2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy
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psle2011mum:
Our experience with PSLE Oral:
a. Study for Prelims or prepare for Oral?
Amazingly, even though the PSLE dates are all out and schools have liberty to schedule their Prelims almost \"as and when they liked\", for various reasons such as marking/term end programmes etc, Prelims and PSLE Oral are really close. But for DD this was a no-brainer; a quiet child, I knew we had to work on Oral - yes, even English Oral. We were not trying for any special programme because we had affiliation, so we kept the the written papers practice on the back burner and spent the afternoons focused on Oral preparation.
b. Different days, different questions/topics, of differing difficulty
DD was fortunate, she got the \"easy\" Chinese topic; some of her friends were not so lucky and had to decide on the spot whether to do a literal translation of \"student's corner\" from English to Chinese or use some other term. BTW, I've always wondered about this but never found a satisfactory answer - why are the words in the pictures for Chinese Oral eg words on signages like school gate, warning signs, always in English? For one of DD's school Chinese exams, the picture showed the gates of a school called \" Sun Primary School\" - should the kids say \"tai yang xue xiao\"?? Pray share if you know the answer to this one - I'm still curious.
c. Bored testers, fierce testers, friendly testers, testers with a heavy accent
We practised what to do for each scenario. Eg Bored testers - continue to smile at them as if they were interested; fierce testers - stay calm, polite and carry on - do not be intimidated; friendly testers - remember not to lapse into \"casual speak\" with them; testers with a heavy accent - \"I am sorry but I could not make out what you just asked/said; could you please repeat that for me once more?\" I told DD it was acceptable to say this for every question/statement made to her if it was so necessary.
d. Stumped
We practised for this too. Eg. Do you think we should have a Special Olympics? and the child does not know what the Special Olympics are. Oral is not a test of general knowledge - it tests whether you can hold a conversation in that language so it is perfectly acceptable to reply \" I am not familiar with the Special Olympics. Is this a special type of sports event\" [ at least this can be deduced from the name itself]? The tester should reply to explain the event and the conversation can carry on from there.
e. Panic
We practiced for this too. DD found our Oral notes comforting and after having read them through so many times, parts of it became internalised and when in a fix, she tended to resort to what she had remembered from these notes and adapted from there.
f. Mummy's Panic
Perhaps since this was the first real PSLE testing so Mummy's panic was at a much higher level than DD's. \" What if she won't open her mouth and merely nods and shakes her head?\" \" What if...\" \"What if....\" I found solace in the Christian PSP group who gathered to cover and pray for each child in the cohort by name throughout the Oral exam period.
g. Aftermath
Things had gone well enough for DD so with a quick \" Ok?\" and her nod in reply, we estatically junked our 3 boxes of oral notes and hunkered down for Prelim preparation.
One battle done.... :rahrah: so many more to go... :imdrowning:
:thankyou: psle2011mum for your sharing again ! Appreciate that you took time to key it down here :hugs:
had bookmarked this very important page !
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Yes, the dates for PSLE are confirmed. But I wonder when the prelim dates are. Will the school prelim exams finish before PSLE oral exam (16 Aug)?
SA1 was torture…the prelims will be worse. -
psle2011mum:
:thankyou: PSLEmum. I also bookmarked this page. I appreciate all your tips and they are very very useful.Our experience with PSLE Oral:
a. Study for Prelims or prepare for Oral?
Amazingly, even though the PSLE dates are all out and schools have liberty to schedule their Prelims almost \"as and when they liked\", for various reasons such as marking/term end programmes etc, Prelims and PSLE Oral are really close. But for DD this was a no-brainer; a quiet child, I knew we had to work on Oral - yes, even English Oral. We were not trying for any special programme because we had affiliation, so we kept the the written papers practice on the back burner and spent the afternoons focused on Oral preparation.
b. Different days, different questions/topics, of differing difficulty
DD was fortunate, she got the \"easy\" Chinese topic; some of her friends were not so lucky and had to decide on the spot whether to do a literal translation of \"student's corner\" from English to Chinese or use some other term. BTW, I've always wondered about this but never found a satisfactory answer - why are the words in the pictures for Chinese Oral eg words on signages like school gate, warning signs, always in English? For one of DD's school Chinese exams, the picture showed the gates of a school called \" Sun Primary School\" - should the kids say \"tai yang xue xiao\"?? Pray share if you know the answer to this one - I'm still curious.
c. Bored testers, fierce testers, friendly testers, testers with a heavy accent
We practised what to do for each scenario. Eg Bored testers - continue to smile at them as if they were interested; fierce testers - stay calm, polite and carry on - do not be intimidated; friendly testers - remember not to lapse into \"casual speak\" with them; testers with a heavy accent - \"I am sorry but I could not make out what you just asked/said; could you please repeat that for me once more?\" I told DD it was acceptable to say this for every question/statement made to her if it was so necessary.
d. Stumped
We practised for this too. Eg. Do you think we should have a Special Olympics? and the child does not know what the Special Olympics are. Oral is not a test of general knowledge - it tests whether you can hold a conversation in that language so it is perfectly acceptable to reply \" I am not familiar with the Special Olympics. Is this a special type of sports event\" [ at least this can be deduced from the name itself]? The tester should reply to explain the event and the conversation can carry on from there.
e. Panic
We practiced for this too. DD found our Oral notes comforting and after having read them through so many times, parts of it became internalised and when in a fix, she tended to resort to what she had remembered from these notes and adapted from there.
f. Mummy's Panic
Perhaps since this was the first real PSLE testing so Mummy's panic was at a much higher level than DD's. \" What if she won't open her mouth and merely nods and shakes her head?\" \" What if...\" \"What if....\" I found solace in the Christian PSP group who gathered to cover and pray for each child in the cohort by name throughout the Oral exam period.
g. Aftermath
Things had gone well enough for DD so with a quick \" Ok?\" and her nod in reply, we estatically junked our 3 boxes of oral notes and hunkered down for Prelim preparation.
One battle done.... :rahrah: so many more to go... :imdrowning: -
psle2011mum:
I copy and paste all your posts into Word... and then I save it in a special folder. They're really so very useful!!Our experience with PSLE Oral:
a. Study for Prelims or prepare for Oral?
Amazingly, even though the PSLE dates are all out and schools have liberty to schedule their Prelims almost \"as and when they liked\", for various reasons such as marking/term end programmes etc, Prelims and PSLE Oral are really close. But for DD this was a no-brainer; a quiet child, I knew we had to work on Oral - yes, even English Oral. We were not trying for any special programme because we had affiliation, so we kept the the written papers practice on the back burner and spent the afternoons focused on Oral preparation.
b. Different days, different questions/topics, of differing difficulty
DD was fortunate, she got the \"easy\" Chinese topic; some of her friends were not so lucky and had to decide on the spot whether to do a literal translation of \"student's corner\" from English to Chinese or use some other term. BTW, I've always wondered about this but never found a satisfactory answer - why are the words in the pictures for Chinese Oral eg words on signages like school gate, warning signs, always in English? For one of DD's school Chinese exams, the picture showed the gates of a school called \" Sun Primary School\" - should the kids say \"tai yang xue xiao\"?? Pray share if you know the answer to this one - I'm still curious.
c. Bored testers, fierce testers, friendly testers, testers with a heavy accent
We practised what to do for each scenario. Eg Bored testers - continue to smile at them as if they were interested; fierce testers - stay calm, polite and carry on - do not be intimidated; friendly testers - remember not to lapse into \"casual speak\" with them; testers with a heavy accent - \"I am sorry but I could not make out what you just asked/said; could you please repeat that for me once more?\" I told DD it was acceptable to say this for every question/statement made to her if it was so necessary.
d. Stumped
We practised for this too. Eg. Do you think we should have a Special Olympics? and the child does not know what the Special Olympics are. Oral is not a test of general knowledge - it tests whether you can hold a conversation in that language so it is perfectly acceptable to reply \" I am not familiar with the Special Olympics. Is this a special type of sports event\" [ at least this can be deduced from the name itself]? The tester should reply to explain the event and the conversation can carry on from there.
e. Panic
We practiced for this too. DD found our Oral notes comforting and after having read them through so many times, parts of it became internalised and when in a fix, she tended to resort to what she had remembered from these notes and adapted from there.
f. Mummy's Panic
Perhaps since this was the first real PSLE testing so Mummy's panic was at a much higher level than DD's. \" What if she won't open her mouth and merely nods and shakes her head?\" \" What if...\" \"What if....\" I found solace in the Christian PSP group who gathered to cover and pray for each child in the cohort by name throughout the Oral exam period.
g. Aftermath
Things had gone well enough for DD so with a quick \" Ok?\" and her nod in reply, we estatically junked our 3 boxes of oral notes and hunkered down for Prelim preparation.
One battle done.... :rahrah: so many more to go... :imdrowning: -
psle2011mum:
psle2011mum, thank you so much for your unselfish & generous sharing. You are such an angel, a God-sent! I've also copied into word & printed out a copy.Our experience with PSLE Oral:
a. Study for Prelims or prepare for Oral?
Amazingly, even though the PSLE dates are all out and schools have liberty to schedule their Prelims almost \"as and when they liked\", for various reasons such as marking/term end programmes etc, Prelims and PSLE Oral are really close. But for DD this was a no-brainer; a quiet child, I knew we had to work on Oral - yes, even English Oral. We were not trying for any special programme because we had affiliation, so we kept the the written papers practice on the back burner and spent the afternoons focused on Oral preparation.
b. Different days, different questions/topics, of differing difficulty
DD was fortunate, she got the \"easy\" Chinese topic; some of her friends were not so lucky and had to decide on the spot whether to do a literal translation of \"student's corner\" from English to Chinese or use some other term. BTW, I've always wondered about this but never found a satisfactory answer - why are the words in the pictures for Chinese Oral eg words on signages like school gate, warning signs, always in English? For one of DD's school Chinese exams, the picture showed the gates of a school called \" Sun Primary School\" - should the kids say \"tai yang xue xiao\"?? Pray share if you know the answer to this one - I'm still curious.
c. Bored testers, fierce testers, friendly testers, testers with a heavy accent
We practised what to do for each scenario. Eg Bored testers - continue to smile at them as if they were interested; fierce testers - stay calm, polite and carry on - do not be intimidated; friendly testers - remember not to lapse into \"casual speak\" with them; testers with a heavy accent - \"I am sorry but I could not make out what you just asked/said; could you please repeat that for me once more?\" I told DD it was acceptable to say this for every question/statement made to her if it was so necessary.
d. Stumped
We practised for this too. Eg. Do you think we should have a Special Olympics? and the child does not know what the Special Olympics are. Oral is not a test of general knowledge - it tests whether you can hold a conversation in that language so it is perfectly acceptable to reply \" I am not familiar with the Special Olympics. Is this a special type of sports event\" [ at least this can be deduced from the name itself]? The tester should reply to explain the event and the conversation can carry on from there.
e. Panic
We practiced for this too. DD found our Oral notes comforting and after having read them through so many times, parts of it became internalised and when in a fix, she tended to resort to what she had remembered from these notes and adapted from there.
f. Mummy's Panic
Perhaps since this was the first real PSLE testing so Mummy's panic was at a much higher level than DD's. \" What if she won't open her mouth and merely nods and shakes her head?\" \" What if...\" \"What if....\" I found solace in the Christian PSP group who gathered to cover and pray for each child in the cohort by name throughout the Oral exam period.
g. Aftermath
Things had gone well enough for DD so with a quick \" Ok?\" and her nod in reply, we estatically junked our 3 boxes of oral notes and hunkered down for Prelim preparation.
One battle done.... :rahrah: so many more to go... :imdrowning: -
Honey:
Now why didn't I think of it. I wish I had done that!
psle2011mum, thank you so much for your unselfish & generous sharing. You are such an angel, a God-sent! I've also copied into word & printed out a copy.psle2011mum:
Our experience with PSLE Oral:
a. Study for Prelims or prepare for Oral?
Amazingly, even though the PSLE dates are all out and schools have liberty to schedule their Prelims almost \"as and when they liked\", for various reasons such as marking/term end programmes etc, Prelims and PSLE Oral are really close. But for DD this was a no-brainer; a quiet child, I knew we had to work on Oral - yes, even English Oral. We were not trying for any special programme because we had affiliation, so we kept the the written papers practice on the back burner and spent the afternoons focused on Oral preparation.
b. Different days, different questions/topics, of differing difficulty
DD was fortunate, she got the \"easy\" Chinese topic; some of her friends were not so lucky and had to decide on the spot whether to do a literal translation of \"student's corner\" from English to Chinese or use some other term. BTW, I've always wondered about this but never found a satisfactory answer - why are the words in the pictures for Chinese Oral eg words on signages like school gate, warning signs, always in English? For one of DD's school Chinese exams, the picture showed the gates of a school called \" Sun Primary School\" - should the kids say \"tai yang xue xiao\"?? Pray share if you know the answer to this one - I'm still curious.
c. Bored testers, fierce testers, friendly testers, testers with a heavy accent
We practised what to do for each scenario. Eg Bored testers - continue to smile at them as if they were interested; fierce testers - stay calm, polite and carry on - do not be intimidated; friendly testers - remember not to lapse into \"casual speak\" with them; testers with a heavy accent - \"I am sorry but I could not make out what you just asked/said; could you please repeat that for me once more?\" I told DD it was acceptable to say this for every question/statement made to her if it was so necessary.
d. Stumped
We practised for this too. Eg. Do you think we should have a Special Olympics? and the child does not know what the Special Olympics are. Oral is not a test of general knowledge - it tests whether you can hold a conversation in that language so it is perfectly acceptable to reply \" I am not familiar with the Special Olympics. Is this a special type of sports event\" [ at least this can be deduced from the name itself]? The tester should reply to explain the event and the conversation can carry on from there.
e. Panic
We practiced for this too. DD found our Oral notes comforting and after having read them through so many times, parts of it became internalised and when in a fix, she tended to resort to what she had remembered from these notes and adapted from there.
f. Mummy's Panic
Perhaps since this was the first real PSLE testing so Mummy's panic was at a much higher level than DD's. \" What if she won't open her mouth and merely nods and shakes her head?\" \" What if...\" \"What if....\" I found solace in the Christian PSP group who gathered to cover and pray for each child in the cohort by name throughout the Oral exam period.
g. Aftermath
Things had gone well enough for DD so with a quick \" Ok?\" and her nod in reply, we estatically junked our 3 boxes of oral notes and hunkered down for Prelim preparation.
One battle done.... :rahrah: so many more to go... :imdrowning:
Yes, :thankyou: psle2011mum and God Bless. -
You are all very welcome; I'm just happy if some found it useful.
Am mulling about a compo-critique post and will look for some time to write one ie I write a P6 compo and add on my comments to it so that the rubrics [as I understood it and as I taught to my DDs] can be better illustrated.
Have a great weekend everyone! -
psle2011mum:
Hi psle2011mum,You are all very welcome; I'm just happy if some found it useful.
Am mulling about a compo-critique post and will look for some time to write one ie I write a P6 compo and add on my comments to it so that the rubrics [as I understood it and as I taught to my DDs] can be better illustrated.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Would like to thank you in advance for your sharing. I believe a lot of us here benefitted from it.
Looking forward to your next post ! :rahrah:
Have a lovely weekend with your loved ones too !
:thankyou: and :hugs: -
I know this is not the right thread to ask. But since some experienced mommies are here.......
Wanna plan for holiday in Nov/Dec after PSLE.
But seems like there are some dates to avoid eg. Results, S1 posting, reporting to sec Sch etc. can advice which period would be good?
What dates to avoid ?
Thanks in advance for any advice. -
BeContented:
If you do not have younger kids taking SA2, can fly off the week after PSLE...take advantage of off-peak. If not for my younger one in P2, I did plan to go for a cruise.
I know this is not the right thread to ask. But since some experienced mommies are here.......
Wanna plan for holiday in Nov/Dec after PSLE.
But seems like there are some dates to avoid eg. Results, S1 posting, reporting to sec Sch etc. can advice which period would be good?
What dates to avoid ?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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