Higher Chinese so difficult
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ksi:
Actually no one can advise for your dd, you have to ask some questions to yourself and her.
My DD1 is P4 this year too and I understand towards the end of Term 4, they will be given an offer to take HCL in P5? I am still quite clueless about this option as some of my friends / relatives have advised against taking HCL as that \"3 points are useless unless you are aiming for a SAP sec school :? \" :scratchhead:Champion:
[quote=\"Lynn2010\"]For those who can cope, HCL is good. So, whether the 3 pts or useful or useless, good to learn more.
Would appreciate advice from parents here; :thankyou: :snuggles: :hugs:
1. Why learn HCL? For grades or for immersion of higher mastery of the language because it is MT? If there is alternative, maybe school's HCL is not essential? HCL to me is accelerated CL.
2. Do you want her to immerse in the cultural aspects in sec school, I.e. choice of SAP school?
3. How is she coping with her other subjects? Does she need that extra time for her 4 subjects?
All these things about extra 3 points is irrelevant for the thought process. It is a bonus in the school entry system only which should not be the driver. Learning and mastery of a language goes beyond school selection. This is what I say to a sista la... Kekeke.[/quote]Agree.
If your dd can cope without affecting the 4 core subjects, do not detest HCL, always good to learn more
DS doesn't like CL much (does not detest also), but I still ask him to do HCL since we are Chinese, good to immerse in it & who knows, interest may come in later in life. As for the 3 points, it's a bonus, criteria is a pass.
If really really cannot handle, still can drop after P5. -
BeContented:
:snuggles: :hugs: Mummy BeContented and Dr. ksi; appreciates much :salute: :salute: :thankyou:
Agree.ksi:
Actually no one can advise for your dd, you have to ask some questions to yourself and her.
1. Why learn HCL? For grades or for immersion of higher mastery of the language because it is MT? If there is alternative, maybe school's HCL is not essential? HCL to me is accelerated CL.
2. Do you want her to immerse in the cultural aspects in sec school, I.e. choice of SAP school?
3. How is she coping with her other subjects? Does she need that extra time for her 4 subjects?
All these things about extra 3 points is irrelevant for the thought process. It is a bonus in the school entry system only which should not be the driver. Learning and mastery of a language goes beyond school selection. This is what I say to a sista la... Kekeke.
If your dd can cope without affecting the 4 core subjects, do not detest HCL, always good to learn more
DS doesn't like CL much (does not detest also), but I still ask him to do HCL since we are Chinese, good to immerse in it & who knows, interest may come in later in life. As for the 3 points, it's a bonus, criteria is a pass.
If really really cannot handle, still can drop after P5. -
definitely dropping HCL next year in P5 but wondering if Ai Tong offering NCL
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jerytan:
definitely dropping HCL next year in P5 but wondering if Ai Tong offering NCL
Yes, Ai Tong offers CL only without the HCL. If I do not remember wrongly, Ai Tong limits the number of HCL classes by P5: 3 or 4 classes a year cohort only. The rest of the classes take CL only. -
Actually, HCL is not all that difficult. All languages need time and patience to learn and grasp properly. If you have already embarked on it, make it a point to master it reasonably well, it certainly beats the normal Chinese paper which is quite lame if you have acquired a higher standard through learning HCL.
To improve in the Chinese language, you need to read and read and read Chinese literature more and make good effort to converse in the language be it at home with family members or with friends. Learn through active use of the language and instil a passion for the language. A good start is to learn Chinese proverbs and idioms and appreciate the beauty of the language.
When my son first took up HCL, he too struggled and shunned the language. I made a point to converse in Mandarin at home to my kids and instead of using English and expose them more to Chinese books and workbooks. I let them watch more Chinese dramas on TV too. I did not engage any Chinese language tutor as I feel I can manage on my own teaching him. With my encouragement and constant coaching, he perservered and developed an interest for learning the language and even came to appreciate Chinese. He is especially excited when it comes to learning 好词好句 when writing essays. He pays good attention during chinese lessons and writes essays constantly. His Chinese has improved by leaps and bounds and even scored A* for his Chinese and distinction for HCL. I am very happy for his determination and perserverance. I never thought my son can overcome the so called difficulty in the Chinese language.
My advice is not to give up but to bite the bullet and preserver on. It takes a lot of hard work and passion. With encouragement and patience from parents, I am sure your son can push his boundaries to achieve better results in HCL. -
mummy of three:
Learning HCL is learning more than CL, but does it harm to learn more even if there is no 3 points?[/quote]Is your oldest kid in lower pri or below?
I find HCL's 3 points useless too.sleepy:
[quote=\"Picolo\"]
Chicken feet for some, cut throat for some others. I have the extremes even in the same household
The 3 points are useless for non-SAP sec schools. Which child still wants to continue studying in an SAP school after PSLE if he has been struggling CL?!! :slapshead:
Problem is some SAP schools don't allow switching to Normal Chinese at P5. Die die must continue with HCL :faint:
My answer was directed to Jerytan. I think, for the threadstarter to even consider the drastic move of transferring son to a non-SAP school, it must be quite stressful for the parent/son to cope with the high CL requirement as well as the competition in the SAP school. My ds2 is of the same age as jerytan with the same issue, and I can understand. I also considered transferring school for my ds2 before, but that was 2 years ago. After I realised there was already a very long waiting list in the desired school, I gave up that idea and tried ways and means to help my son learn CL, and cope with the high standard of CL in his class. I thought, nebbermind, I'll teach CL and perseverance at the same time.
So to answer your question, HCL is not harmful, only beneficial and provide good exposure for those who can cope. But it's not the case for those really really struggling to learn CL, ie. 听写/默写always a big fat O or perpetually fail type from P4 or, to do well, need 10x more effort than others. The 3 marks is definitely not worth the effort for those struggling with CL, really.
At P1 and P2, doing well in CL was easy. DS2 had 96 (P1) and 88 marks (P2). But at P3 till now, he's doing about 46th percentile at about 60+ marks. He is struggling with CL. On the other hand, DS1 is spending so little time to learn his 听写/默写 but still does relatively well. For HCL he's getting better than 90th percentile. Same family, same exposure but huge difference in outcome, no?
DS2 loves to stay with the same classmates next year and so he will try his best to do well in all subjects. If his overall aggregate allows him to stay in the same class, he will have to opt for HCL class in P5. This is the disadvantage of those students who are weak in CL but overall scores still manage to get into the top 2/3/4 classes. If they opt out of HCL, they will join the NC class which are not the top classes, and will have new set of classmates.
I hope my sharing will help parents (esp. those with kids not so great with CL) to consider SAP schools carefully. Note also from P5, HCL classes in SAP schools have more hours spent on HCL and less hours spent on Science compared to NC classes. :snuggles: -
For P5 Higher Chinese, besides attending compulsory 2 hour supplementary Higher Chinese every Monday, what other things need to take note of ?
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phtthp:
For P5 Higher Chinese, besides attending compulsory 2 hour supplementary Higher Chinese every Monday, what other things need to take note of ?
Hi, Do you mean demands from the school or demands of the subject/exam paper? -
sky minecrafter:
Hi skyminecraft,
Hi, Do you mean demands from the school or demands of the subject/exam paper?
may we know what are the demands of Higher Chinese subject exam paper, at PSLE ?
What should P6 students be alert to, or need to look out for ? -
phtthp:
...what are the demands of Higher Chinese at PSLE? What should P6 students be alert to, or need to look out for ?
Hi phtthp, your concerns are broad and wide - I've no answer to that.
There's however a slight format change effective PSLE 2017 if not mistaken.
For instance, these types of questions start to appear in 阅读理解
1. 选择最适合作为这篇短文的题目 并从短文中找出支持你的答案的理由
2. 解释短语在文中的意思
3. 写出短文段落的大意 (考 归纳，概括内容的能力)
PSLE HCL TYS available at bookstores would have the specifics. Alternatively, 2016 P5 HCL papers would likely be practising these as well.
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