5 Tips To Ace Mother Tongue Oral Exam In Secondary School

Let’s be honest: a second language, or mother tongue (MT), is not usually at the forefront of students’ minds.

A 2016 Straits Times article reported that English is the language most commonly spoken at home. In addition, most other subjects in school are taught in English, therefore reducing students’ exposure to and proficiency in their mother tongue.

A particular concern is the spoken, or oral, component of the mother tongue syllabus. Higher mother tongue (HMT) students usually sit for their oral examinations at the end of Secondary Three, while those without HMT take it in May of their ‘O’ Level year. Generally, the test format comprises a short reading passage, a one-minute video, and some follow up questions about the video, in which examiners will converse with students.

If you’re worried about your upcoming mother tongue oral examinations, fret not. There’s still time to prepare, especially with our tips and tricks to acing your oral examinations. Read on for some common past-year oral topics as well!

1. Watch the news

One great way to quickly boost your familiarity with your mother tongue language is to watch news broadcasts.

Newsreaders speak in a clear and concise way, allowing you to easily understand what they are saying. The accompanying captions can help familiarise you with the pronunciation of difficult words that might appear in the reading passages, or even provide you with some handy new vocabulary you can use for the video component.

Daily news reports often discuss important social and political issues that could be tested, making it a great way to squeeze in extra revision on a regular basis. The footage and images that appear in the broadcasts could give you extra examples to talk about in the video component.

News reports are available online or on television. They are broadcasted in Chinese on Channel 8, in Malay on Suria, and in Tamil on Vasantham.

2. Read more

This might be easier said than done, but frequently reading can help boost your fluency and comprehension of your mother tongue.

Most schools give out weekly copies of newspapers in other languages, or have them available at the school library. When reading newspapers, focus more on community affairs or the lifestyle section instead of worrying about more difficult sections, such as finance or business. The former are more likely to be relevant to the mother tongue syllabus.

You can borrow books from the school library or your neighbourhood library. Novels that are not too thick and accompanied with a few illustrations are good places to start your reading journey. This won’t just help with your oral exam, but can also prepare you for the written papers coming up soon after.

3. Practice speaking with other people

Weaving your mother tongue into your day-to-day conversations is sure to help you feel more confident while speaking, allowing the words to flow more naturally. You’ll also get to pick up commonly used terms that you may not have known otherwise without frequent exposure to the language.

During your mother tongue classes, try to drop the habit of instinctively speaking English with your friends. All of you can practice together by speaking only in your mother tongue language for the duration of the class.

At home, your parents or guardians will likely be more than willing to converse with you in your mother tongue language as well. They can even help you with more difficult terms and correct you if you make grammatical errors.

4. Listen to music or watch shows

Most of us probably spend a lot of time on Netflix, YouTube or Spotify. What if you could also use this time to indirectly revise for your mother tongue examinations?

Similar to watching the news, listening to music or watching shows in your mother tongue can help you become more familiar with the pronunciation of words and the tone that native speakers use. This subconsciously helps you become more confident in your own listening and speaking skills.

5. Make mind maps of different topics

Lastly, you can consolidate all the information that you’ve picked up by making mind maps of the various topics that could be tested in the video component.

Each big topic, such as education, can be branched out into smaller subtopics, such as CCA, holistic education, et cetera. Within these subtopics, write down useful keywords that you can use while explaining the subtopics. Eventually, you’ll be able to memorise the topics and practice answering questions on your own to build your fluency before the examination.

You can find sample questions from past years’ oral examinations inside the Ten Year Series (TYS) books for your mother tongue curriculum.

Read on for a list of five common topics that could be tested!

Common Topics to Revise

Sports, co-curricular activities (CCA), outdoor adventure camps

Common terminology:

Rock climbing, obstacle course, ziplining, leadership, team-building, camp/campsite, resilience, outdoor activities, Outward Bound Singapore (OBS), name of your CCA, names of some CCAs in your school, names of some common sports

Questions to think about:

1. What are some values or skills you have learnt through adventure camps or your CCA?
2. What are some challenges you have faced during these camps or in CCA?

 

Environment, COVID-19

Common terminology:

COVID-19, mask wearing, pandemic, saving the environment, electricity-saving appliances, water-saving appliances, picking up litter, civic-mindedness, social responsibility, reducing use of plastic, 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), climate change, global warming, carbon emissions

Questions to think about:

1. What steps are you taking to protect the environment?
2. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your daily life?

 

Transport

Common terminology: Peak hour, modes of transport (bus, train, taxi, walking, bicycle, Grab), train breakdowns, ez-link, gantry

Questions to think about:

1. What are some pros and cons of the various modes of transport?
2. How do you usually get to school?

 

Technology

Common terminology:

Smartphone, digital age, fake news, computer labs, apps, names of common apps that you use, mobile data, WiFi, working from home, e-learning, video calls

Questions to think about:

1. What are some pros and cons of the smartphone?
2. How do you use technology for learning?

 

Arts and Culture

Common terminology:

Museum/gallery, arts, culture, history, music, dance, orchestra, concerts, books/literature, appreciation of the arts, paintings, theatre, musical, arts education in schools (learning journeys, art classes, et cetera)

Questions to think about:

1. What are some experiences you have had with the arts?
2. Do you think society should place more emphasis on the arts? Why or why not?

 

Thus concludes our short guide on how you can ace your mother tongue oral examinations! All the best!

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