Last updated: 2026-10-11
For many families in the East, Chinese is the subject a parent cannot help with at home. That is usually the whole problem: the child meets the language only in school, and the oral asks them to hold a conversation about a video clip.
We tutor primary Chinese at home or online across Marine Parade and Katong, Bedok, Tampines and Pasir Ris. Several East schools are SAP schools with a strong Chinese focus: see the school guides.
How PSLE Chinese is set
PSLE Chinese Language is 200 marks across three papers (SEAB, PSLE Chinese Language 0005):
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. 写作 Writing | One composition: a set topic or a picture series, at least 100 characters | 40 | 20% | 50 min |
| 2. 语文应用与阅读理解 | Language use, cloze, two comprehension sections, dialogue completion | 90 | 45% | 1 h 40 min |
| 3. 口试 Oral | Reading a passage (20) and a conversation about a video clip (30) | 50 | 25% | about 10 min |
| 3. 听力理解 Listening | 10 multiple-choice questions | 20 | 10% | about 30 min |
Candidates may use an SEAB-approved dictionary in the writing paper, and get 10 minutes before the oral to read the passage and watch the video clip (SEAB). Since 2017 the Mother Tongue oral has been run in the e-Examination format (SEAB).
Oral is a quarter of the grade
The oral alone carries 50 marks, 25 percent, more than the composition. Thirty of those marks are the conversation, which cannot be memorised: the examiner asks about the video clip and then about the child's own experience. A child who reads well but answers in three words loses most of them. Regular spoken practice is the single most useful thing tuition adds for a non-Chinese-speaking home.
Standard, Foundation and Higher Chinese
At Primary 5 and 6, Chinese can be taken at Standard or Foundation level, and Higher Chinese may be offered to a child who passes four subjects at Primary 4 and does very well in Mother Tongue (MOE). Higher Chinese is graded separately: Distinction 80 to 100, Merit 65 to 79, Pass 50 to 64 (MOE).
What it costs
Published hourly rates for primary home tuition in 2026 run from about S$25 to S$40 with a part-time tutor, S$35 to S$60 with a full-time tutor and S$55 to S$90 with a current or former school teacher (FamilyTutor, SmileTutor, TutorCity). We confirm the rate for your child's level before the first lesson.
What a lesson looks like
- Spoken Chinese every lesson: the habit the oral tests
- Composition built from a word bank your child actually uses
- Comprehension answers in full sentences, not lifted phrases
- Hanyu Pinyin and character practice for lower primary
Guides for parents
- PSLE Chinese Oral: the Passage and the Video Conversation
- Foundation or Standard Subjects in P5: How Subject-Based Banding Works
- Home Tuition Rates in Singapore 2026: Primary Levels
Where we teach chinese
At home in Marine Parade and Katong, Bedok, Tampines and Pasir Ris, or online.