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For the PSLE English examination, there are 4 papers in total – Paper 1 (Writing), Paper 2 (Language Use and Comprehension), Paper 3 (Listening Comprehension), and Paper 4 (Oral Communication). Listening comprehension is where there are 20 multiple-choice questions for students to answer after listening to a recording of a text, and it contributes to 10% of the total English grade.
How To Prepare For PSLE Listening Comprehension
Clearly, acing your listening comprehension examination will give you a much higher chance of attaining that desired AL1 grade for English. However, some may find it difficult to do well for their listening comprehension due to poor listening skills or simply because they are too nervous or have short attention span. If you find yourself facing such difficulties, here are some tips that may help you:
1) Pay attention to the listening text
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is important that you give the listening text your undivided attention. This means no fidgeting, no looking around the room, and definitely no daydreaming! Try your best to focus on what is being said and make sure you understand every word. If you miss anything, it will be very difficult to answer the questions correctly.
A good way is to develop your listening skills way before your final major examination. For example, you can listen to the radio or watch English news programmes with subtitles on. This will help you get used to listening to English and also improve your listening comprehension skills. Even at home or in school, you can engage in conversations with your parents, teachers and even classmates. An effective conversation is when one party expresses his opinions, the other party listens and responds to his ideas. This is how you can build up your listening comprehension skills – by listening and responding to what is being said.
2) Take note of keywords and phrases
As you listen to the text, take note of any keywords or phrases that may be important for answering the questions. These could be names, dates, numbers, or even places. By jotting these down, you will be able to go back and listen to the parts of the text that you may have missed.
For example, if the question asks you about the speaker’s opinion on a certain topic, make sure you listen out for words such as “agree”, “disagree”, “suggest”, etc. By doing so, it will be easier for you to identify the answer choice that best suits the question.
3) Try to read the questions and predict the answers before listening
Before you start listening to the text, take a look at the questions and try to predict what the answers might be. This will help you to focus on listening out for information that is relevant to the questions. Even if your predictions are wrong, it is still a good exercise to get your brain working!
4) Listen out for clues in the questions
The questions themselves can sometimes provide clues as to what the right answer might be. For example, if a question asks you about something that happened “yesterday”, then you can be pretty sure that the answer will be found somewhere in the listening text. Paying attention to such clues will help you to zero in on the relevant parts of the text.
5) Practice, practice, practice!
As with everything else, listening comprehension gets easier with practice. The more you do it, the better you will become at it. There are many listening comprehension texts and exercises available online, so make use of them! You can also try listening to English news or podcasts to improve your listening skills.
6) Manage your stress levels
Another important thing to remember during examinations is to manage your stress levels. While a certain amount of stress is necessary to keep you motivated and focused, too much of it will only serve to hinder your performance. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the examination, take a few deep breaths and try to relax. Remember that you have prepared for this and that you can do it.
One way to manage your stress levels is to have a study plan and stick to it. By knowing what you need to do and when you need to do it, you will feel more in control of the situation and less stressed about the examination. Furthermore, make sure to take some time out for yourself to relax and de-stress. This can be in the form of reading, listening to music or even going for a walk.
Burnout is a serious problem that many students face, crippling them and stunting their potential moments before the major exams. To avoid this, portion your time well between study-time and rest-time. During your rest-time sessions, do anything that makes you feel energized and happy! Play a sport, hang out with friends, read a book, maybe even take a nap!
Time used for self-care is not time wasted at all!
By following these tips, we are confident that you will be able to do your best for the PSLE listening comprehension examination. Most importantly, you must have confidence in yourself and believe that you can do it!
If you are looking for English tuition in Singapore, look no further than Sophia Education!
At Sophia Education, we provide our students with concise notes and resources every lesson so that they can have a better understanding of the topic and practice more effectively. Our top tutors will guide the students step-by-step and help them to overcome their weaknesses quickly. Our resources are regularly updated to keep up with the new trend and our students are able to get regular practice whenever they come for their tuition for them to get familiar with the content and types of questions asked.
Our small class sizes allow us to provide personalised guidance, with all our students being able to receive customised lesson plans based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. This will significantly improve the students’ academic performance. Practice makes perfect, with our personalised guidance and concise notes, your child will have a much better understanding of the concepts and be able to score higher grades in their exams.
Contact us now or visit our website to find out more about our services and how we can help you or your child achieve better grades in PSLE English!
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