1 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre English Paper 2 Joelson Tang The PSLE English Paper 2 Examination tests a candidate on 2 main skills: Language Use and Comprehension.
This Paper comprise the following sections in the order:
1) Graphic Stimulus (a form of comprehension) (MCQ)
2) Grammar (MCQ)
3) Punctuation (MCQ)
4) Vocabulary (MCQ)
5) Vocabulary Cloze (MCQ)
6) Comprehension (MCQ)
7) Grammar Cloze (Open-ended)
8) Editing for Spelling and Grammar (Open-ended)
9) Comprehension Cloze (Open-ended)
10) Synthesis and Transformation (Open-ended)
11) Comprehension (Open-ended)
Sections 1 to 6 tally up to 15%, while sections 7 to 11 to 32.5%, in all, 47.5% of the PSLE English Examination! Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
2 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre At whichever primary level youre at, you should begin to prepare for the various sections in this paper. Just as Rome was not built in one day, a student cannot expect to do well for this paper without persistence.
I provide an analogy to a student learning English. Think of the yourself training to becoming a formidable athlete, fit for competitions. Assume that you need foundational skills involving strength and speed. In general, the stages below will follow (words in italics will show the comparisons to learning):
1) Create a vision How much strength and speed would I want? How proficient do I want to see myself in reading and comprehending, writing and speaking?
2) Train daily and persistently It is impossible to lift heavy weights and run at pace within a short time period, but improvement can be seen over time. Note down words you are unfamiliar with its meaning.
3) Rework on weak skills Work on muscles which have become flabby! Forgetting words you have learnt is part of human nature. Furthermore, there may be other meanings to words learnt, if not, meanings of words may become better appreciated. Therefore, LEARN, RELEARN and UNLEARN!
4) Participate often in tournaments Competition requires the combination of several abilities, including the element of psychology. Practice challenging papers often with an objective attitude. Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
3 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre Lets now shall have a look at our training sessions (how we shall prepare for this paper)!
GRAMMAR Grammarians (experts in grammar) have observed that English is a moving language. This means that some sentence structures which might not have been accepted in the past have now become acceptable. On top of that there are many rules with many exceptions to the rules. Being EXAM-ORIENTED, however, I recommend a pragmatic approach: 1) GO BY THE EAR you get it right most of the time! 2) Communicate in proper English daily (if youre weak)
VOCABULARY Let me reiterate the importance Vocabulary power, which is the principal aspect the youd need to focus on. From here, Ill reveal the secret of learning how to learn words unfamiliar (new) to you! So many sections require knowing new words.
It is no easy feat, but I believe that if one is motivated, it is possible to increase ones vocabulary size exponentially.
Before you read further, you may choose to assess your present knowledge of Vocabulary. Several good websites for doing so exist (using Google), but I recommend the following:
www.freerice.com The higher the level you could reach, the greater the size of your vocabulary! Every correct answer would mean 10 grains of rice donated. So youd be doing a good deed in addition to having fun! Let me provide you a preview on the next page Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
4 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre Instructions on using FreeRice 2.0: 1. You may want to select sign up and link your account to your Facebook account, to monitor your overall statistics.
2. Click on the synonym, among the 4 options, to the word in bold select the closest word.
3. Answering 3 questions correct consecutively takes you to the next level. The higher the level, the greater the difficulty experienced (this means that progressively fewer persons would know the meaning of that word). In all, there are 60 levels. After testing yourself, take note of your best level.
4. Answering a question wrongly causes you to regress to a lower level. The correct answer would appear above.
Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
5 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre In my opinion, FreeRice 2.0 is useful as an assessment tool, but NOT as a tool to increase your size of Vocabulary.
If you want to learn new words, you could do so only through reading texts that contain new words. Consistent with my EXAM-ORIENTED approach, I strongly advocate prudent use of time and effort: you only have a transient 24 hours a day. Therefore, select your choice of reading materials wisely!
The following materials are a waste of time reading during school term: Comics, Fairy-tale Story-books, Sports News, Entertainment News Magazines, Internet Discussion Forums, Advertisements for Commercial Products, Scholarly works etc. Cut down time spent on them!!!
Instead, the focus on the following categories of materials: The Straits Times, IN and Little Red Dot She [Madam Kamalnoorzaman Osman, a Primary 6 English teacher at East View Primary] mines ST to teach vocabulary and narratives. 'The topics are varied, which helps them learn a lot of things from one source, she said. - The Straits Times
International News Magazines (Readers Digest, Times, Newsweek etc.) and Bulletins
Novels and Short Stories (For example, those authored by Catherine Lim, Goh Sin Tub, Chicken Soup for the Soul etc.)
Biographies and Commentaries
Model Compositions (those with elegant words and phrases) Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
6 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre To increase your Vocab level, I advise you to adopt my rigorous vocabulary Gym Training method, which I employed with much success as a student.
If this is your first time collecting words, use a fresh exercise/note book. Title the cover page: VOCABULARY GYM. Then, do the following steps in the order:
1) Choose a suitable article Find material with content having many new words and phrases by giving a quick glace to a text.
2) Read the text If a text is very long, stop at a certain line, and proceed to the next step. Then, repeat this cycle for the rest of it. Note: Focus on increasing your vocab, instead of trying to comprehend texts.
3) Mark new words [Ignore technical terms] (Optional) Tick/underline/asterisk(*) new words. If you are not allowed to make any markings, proceed to the next step.
4) Record the new words in the gym Leave about 4 lines in between new words.
5) Write the meanings (using a dictionary/thesaurus) Refer to sections on Dictionary and Thesaurus in Creative Writing for advice on choosing the right dictionary.
6) Write quality sentences Using your imagination, think of a suitable situation each new word could be used this reinforces your memory. Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
7 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre The steps you just read of is illustrated below
(My Paper, Jan 21 2011, A20)
I have chosen the above article for our example (Step 1).
I read the text fairly attentively, not concerned about understanding it fully (Step 2).
Lets suppose that the words in bold are new words that are marked (Step 3). [I ignore technical terms like Funk]
Steps 4, 5 and 6 will be illustrated on the next page Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
8 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre Flipping open my VOCABULARY GYM, Id do these: ____________________________________________ elated very happy and excited; jubilant; gleeful_____ I was utterly elated after successfully completing that_ strenuous marathon. ______ __________________________________________ crop a collection of things; accumulation; abundance I cannot resist showing her the latest crop of ______ photographs I snapped while touring Europe._________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ avenue a means of access; a method; a possibility____ Doing well for my PSLE enhances the avenues I would__ have in entering a value-added secondary school.______ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ hangout a place frequented for entertainment;______ rendezvous; favourite haunt_____________________ The gaming arcades and pool salons have developed a___ notorious reputation for being a hangout for youth____ gangs._____________________________________ __________________________________________
How I founded this training method As a student, my English teacher required my classmates and I to submit a weekly homework of 7 new words learnt with its meaning. These words were based on an article stapled to a piece of foolscap paper. I soon found that this approach was inadequate as I was striving to achieve distinctions in my English examinations. Hence, I developed this book, which became my constant COMPANION, and I used it daily during any free moment. Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
9 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre How to use the VOCABULARY GYM effectively During any free time, for example, when riding on the bus or the train, or even waiting for a teacher to come, I would re-read the new words. Thereafter, I would test myself to recall the meanings of about 5-6 new words. Soon, they were not new!
Everyday, even when I encountered a word on the street which was new to me, I would record it straightaway, then follow the steps as described previously. On average, I could readily amass a quantity of about 20-30 words a day! I believe that in no time, I knew the meanings of new words that were new even to my teachers! Besides that, spelling became effortless!
At this point, Id like you to ask yourself What am I doing all this for?? Is it because my teacher asked me to do so? Or because my parents forced me to study?
Mind you, but Vocabulary gym training sessions are NOT for the faint-hearted!
Hence, if you are able to tell yourself, I am training hard so that I could become a formidable athlete in my examinations, congratulations! You are on the right track to success!
But remember, be patient! Do not expect yourself to achieve instant success. You need patience before you will see good results in English exams.
Youll need to have a good ability to retrieve from memory what you have learnt. If you cant remember the meaning of a new word, as well as its usage, look at it again, and again! it would be hard work gone down the drain if you cant recall! Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
10 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre A useful role model to follow That was all about how you should prepare for the important English Paper 2! Id like to end with sharing about the training method and mentality of this prolific chess player.
Below is a picture of Dr Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995), who won most of his world championship matches:
Botvinnik in full concentration during a game a true professional Also an electrical engineer by training, Soviet grandmaster Botvinnik is best known for establishing the Scientific method for preparing for competitions, which was ignorant to other masters during his early years as a professional. Subsequent prominent Soviet masters also benefited much from Botvinnik, whom they regard as their Patriarch. A current chess professional remarks: Botvinniks chess career was the way of a genius, even though he was not a genius. In the context of developing proficiency in the English language, the example of Botvinnik shows that it is possible for a person of average calibre to excel in his/her examinations.
Botvinniks Method Playing training games against strong masters Keeping a note book of chess openings Preference for technique over tactics: knowing the first 20-30 moves deep of an opening, not enterprising moves Vocabulary Gym Training Revising new words as often as possible Keeping the VOCABULARY GYM beside you if you can Diligently accumulating as many words as possible; as opposed to a whiz kid, who becomes boastful being able to use a few big words. Mainspring Learning Centre www.mainspring.com.sg
11 Copyright. Mainspring Learning Centre Useful Resources and References Bryne, R. (1995, May 7). An Imaginative Tactician Who Was at Ease in Complexity. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7DD173 BF934A35756C0A963958260
Cornog, M. W. (1994). Merriam-Websters Vocabulary Builder. Philippines: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.
FreeRice 2.0. Retrieved from http://www.freerice.com
Funk, W. & Lewis, N. (1970). 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary (Revised Edition). New York: Pocket Books.
Nathan, M. (2008, Sep 21). Improve English? Read ST, say students. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story200809 19-88828.html
Kasman, A. (2011, Jan 21). Visit this online hangout for youth. My Paper.
Kramnik, V. (2005). Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov. Retrieved from http://www.kramnik.com/eng/interviews/getinterview.aspx?id=6 1