The Language League thanks all participants of our workshops. We will be conducting more such workshops soon, sharing with you our newly set papers and resources in line with the new English syllabus.


Register your interest on our website http://www.thelanguageleague.com.sg, should you want to be informed of future workshops.

Cheers!

The Team at The Language League

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Join us for an afternoon of enlightenment as we answer your questions on the New EL syllabus. Our panel of invited speakers are current and former teachers/HODs who are well-versed in the new syllabus. We will share with you tips on how to help your child master the new components of the papers. There will also be a Q and A session at the end of the seminar.

http://thelanguageleague.com.sg/Secondary-Programmes.php

Bbee:

My DS who is in Sec 1 does not study Literature as a subject. The school does EL as Language Art which incorporates drama, but no literature. Will he be well prepared for the new exam format?

It is tough to say...some schools actually incorporate some of the elements of the new syllabus into the Language Arts programme (eg. To Kill A Mockingbird as text- Argumentative essay based on the text, compre passages based on Racism in the South etc). However, there also may be some schools who only begin focusing on the full range of papers in Secondary Three. It's best to speak to the HOD/EL of your DS's school to get a clearer picture. Good Luck.

Hi there,


Read this thread; we try to answer as many questions as we can.

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=31997

To answer the previous questions on novels- in our professional opinion, students cannot get by with the new syllabus on a diet of newspapers and current affairs magazines. They should also read novels to understand and experience how language works in versatile ways.


We don’t endorse assessment books, sorry. Anyway, not many books on the shelves are updated. Many are generic, and focus on specific skills only (eg. Vocabulary, grammar etc)

Over at our centres, we use only resources we have set ourselves, following the specimen papers that UCLES has outlined. Give us a call if you have more questions. We will be happy to help.

junrahmat:

TheLanguageLeague:

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.

Aah.. Now I understand why ds teacher is doing all these with the class. Luckily for him, his Lit teacher is also his Eng teacher. Thanks for sharing

No Prob. Lucky for him, totally agree!!

When we receive job applications for teaching positions in our Centre, we get many with Diplomas in IT or Marine Engineering who claim to have been ENG and LIT private tutors for 5-9 yrs or sometimes, tutors in (Maths, Science, POA, CL and EL all rolled in one). It is shocking to us. They may charge cheaper fees but they aren't qualified. If you ask them a technical qns in EL, or one that has literary elements in them, they may not be able to answer them. Needless to say, we don't entertain them in our selection process.

Anyway, cheers everyone. Have a great week!

autumnbronze:

3 cheers for the change in syllabus :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

Totally agree! With the right guidance, it will raise EL competency in our kids

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.

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

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.