A Complete Guide to O Level Chinese in Singapore by Our Top O Level Chinese Tutors

  

The Complete Guide to O Level Chinese in Singapore

Building on one’s foundation in PSLE Chinese, O Level Chinese is a continuum from PSLE Chinese and is an important subject to score well for the GCE ‘O’ Level National Examination as part of one’s Mother Tongue. With the high importance of the subject, many O Level students and their parents would worry about the student’s academic performance in the language, which involves the need to write concisely in Essay Writing and communicate well in Oral Communications based on the O Level Chinese Syllabus.

Regardless of whether one wants to build a stronger foundation in the Chinese language or wants to get a head start among his/her peers in Chinese class – MindFlex Home Tuition has compiled the ultimate guide to the latest MOE Secondary School Chinese syllabus and all the information you’ll need to know about the O Level Chinese, together with multiple free resources to help O Level Chinese students ace in the national examinations! 

1. An Overview to O Level Chinese

With Chinese being increasingly and widely used all across the world, it would be highly beneficial for students to have a strong foundation and understanding of the Chinese language, thus ensuring that students will do well at the O Level Chinese Examinations. Additionally, having a fluent grasp in Chinese will heighten Secondary school students’ confidence and abilities when tackling Chinese questions and revision papers. With the increased confidence within the student, this translates to effective motivation for students to hone their abilities in Chinese in Secondary School and beyond. What’s more – being proficient in another language apart from English will allow the facilitation of more conversations on a global scale as well as to better cultivate one’s learning in their academic journey.

Similarly to any other language, Chinese is not a language that can be honed overnight as it should be gradually cultivated throughout the student’s years of studying from Primary School to their current academic stage – Secondary School. Furthermore, the standard of O Level Chinese will progress to more advanced stages over the 4-5 years of a student’s time in Secondary School, thus making it imperative for students to begin preparing for O Level Chinese early in order for students to do well. Furthermore, it is important to remember that learning Chinese does not stop after the O Level Chinese Examination as such ability expands beyond one’s academic route in school. The strong ability to do well in Chinese remains beneficial in the long run as skills such as Grammar and Vocabulary remain important even after O Levels in Secondary School.

Here at MindFlex, we have over 9,000 experienced O Level Chinese Tutors who will be able to help hone your child’s Chinese Language skills. Engage the Best Chinese Tuition today!

2. Objectives of O Level Chinese

The key objective of O Level Chinese is to ensure that all Secondary 4/5 students have sufficiently fulfilled the following learning objectives set out by MOE. 

Paper 1 (Writing – 写作)
1. Identify the purpose, audience and tone in writing in a clear, effective manner
2. Apply and execute the correct report format (letter, speech, email etc.)
3. Generate relevant ideas and express them coherently
4. Use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation
5. Use various vocabulary appropriately with clarity and precision

Paper 2 (Comprehension – 语文理解与应用)
1. Demonstrate understanding of comprehension texts
2. Show understanding of implied meaning through critically analysis and interpretation of text
3. Illustrate appropriate use of grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary, particularly in paraphrasing
4. Identify and summarise the content concisely and accurately

Paper 3 (Oral Communication – 口试 and Listening Comprehension – 听力理解)
1. Read clearly with good punctuation to convey ideas and feelings
2. Read fluently and at a good pace
3. Express personal opinions clearly and effectively
4. Speak fluently with accurate grammar, vocabulary and sentence structures
5. Demonstrate understanding of spoken texts
6. Identify and interpret the key messages, ideas and details in different settings
7. Draw conclusions and critical inferences

More information can be found under the O Level Chinese SEAB Syllabus.

3. O Level Chinese Exam Format

The O Level Chinese Examination consists of 3 main components, namely the Writing (Paper 1), Comprehension (Paper 2), Oral Communication and Listening Comprehension (Paper 3).

3.1. Paper 1 (Writing – 写作)

60 marks, 2 hours

Part 1: Functional Writing – 实用文

Students are required to choose 1 out of the 2 questions provided in this section. One question involves writing an email to the intended recipient, while the other question involves writing a response email to another intended recipient. Students are expected to write more than 150 characters, regardless whether question 1 or 2 is chosen. The application of purpose, audience and tone as well as spelling and punctuation will be tested in this section.

Part 2: Essay Writing – 作文

Students will choose 1 out of 3 questions to write a composition of more than 300 characters. Depending on the context of the chosen question, students are expected to write in the form of narrative, expository, argumentative or situational writing. Students are then expected to come up with their own interpretation and should appropriately suit the purpose, audience and context. A wide variety of vocabulary and sentence structures as well as exemplary use of spelling and punctuation within the student’s writing are also expected.

3.1.1. Challenges Faced in Paper 1

Due to the open-ended nature of functional and essay writing, many students often find difficulty in brainstorming ideas or expressing their ideas coherently and with relevant vocabulary and good sentence structure. In addition, students may struggle having to complete writing two essays within the span of two hours due to poor time management – which is another major challenge that many students face in Paper 1.

3.1.2. How to Score in Paper 1

O Level Chinese Students are encouraged to practice writing texts in order to facilitate the generation of relevant ideas during the actual examination. The use and reference of model essays is deemed useful to assist in every O Level Chinese student’s revision towards Paper 1. Moreover, as the ability to generate good ideas must be built up over long durations of practice, students should prepare for the O Level Chinese as early as possible. Here at MindFlex, our O Level Chinese Tutors are experienced and will guide students in brainstorming ideas for various common topics so that they will be equipped for the national examination. Request an O Level Chinese Tutor through MindFlex to get started on your O Level Chinese preparation!

3.2. Paper 2 (Comprehension – 语文理解与应用)

70 marks, 1 hour 30 mins

Section A: Fill In The Blanks – 综合填空

This section requires students to fill in the blanks within the passage. Students have to read and interpret the passage, and write the most appropriate answers in the blanks provided.

Section B: Comprehension 1 – 阅读理解（一）

In this section, students are required to select the most appropriate answer based on the content within the short passages provided. Passages in the section that students will examine will include advertisements, leaflets, news reports etc.

Section C: Comprehension 2 – 阅读理解（二）

Students are expected to answer the questions accordingly based on the 2 to 3 essays included in the section.

3.2.1. Challenges Faced in Paper 2

In Paper 2, many students are faced with the issue of Time Management due to the numerous sections, texts and questions which students have to comprehend, analyse and answer within a short period of time. In addition, students also struggle with reading and comprehending the texts quickly and effectively, thus leaving them with insufficient time to complete and re-check their answers throughout the entire paper.

3.2.2. How To Score in Paper 2

To score in Paper 2, students are encouraged to constantly practice answering comprehension questions in revision exercises and past O Level Chinese papers so that they would be well-versed in what to expect for the various sections of the paper. It is also highly recommended for students to attempt past-year papers in timed conditions to simulate real-life examination conditions, thus allowing students to be mentally prepared for the actual O Level Chinese Paper 2 Examination.

3.3. Paper 3.1 (Oral Communication – 口试)

50 marks, 10 – 15 mins

Part 1: Reading Aloud – 朗读短文

Students are expected to read aloud a short text bearing in mind the purpose, audience and context. The short text may be a short narrative, news report, speech, or an announcement, or a mixture of types and forms to test the students’ ability to comprehend and interpret the text’s setting. Candidates will be assessed on their ability to accurately pronounce and clearly articulate the words in the text, and read fluently and expressively in the Chinese language.

Part 2: Spoken Interaction – 会话

Students will be shown a visual stimulus in order to engage in a discussion with the Examiners. Students will be asked to discuss the theme of the visual stimulus in an analytical and critical manner, delving into interesting insights about the visual and engaging in a conversation with the Examiners.

3.3.1. Challenges Faced in Paper 3.1 – Oral Communication

Many students often get nervous for this segment as Oral Communication requires students to have a strong proficiency in the Chinese language in order to read the short passage and to engage in a discussion with the Examiner in Part 1 and 2 respectively. Adding on to the nervousness, many students face difficulties in reading and articulating certain Chinese words and phrases in the Reading Aloud section, which hinders their ability to ace in that particular section. Additionally, some students also struggle to discuss critically about the topic at hand and may not be able to come up with interesting insights or substantive replies within the short period of time during the conversation.

3.3.2. How To Score in Paper 3.1 – Oral Communication

To help soothe student’s worries and to ensure that they are confident when approaching this segment of the O Level Chinese Examination, students should prepare sufficiently beforehand through mock Oral Communication practices with family members, schoolmates or tutors. With continuous practice in reading passages and conversing in Chinese, this will allow students to build up their proficiency and fluency in the language, thus ensuring that they are confident to tackle the Oral Communication on their examination day. Such practice will even help students hone their abilities in generating ideas within short periods of time, thus allowing them to effectively generate substantive and meaningful ideas during the oral assessment.

3.4. Paper 3.2 (Listening Comprehension – 听力理解)

20 marks, 30 mins

The Listening Comprehension Section involves 3 short dialogues or paragraphs as well as 3 comprehension passages, along with 10 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). Students are required to listen to the recording first, and then answer the question based on the content that was heard in the recording. The content of the recording includes daily conversations, descriptions, stories, news reports and advertisements etc.

3.4.1. Challenges Faced in Paper 3.2 – Listening Comprehension

Many O Level students and parents often overlook the Listening Comprehension segment as they think that it is an easy section that requires little attention. However, in order to excel in O Level Chinese, students will have to secure full marks for the Listening Comprehension section – which is a challenge that most students face. Moreover, with the MCQs options being relatively similar to each other, students often face difficulties when choosing the most suitable answer as they are unable to identify key differences between the different options.

3.4.2. How To Score in Paper 3.2 – Listening Comprehension

Students should practice their Listening Comprehension skills by placing themselves in a listening comprehension mock setting and attempt a Listening Comprehension paper to stimulate the real examination setting. From there, students can work on their listening skills as well as their critical analysis skills as they practice answering past year questions. This will help ensure that they are able to identify the subtle differences between the different MCQ options, which will then give students an edge over their peers for this section.

4. O Level Chinese Tips and Resources

4.1. O Level Chinese Tips

4.1.1. Read Extensively, Write Regularly and Converse in Chinese

One highly effective method that helps students prepare for the O Level Chinese Examinations would be to read and practice writing in the Chinese language regularly. Students should strive to expose themselves to the various components of the O Level Chinese examination which includes reading aloud for Oral Communication – 口试 and writing essays for Paper 1 – 写作. Our team at MindFlex recommends that students read at least 3-4 Chinese model essays per month and regularly catch up on current news happening in Singapore and the world. This will allow students to be well equipped with ample amounts of general knowledge, new vocabulary, sentence structures and grammar – which will come in handy for their O Level Chinese.

If buying or borrowing physical books is not feasible, there are many Chinese eBook resources online including NLB’s eBook App to make reading more accessible and convenient for Secondary school students!

While reading up on books and the news is highly effective, it would be advantageous for students should they converse in Chinese within their daily interaction with friends and family as this allows students to be more fluent and proficient in the language.

4.1.2. Conduct Mock and Timed Examination Practices

Once students have read extensively and practiced conversing and writing in Chinese, it is important for students to also apply what they have picked up by placing themselves in a series of mock O Level Chinese Examinations. That way, students will know where they stand in terms of their academic abilities to answer questions and complete the paper in time. Being exposed to the possible questions that may appear in the examination has proven to be beneficial for O Level Chinese students in ensuring that they are more equipped with skills to tackle all types of questions with increased confidence during the O Level Chinese examination. Therefore, students can download the free O Level Chinese Examination Papers here at MindFlex!

MindFlex also recommends that these exam practices should be taken under real-like examination settings to allow students to simulate the time pressure, allowing them to be familiarised with the speed and accuracy required to ace in O Level Chinese Examinations. However, we know how it is tough to set up one’s own stimulated examination setting without any invigilation during the examination or any feedback after the examination has ended. As such, students can seek supervision from the aid of their O Level Chinese Tutor engaged by MindFlex when they request for O Level Chinese Tuition with us!

4.1.3. Pick Up Highly Effective Examination Techniques and Tips

Many O Level Chinese students are not able to do well in O Level Chinese due to poor time management in Paper 1 – Writing (写作) and feeling nervous for Paper 3 – Oral Communication (口试). In order to combat these challenges, students should pick up important examination tricks that will help them ace in the O Level Chinese Examination! Some tips include circling and/or underlining important keywords and phrases for Paper 2 – Comprehension (语文理解与应用), which requires students to write a summarised version of the text within 80 words or less. Another technique that students should adopt is to draw out one’s ideas into a mind map before attempting to answer Part 2 for Paper 1 – Writing (写作). While planning out a mindmap may seem time-consuming, it would be beneficial to have the entire overview of the essay laid out at the beginning to avoid going off from the initial topic (离题) while students are in the midst of writing the essay.

4.1.4. Obtaining Additional Academic Support for O Level Chinese

At MindFlex, we understand it is easier said than done to incorporate the aforementioned tips and tricks. As such, another valuable O Level Chinese tip is to engage our Best O Level Chinese Tutors who will dedicate their time and efforts to provide additional academic help that is tailored and customised to every one of their O Level Chinese students. With many years of tutoring experience, our qualified and competent O Level Chinese Tutors will be able to assist their students in identifying their academic strengths as well as to work on their areas of improvement for the Chinese language

In addition, our O Level Chinese Tutors will also make sure that students are exposed to real-life application and enrichment material, such as recommending certain storybooks and critically analysing certain news articles, so that students can better understand and appreciate the subject outside of the classroom. MindFlex’s highly experienced O Level Chinese Tutors also take pride in owning their own pool of resources of content and materials that can aid students in learning better and more effectively. With different schools’ past-year papers and assessment books, students will be able to make use of these materials to revise and prepare for the national examinations. Our O Level Chinese Tutors will also administer mock tests before every Chinese exam to allow students to familiarise themselves with the examination conditions, effectively ensuring that students become more confident during the O Level Chinese examination. With the Best O Level Chinese Tuition in Singapore, Secondary school students can be assured that they are in good hands.

4.2. O Level Chinese Resources

Here, MindFlex has compiled the top 7 resources for students in their O Level Chinese preparation!

4.2.1. O Level Chinese Language (Yearly Edition)

This series is published by Singapore Asia Education and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board to provide the most comprehensive book that students can refer to prepare for the O Level Chinese Examinations. In this book, past O Level Chinese examination questions over the recent years are compiled in yearly and topical formats for every O Level Chinese student’s practice and revision towards the national examination. Furthermore, the book covers detailed model answers with explanations for students’ reference and comprehension in answering the questions. With this book, students can be more assured and confident when they tackle the actual O Level Chinese Examination.

4.2.2. O-Level Chinese eOral Conversation Practice

This Oral Communication assessment book is perfect for students who struggle with this Paper 3 Component in the O Level Chinese Examinations. This book includes interesting themes and questions that encourage critical thinking and creativity in order for students to answer the questions well. Model answers and useful tips are also included within the O-Level Chinese eOral Conversation Practice as well! As such, practising one’s conversational skills with this book will allow Secondary students to be more well-versed and confident when they take on Paper 3 – Oral Communication (口试).

4.2.3. O-Level Chinese Composition Guide with Practice

The O Level Chinese Composition component is known to have several unconventional questions that throw many students off when they attempt to answer one of the few questions offered in the paper. As a result, this component becomes one of the more challenging sections as they are often unable to come up with interesting and substantive essay content to answer the topic. Additionally, some students face the issue of digressing from the topic at hand as they write their essays for Paper 1. Thus, this O-Level Chinese Composition Guide with Practice will be able to help students mitigate some of these challenges prior to the O Level Chinese Paper 1 Examination.

 O Level Chinese Topical Revision Notes[/caption]

4.2.4. Chinese Oral Exam Guide (2E)

Serving as a digital version of the assessment book, Chinese Oral Exam Guide (2E) is a highly effective mobile application for O Level Chinese students to practice their Oral Communication abilities on the go. With the accessibility and convenience of this mobile application, students can choose to use and practice on the mobile application anytime of the day. With Chinese Oral Exam Guide (2E), students can be more confident for the O Level Chinese Oral Communication Examination. This application is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

4.2.5. Pleco

With the increasingly challenging O Level Chinese Syllabus, the words and key phrases learnt would naturally become more advanced and complex, resulting in many students feeling confused as they work on their O Level Chinese practices and revision papers. However, students can utilise Pleco – one of the best Chinese Dictionary Apps to date as it allows you to quickly look up a Chinese word or character online. With the functionality of this mobile application, Pleco definitely serves as any O Level Chinese student’s best friend when students need to look up a particular Chinese word. Pleco is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store as well.

4.2.6. Download Free O Level Chinese Exam Papers

We know how expensive additional exam resources can be – so, here at MindFlex, we have collated a list of free O Level Chinese exam papers that are downloadable, perfect for extra practice or revision for any O Level Chinese student!

4.2.7. MindFlex’s O Level Chinese Home Tutors

At MindFlex, we offer the Best and Top Quality O Level Chinese Tutors in Singapore based on every student’s academic needs and other preferences. With more than 9,000 experienced tutors that are passionate in teaching O Level Chinese, MindFlex holds one of the largest selections of O Level Chinese Home Tutors who are able to guide your child in their O Level Chinese preparation. Enjoy quality education at the comfort of your own home with MindFlex, and witness exemplary grade improvements!

5. Conclusion

Given the importance of scoring well for the O Level Chinese Examinations, the team at MindFlex understands how stressful preparing for the national examinations can be for O Level Chinese students. MindFlex wants to alleviate students’ worries and concerns by supporting students academically as it is crucial for students to build a strong and stable foundation in the Chinese language. That way, students will be able to ace the examination and value-add to their academic learning with a proficiency in another language apart from English.

MindFlex’s Top O Level Chinese Tutors place high emphasis on the importance of holistic education with real-life application. With the Best O Level Chinese Tuition in Singapore covered by MindFlex, Secondary school students can be assured that they will gain genuine interest in the language while building on their current foundation and language skills in Chinese.

Taking Your O Level Chinese Examinations? Kickstart your Chinese Language education journey with a reputable Tuition Agency such as MindFlex today!