If you've been following along—thank you! I'm slowly trying to revive this blog whenever I find a pocket of time, mostly to document memories. For today’s post, I wanted to share some of the ways I've been helping Vera revise her Chinese, especially for her Oral exams.
As many would agree, learning a second language in an English-speaking environment—both at home and in school—can be quite a challenge. English is our first language, after all.
Mother Tongue is a subject that many students in Singapore struggle with, and even we parents often find it difficult to teach, revise, and reinforce at home. In the blink of an eye, Vera is now preparing for her first national exam. Yes, I’m silently screaming and secretly hoping she could skip it altogether.
For those who’ve been with us for a while, you may know that Vera was diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder by her speech therapist. She’s been struggling to pass her subjects over the past five years. Still, she’s not the weakest—she’s in the 30–40 point range. For kids like her, learning just takes more time. They need extra space to understand and internalize what’s being taught.
But they'll get there. It may be a longer and slower journey, and that’s perfectly okay. Every child grows and blooms at their own pace. What they truly need is patience, understanding, and a reminder that struggling in academics doesn’t mean they’re lazy or incapable. They have their own unique strengths—we just need to help them shine.
So, I felt it was important to write down the methods I’ve found helpful while revising Chinese Oral with Vera. Hopefully, this can help another parent out there navigating the same path.
Here’s how we approach Chinese Oral revision at home:
First round: I begin by reading the passage to Vera.
As I read, she notes down the Hanyu Pinyin for any characters she doesn’t recognize or can’t pronounce. She also writes down the English meanings. My point to her is simple: You need to be able to recognize the characters in order to read them, and you need to understand what you're reading for it to make sense.
Second round: I read the passage aloud again, but this time, Vera repeats after me—sentence by sentence. This helps her get used to the rhythm, tone, and flow of the language.
Subsequent rounds (usually three more): Vera reads the passage herself. At first, she uses the Hanyu Pinyin as support, but I gradually wean her off it to avoid over-reliance. This helps build her confidence and fluency.
One helpful tip we’ve incorporated: Vera records herself reading. She then replays the recording to listen for fluency, clarity, and areas that need improvement. This self-feedback loop has made a big difference in her progress.
We aim for at least five practice rounds per passage—something I picked up from Xav’s Chinese tutor during his primary school days.
I’ve been trying to make revision less boring by using Mandopop songs whenever we come across words that appear in their lyrics. After all, that’s how I learned my Mother Tongue—by listening to Chinese songs from my favourite singers and copying down the lyrics. It worked for me, so I’m hopeful it might work for her too—and maybe even for your kids, if you’d like to give it a try!
I’ll be adding to this list as I come across more songs that I find meaningful and educational:
1. 擦干泪第 by 陈毓芸
2. 火柴天堂 by 熊天平
3. 红蜻蜓 by 小虎队
4. 祝你一路顺风 by 吴奇隆
Next, there’s a book I highly recommend—not just any book, but an Oral Sound Book created by Word_Wave_sg , a local educator and aligned with the MOE syllabus. It’s suitable for all Primary School levels and is packed with useful content for Chinese Oral preparation, including possible topics, model answers, and vocabulary lists.
What makes it even more special is that it can read aloud at two selectable speeds, with adjustable volume—perfect for different learning needs!
I’ve shared a detailed review, so feel free to check it out. You can cart it out from Shopee, and don’t forget to drop “Word_Wave_sg” after your purchase—a complimentary Zoom session can be arranged to guide parents on how to make the most of this resource.
Another useful tool worth considering is the Youdao Dictionary Pen 3 <<< Click here to listen to Xavier where he shared his user experience. If you’re working and can’t always be by your child’s side during revision, this is a pretty solid investment. Xav started using it in Primary 5 or 6 and continued all the way through Year 4. Now, Vera has taken over and is finding it just as helpful. It’s user-friendly and comes with a one-year local warranty, which covers servicing if needed—great for peace of mind! Look out for Shopee monthly sale to see if there is any discount.
Your child should have an E-zhishi login account provided by the school. I found it especially useful when the audio files from our assessment book got corrupted—I turned to the e-listening exercises on the platform instead. It’s a solid resource, especially if you can encourage your child to complete at least 10 questions daily, as advised by Vera’s Mother Tongue teacher. Consistency really makes a difference.
Word recognition can be made more engaging with
word search puzzles! There’s a handy
website where you simply input your list of Chinese characters, click “generate,” and a puzzle is created within seconds. It’s my go-to whenever I want to make tingxie revision a little more fun and interactive for the kids. Print it out, placed into a plastic folder and use the markers over it so that you can reuse the paper for that activity.
I’ll stop here for now and will update again when I have more ideas to share. If you have any tips or resources that have worked well for you, feel free to drop me an email—I’d love to hear from you and will be happy to give you credit!
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