Studying Madarin in local Secondary Schools

[Sally1971]

Hi all, my son started learning Madarin 7 years back when he was 6 years old. We've changed a few tutors for him in the younger age and he took Chinese as his Mother Tongue as well in school(local school). His foundation was really weak compared to all his Chinese classmates, and he was losing interest as well. Fortunately we locked a good and professional mainlander as his tutor in Primary 3 and now he's much much better.
He's taking PSLE soon and he's getting A in prelims. I have one doubt here, is PSLE level of Chinese sufficient for him to converse and communicate with Chinese(be it local or in China).
According to his tutor, local Sec Sch offers a much more difficult syllabus than primary school and it focuses on exam rather than daily usage(application). As parents, we don't like our boy to struggle from getting As or Bs for something we initiated for him to learn. And his tutor did mentioned that many students choose to drop Chinese from their exam list in O levels.
Another concern is although his tutor tried very hard to teach him proper Chinese (in terms of accent and language usage), he was still (a bit here and there) influenced by his local Chinese friends. His English is not so bad as we speak English at home everyday, but Chinese is really an issue if we continue letting him to mix around in the Sindarin environment.
His tutor gave an alternative, he can teach my son HSK Chinese so that he's more familiar with the correct(proper) usage and accent.
Any suggestions?

[maneo]

Hi all, my son started learning Madarin 7 years back when he was 6 years old. We've changed a few tutors for him in the younger age and he took Chinese as his Mother Tongue as well in school(local school). His foundation was really weak compared to all his Chinese classmates, and he was losing interest as well. Fortunately we locked a good and professional mainlander as his tutor in Primary 3 and now he's much much better.
He's taking PSLE soon and he's getting A in prelims. I have one doubt here, is PSLE level of Chinese sufficient for him to converse and communicate with Chinese(be it local or in China).
According to his tutor, local Sec Sch offers a much more difficult syllabus than primary school and it focuses on exam rather than daily usage(application). As parents, we don't like our boy to struggle from getting As or Bs for something we initiated for him to learn. And his tutor did mentioned that many students choose to drop Chinese from their exam list in O levels.
Another concern is although his tutor tried very hard to teach him proper Chinese (in terms of accent and language usage), he was still (a bit here and there) influenced by his local Chinese friends. His English is not so bad as we speak English at home everyday, but Chinese is really an issue if we continue letting him to mix around in the Sindarin environment.
His tutor gave an alternative, he can teach my son HSK Chinese so that he's more familiar with the correct(proper) usage and accent.
Any suggestions?

It's good that a he has friends with whom he can practice & a tutor that can refine his speech.
Even if you are not learning Chinese yourself you can participate.
Instead of watching English TV shows in the evening, perhaps try watching some Chinese TV series together.
There have been some very interesting shows recently - Langya Bang, Bubu Jin Xin, etc.
Great way to learn some culture, too.

[daniel.mymca]

I recently hosted Chinese professionals and representatives from various part of China. Our Singapore spoken Chinese standard is better than Macau or Hong Kong. Our written usage and terminology is inferior.
I was the master of ceremony and it was hard.

What that is taught in our Singapore Chinese syllabus is less demanding than those in China or even Taiwan.

Some even comment that their primary 5 level is already at our secondary 4 level.

I am no expert in the language but in order to be good at any language, usage is key.
Langauge takes after the culture of the place, it is a living thing. Singapore mandarin is unique with malay and english mixed in. But it is not as bad as you think.

Most importantly your son needs to practice reading more.
For higher standard, read more; be it newspapers, classic novels or even popular novels.

[ElizT]

Hi all, my son started learning Madarin 7 years back when he was 6 years old. ...

Hi Sally, I agree with your tutor. (hope my reply is not too late)

I myself have 8 years of experience teaching Chinese in both local and International School, and I have been (and still ongoing) a guest lecturer at Hong Kong Education University with a double Master in Education. I hope you understand my answer is based on some ground of experience in the educational field.

As a mother myself, I totally understand you would rather your son be happy and learn something of practical use in future, than initiate him to continue to study the local Chinese syllabus while he is starting to lose interest.

So my answer in short:
HSK is one good option you can look into, another option is iGCSE Chinese.
Both are internationally recongized but with some slight differences.
Basically, if you think your son might study or work in China in future, go for HSK.
If not, go for iGCSE.

Hope this helps with your decision, and help your son as well.

Cheers,

Elizabeth