PSLE Oral Examinations: Maximising Your Preparation Time

The invigilator points to a chair with a sheet of paper in a A4-sized plastic clear holder.

“Ready? You have 5 minutes to prepare,” the invigilator mentions matter-of-factly as she starts her stopwatch.

We have put together the following 5-minute oral exam preparation timetable.

Reading (1-2 minutes) - Stresses

Candidates need to read through the passage, usually written in 2-3 short paragraphs, to have an idea of the general theme. Popular themes include:

• friendship
• healthy lifestyle choices
• deciding whether to participate in an activity

Make a mental note to pause for 1-2 seconds at each full stop.

General Rules of Stress Based on Context

Rule 1: Compound Nouns e.g. CLASSroom

• WHITEboard
  clean the whiteboard
• HAIRstyle
  an interesting hairstyle

Rule 2: Noun-noun Combos e.g. NAIL polish

• BUS stop
  the bus stop is always crowded
• TOOTHpaste
  don’t forget to buy a tube of toothpaste

Rule 3: Reflexive Pronouns e.g. itSELF

• herSELF
  she brought this upon herself
• ourSELVES
  completed the painting ourselves

Rule 4: Verbs with a prefix e.g. withHOLD

• outLAST
  outlasts his fellow competitors
• overSEE
  oversee the project

Rule 5: Phrasal Verbs e.g. put ON

• take OFF
  the plane failed to take off
• put THROUGH
  they put me through a lot of trouble

Rule 6: Compound Adverbs indicating location or direction e.g. downSTAIRS

• southWEST
  lies in the southwest
• upSTAIRS
  they are upstairs

Stimulus-based Conversation (2-4 minutes)

The stimulus can be the text on the packaging of a food item and this is likely to lead to the general topic of healthy food choices. At this point, the candidate should have performed a mental association of the reading text and the stimulus. This will allow the candidate to better anticipate the likely general topics that might be tested.

It is important to remember that the first question is always directly linked to the stimulus itself. What this means for the candidate is that you can and should prepare well for the first question!

STEP 1: Tri-Angle Approach to the First Question

You will likely need to do one or more of the following for the first question.

• Explain why a particular text is shown in the stimulus.

  E.g. The candidate provides reasons to support the inclusion of the text “High Calcium to Strengthen Bones and Teeth” on the packaging of a brand of milk.

• Select a particular text and explain your selection.

  E.g. The candidate chooses the feature “Lowest Electrical Consumption” of an advertised electrical oven and explains why that particular feature is the most important among the other features.

• Indicate whether you will respond positively to the stimulus and support your answer with a direct link to the details provided in the stimulus.

  E.g. The candidate indicates that he will attend a musical performance that is advertised on the brochure and chooses 1-2 details stated in the brochure that have greatly influenced his decision.

STEP 2: Multi-Platform Approach to the Second Question

The second question almost always requires the candidate to relate a personal experience that is related to the general theme present in the reading passage and the stimulus.

At this point, the candidate should have a better idea of the general theme and should try to bring to mind any newspaper articles, conversations, or even relevant experiences of friends or people they know that will contribute to providing different perspectives on this question.

E.g. If the general theme is on making healthy choices, the candidate can try to recall personal shopping experiences and how they make healthy food choices at the supermarket. The candidate should also try to recall any positive newspaper articles on healthy living, recommended diets and negative articles that talk on the myths and facts of food labels and shopping habits.

STEP 3: Multi-Perspective Approach to the Third Question

The third question will require the candidate to evaluate a teacher-provided statement or question that is related to the general theme. The question usually focuses on questions at the national level or one that concerns a larger population and not just the candidate themselves.

E.g. Why do you think it is important for schools to encourage children to have a healthy diet? Have your school organized any activity that stresses on the importance of a healthy diet? Tell me about it.

Here are some steps that the candidate can take to address the final question.

• Agree.

  Provide supporting details from the reading passage, stimulus and personal opinion. Candidate elaborate by providing potential consequences and benefits of the school’s activity.

• Disagree.

  The candidate can focus on 1-2 factors and provide a negative perspective on it. E.g. On the other hand, I think some parents might not be supportive of such activities as they might think that healthy food tends to come in smaller portions and that is insufficient for their children.

• Conclusion.

  Provide a summary of all positive and negative points. It is important though to have a stand at the end of this segment.

All the best!

Have a good start to your Oral Examinations!