ORAL NOTES: CONVERSATION

You will be asked two questions – one more personal like “ What makes you anxious? And the
other more on general issues such as “Do you think teenagers are too addicted to the internet?

Listen carefully to the question. If not clear ask them to repeat the question.
Then be calm as you answer the question. If you are too fast or nervous, you tend to stumble on
your answers.

Here are the samples to the answers

Contributed by Marc, Caleb, Jun Ming, Adolphus, Aster, Hong Yi, Amanda and Mrs Vijay.

1. YOG – Why has Singapore been chosen as the venue?

What is it about Singapore that would make it attractive as a venue?

I think that the most important factor that led to Singapore's opportunity to host the YOG is its
high level of safety and security. Singapore is well-known for its low crime rates. This would be
appealing as it would ensure that the athletes competing in YOG would be safe from criminal
attempts to harm them, especially against opposing teams which wants to play foul, making sure
that it is a fair game among competitors. Singapore got this opportunity also because it is a clean
country compared to some others. Singapore is probably chosen because of the comprehensive
plans that the planning committee of singapore had proposed. This plan that the committee
encompasses a a whole range of educational benefits, for the students of singapore, as well as in
other countries. As part of this effort all schools were twinned with another country’s school and
learnt about their culture and sports through many exchange activities I believe that it is due to
these factors that ultimately gave Singapore an advantage when it comes to deciding the venue.
Singapore is also seen as modern and has many facilities to have big scale event such as this. At
the same time Singapore is multi-cultural and has a rich history and this is seen as plus point for
Singapore.

3. Do you think teenagers these days lead a sheltered life?

Talk about what it means to have a sheltered life – probably in that teenagers do not know where
money comes from. They ask and they are given. They are protected to the extent they do not
know the daily happenings in Singapore. On the other hand there are teenagers who make an
attempt to contribute to society like the example of teenagers who shave their hair for “Hair for
Hope”

Sample : I think teenagers today live a pampered life. They are too protected by their parents.
Their parents would do what they can to 'protect' their child from what they think is a negative
influence. Such love and care is suppose to be good ...but in the long term, it had actually brought
about problems to the teenagers.
The teenagers had became too uses to being safe and started to become more too easily
defeated. Whenever they are coerced to do something they disliked, they would either do it with a
glum face, or they may even complain to their parents, or on their blogs.
2. Do you think Singapore teenagers are so used to the good life that they cannot cope in a
crisis?
Yes, I feel that teenagers these days lead a sheltered life as they have almost everything they
need all under 1 roof. For example, teenagers nowadays spent most of their time on the
computer, either playing computer games or social networking. One example of a common
website teenagers use for social networking is Facebook. Also, teenagers can meet their daily
needs at home, unlike some teenagers who are living in the rural areas. People living in the rural
areas have to share their facilities with the whole village as they have limited resources.
Teenagers also lead a sheltered life as they can get whatever they want when they ask for it.
Parents who are busy working, often reward their child with things that they want. Hence, if

Prepared by Mrs Vijay and Sec 4B

teenagers ask for anything, they will normally accede to their requests to pay for the lack of time
spent with them. Lastly, teenagers lead a sheltered life as they are not really exposed to the
world. When they are bullied, some of them complain to their parents and always expect their
parents to shield them when they are in trouble. They are not strong enough to face reality
themselves, hence, leading to parents spoiling them by going to their defence.

In my opinion, I think that Singapore teenagers are capable enough to brave the storms of
society and that they are able to overcome any challenge that is put forth to them. I say this
because I've witness countless outstanding singaporeans achieving great heights in society.
That alone is sheer proof that today's generation is as able as any generation before this.
Being spoilt and pampered is another issue altogether. At the same time I feel that there are
some Singaporean teenagers who are not able to take hardship well and at a loss what to do.

3. Ageing Population – Issues, generation gap, Facilities for the elderly, healthcare
Solutions?
Upgrade elderly friendly facilities, create more jobs for the elderly
• -eg, consultants. They have a wealth of knowledge which can thus be utilized.
• Facilities?
• -More upgrading of elderly friendly lifts
• -More Old Folk’s Home built
• -More subsidies for voluntary welfare organizations taking care of the elderly.
• Healthcare
• -Policies like Eldershield implemented to help elderly
- Provides help for disabilities above the age of 40.
• -However, Elderly people still largely neglected. Do not haveMedishield or CPF.
Solution? Implement more funds to help the elderly.
• Generation Gap?
• The Old do not understand the young and vice versa
• -Breakdown of communication
• -eg, Young people do not understand certain traditions or customs that the
elderly may have. May think that they are silly
• -The elderly also do not understand the younger generation eg, the liberal and
open-mindedness of youths these days and think that they are being rude and
disrespectful

4. Importance of doing Literature/Music as a subject

Subjects such as Literature and Music are cornerstones to stimulating the left brain. To
be an 360 degrees student in our school, it is absolutely essential that one is ably
acquainted with these subjects. Although I admit that science and maths seem to be of
paramount importance in today's society, it is not right to neglect literature and music. A
wise man once said," the decline of literature signifies the decline of society". Also, music
is a revenue of stress relief We play music on our ipod, itouch, iphone, mp3s nowadays,
don't we? That is significant enough to show us how important music is. In our
curriculum, we see that music is only present in our time table from kindergarten to
secondary 2. Perhaps that is the ministry of education's way of telling us that music
should be developed from young so as to arouse interest of the subject later on in life.
Also, literature and music injects pleasure and amusement into our life; whilst literature
stimulates the thoughts and abstract theories that one would think of when reading a
prose or poem, music carries us in a rhythmic beat, so as lift us from our routine life.

5. Do you think students should be exposed to more outdoor education?

I feel that students would enjoy more outdoor education. Most of their school life is spent
cooped up within the four walls of their classroom. I, myself, feel that stayi...ng indoors all
the time has become a rather mundane routine.

Prepared by Mrs Vijay and Sec 4B

 Being exposed to outdoor education can give students a broader perspective on a certain
topic in a subject which they are studying, for example examining plant samples for
biology. In my opinion, it will make lessons a lot more interesting and i think students will
be more enthusiastic and participate more during lessons.
In my case, i look forward to field trips and science practical lessons as i can finally leave
the constraints of a classroom. The thought of studying through experiments and
experience is definitely more appealing as compared to sitting in a classroom for hours
with uninteresting textbooks
5. Do you think Singaporeans are too self centred?
If yes give examples you have seen, if no examples of people who went out of their way
to help

6. What do you think about more foreign students in Singapore schools?

Mostly scholars from other countries who are much smarter and self-motivated.
-It is unfair to the locals, These expatriates take up spots in much distinguished schools.
Locals are unable to enter.
-Raise the bar of competitiveness. Those who are acaedamically weak tend not to catch up
and thus have a lower survival rate when they integrate into society.
There are also problems when there is not much interaction between the foreign students and
local students.
There are also differences in culture and language which can create misunderstandings. At
the same time we can learn from them as they are committed and very determined to
succeed in life.

Formula 1 – First Night Race in Singapore

If you are asked about this, just think about what have read for YOG – quite a bit are similar
just that it is a different event. And you can read the following by Amanda for reference

The atmosphere there during the first year was very electrifying. Everyone there was very
excited about the race, myself included, since it was the first time they went to watch the race
at the track, for the majority, they could o...nly watch it on tv unless they had the money to
travel to watch the race in other countries.
Although it was a night race, the place looked like it was in the afternoon, the lights really
made it very bright. It is very intriguing when you are in a very bright place and when you in
the distance, you the night sky.
There were many merchandise of the various teams on sale. However they were very
expensive. A plain Ferrari t-shirt with just the logo could cost $60. However there were still
many hardcore fans buying those merchandises.
When the race started, there were no empty seats in the grandstand. When the cars were
coming round towards my grandstand, most will get up from their seats and get their cameras
ready. Within seconds the cars will be out of sight. Those who failed to get a clear shot of the
cars will just sit down and wait patiently until the cars came round again. It was quite hilarious
to see the expressions on their faces when they could not get a shot of the car. This routine
went on for almost the whole race.There were two big screens in front of each grandstand so
that we can watch what was happening at the rest of the track.
When the race was over, the fans of the winning team rushed toward the pit grandstand so
that the can see the prize presentation. There was a lot of cheering and screaming around
the whole track. The place was very lively.

Prepared by Mrs Vijay and Sec 4B