Singapore’s three most common languages are Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. Of course, English is also widely spoken there.
It’s more complex to pass the PSLE for Chinese than you might believe, and millions of students face pressure every year to do well on the listening comprehension portion of this exam. Any language must include the development of listening skills, and Chinese is no exception.
Fortunately, several tried-and-true strategies will improve your child’s performance and enable them to achieve high points in this test segment.
Let’s find out what you need to do to increase your child’s chances of passing this exam with flying colors now, without further ado.
1. The Secret is Daily Exposure!
The process of learning a language is similar to dieting. You will achieve far more excellent results if you are consistent and make everyday efforts.
Daily exposure to Chinese speech will aid the child with listening skills, vocabulary expansion, and pronunciation training.
And doing it couldn’t be any simpler! Nowadays, everyone owns a smartphone with internet access, including 10-year-olds, and there are more funny Chinese children’s shows online than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
Cartoons on the sofa won’t help your youngster study for any other parts of the exam, but YouTube is a godsend for improving listening abilities.
2. Watching Videos With Subtitles On.
The youngster should ideally be able to view the video without needing to read the subtitles, but if they frequently mishear the words, it is preferable to turn them on at least initially. Subtitles aid the ability to read and listen better.
This article regarding Mastery of Your Language through Subtitles shows how simple it can be to progress.
3. Audiobooks.
Numerous well-known children’s books are available for cheap download through websites and applications that offer audiobooks in practically every language (and some classic books might even be free!)
Your youngster will become more adept at listening and conversing with well-known literature. Two birds with one stone!
4. Improving Your Vocabulary.
Every language’s foundation is its vocabulary. Some students can get picky when learning new terms, especially when synonyms are involved. They believe they may bypass learning the words that “mean the same thing” since they already know the word that indicates a particular thing or notion.
The fact is, no two words ever genuinely signify the same thing. Even though one of the meanings of two words is the same, they will imply something different or have a distinct connotation in various contexts. Therefore, keep the youngster from being lazy and instruct them to learn all new words they come across, even if they initially appear to be identical to those they already know.
One of the helpful resources for teaching new vocabulary is flashcards. Ones can be purchased already made, produced by hand, or even created virtually (I’m sure there is an app for that; there is one for everything now).
At HaoChinese Programmes, we also provide lessons on vocabulary which will help to boost your child’s confidence with the Chinese language itself.
5. Recognizing Several Forms of Inquiries.
Every listening comprehension test uses a variety of different question types. The combination of question types ensures that the child’s listening comprehension is examined from all angles. The queries may be factual, inferential, or require the youngster to summarise information.
As the name implies, factual questions require the student to point out a fact from the reading material. Using what they have heard, the kid is asked inferential questions requiring them to deduct, infer, and draw logical inferences. The students will be required to identify the critical points in the passage read aloud to answer the summary questions.
It would help if you took online practice exams from prior years to understand these questions better.
6. Put it in Writing.
Of course, the listening portion of the test requires the student to record the material they have heard.
Another area where using test results from prior years can be helpful. Alternatively, you can quiz the child on a video they just watched and instruct them to record their answers.
7. Speak Mandarin at Home.
There always needs to be more practice. Why not speak Chinese at home if you have the opportunity to? The child will get better speaking and listening abilities and might even learn new words they didn’t know previously.
If you speak to your child in Chinese regularly, they will internalise the language faster, and Chinese language patterns will come naturally to them. Some language skills, like linking words, require constant repetition.
It is also advantageous to speak Chinese at home because the discussion is always appropriate. The kid is assisted in connecting the lexical units to situations, things, locations, etc., in the real world by the context, body language, tone, and props (the things, places, or people you are speaking about). As a result, they pick up the language on a more subtle level.
8. Every Kid is Unique in Their Own Way.
Since every child is unique, you must test various approaches to see which works best for your child. Pay closer attention to the areas where your child has difficulties, and keep the value of praise in mind. Youngsters are more likely to put more effort into self-improvement if they receive credit for their accomplishments because motivation is essential while learning anything, especially a language.
Generally, getting good marks on the Chinese listening comprehension test is relatively easy. Consistency is vital; performing several exercises twice a week won’t help you in this situation. Daily exposure will have far better results, even if only for 20 minutes each day.
Additionally, you have a dependable ally in the form of online resources. Please feel free to use them as they are free. Alternatively, you might hire a qualified Chinese instructor to assist your youngster. HaoChinese is the best solution to your problems. We also assist your child in many other aspects other than Chinese listening comprehension. Choosing us will be the best choice! Book your Enrollment now with us!
