Sunday, August 20, 2017

Giveaway: Chinese eOracy HomeKit!

Chinese Oracy is one area that I cringe when it comes to exams and tests. Like most Singaporean children, I think that Dumpling is not as fluent as she should be when it comes to chatting in Mandarin. I have been more intentional lately when it comes to engaging her in conversations in Mandarin as she still has 病句. It is more about practice to build up the competency as well as right usage of words. 

So as a parent, how do we start and where do we start from? Especially since there’s been a change in the Oracy requirement for PSLE; where the format is now an e-format, using video clips and where the marks are now 25% of the total score

I then chanced upon a home kit – eTutor eOral Exam Pack by the creators of eZhiShi (and “newspapers” such as 新朋友which I believe many of the Primary school children are subscribing to). I decided to buy the set (retailing at $69) to try it out.  


:: What the pack consists of:
A Guide Book and a USB Drive

USB: 
In the USB, it consists of:
-          5 video conversations 
-          10 animation conversations 
-          15 read aloud 
The USB card also consists of e-oral procedure and simulation, oral prompts and reference answers. 

Guide Book:
The booklet is an e-oral guide which shares tips on scoring for the examinations. 

:: How it works
The USB drive comes in the form of a “card” where we need to insert it facing this way. 



Your laptop / PC should read the drive and there should be a pop up screen with folders inside. For most, you should be able to set it up by clicking “autorun”.  However, as I am not the administrator for the laptop which I used to try out this card, I had to then click on the “alt.drive” folder and then double click on the icon where it opened up this screen below:




After loading it, the page below should pop up:


The eOral pack, as seen above, has individual sections where you can work with your child directly on reading aloud, video conversations, etc. There is also a complete "end to end" mock experience (eOral Simulation) which leads from "read aloud" to "video conversation" seamlessly.

:: The main sections:

1) Read aloud
The format looks very similar to the www.ezhshi.net portal and in this USB, there are 15 read aloud passages.


Your child can then choose to read on his/her own or click on the "readaloud" button where a narrator will read it and as he/she does, the font colour changes, assisting the child to follow the "flow" better.


The great thing is that even if  you are not around as your child attempts it, you can get him/her to record the reading (red button) and you can review it later. In the event if there's any assistance needed, a quick click on the "question mark" will yield a "help guide" (below):

 

2) Conversation practice
There are 10 "scenes" used in this animated clips with different 生活单元 for discussions with your child.

Each conversation practice has 3 sections to the discussion (indicated by the numerals below) and like the other sections, this also allows your child to record his / her answers. Your child can also choose to read the text to the oral prompt given. 


Importantly, for some children who need more support as they are unsure of how to proceed, a sample "answer" is provided - both the text as well as someone narrating it. 

3) Video Conversations
Besides the 10 animated clips, this eOral pack also includes 5 video recording. I understand that more clips will be added after a quick call with the company :)


Like the animated clips, these also has 3 sections to the oral prompts. 

4) eOral Simulation 
Lastly, there is an eOral simulation which brings the child through an "end-to-end" Oral Examination experience - Reading aloud + the conversation after watching the video clip. 

You can view a sample of the video clip here as well as a simulation of the procedure at the same link.

:: What I like about it

Convenience & Content
Honestly, this is #1 reason because I believe many of us will have challenges being able to get our hands on the resources to be able to view any video / animated clips. To have this in a ready format brings convenience to a whole new level as it is basically a "plug and play" hit.

Additionally, I really like the content as it is based on authentic experiences (生活单元) where I believe that it is easily understandable and relatable to children.

Content flow
The flow is thought through properly and Dumpling was pretty much able to navigate through easily. While Dumpling may not be at the level of the suggested vocabulary (this goes up to P6), I thought that it is a good exposure for her.

Guide Book
Importantly, this set comes with a guide book where the questions and the suggested answers are printed in it.




This makes it easy for us as we have a hardcopy to readily refer to as it provides a "compilation" of the activities and model scripts in it. :) 

I am pleased to share that I have 3 x eOral Exam Pack (worth $69 each!) to give away! 



Terms and Conditions
  1. The products are kindly sponsored by E Com Education International Pte Ltd and the giveaway is not endorsed, or associated with Facebook.
  2. The products cannot be exchanged and are not exchangeable for cash
  3. Please answer this question in the comments section below: “What are you doing to encourage / support your child's Oracy skills at home?”
  4. Winners are to collect  (during office hours) from Monday to Friday at: 33 Ubi Ave 3, #03-23, Vertex Building, Singapore 408868

    GOOD LUCK! 
Disclaimer: My eOral Exam Pack was a personal purchase where I found it useful and collaborated with E Com Education on this giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely ours.

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Tuesday, August 15, 2017

REVIEW: Little Red Hood 小红帽

Little Red Riding Hood is certainly a familiar tale in many households being as well known as it is. But watching it in Mandarin and with some modern twists to the story? That’s certainly something of a different experience which the kiddo and I had a chance to preview, 2 weekends back!  

:: The story
The play starts with Little Red’s family running a cake business – 甜心蛋糕屋. Business was thriving and the family, happy. Little Red’s father would deliver cakes to “Grandma” from time to time until one day, Little Red’s father did not return after leaving one such afternoon and this is where the adventure unfolds…


Little Red was well played as the actress exuded the same sense curiosity and the bubbly personality I’d imagine the storybook character to have. Along the way, she met Wolf (好狼, who pretended to be kind) and later, Woodcutter. Like the story, Little Red unwittingly gave away Grandma’s address to the cunning wolf. However, unlike the original story, the woodcutter is a bit “Dory-like” (as Dumpling puts it) because he seems to have short term memory loss hence he brings along a HUGE journal which he documents people he met and experiences he had along the way as a reference point.


The play had many funny and interactive moments which had the audiences shouting away. The wolf, though sly, did not appear scary but instead, I found myself laughing at his antics (and his smooth dance moves I must add ~ just look at the photo below!)


The story becomes interesting as we see an unlikely hero in Woodcutter when he and Red pair up to save the day… So what happened to Grandma and who, exactly was the wolf?

:: What we like about the play
Compared with Nightingale, this Mandarin play I feel; is a lot more suitable for younger children. Perhaps it is because it is such a popular fairy that it is easily understood even with younger children. As the entire play is in Mandarin, it is a good way for children to grasp and be exposed to the language in a fun and interactive manner. The songs were quite catchy and the famous lines were also translated "smoothly" to Mandarin which had the children in the rows in front of me, repeating them. 


Idioms and "strong" vocabulary were used during the play (一落千丈、吃盐多过吃米), which I feel, for the older children such as Dumpling who is in Primary 3 this year would gave them a more in-depth perspective on how these 成语/好词好句 can be used in her descriptions and compositions. 

I got Dumpling to add on her thoughts in Chinese for this review too:

我觉得这部戏剧很有趣也很好笑。老狼这个角色扮演得很真实。这个故事教了我们应该听父母的话,不应该和陌生人谈天也不要太容易相信他们。”

Keen to catch the play and introduce Mandarin to your children in a fun way? Here's the event details:

Event Date
Thu, 20 Jul - Fri, 1 Sep 2017
Weekdays: 10am
Weekend & Public Holiday: 11am & 2pm
 
Venue

You can purchase tickets here

Disclaimer: We were invited to watch the play by Singapore Repertory Theatre so that we can give our opinions on it. We are not compensated for the post. All opinions expressed are entirely ours.

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram