English Language in Secondary School

How to Excel in English Language in Secondary School?

You have been worried about your teenager’s English results and may have wondered… “Gosh! The questions asked in the English paper are so different from before. I don’t know how to help!”

“My child doesn’t like to read nor does he have the time to. I don’t know how he can improve his writing.”

“My child used to score an A* for English in Primary school. Why can’t she do the same in Secondary school?”

Here are the MAIN REASONS why your child is not performing in his/her English tests and examination…

• Increased difficulty level in reading passages that deals with more mature topics and current issues.
• Increased demands from Secondary syllabus
• Ill-equipped with essential language skills to tackle the new ‘O’ level English Language Syllabus introduced in 2013.

So what are the KEY DIFFERENCE in the GCE ‘O’ Level English Language Syllabus now?

You may ask.

Here’s the difference…

A. New Testing Items:

1. Editing passage (10 marks)

Out of the 10 lines in a passage, students are to (i) identify and correct 8 mistakes, and (ii) identify 2 lines with no mistakes.

2. Listening Comprehension (30 marks)

Apart from MCQ items, students are expected to take notes on what they hear.

3. Visual Text Comprehension (5 marks)

Open-ended questions that require students to infer target audience, purpose and effectiveness of the given visual text.

B. Additional Question Types

1. Use of Language for Impact

Here’s a few sample questions:

‘What is effective about the writer’s use of the underlined words in the quotation?’

‘What is unusual yet effective about this phrase ‘open secret’?

‘What is the intended effect does the simile ‘like dragon’s breath in the morning air’ have on the reader?’

2. Vocabulary in Context

Questions that test student’s ability to interpret figurative language or ‘read between the lines’ in order to conclude a feeling, a mood, an action, or motive.

3. Writing Exposition

Out of 5 essay questions to choose from, only ONE personal recount question is given. The rest are expositions ie. Descriptive, Reflective, Discursive and Argumentative Essays.

What do these all mean?

In a nutshell, your teenager needs to…

• Read BOTH novels and news articles about current issues regularly in order to build proficiency in English;
• Be able to form and organise their own opinions on issues and express them coherently
  orally and in writing;
• Learn the key techniques in answering the new and added question types.

WANT YOUR TEENAGER TO BE EQUIPPED AND READY FOR THE ‘O’ LEVEL ENGLISH EXAMINATION?

HERE’S HOW WE CAN HELP AT KNOWLEDGE TRAIL:

Having taught Secondary students for more than a decade, we understand the challenges and frustrations students face in Secondary school. Hence, KTLC Secondary English Tuition Program is designed to help students overcome those challenges and excel in the subject.

To ensure that our students …

• Improve comprehension of visual text and reading passages
• Are able to answer comprehension questions correctly
• Communicate ideas and opinions in writing and speech more effectively, we have put in place the following features in our Secondary English Tuition Program
• Teaching of Effective Reading Comprehension Skills and Techniques for different text types
• Teaching of Question Identification Techniques in comprehension
• Regular Weekly Readers with questions to guide in thinking and response
• Process approach to Essay writing that will provide detailed and targeted feedback to help students improve in their writing.
• Weekly Brainteasers that provide bite-size grammar and vocabulary exercises.

Your Teenager Will Experience The Difference In The Way You Read For Understanding And Improve Your Style Of Writing Within 10 Lessons!

At Knowledge Trail, You Can Be Assured Of Quality Results!