3 Keys to Success at the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) English Exams
- Brainz Magazine
- 8 hours ago
- 10 min read
Written by Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor
Mr Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor and Exam Strategist. Mr Lee Lin Cher is a veteran teacher and tutor, coaching students on the subject of English language for the Singapore-Cambridge SEC (O Level) English exams. He has been teaching since 1993, and has authored (to date) a total of 16 books on the subject.
Since the dawn of time, the three things that remain constant forever are, primarily, death, taxes, and change. Since we really cannot do much except manage the first two, we can at least pre-empt the last so that we are never really caught unawares.
This holds true even in the field of education, where, seriously, the way teachers teach today can sometimes be guiltily identical to the times of Socrates.
Impending change in the Singapore educational landscape
Where the educational landscape is concerned, change is on the horizon in Singapore, and nothing is more evident than the scrapping of the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level and Normal Level examinations, or the Singapore-Cambridge GCE O and N Levels for short.
The new, revised Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) will take its place from 2027 onwards.
Beyond just a nominal change, the new examinations mark a significant shift from the traditional Singapore-Cambridge GCE O and N Level exams to learning that is more focused on the abilities and interests of the students.
Under this new system, students will take their examinations under one unified timetable, reflecting individual strengths rather than fixed streams, with joint assessment by the Ministry of Education (MOE) Singapore and Cambridge International Education.
My approach and view of change
Systemic changes regardless, there are elements of teaching, learning, and testing that remain fixed and immovable no matter how the wind blows.
As an ethnic Chinese Singaporean grounded in Taoist theories and philosophy, I cannot help but notice the elements that remain stable in this sea wave of change. To complicate the paradox further, I teach English and used to teach English Literature, so at any one point in time, I see two worlds simultaneously.
On the surface, these two worlds clash. Deep below the surface, however, they are complementary systems. This is what I adopt, a fusion, eclectic approach.
What does not change
In the assessment of a student’s proficiency in the English language, a few elements never really change.
It is the test of his or her:
writing ability;
understanding ability;
listening ability; and
conversational ability.
All four components combine to provide a comprehensive view of a student’s mastery of the English language, which, in a way, reflects the student’s ability to successfully navigate the world in that language.
My bugbear with how the English language is learnt and taught in Singapore
Having been teaching in one way or another since 1993, I detect a few glitches in the arena of English language learning and teaching.
Here are some of them.
The overemphasis on testing
The first glitch is the overemphasis on testing. Teachers and parents unwittingly contribute to this glitch.
By teachers
Many English language teachers and tutors mistakenly believe that they are coaching and teaching, when they are in fact testing.
In a typical English language lesson, teachers prescribe reading passages, writing assignments, and listening tasks, all without the prerequisite briefing and preparation.
Thereafter, these tasks are graded and returned, with the correct answers provided, but with little to no explanation. The cycle then repeats itself until the student graduates from the school system.
Perhaps it is the way all of us were taught. At one point in my teaching journey, I made the exact same mistake, without realising that it was a mistake all along.
This is not teaching. This is grading. And the lack of significant progress says it all.
By parents
Parents perpetuate this vicious cycle, oblivious to the harm that the practice is perpetrating.
In a desperate attempt to ensure the academic well-being of their offspring, parents demand deliverables. This translates into the demand for more homework from the schools.
In a commercial setting, this translates into the demand for more worksheets. The more, the merrier. That is the belief. And more homework and worksheets equals more testing.
While I totally understand the anxiety of these parents, and good parents worry about and desire the best for their children, we all need to remember that learning is an inside job.
This is especially important for a subject like the English language, which is first a language before it becomes an examinable topic.
Understanding comes before performance.
Apathy on the student’s end
The attitude of the students, in general, does not help either.
Too many times, I have seen a desperate student poring over their Chemistry notes, Physics textbooks, and working out problem after problem in their Additional Mathematics questions.
But when it comes to the subject of English, they do nothing about it, believing that there is nothing to study.
While it is true that there is not a fixed curriculum for the English language, and it is hard to systemise any language, not just English, there are component elements that we need to train our eyes and ears on before we can become competent in its usage.
3 keys to success at the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) English exams
Before I launch into the three keys, allow me to correct any misconceptions.
I am not against testing. Any system, and not just the educational system, is incomplete without robust assessment and evaluation criteria.
Metrics reflect the strengths and inadequacies of a system, and in education, they reveal how much a student has learned.
Whether it is the current Singapore-Cambridge GCE O Level English exams or the up and coming Singapore-Cambridge SEC English exams, the central tenet does not change. The exams serve as a feedback loop for students to know and understand their level of mastery of the language.
Feedback is good. Learning without any form of feedback is a meaningless quest. So while I do have gripes against an obsession with testing, I do not have issues if students are properly taught before they are tested.
The three keys that I will highlight here contribute towards optimal learning before testing.
They address the four constant components I mentioned earlier, ensuring that the student is prepared to cope with any English language exams, no matter how the curriculum changes.
They also ensure mastery, so that students will be able to navigate the challenges of real-life communication in the English language.
Key 1: Vocabulary
This is almost a no-brainer. The number of words that a student commands in his or her word bank determines that same student’s level of proficiency in the English language.
Based on widely accepted educational research and language-teaching standards, we know that we need:
2000 to 3000 word families for basic conversational fluency;
5000 to 8000 word families for academic and exam success; and
more than 10,000 words to achieve near-native proficiency.
Because the numbers are so huge, it is nearly impossible for any English language teacher to cover the entire range of vocabulary during lesson time.
The onus, then, is on the student to do this on a day-to-day basis until the numbers are reached.
This also debunks the myth that there is nothing to learn for English.
The start and end points
Since most of the world are not native speakers of the English language, there is a need for a clear starting point when vocabulary mastery is concerned.
Fortunately, for ESL and EFL learners, there are lists aplenty. A simple search on the internet will yield word lists of different types.
My personal favourites are word lists catered to the American Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). There is a reason for this.
Although the Singapore curriculum is more aligned with the British exams, our historical heritage dictates it, the SAT boasts more and better resources.
Approximately 2 million candidates take the SAT annually. Once again, the numbers matter. When there are more candidates taking the exam, more publishers and content creators will jump on the bandwagon to create resources catered to the exams. That alone ensures healthy competition, which actually means that the quality of the resources must be substantial enough to prevent elimination from the market.
For students taking the current Singapore-Cambridge GCE O Level English exams, or the future Singapore-Cambridge SEC English exams, my suggestion is to start with one of these lists. They are free anyway.
Which list is better
Really, that is the wrong question. The key is in the starting, and in the persistence in learning the words in the list.
My suggestion is to start small. Perhaps begin with a 1000-word list before moving on from there. If even that sounds too intimidating, start really small then. A 300-word list will suffice for the most part.
The key lies in the starting, not the analysing.
Where is the endpoint then?
Too bad. There is no endpoint.
Key 2: Grammar
The second key to English language excellence lies in learning the rudiments of grammar.
Like Mathematics, which comes with fixed rules, the English language has non-negotiables that cannot be violated in their execution.
Of course, there is more leeway and flexibility in the English language. Mathematics hardly accords us any freedom, since rules are rules.
The only irony I want to highlight here is that students obsess over Mathematics practice. They ensure that even the slightest and smallest of rules are adhered to, while in the practice of English, if they even engage in any practice at all, they simply, in their own words, cannot be bothered.
A healthy respect for some rules will go a long way in the mastery of the English language. Grammar is a good place to begin the journey.
Resources for grammar mastery
The good news for students wishing to master English grammar is that there are many resources available.
In fact, some of these resources have been in existence since the beginning of time and are considered the canons of English grammar.
If a reader is interested in these resources, please drop me a note on my website. I do not find it appropriate here to promote any book or resource, lest there be suspicion that I have vested interests in the promotion of these books.
Key 3: Expression
Vocabulary breeds understanding, while grammar gives structure. The natural progression from the first two keys is expression, which is essentially the stringing together of vocabulary and grammar into a coherent whole.
Expression manifests itself in two forms, namely speaking and writing.
The perennial mistake that parents and educators make
In a bid to improve their children’s and students’ spoken and written expression, many parents and educators commit the mistake of putting their young charges through tonnes of practice, believing in the old adage that practice makes perfect.
While this maxim might hold true most of the time, one must remember that many of these charges are struggling with their expression in the first place, especially those who are not predisposed to the English language in their natural environment.
In such cases, practice is counterproductive. Instead of helping them improve, these well-intentioned parents and educators perpetuate the mistakes their charges are committing. Under such circumstances, practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent.
The better path to better expression
The better path, so to speak, is counter-intuitive.
The key to better speaking is listening, and the key to better writing is reading. Instead of trying to figure things out for themselves, why not simply see and hear how it is done?
My evergreen favourite for listening is the BBC World Service. It is the BBC’s international radio station, and it is now available online.
Students can hear English as spoken by native speakers, as well as English as spoken throughout the world.
For reading, students have a smorgasbord of books to choose from. To me, at least, it is not about which books are more appropriate. It is the act of reading itself that makes all the difference.
Maybe I am old school, but whatever genre or book the student might be reading, the preferred format is print rather than digital. Research backs my preference.
In the printed format, the reader slows down to turn the page and, in the process, absorbs and assimilates the words on the page deeply and meaningfully.
In the digital format, readers scroll and skim. While the scroller and skimmer might get the gist of the story, what he or she has done is miss the golden opportunity to appreciate the beauty and flow of the words and the language in the text.
More haste, less speed. When the student rushes, the student absorbs little. Saying nothing would be an exaggeration.
Recommended books for SEC (O Level) English mastery
Many times, parents have requested recommendations for books they can acquire to boost their children’s English language abilities.
While I am, in general, against didactic practices such as these, especially in reading, as I believe students should read topics they are interested in, I understand these parents’ need for answers.
I have prescribed authors that I will always recommend whenever parents ask. Please refer to my website for details, as I have dedicated posts for these.
Order amidst the chaos, form following intention
Whether it is the Singapore-Cambridge GCE O Level, SEC, or IGCSE English exams, change is the norm and is to be expected.
What does not really change are the three keys, and they apply to the English language as well as any other language that a student may wish to master.
As educators, our intention is to get our young charges to master the language. Testing simply verifies how well they have learned through our coaching. As such, the form, or structure, of our lessons should reflect our priorities.
My suggestion is a 3:1 principle. Three-quarters, or approximately 75 percent of lesson time, should be dedicated to coaching, while one-quarter, or 25 percent, should be set aside for testing.
Getting students to practise reading passages, or getting them to write essay after essay, is not coaching. That is testing.
Guiding them along, however, is coaching. If I get students to practise on a reading passage and demonstrate the thinking processes involved in deriving the answers, I am coaching. If I merely show them the answers, that is not coaching. I am not even sure if that qualifies as testing.
In the same way, grading essays is testing. Demonstrating writing techniques and showing how to achieve flow in writing is coaching.
In my world, the three keys are the building blocks of successful coaching in the English language. Without them, all attempts at any form of training, not to mention testing, would fail.
As educators, we tend to teach the way our teachers taught us. It is therefore not impossible that we might still be teaching the same way Socrates taught his students.
So perhaps some things never change. The trick lies in deciphering which changes are real and which are imagined. I believe that the three keys do not change, and this forms the crux of my teacher's sharing today.
Thank you for reading my humble contribution. I welcome suggestions and any form of sharing.
Read more from Lee Lin Cher
Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor
Mr Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor and Exam Strategist. Mr Lee Lin Cher is a veteran teacher and tutor, coaching students on the subject of English language for the Singapore-Cambridge SEC (O Level) English exams. He has been teaching in one way or another since 1993, and has authored (to date) a total of 16 books on the subject. An unwilling educator, Mr Lee had been trying to escape from the education industry since forever. A life-changing experience in May 2025 convinced him that escape is not an option, and that it is in his destiny to continue teaching and transforming the lives of his young charges.
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