Secondary School Chinese

[grinders]

Hi all, I need some advise for my son’s Chinese language learning journey. Before, my son was doing normal Chinese in primary school. Now being allocated to a SAP school and compulsory to do HCL in the school. A lot of new culture and information in school is totally new to my son (Eg.武則天. 三国志,== these characters are all new to my son ? ) . Is there a storybook or video that summaries most of the history culture ( not in detail )?

[chenlaoshi]

grinders\" post_id=\"2127264\" time=\"1705453504\" user_id=\"16960:

Hi all, I need some advise for my son's Chinese language learning journey. Before, my son was doing normal Chinese in primary school. Now being allocated to a SAP school and compulsory to do HCL in the school. A lot of new culture and information in school is totally new to my son (Eg.武則天. 三国志,== these characters are all new to my son ? ) . Is there a storybook or video that summaries most of the history culture ( not in detail )?

Here are some sources.

- Single video summary (speed may be too fast for someone who has little/no relevant background/knowledge to comprehend):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXXrbc5C6PQ
e.g. https://youtu.be/sXXrbc5C6PQ?t=689
e.g. https://youtu.be/sXXrbc5C6PQ?t=1001

- Documentary (each episode covers a specific era and is 45 mins long so patience and time are required): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrf2h5ONlwUTW9etWK4b3xQiz8LdgkKS
e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ounPv4IJVZI&list=PLOrf2h5ONlwUTW9etWK4b3xQiz8LdgkKS&index=30
e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOyC8qdv514&list=PLOrf2h5ONlwUTW9etWK4b3xQiz8LdgkKS&index=44

《历史故事》under the 蜗牛故事 publication series recommended https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=32607&p=1937050&hilit=popular#p1937050 (coverage is definitely not as broad as the above duo but good enough for a start).
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81AEljGW45L._SY466_.jpg\">

[grinders]

Thank you so much Chen Lao Shi .

[Lynn1967]

Hi is there any links or video tutorial suitable for Sec 1 & 2 to tackle oral or discussion topics like internet security, terorism etc?

[jane2008]

Lynn1967\" post_id=\"2127415\" time=\"1705628471\" user_id=\"12711:

Hi is there any links or video tutorial suitable for Sec 1 & 2 to tackle oral or discussion topics like internet security, terorism etc?

可以在YOUTUBE上，查找“十分访谈”，再找“网络安全”。

https://postimg.cc/FY1t0ZBk

[chenlaoshi]

Lynn1967\" post_id=\"2127415\" time=\"1705628471\" user_id=\"12711:

Hi is there any links or video tutorial suitable for Sec 1 & 2 to tackle oral or discussion topics like internet security, terorism etc?

You can also check out the https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=8835&p=2097647&hilit=playlist#p2097647 I curated and constantly update on YouTube

as well as take a look at these 2 sites under Mediacorp 8World News:
https://www.8world.com/topic/koushilianxi
https://www.8world.com/topic/huawengaonianjikoushilianxi

The suitability of each video for lower or upper Sec is stated and there are conversation questions & suggested answers too.

[Tenacity2520]

Thank you so much Chen Laoshi for the comparison table.


For HCL Practical Writing and Compo, as my kid’s chinese foundation is not strong, what would be an easier option to choose or worked on? Issit the private email and narrative compo?

Thank you.

[phtthp]

Tenacity2520\" post_id=\"2127711\" time=\"1705966455\" user_id=\"180676:

Thank you so much Chen Laoshi for the comparison table.

For HCL Practical Writing and Compo, as my kid's chinese foundation is not strong, what would be an easier option to choose or worked on? Issit the private email and narrative compo?

Thank you.

Writing Private email to organization(s), IS compulsory. No choice.

Only the continuous zuowen part, then, you can choose whether you want to write type (3 or 4 or 5) zuowen.

type 3 : is narrative zuowen


type 4 : sometimes, is debate zuowen


type 5 : argumentative ( pros or cons ), whether you strongly agree or disagree zuowen.

To score well in type 5 zuowen,
your Upper Secondary son / daughter must read very widely, on the various themes (topics).


zuowen : Chinese composition

[chenlaoshi]

Tenacity2520\" post_id=\"2127711\" time=\"1705966455\" user_id=\"180676:

Thank you so much Chen Laoshi for the comparison table.

For HCL Practical Writing and Compo, as my kid's chinese foundation is not strong, what would be an easier option to choose or worked on? Issit the private email and narrative compo?

Thank you.

Hi Tenacity,

IMO, generally yes - Q1 private/informal email for practical writing & Q3 narrative compo for composition writing.

For informal email, the format and \"tone of writing\" is much more straight forward.

For narrative, it is not as easy as Pri level because there will be multiple criteria stated in the question. However, the preparation work is much more direct - equip yourself with descriptive words & phrases for appearances, feelings and actions (描写手法、修辞手法) + gather ideas for story plots via reading (model compo, compre passages).

Whereas the preparation work for Q4 and Q5, like @phtthp mentioned, requires understanding on various themes/social issues.

You can take a look at this detailed reply I posted previously in response to a similar query:
https://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=8835&p=2023709&hilit=argumentative#p2023709

chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2023709\" time=\"1620798925\" user_id=\"162894:

Hi xn_mummy,

The example I posted in earlier post was from Sec 1 CL Paper 1, thus all 3 options were 情境作文.

Here are 2 examples of the questions in O Level CL Paper 1:

https://i.ibb.co/HDB0kLK/MY18.jpg\">https://i.ibb.co/GFq1S59/EOY19.jpg\">

Q3 - 情境作文
Q4 - 议论文
Q5 - 材料作文

情境作文
--> Can't only rely on memorizing good descriptive phrases if you want to score well. Would need to apply various types of rhetoric approaches (描写手法 & 修辞写法)
- 描写手法： 心理描写、肖像描写、行动描写、语言描写
- 修辞写法：比喻、排比、拟人

--> Need to be able to identify the requirements and plot accordingly. Overlooking/ not being able to portray any stated requirement will affect scoring for content.
- E.g. 1st image's Q3:
(a) 一向觉得自己的行为表现非常好，也很有自信
(b) 意识到自己的不足
(c) 决定要做出改变
(d) 事情的经过
(e) 事情发生时周围人们的反应

议论文
--> Have to make sure your stand (论点) is correct and clear in the first place (by taking note of any key words in the question that may swing ).
- E.g. 2nd image's Q4:
\"利大于弊\" (advantages outweigh the disadvantages)
- another e.g. \"... ... 金钱是万能的。你同意吗？\":
\"万能\" would be the key word

--> Need to have solid/logical and authentic 论据
- to excel and be convincing, shouldn't only rely on theoretical ones (道理论据) but factual ones (事实论据) too, which means remembering quotes/proverbs and reading up on related news/incidents

--> 论证 should be powerful/clear and try to apply a variety of 论证方法 if possible

材料作文
--> Involves deeper analysis of the topic/issue (usually cause and effect & solutions)

--> 3 main types
(a) 观点类: news mention about certain policy/measure that have been or will be implemented by government/organizations.

(b) 举措类: news mention about certain policy/measure that may be implemented (suggested/planned but not confirmed) by government/organizations.

(c) 现象类: news mention about certain trend that is prevalent in the society/country/world (Q5 in both images belong to this type)

For (a) and (b) , students will have to state their views (agree/disagree; support or not; good or bad), explain the reasons/advantages/disadvantages of the implementation or cause and consequences of the trend; ways to improve upon the implementation or trend; things to take note of during implementation etc.

Yes, usually 议论文 is \"easier\" than 材料作文 because the topic involved are more \"general\" (i.e. commonsensical; definitive yes/no) unlike 材料作文, which will be much more targeted - from the examples, one on 网络陷阱 (so student will have to identify the various types of pitfalls before offering solutions) and another on 校园霸凌 (baring in mind to link the increased cases to 网络科技的普及). Also, the types of passages the students encounter in Comprehension are usually 议论文 and 说明文 so if their exposure to and understanding of how to go about with 议论文 would have been built over time.

[MrsKiasu]

Sorry to interrupt. May I check if Sec1 HCL student should start tuition now? As in all the O lvl HCL knowledge/skills need to be built up from Sec1 onwards? I have never interfered with elder dd’s HCL…asking for her advice may not be that ‘suitable’ I feel. So would like to get some opinions here.