“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” ― Ralph G. Nichols
Listening skills are not only important for understanding people around us, but in Singapore, there is a section in the language paper (in primary school and secondary school) that is devoted to testing listening skills. Hence, it is important that we learn how to listen well from young.
The first life lessons are learned by listening to our surroundings. Children learn to speak and understand what’s going on by listening and observing the people and things around them. Good listening is an important life skill one needs to possess. It helps you learn better, understand subjects taught in class, and to have more meaningful and productive conversations. It is exactly due to this importance that the listening comprehension test is a part of your child’s PSLE curriculum.
With the comprehension exams coming up, we are sure many of you are tensed and working hard to prepare for them. For many children, the listening comprehension part of PSLE can be a nightmare. But with adequate preparation and practice, it can be an exam to score well in. Let us take a look into more details.
Format of the exam
The PSLE listening comprehension exam is worth 10% of the total subject score. There will be 20 questions, each of 1 mark, and students have 35 minutes to answer them. This exam is examinable in English and Mother Tongue, with the purpose to test the student’s ability to listen to and understand both languages.
During the test, the students will listen to voice recordings which will be the key to answering the questions. The spoken test can be in many forms like news items, announcements, conversations, or even stories. There will also be graphic representations to test the student’s cognitive skills and will be used for the first seven items. To ensure fairness, all the students’ recordings used will be the same. Also, each text will be read twice to help the children comprehend it better and give them another chance to check their answers.
How to score well on the listening comprehension exam?
Increase exposure
Whether it is for English or your mother tongue, try to increase the exposure for your children as much as possible. Get them to talk to people around them and engage in conversations. The best way to learn anything in life is through practice.
Listen to key points
When attending the exam, try to make mental notes of key points in the speech. Some key things you may wish to take note of in the speech are:
- The Nouns
- What actions someone is currently doing or going to engage in?
- What is the aim or goal of action going to be?
You can practice with your children and help them identify more key points to focus on during listening to the speech.
Practice as much as you can
Help your children practice as much as they can. With more practice, they will get more familiarised with the process and feel more at ease during the exam.
You can also advise your children to practice by closing their eyes and focusing more on the speech part. With their eyes open, the mind is more prone to wander and miss parts of the speech. It can be an effective way to get your children to improve their focus. Soon they will get more efficient in it.
Try out breathing exercises before the exam
Most often the tense mindset of students during the exam affects their presence of mind during the exam and will not let them listen properly to the speech. So, teach some breathing techniques and show them how to calm themselves in tense situations. This can do more good than you can imagine, not only during exam times but also when they are put under pressure situations.
Exam hall tips
- Read the questions thoroughly before attempting the exam.
- Read the questions carefully within the allotted time before the speech is played.
- Make sure to read the questions multiple times and think up scenarios that might play out
- Immediately inform the invigilators if there is any issue with the audio
Make sure to keep stock of the supplies needed
Make sure you have 2B pencils to carry for the exam and any other stationeries that you might need. Don’t go around searching for them the morning of the exam.
Check out online videos and guides
There are many YouTube videos and channels that are focussed on helping students prepare for the listening tests. Check these out and see what advice they have for you. Also, encourage your children to take up mock tests. You can try to emulate the test at home and get your children familiarised with the format of the exam.
Encourage your children to read more
Reading can help your children improve their vocabulary and also to help them understand the meaning of words by understanding the context. It will also help them grasp key points and apply them to better their understanding.
Listen to audiobooks and watch movies
Audiobooks can be of great help for students to help improve their listening skills. They are a great substitute when your children are not interested in reading. It can also improve their concentration skills and help in the same way that reading does.
Watching movies in English and your mother tongue can help better understand the language and also see the different expressions of speech.
With these tips, you can try out to plan your child’s preparation for their listening comprehension examination papers coming up on 15 & 16 of September. We wish you all the best! 🙂
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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