your advantage. But if you can’t, it’s still fine. They won’t look at your expository writing with the eye they use to mark GP. But I do believe they also mark GP, which is why some schools discourage writing argumentative as it is inevitable that some examiners will compare it with the standards of GP.

[bandmate]

I see…then I think I’d be better memorizing some current situations, hopefully similar things will come out…thanks! And does anyone know for using your own words question, do I have to replace nouns? I’m rather confused at this as I remember there’s one occasion when there’s a teacher that is not from my school, who comes to my class and teach for 2 weeks. He’s a really strange person and he disappears suddenly at the end anyway. If I’m not wrong, he mentioned that he marked O level English papers before and told my class that nouns do not have to be replaced at all, just adjectives and verbs, or just sentence structure or using opposite meanings. My english teacher however disagreed with the replacing of nouns, when I tried to confirm with her after trying that strategy in my common test paper (which I failed). So I’m rather confused right now, as my English teacher isn’t an O level marker what the other teacher said might be true. Honestly speaking, during the two weeks when that teacher came to teach for two weeks, I was really engrossed with his lessons and I found them really very useful and how he engages the students is just superb. That was the only time in my school life that I find English is interesting. Pls help!

[Mdm Koh]

Some nouns can be replaced. For instance, "labour" can be "hard work" and "aim" can be "goal". But do not try to replace nouns like "tiger" or "computer".

[Quintessential Mum]

Read as widely as possible, read anything from brochures to magazines to newspapers to novels to gain exposure to different styles of writing.

Practise essay writing and comprehensions regularly - at least once a week and ask your school teacher to mark and review them. Learn from their comments and do not make the same mistakes again.
Discuss current topics with your friends/parents etc to get different views etc during meal times, in the car etc.
This 3 prong approach should be helpful. All the best!

[TheLanguageLeague]

To answer the previous questions on novels- in our professional opinion, students cannot get by with the new syllabus on a diet of newspapers and current affairs magazines. They should also read novels to understand and experience how language works in versatile ways.


We don’t endorse assessment books, sorry. Anyway, not many books on the shelves are updated. Many are generic, and focus on specific skills only (eg. Vocabulary, grammar etc)

Over at our centres, we use only resources we have set ourselves, following the specimen papers that UCLES has outlined. Give us a call if you have more questions. We will be happy to help.

[Bbee]

My DS who is in Sec 1 does not study Literature as a subject. The school does EL as Language Art which incorporates drama, but no literature. Will he be well prepared for the new exam format?

[TheLanguageLeague]

Bbee:

My DS who is in Sec 1 does not study Literature as a subject. The school does EL as Language Art which incorporates drama, but no literature. Will he be well prepared for the new exam format?

It is tough to say...some schools actually incorporate some of the elements of the new syllabus into the Language Arts programme (eg. To Kill A Mockingbird as text- Argumentative essay based on the text, compre passages based on Racism in the South etc). However, there also may be some schools who only begin focusing on the full range of papers in Secondary Three. It's best to speak to the HOD/EL of your DS's school to get a clearer picture. Good Luck.

[TheLanguageLeague]

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Join us for an afternoon of enlightenment as we answer your questions on the New EL syllabus. Our panel of invited speakers are current and former teachers/HODs who are well-versed in the new syllabus. We will share with you tips on how to help your child master the new components of the papers. There will also be a Q and A session at the end of the seminar.

http://thelanguageleague.com.sg/Secondary-Programmes.php

[loke122]

Can you please recommend where can I get novels from local writers like those you have recommend on your post like; Telltales:11stories & Island Voices. Thanks!