http://LeoMagan.com Our speech language therapist presents several tips to help primary school students to be more successful in their oral English examinations, especially for the upper primary students.
The biggest change in the oral examination format is the picture discussion section which had been replaced by graphic stimulus. Graphic stimulus is something visual which could be in the form of a poster, a flyer about an exhibition or an advertisement.
It is something with pictures, visual information and words for the child to read. Subsequently, the examiner will ask questions and have a conversation with the child such as 'what do you think...?' For example, if the poster is about pets, the examiner may ask the child about his or her pet.
The number one thing for the child to remember is to listen to the examiner. For example, if a child wanted a transformer toy, it does not matter if there is another toy like a Barbie doll that is very nice, fancy and expensive because the child does not want it.
This is similar for the child to listen to the examiner as it does not matter big the child's vocabulary is, how long his or her sentences are, or how articulate the child can be.
If the child gives an answer that does not correspond to the question, the examiner does not want to know. This is very important, thus it is number one that the child should remember to listen to the question and respond.
Number two is a useful tip for the child to try and use words from the question. For example, the examiner is asking 'what are the advantages and the disadvantages...?', the child may want to use the same words so that it helps them to remember to answer according to the question.
The third tip is for the child to remember to use complete sentences. Sometimes, some children may be the type that only give one word answers such as 'Yes' or 'No'. They will need to learn to use more of longer and interesting sentences to convey their ideas.
There are also some children who are completely opposite. They are the type that when they hear something, they go on and they start to have 'rambling' sentences such that one sentence leads to another sentence with no full stop. It is easy for them to get carried away and talk about something else which is not related to the question.
The three main tips are 1) listen to the question, 2) try to use words from the question, 3) use complete grammatical sentences.
Now that parents are more aware of what is the format of the exam, it is good for them to start by modeling and showing the child how to talk about similar graphic stimulus such as flyers or notices on notice board downstairs. It is good to show the child how you can make comments about it.
Essentially, the exam format is about how the child is able to read something, show that they understand the information and are able to express their opinion about it, these are what parents can model.
Parents can show the child a range of ideas, not just one for certain things. For example, 'I think this is a good idea, but some other people may not think that it is a good idea', to give the child some idea of the range of words and opinions they may like to express.
Parents can also think of words we frequently use in questions, such as 'benefits', 'advantages' or 'disadvantages'. If the child does not even understand the meaning of these words, it is going to be hard for them to respond to the question.
Using a range of words is also encouraged, for example 'how often do you have or family activity' or 'how often...', you will need certain words to answer to such question. The child can use words like 'very often', 'everyday', 'not very often', 'once in awhile', 'sometimes' and 'occasionally'.
There are certain kind of words that go with certain kind of questions. The more you take the opportunity to discuss this kind of situations as they come up, the more often the child gets to hear them.
It is better to do it in a casual or positive way rather than making it like a drill or interrogations, bombarding the child with questions. These are the things that parents can do.
Visit our blog: http://LeoMagan.com/Blog/ to find out what we do and how you can engage our therapist in helping your child to learn.
Have fun and bond with your child in this learning process.
Do you like this video? Tell us about your experience and share what else you would like to know.
