Secondary 4 English

Programme outline

Coverage

Intensive revision for year-end examination – get access to trending essay themes and questions, and learn to avoid common student mistakes.

Hone logical and critical reasoning skills for various components such as Comprehension, Literature, Summary Writing and more.

Dissect, analyse and learn effective writing skills and techniques in specially-written Mind-Stretching essays and situational writing models.

Strengthen public speaking and presentation skills through utilising effective presentation skills and consistently practicing to build confidence.

Stay abreast of current affairs and broaden general knowledge on a wide variety of topics with our regularly updated curriculum materials.

Components

Revision of all types of situational writing types – speeches, proposals, informal/formal emails and letters, proposals, newsletters and blogs
Analyse effective writing techniques and model after Mind-Stretching situational writing models

Understand the requirements of each text type – descriptive, narrative, personal recounts, expository, argumentative and hybrid essays
Utilise effective essay planning methods and bring in relevant topic sentences, introduction, content paragraphs and conclusions
Learn to add deeper layers of introspection in essays by drawing on personal experiences
Analyse effective writing techniques and model after Mind-Stretching essays

Understanding the various question types and corresponding answering techniques
Learn to tackle a wider variety of inferential questions involving use of imagery, metaphors, and more
Hone critical thinking skills and learn to draw contextual clues from the visual or textual passage

Analyse the question, identify relevant points, paraphrase and restructure entire sentences using varied sentence structures
Crucial to practice and master this component; many students do not have adequate practice for Summary Writing

Brainstorm and plan oral presentations and develop effective presentation skills
Utilise Mind Stretcher's P.E.E.R.S framework to articulate points in a clear and concise manner

Expand General Knowledge and stay on top of Current Affairs with our up-to-date passages, specially-curated articles and thought-provoking discussions

Lesson plans

Boost General Knowledge and Current Affairs

Our curriculum content weaves in up-to-date current affairs and a wide variety of topics to broaden students' general knowledge.
Develop Essential Writing Techniques

Dissect, analyse and learn effective writing skills and techniques in specially-written Mind-Stretching essays and situational writing models.
Hone Critical Thinking Skills

Refine logical thinking and critical reasoning skills required in various components, such as Literature, Comprehension, Oral Presentations and more.
Build Confidence and Speaking Abilities

Deliver oral presentations with Mind Stretcher's P.E.E.R.S frameworks which enables students to structure and articulate their points effectively.

Homework Booster

Supplementary worksheets with teacher-guided solutions are provided weekly on Mind Stretcher's E-Study Buddy platform for additional self-practice.

Assessment Checkpoints

Mind Stretcher's Checkpoints are run quarterly to simulate exam conditions, practice time management, and do papers similar to school assessments.
Student Progress Reports

Mind Stretcher's Progress Reports analyse strengths, weaknesses and benchmark students within our cohort, which is larger than a few schools combined!

Error Analysis

Analyse common student mistakes and concept misunderstandings, and learn how to avoid them.
Trending Questions

Stay abreast of questions set in examinations; we monitor and analyse trending question types and incorporate them into our revision materials.
Revision Notes

Comprehensive revision materials that summarises and reinforces important content for exam preparation.

Class schedules

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Course roadmap

Journey through our Secondary English course

As students move from Primary to Lower Secondary, they will have to improve the versatility of their writing for different contexts, and hone their logical and critical thinking skills to effectively tackle various components of the examinations such as Comprehension, Summary Writing and Literature.

Our Sec 1 and 2 English Programme will equip students with the integral writing and speaking skills, and sharpen their critical reasoning abilities to thrive in secondary school. Students will pick up effective writing techniques across text types such as narrative writing and personal recounts. They will also learn to draw upon contextual clues to answer more difficult inferential questions in comprehension, and develop the ability to summarise key information.

Students will build a good foundation across reading, writing, and speaking, that will serve them well in Upper Secondary.

At Upper Secondary, students would be exposed to a wider array of literary techniques, and tackle more complex text types such as argumentative writing and hybrid essays. Our Sec 3 and 4 English programme will hone students’ reading, writing, and speaking skills to handle the rigour of the Upper Secondary curriculum, and ensure they are well-prepared to tackle the O-Level English examinations.

Students will learn methods to effectively structure their essays for more complex text types, and differentiate themselves from their peers by adding deeper layers of introspection in their writing. They will also sharpen their techniques to tackle a wide variety of inferential questions in comprehension, and master the art of summary writing.

As part of our intensive revision for the O-Levels, students will access trending essay themes and questions, best-in-class model essays, and learn to avoid common mistakes made by students.

Our testimonials

What our students & parents say about us

Mrs Shum is a very dedicated teacher. She has given me detailed feedback to improve my writing and her lessons are very engaging. I really appreciate the personalised feedback which helps me identify areas I should work on more. She goes the extra mile to share interesting facts every lesson which has helped expand my general knowledge in so many ways. With Mrs Shum's tips and MS Worksheets explaining how to master various components, I'm able to answer questions with greater confidence. Lastly, Mrs Shum cares deeply about our emotional well-being, and she always reminds us that trying our best is more important than the results.

Isabelle

I would like to thank the Chinese Language teacher very much for her effort, concern and encouragement for my child! He is very happy to be in her class and has enjoyed the Chinese Language lessons very much. He has tried his very best in the PSLE examination last year 2022 and his Chinese has improved. The constant encouragement from his Chinese Language teacher makes a difference and goes a long way! Thank you Mr Kuek and all the teachers very much who has taught him and shared during the online bootcamp and the webinars! We really appreciate the effort, time, love and understanding put into preparation of the examination booklets and materials and staying behind after the online lessons to answer the students' questions! Wishing all the teachers and staff a very Happy blessed year 2023 ahead!

Parents of U Hian

Dear Mrs Shum, thank you so much for all the guidance and support you’ve given me since i joined ms. Since i joined at a pretty late stage, i didn’t expect myself to acquire so much valuable knowledge that allowed me to learn English from a whole new perspective, as well as to perceive life in many different aspects. Thank you for always being so generous in sharing with us your personal experiences that engaged us during class, and making English such a fun subject for us explore the wonders of it! Thank you for taking the extra mile to further support me in English Literature as well, it really has been very useful!! It has truly been an eye-opening experience learning from you and I will remember these lessons as part of the unforgettable memories of learning in this subject❤️🥰

Rosanne

Mrs Shum is a caring teacher who is concerned about her students and their well-being. She has helped me improve in my English and has always been very caring towards me. She stresses on our mental health and has encouraged us a lot. Her teaching is amazing and i love how she shares interesting facts related to the topic we were studying and she exposed us to the basics of general paper too. To add, Mrs Shum gives specific feedback on our work which allowed us to know what we can improve on. The MS comprehension worksheets were also of great help as they allow me to know how to answer certain questions in a straightforward manner. Mrs Shum marks quite strictly which also further prepared me well for the O-levels where the marking is usually more lenient. As a result, I learnt how to do better and could gauge where i stand. Mrs Shum also made me realise that i was better in personal recount essays which allowed me to do well in the O-levels. Overall, MS worksheets were of great help and useful with specific tips and strategies. Thank you so much.

Sevvel Selvam

Hi Ms Mavis, I would like to thank you for the teaching. Your lessons are engaging and I can always focus on it. I still remember vividly your patience when answering all my questions. Even though I have a lot of questions, you still answer them using your best effort which I appreciate very much. You are a great teacher 👍 Thank you very much and wish you a great year ahead !

Tao Weiqi

Dear Mr Alvin, Just want to text you to say "Thank you for all you have done for all the kids! Elvyn scored AL6 for his 2022 PSLE!“ A special mention to Teacher Meili, Teacher Audrey, Teacher Ryan and 丁老师。Not only were they never annoyed by his endless questions and constant requests for ways to improve himself, they guided him and encouraged him to do more and better. We are so blessed to have met all of you! I had introduced friends to send their kids to MS and will surely help to promote MS in the future too!

Mother of Elvyn Ee

Ms Christine Ong is an extremely benevolent teacher and a role model for my classmates to emulate. Not only is she kind and patient when covering new concepts, she will constantly share with us her vocabulary bank and drop gold nuggets on tips to do well in our essay. As a result of her passionate teaching, I managed to jump from a C5 grade in secondary 1 to an A1 grade in secondary 4. Apart from assiduously preparing comprehension papers from other schools for us to practice, she always conjures up a myriad of vocabulary expressions for us to memorise and utilise in our essay. Due to this, my essay has jumped to a 26/30 just for my prelim alone, which is an extraordinary feat for someone born in a Chinese speaking background like me. Additionally, she will require us to scan our examination papers so she can better comprehend our weaknesses and work on addressing that. Moreover, she will keep us up to date with global affairs taking place around the world every lesson. I remember vividly when she shared with us the story pertaining to an old Asian lady being accosted by a caucasian man during a hate-crime incident happening in the US. Furthermore, Ms Christine will go the extra mile of highlighting the misused vocabulary terms in editing and explain to us the wordclass and noun forms that are improperly used, which is not required in the Mind Stretcher curriculum. In a nutshell, Ms Christine is undoubtedly one of the best teachers I've had in my school life. I fervently hope that she is offered a larger platform to inspire minds and nurture our nation's future. Thank you.

Li Long Guang

Mind Stretcher had been very helpful in my Secondary 4 learning journey, almost miraculously turning a mere pass into a distinction. Mrs Shum, my English teacher at Mind Stretcher, had provided us with plenty of resources, and practised with each and every one of us tirelessly.

Tenzin Dhakar

Before I enrolled in Mind Stretcher in Sec 3, I was doing very badly in my common test exams. I was getting around C6 or near failure for my English. But now I’ve gotten A1 for my O-Levels and I can see that I’ve made steady progress throughout my 2 years in Mind Stretcher.

Subramaniam Karthikeyan

Mrs Shum's lessons have equipped me with the essential skills required to tackle the English Language paper, allowing me to become more confident when writing. Furthermore, her lessons not only helped to cultivate a deeper interest in the languages and the humanities, but also a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world we live in. Her sharing of personal experiences is always something to look forward to!

Tan Dan Feng

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