Secondary School Chinese
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phtthp\" post_id=\"2006972\" time=\"1607218733\" user_id=\"35251:
I would normally recommend students to move towards argumentative/discursive essay writing when they reach upper Sec.
out of these 4 identified zuowen category, which category to \"siam\" (avoid), because exam marker tend to be overly strict in their marking?sin2x\" post_id=\"2006938\" time=\"1607162983\" user_id=\"61859:
Hi,
I am not sure if this has been discussed but I was wondering which type of writing (section 2) is the easiest to tackle for 'O' Level CL?
1. Narrative
2. Expository
3. Argumentative
4. Situational
- the nature is similar to that of email writing, where there's a theme/topic to comment/discuss about
- the students would have come across many of such passages through their comprehension practices and can apply what they learn appropriately
- most topics are quite straightforward (as in agree/disagree, should/should not) so as long as logical thinking and analytical skills are applied accordingly, student will be able to secure marks for (at least the) content component
For situational/narrative essay, if student failed to analyse question correctly (misinterpret/miss out of certain stated requirements) then the content component gets marked down immediately. Besides, just memorizing descriptive phrases will not be enough to excel. Students have to apply rhetoric approaches they learnt like 比喻、拟人 and 排比 as well - these require understanding and application.
However, the bottom line is the students have to be confident of their understanding of the questions requirement and choose the question/theme they are most confident and comfortable with, rather than just placing all their eyes in 1 basket (i.e. to prepare for a particular type of essay only).
Take for example 2017's O Level CL question: \"电影能塑造青少年价值观。你同意吗？为什么？\" (loosely translated as \"Can movies shape values in youths?\")
Parents complained about the difficulty of this question that year: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/znews/singapore/story20170529-765658
The reason is because they felt the topic is too 'technical'. In order to write a detailed and accurate piece, the student must know the different film genres and movie titles - in Chinese. Otherwise, the essay will be too general/vague.
That year, another question involves the topic of art too：“如何培养青少年对艺术的兴趣？” (loosely translated as \"How to nuture youth's interest in arts?\").
In cases like these, the students cannot simply go ahead and attempt the discursive essay simply because it's what they have been more exposed to or have prepared for. They have to be adaptable and choose the situation writing, which was comparatively more straight forward, instead. -
chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2007051\" time=\"1607269178\" user_id=\"162894:
Hi
I would normally recommend students to move towards argumentative/discursive essay writing when they reach upper Sec.sin2x\" post_id=\"2006938\" time=\"1607162983\" user_id=\"61859:
Hi,
I am not sure if this has been discussed but I was wondering which type of writing (section 2) is the easiest to tackle for 'O' Level CL?
1. Narrative
2. Expository
3. Argumentative
4. Situational
- the nature is similar to that of email writing, where there's a theme/topic to comment/discuss about
- the students would have come across many of such passages through their comprehension practices and can apply what they learn appropriately
- most topics are quite straightforward (as in agree/disagree, should/should not) so as long as logical thinking and analytical skills are applied accordingly, student will be able to secure marks for (at least the) content component
For situational/narrative essay, if student failed to analyse question correctly (misinterpret/miss out of certain stated requirements) then the content component gets marked down immediately. Besides, just memorizing descriptive phrases will not be enough to excel. Students have to apply rhetoric approaches they learnt like 比喻、拟人 and 排比 as well - these require understanding and application.
However, the bottom line is the students have to be confident of their understanding of the questions requirement and choose the question/theme they are most confident and comfortable with, rather than just placing all their eyes in 1 basket (i.e. to prepare for a particular type of essay only).
Take for example 2017's O Level CL question: \"电影能塑造青少年价值观。你同意吗？为什么？\" (loosely translated as \"Can movies shape values in youths?\")
Parents complained about the difficulty of this question that year: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/znews/singapore/story20170529-765658
The reason is because they felt the topic is too 'technical'. In order to write a detailed and accurate piece, the student must know the different film genres and movie titles - in Chinese. Otherwise, the essay will be too general/vague.
That year, another question involves the topic of art too：“如何培养青少年对艺术的兴趣？” (loosely translated as \"How to nuture youth's interest in arts?\").
In cases like these, the students cannot simply go ahead and attempt the discursive essay simply because it's what they have been more exposed to or have prepared for. They have to be adaptable and choose the situation writing, which was comparatively more straight forward, instead.
If let's say
whether is Sec 3 CL (bu-hua)
or
Sec 4 HCL (gao-hua) National exam hall,
the zuowen exam topics that came out totally un-familiar, totally unexpected, because students never been exposed to reading such themes before (eg. Appreciation of Performance fine Arts in music, dancing, drawing, etc), like
this 2017 O-level bu-hua zuowen that fall under Debate or Argumentative category,
\"How to nurture Youth interest in Arts ? \",
so, the student's mind inside the exam hall went completely blank, panicked and then
let's say
the other alternative topic given on the other Narrative / Descriptive category
also not familiar with, un-expected.
In other words, all the various category topics exhausted also not familiar with for that O-level year (batch), then how to write zuowen (Paper 1), under exam-hall pressure ? -
phtthp\" post_id=\"2007067\" time=\"1607306118\" user_id=\"35251:
Hi
I would normally recommend students to move towards argumentative/discursive essay writing when they reach upper Sec.chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2007051\" time=\"1607269178\" user_id=\"162894:
[quote=sin2x post_id=2006938 time=1607162983 user_id=61859]
Hi,
I am not sure if this has been discussed but I was wondering which type of writing (section 2) is the easiest to tackle for 'O' Level CL?
1. Narrative
2. Expository
3. Argumentative
4. Situational
- the nature is similar to that of email writing, where there's a theme/topic to comment/discuss about
- the students would have come across many of such passages through their comprehension practices and can apply what they learn appropriately
- most topics are quite straightforward (as in agree/disagree, should/should not) so as long as logical thinking and analytical skills are applied accordingly, student will be able to secure marks for (at least the) content component
For situational/narrative essay, if student failed to analyse question correctly (misinterpret/miss out of certain stated requirements) then the content component gets marked down immediately. Besides, just memorizing descriptive phrases will not be enough to excel. Students have to apply rhetoric approaches they learnt like 比喻、拟人 and 排比 as well - these require understanding and application.
However, the bottom line is the students have to be confident of their understanding of the questions requirement and choose the question/theme they are most confident and comfortable with, rather than just placing all their eyes in 1 basket (i.e. to prepare for a particular type of essay only).
Take for example 2017's O Level CL question: \"电影能塑造青少年价值观。你同意吗？为什么？\" (loosely translated as \"Can movies shape values in youths?\")
Parents complained about the difficulty of this question that year: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/znews/singapore/story20170529-765658
The reason is because they felt the topic is too 'technical'. In order to write a detailed and accurate piece, the student must know the different film genres and movie titles - in Chinese. Otherwise, the essay will be too general/vague.
That year, another question involves the topic of art too：“如何培养青少年对艺术的兴趣？” (loosely translated as \"How to nuture youth's interest in arts?\").
In cases like these, the students cannot simply go ahead and attempt the discursive essay simply because it's what they have been more exposed to or have prepared for. They have to be adaptable and choose the situation writing, which was comparatively more straight forward, instead.
If let's say
whether is Sec 3 CL (bu-hua)
or
Sec 4 HCL (gao-hua) National exam hall,
the zuowen exam topics that came out totally un-familiar, totally unexpected, because students never been exposed to reading such themes before (eg. Appreciation of Performance fine Arts in music, dancing, drawing, etc), like
this 2017 O-level bu-hua zuowen that fall under Debate or Argumentative category,
\"How to nurture Youth interest in Arts ? \",
so, the student's mind inside the exam hall went completely blank, panicked and then
let's say
the other alternative topic given on the other Narrative / Descriptive category
also not familiar with, un-expected.
In other words, all the various category topics exhausted also not familiar with for that O-level year (batch), then how to write zuowen (Paper 1), under exam-hall pressure ?[/quote]Hi phtthp,
In such worst case scenario, the student should 硬着头皮 and go along with the narrative/situation question. He/she may not be able to meet all stated criteria (due to pressure/misinterpretation/overlook etc.) but at least should not be completely out of point.
For discursive/argumentative essay, they have to include 论点 (argument/thesis)、论据 (evidence/grounds of argument) and 论证 (reasoning). Thus, there's no way they can score if they are totally unfamiliar with the topic/theme. -
![](\"https://i.imgur.com/ebgK63i.jpg\")
https://i.imgur.com/ebgK63i.jpg\">
Had a quick glance at the new syllabus Sec CL textbook. Nice to see more small practices at the end of every chapter to practice on the rhetoric approaches covered, rather than just wordy notes.
Pretty evident that the coverage aims to strengthen the students writing skills too. At the end of every 单元, there's a 词语宝库 section.
For parents whose child is in Sec 2 in 2021, you can consider getting the new syllabus textbook (less than $4) as additional reading material.
![](\"https://i.imgur.com/j7CFPSJ.jpg\")
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Thanks for sharing, chenlaoshi!
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Deleted
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Hi, my DS is quite weak at chinese and in primary school we focused a lot on the “need to read/write” words to help pull his marks up from the MCQ qn for CL. Also worked quite well for the first 2 section of HCL.
He’s doing HCL in Sec school and I understand there’s no more CL per se.
Compo and compre aside , I would like to ask for Sec HCL , would this approach help to reinforce the new words ?
Thank you -
kylene\" post_id=\"2011437\" time=\"1610152186\" user_id=\"6993:
Hi kylene,
Hi, my DS is quite weak at chinese and in primary school we focused a lot on the “need to read/write” words to help pull his marks up from the MCQ qn for CL. Also worked quite well for the first 2 section of HCL.
He’s doing HCL in Sec school and I understand there’s no more CL per se.
Compo and compre aside , I would like to ask for Sec HCL , would this approach help to reinforce the new words ?
Thank you
For Sec 1 and 2, the school exam format may include sections like
- 填写汉字 (write the word/phrase covered in syllabus text based on han yu pin yin provided)
- 选择词语 (fill in the blanks with appropriate phrase covered in syllabus text)
- 造句/完成句子 (sentence construction/complete the sentence)
- 成语填充 (fill in the blanks with appropriate idiom)
The above sections can be prepared using the drilling/practicing method you mentioned.
However, do note that
(1) the weightage of these sections account for at most 40% (usually ~30%) of the full paper 2 in Sec 1/2 EOY exam
(2) these sections will be gone by Sec 3 EOY exam and are not tested in O Level exam (in other words, these sections that can be used to \"secure marks\" can no longer be relied upon to score)
(3) sections like
- 短文填充 (cloze passage)
- 句子缩短/片段缩写 (summarizing sentence/paragraph summary)
- 病句改正 (editing incorrect sentences)
and even handling higher order thinking questions from 阅读理解 (comprehension) will test the student's grammar, vocab as well as writing skills
(4) the points discussed above only address Paper 2 component. Paper 2's weightage is worth 40%. Paper 1's weightage is another 40% and Oral accounts for 20%. (http://chenlaoshi.wixsite.com/psleprepclass/post/o%E6%B0%B4%E5%87%86%E8%80%83%E8%AF%95-gce-o-level-cl%E5%8D%8E%E6%96%87%E4%B8%8Ehcl%E9%AB%98%E7%BA%A7%E5%8D%8E%E6%96%87%E7%9A%84%E8%AF%95%E5%8D%B7%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E4%B9%8B%E5%88%AB)
Thus, to put it bluntly, relying on mastering syllabus textbook words/phrases is not the (long term) solution. -
chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2011518\" time=\"1610203550\" user_id=\"162894:
Thank you for the detailed explanation. Would you recommend focusing on compo and or compre instead, as a long term solution?
Hi kylene,kylene\" post_id=\"2011437\" time=\"1610152186\" user_id=\"6993:
Hi, my DS is quite weak at chinese and in primary school we focused a lot on the “need to read/write” words to help pull his marks up from the MCQ qn for CL. Also worked quite well for the first 2 section of HCL.
He’s doing HCL in Sec school and I understand there’s no more CL per se.
Compo and compre aside , I would like to ask for Sec HCL , would this approach help to reinforce the new words ?
Thank you
For Sec 1 and 2, the school exam format may include sections like
- 填写汉字 (write the word/phrase covered in syllabus text based on han yu pin yin provided)
- 选择词语 (fill in the blanks with appropriate phrase covered in syllabus text)
- 造句/完成句子 (sentence construction/complete the sentence)
- 成语填充 (fill in the blanks with appropriate idiom)
The above sections can be prepared using the drilling/practicing method you mentioned.
However, do note that
(1) the weightage of these sections account for at most 40% (usually ~30%) of the full paper 2 in Sec 1/2 EOY exam
(2) these sections will be gone by Sec 3 EOY exam and are not tested in O Level exam (in other words, these sections that can be used to \"secure marks\" can no longer be relied upon to score)
(3) sections like
- 短文填充 (cloze passage)
- 句子缩短/片段缩写 (summarizing sentence/paragraph summary)
- 病句改正 (editing incorrect sentences)
and even handling higher order thinking questions from 阅读理解 (comprehension) will test the student's grammar, vocab as well as writing skills
(4) the points discussed above only address Paper 2 component. Paper 2's weightage is worth 40%. Paper 1's weightage is another 40% and Oral accounts for 20%. (http://chenlaoshi.wixsite.com/psleprepclass/post/o%E6%B0%B4%E5%87%86%E8%80%83%E8%AF%95-gce-o-level-cl%E5%8D%8E%E6%96%87%E4%B8%8Ehcl%E9%AB%98%E7%BA%A7%E5%8D%8E%E6%96%87%E7%9A%84%E8%AF%95%E5%8D%B7%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E4%B9%8B%E5%88%AB)
Thus, to put it bluntly, relying on mastering syllabus textbook words/phrases is not the (long term) solution.
May I also ask for IP schools who takes higher Chinese. Do the children take O level HCL and/or Chinese? Or just HCL. Thanks! -
chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2011518\" time=\"1610203550\" user_id=\"162894:
Thank you for taking the time to explain !
Hi kylene,kylene\" post_id=\"2011437\" time=\"1610152186\" user_id=\"6993:
Hi, my DS is quite weak at chinese and in primary school we focused a lot on the “need to read/write” words to help pull his marks up from the MCQ qn for CL. Also worked quite well for the first 2 section of HCL.
He’s doing HCL in Sec school and I understand there’s no more CL per se.
Compo and compre aside , I would like to ask for Sec HCL , would this approach help to reinforce the new words ?
Thank you
For Sec 1 and 2, the school exam format may include sections like
- 填写汉字 (write the word/phrase covered in syllabus text based on han yu pin yin provided)
- 选择词语 (fill in the blanks with appropriate phrase covered in syllabus text)
- 造句/完成句子 (sentence construction/complete the sentence)
- 成语填充 (fill in the blanks with appropriate idiom)
The above sections can be prepared using the drilling/practicing method you mentioned.
However, do note that
(1) the weightage of these sections account for at most 40% (usually ~30%) of the full paper 2 in Sec 1/2 EOY exam
(2) these sections will be gone by Sec 3 EOY exam and are not tested in O Level exam (in other words, these sections that can be used to \"secure marks\" can no longer be relied upon to score)
(3) sections like
- 短文填充 (cloze passage)
- 句子缩短/片段缩写 (summarizing sentence/paragraph summary)
- 病句改正 (editing incorrect sentences)
and even handling higher order thinking questions from 阅读理解 (comprehension) will test the student's grammar, vocab as well as writing skills
(4) the points discussed above only address Paper 2 component. Paper 2's weightage is worth 40%. Paper 1's weightage is another 40% and Oral accounts for 20%. (http://chenlaoshi.wixsite.com/psleprepclass/post/o%E6%B0%B4%E5%87%86%E8%80%83%E8%AF%95-gce-o-level-cl%E5%8D%8E%E6%96%87%E4%B8%8Ehcl%E9%AB%98%E7%BA%A7%E5%8D%8E%E6%96%87%E7%9A%84%E8%AF%95%E5%8D%B7%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F%E4%B9%8B%E5%88%AB)
Thus, to put it bluntly, relying on mastering syllabus textbook words/phrases is not the (long term) solution.
My DS is in Sec 1 now so I suppose he still needs to know the textbook words to a certain extent .
Any suggestions how we can prepare for the HCL Os ? Thanks so much !
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