O-Level English
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Hi Parents,
The majority of you perhaps aren’t aware that 2012 will be the last year of the EL syllabus 1127. From 2013, the English O level papers are going to be a little more challenging with Syllabus 1128.
We’d be glad to take any questions you may have about the different papers and components.
Regards
The team at The Language League -
HI
Please let us know what are the changes? What do you mean by challenging?
Is that going to be a change in marking scheme or in the syllabus or mark allocation. -
It is a totally revamped syllabus with changes in the exam format for every paper.
There is a new paper-the listening comprehension paper which is Paper 3. Paper 4 is the Oral component but it no longer has the picture and conversation as different sections. Instead, a visual stimulus will be given as a springboard for the conversation.
Paper 1 and 2 will have additional components of editing and a visual stimulus. The visual stimulus tests students’ ability to read between the lines in advertisements and also tests inferential and language skills. Many of the questions are literary in nature too.
The compo paper will have 2 passages, but one will asks questions that focus on language and literary understanding. This is where teachers with a Lit and EL degree will be able to coach their students best.
In the secondary schools, even the EL teachers are not all trained in Lit and many of them are only just starting to train the Sec 3s for their O levels in 2013. MOE has started with their in-school workshops to get the teachers prepared for this massive revamp in teaching and marking.
So when you pick a tutor/teachers in a learning centre, our advice is, pick one who is an English graduate, preferably with Literature as well. And someone who is well-versed with the new marking descriptors that Secondary School teachers have. It’s a totally different ball game now. Diploma holders won’t suffice. In-depth knowledge of the English Language as well as the technicalities of grammar rules are vital to teaching this new syllabus.
As for your kids, get them NOT just to read the newpapers. Get them to read novels. It will help with the 1st passage in the comprehension paper. Those who offer literature at Upper Sec level will have a slight advantage though.
Hope this answers your questions. -
Kekekekeke ....
So it has been made official then .....
To think that I was setting literary based questions in my comprehension exam papers some years back when I teaching ....
Is the new EL syllabus up on the MOE website??
What about the marking scheme?? -
Thank you Language league. Any novels to recommend for secondary levels.
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No problem
We normally recommend that our students without any literary background start with local writers. There are some good ones out there. Try Island Voices or Telltale:11 Stories. These are anthologies of local writers that are being used for the O levels. These stories make literature a little more appetising for students who aren't offering Literature but who want to read a little wider. As I said, the newspapers are not going to be adequate for the new syllabus.
Marking schemes won't be made available to everyone. Unless you know an EL teacher, or your tutor is a current or ex-teacher (who recently left), you probably won't be able to get your hands on such precious commodity -
autumnbronze:
u were ahead of your time , sista.Kekekekeke ....
So it has been made official then .....
To think that I was setting literary based questions in my comprehension exam papers some years back when I teaching ....
Is the new EL syllabus up on the MOE website??
What about the marking scheme??
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TheLanguageLeague:
Thank you for your adviceNo problem
We normally recommend that our students without any literary background start with local writers. There are some good ones out there. Try Island Voices or Telltale:11 Stories. These are anthologies of local writers that are being used for the O levels. These stories make literature a little more appetising for students who aren't offering Literature but who want to read a little wider. As I said, the newspapers are not going to be adequate for the new syllabus.
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What do u mean by literacy understanding? Can explain? Tq
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Literary understanding- meaning, knowledge of literary devices and techniques- Eg; Writer’s tone, use of personification, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia, analogies and how these impact the key points of the passage. Even how these work in a visual simulus.
Teachers should and must know these in order to handle the new syllabus. Which is why tutors/teachers with double majors in EL and Lit are more confident with this revamp. Check with your current tutor/centre on the background of their teachers. And if they are aware of the change even. Many are not. Even assessment books with the old syllabus are still on the shelves. lol.
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