“Communication works for those who work at it”.
With only a little more than two weeks remaining for this year’s PSLE oral exams, we are sure that many students might be feeling the tension and giving it their all in preparation. Making up about 15% of the student’s marks, this section demands maximum attention, but the section is also where many students stumble and fall. In this blog entry, we have some pointers that might help your children face the challenges put forward and overcome them effectively.
Know the structure and content of the exam
By taking note of the various factors like the structure of the exam, weightage for the different sections, and things that examiners are most likely to notice and keep an eye on, students can focus more on the aspects that will help them score more marks.
PSLE English oral exam consists of two parts – reading aloud, which carries ten marks, and stimulus-based conversation, which carries twenty marks. The key focus points for the reading aloud section are pronunciation, articulation, fluency, rhythm, and expression. For the conversation section, the examiners will note the students’ ability to respond to visual stimuli and engage in a conversation on a given topic. Gaining a better understanding of these aspects and working on them can give your children a competitive advantage over their peers.
Evaluate and track progress
Before starting the prep work, evaluate where your children stand and note where they are lacking or struggling. Periodically track their progress. Knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses will help one plan ahead and also be prepared to face any situation that might turn up.
Be Confident
When it comes to oral exams, confidence is vital. Many times, students who know the answers and are skilled, score fewer marks due to being too tense and forgetting what they know or even becoming speechless due to the tension. Help your children practice speaking in front of others and get them familiarised with this activity. You also need to encourage and appreciate them even for the slightest progress. Practice as much as you can. Soon you will find yourself feeling confident about your skills. Also, try out some breathing exercises as they can help your children stay calm and handle situations with better reasoning.
Be consistent
Another factor that affects your results is how much you prepare. You can’t just start practising a few days before the exam and expect to score high marks and become a master of the language. It requires constant and consistent effort to reach a good level of skill. Make sure your children spend their time productively and practice as much as they can. Ask them to practice reading out loud so that they get more comfortable.
Tone and mode of reading
The way you articulate, pronounce words, and the rhythm and pace with which you read- all will be noted by the examiners, and hence you need to give proper attention to these factors. Help your children learn the pronunciation of different words and let them practice it. Reward them when they make progress. Also, ask them to try out various paces of reading and pausing wherever necessary. Once they find the pace and way that feels good enough, tell them to practice replicating it. To gain a better understanding of these, it is a good idea to look up videos of native English speakers and see how they speak and read. Audiobooks are also a good medium to help your children get familiar with them. You can ask your children to listen to it carefully once and then start reading along and try to match the pace and intonation of the reading.
Books are your best friends
Books can help you with both sections of the exam. Reading out from your favourite book and trying out different reading methods can help you find methods that are comfortable for you. In the case of the conversation section, reading gives you the advantage of being knowledgeable in different areas and will thus help you with carrying a conversation and keep it interesting. It can make a good impression on the examiners if you can put together different points and views from things you have read. Also, reading more books can help you better understand the structure and grammar of the language and also help you improve your vocabulary.
Practice conversations
Pick some topics for conversation and choose one at random every day for your children to practice. Ask them about different topics and things happening around them. The best way to do it is to get someone other than the parents or immediate family to have a conversation with the children. It can help your children get rid of their fear and shyness to speak in public.
It is no secret that communication is a vital skill for everyone, irrespective of what path they choose to follow in life. That is why so much importance is given to oral exams. 88tuition is running a lesson on oral communication revision on 07 August 2022, Sunday, at 2.30 p.m. Join us for some tips & tricks, see you then! 🙂
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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