Singapore 2026 PSLE Chinese Oral Reading – Favorite Holiday
This is a 2026 Singapore Primary 6 Chinese PSLE Oral Reading Practice Paper. For the passage "最喜欢的节日", the key to scoring well is to bring the characters to life, pronounce the words accurately, and read with sufficient emotion. Techniques: First, use a lively, childlike tone for "小明" and a steady, reflective tone for "哥哥" to create contrast in the dialogue. Second, focus on tackling tricky pronunciations like "猜、赏、精、灯笼、热闹". Third, emphasise exclamation marks by raising your volume and lift your tone slightly for question marks.
《最喜欢的节日》
一天，小明和哥哥吃了晚餐后，坐在客厅里聊天。“小明，你最喜欢的节日是什么？”哥哥问。
“我最喜欢中秋节。庆祝中秋节时，可以提灯笼、猜灯谜，还可以吃到美味可口的月饼,真开心啊!哥哥,你呢?”
“我最喜欢国庆日！去年，我们一家人到浮动舞台观看国庆庆典，精彩的跳伞表演、五彩缤纷的烟花，都让我非常难忘。真希望我们明年还能去看！”
High-Scoring Reading Aloud Techniques for "Favorite Holiday"
Quickly switch between "小明"’s and "哥哥"’s tones
小明 (first paragraph): Younger, excited, lively, and longing when mentioning Mid-Autumn. When reading "提灯笼、猜灯谜，还可以吃到美味可口的月饼", speed up slightly, use an upward pitch, and especially deliver "真开心啊！" with a childlike, joyful tone.
哥哥 (second paragraph): Slightly older, proud, nostalgic, and moved when recalling National Day. When reading "精彩的跳伞表演、五彩缤纷的烟花", bring out the visual imagery, use a steadier tone than Xiao Ming, and convey the sense of anticipation in "真希望我们明年还能去看！".
Pay attention to the "flow" in dialogue
After Brother asks "你呢？", Xiao Ming’s reply must connect naturally—not sound like reciting a textbook.
After Xiao Ming finishes, Brother’s "我最喜欢国庆日！" must come in crisply and promptly to create a natural conversational rhythm.
Tackle easily mispronounced words
Flat vs. retroflex initials: "猜灯谜" (cāi, flat tongue), "赏月" (shǎng, retroflex), "充满" (chōng, retroflex).
Front vs. back nasal finals: "欣赏" (xīn, front nasal), "精彩" (jīng, back nasal), "灯笼" (dēng, back nasal).
Neutral-tone words: "哥哥" (gē ge), "灯笼" (dēng long – "笼" is neutral), "我们" (wǒ men), "热闹" (rè nao).
Polyphonic characters: "好吃" (hǎo chī – third tone), "好像" (hǎo xiàng).
"Emotion cues" from punctuation
Exclamation marks (!): There are several in the passage (e.g., "真开心啊！" "非常难忘！"). When you see them, noticeably increase volume and emphasis to express strong feelings.
Question marks (?): For "你呢？", raise the pitch slightly at the end to show Brother’s concern.
Commas and full stops: Pause briefly at commas, and slightly longer at full stops. For example, at "去年，我们一家人到浮动舞台观看国庆庆典", pause briefly after the comma to let the listener digest the information.
P6 Chinese PSLE Oral Exam Format (Total 50 marks)
Read-Aloud Passage (20 marks)
Read a ~200-word passage. Tests pronunciation, tone, speed, and expression.
Video Conversation (30 marks)
Answer questions based on a video and share your views.
Importance of Read-Aloud
Oral makes up about 25%-30% of total Chinese marks. The 20 marks for read-aloud are crucial.
This is the only section with preparation time (10 minutes). Doing well here helps secure marks and build confidence.
Reading flatly or with hesitation will cause clear mark loss and also affect your performance in the conversation section.
