Further Oral Exam Reminders

6E!

How's day 1 of your PSLE Oral exams? Hope it has gone well for all of you.

Below is another list of pointers which I have observed today:

• Read loudly!
• During the conversation, do not play with the exam question papers (passage and picture).
• Absolutely no Singlish (do not say your 'lahs')!
• Have eye contact with the examiners.
• Avoid moving your hands too much (e.g. brushing your hair, supporting your head, scratching your body etc.).
• Do not rock your chair!
• Remember to thank the examiners.

Final Pointers for PSLE Oral

6E!

I've said enough on how to deal with the exam in class. Right now, I just want to remind you guys to be courteous, polite and show your best mannerism to the examiners. Remember to:

• have eye contact with the examiners
• smile and greet them ("Good morning, teachers.")
• introduce your name and index number
• listen to their instructions
• do not drag your chair or shake your legs!!

Have enough sleep tonight and don't forget to bring along your PSLE entry proof.

See you on Monday and GOOD LUCK!!!

Well done!

To those who were tested by Mrs Kumaran, here's what she has got to say about you guys:

"6E pupils have done well and they are very polite. Well done!"

Kudos to a job well done, 6E! :)

Oral Exams Tips

Reading Aloud (10 marks)

• Greet the examiner - set him/her in a good mood first
• Read loud and clear
• Do not read too fast or too slow
• Change your tone; add in your emotions while reading (so that you will not sound like a robot)
• Remember to pause when you come across a comma or a full stop.
• For words which you are not sure in pronouncing, just try your best to read that word, and read as per normal (no stopping, same speed) so that you will not draw too much attention to that wrong 'word'.

Picture Discussion (10 marks)

• Firstly, describe the place shown in the picture (e.g. "This picture shows a school canteen.")
  Start from one side (left or right side), describe what you see in the picture
• Add your comments about what you have just described (e.g. "The boy looks grumpy. I think it is because he does not have enough money to buy his food")
• Give your own suggestions or explanations to that situation you have described (e.g. "That boy should have checked his wallet for enough money before going to school.")

Conversation (10 marks)

• Treat the examiner as your friend or relative - chat with him/her
• Make sure you talk about the given exam topic and not about other topics
• Speak up loud and clear
• Talk more than the examiner
• Thank the examiner

Remember:

Oral exam is the time for you to TALK! No talk, no marks! What sets you to be different from the rest (and therefore earning high marks) is to say different things from others.

Have a good rest, drink lots of water and GOOD LUCK!

Beware - Octopus Drivers!

Octopus driver? Driver-less cars? Are they for real?

Do you have the answers now? Does the author literally mean what he had written?

The above article was taken from The Straits Times (18th April 2008)'s Forum section. I hope that you guys appreciate such creative writing. It does make one's writing more interesting. However, one must be able to choose the right object to represent the issue. :)

Oral Presentation

Below are some pointers to take note:

• Remember to look at your classmates (and not the teacher)


• Speak loudly and clearly (else your classmates will start to talk)


• 'Stay' with the topic (do not go on talking about things not relevant to the topic)


• Do not have too many words in your PowerPoint slides and do not read out straight from them


• Answer your friends' questions politely

Situational Writing

As the name goes, you are given a situation and you need to respond accordingly to that given situation. Be it a letter, an email or writing a note for someone, you must bear in mind the objectives (or aims / targets) of your writing.

• Are you trying to relay information, ask questions, send an invitation or submit a complaint?


• What do you want the recipient do?


• What is the tone of your writing? Are you polite enough (especially when you are asking for a favour)?


• Have you written down all the important 5 or 6 points given in the question? Are these points clear, specific and foolproof to the reader?


• Have you written your greetings at the beginning of your writing and sign off at the end of it?


• Lastly, re-read it again yourself. Imagine you are the recipient. Do you understand the message? Is there enough information for you to reply the sender?

Situational writing takes up 15 marks in your overall EL exam scores (upon 200 marks). This section is an easy section for you to score well so please take note of the above pointers when doing your situational writing.

Primary Grammar

For the many of you who are weak in your grammar, I would like to recommend you to get this book. It covers a lot of details in your basic grammar and also offers many exercises to practise on.

This book can be found in Popular Bookstore and costs about $8+.

I would strongly encourage pupils to get this book as it is extremely useful for those of you who are very weak in your grammar (or if you are speaking too much 'Singlish').

Dictation (9th Jan, Wed)

6 Excellence!

We'll have our first dictation (Unit 1 Passage 1) on this coming Wednesday. The spelling will be conducted on the following week (Week 3).