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Ejaan Weekly Test: How to Prepare Without Memorising Word Lists
The best way to prepare for the weekly Ejaan test is to decode each word into suku kata rather than memorise its shape. A child who can break “sekolah” into se-ko-lah and rebuild it from sound will spell it correctly next week and next year, while a child who memorised it will forget by Monday. DuoDuo Kidz Academy prepares children for Ejaan by strengthening syllable skills, so each test becomes practice rather than a weekly emergency.
Why memorising Ejaan lists does not last
Most SJK(C) families know the routine: the Ejaan list comes home on Friday, the child copies each word ten times, and the family drills it on Sunday night. The score may be fine, but by the next week the words are gone.
This happens because copying trains the hand, not the reading brain. The child is remembering a picture of the word, not the sounds inside it. Ten new words every week quickly overwhelm memory, and BM starts to feel impossible.
The decoding approach: hear it, split it, build it
Decoding means treating each word as a set of syllables that can be sounded out. Because BM spelling is highly regular, this works for nearly every word on the list.
The four-step routine below takes about two minutes per word and gives the child a skill they can reuse on words that were never on any list.
- Hear it: say the word slowly and ask your child how many beats they hear.
- Split it: write the syllables separately, for example ke-re-ta.
- Check the type: is each syllable open (ends with a vowel) or closed (ends with a consonant)?
- Build it: cover the word, say each syllable, and write it from sound alone.
A realistic weekly plan
Spread practice across the week instead of one long session. Short daily sessions are far more effective for young children and remove the Sunday-night stress.
- Friday: read the list aloud together, split every word into syllables.
- Saturday and Sunday: five minutes of building words from syllable cards.
- Monday and Tuesday: dictate three or four words a day from sound only.
- Wednesday: a quick mock test; circle any word that was wrong and split it again.
- Thursday: light review of the circled words only, then stop.
Common Ejaan mistakes and what they tell you
Mistakes are useful information. The type of error usually points to exactly which syllable skill needs work, so you can fix the cause instead of just re-drilling the word.
- Missing final consonant (writing “maka” for “makan”): closed syllables are not secure yet.
- Vowel swaps (“bulu” for “bola”): the child is guessing from the word's shape, not listening.
- Muddled ng or ny (“bunga” written as “bunya”): the combined sounds need separate practice.
- Whole word wrong: the child has never decoded it and is relying on memory alone.
How DuoDuo Kidz Academy turns Ejaan into a strength
At DuoDuo Kidz Academy, Ejaan is the second step on the BM staircase, straight after suku kata. Teachers work 1-to-1 and never give the answer; instead they ask “how many beats do you hear?” and let the child arrive at the spelling. That habit is what makes the skill stick.
Children in the Educare After-School Programme also get daily 1-to-1 trilingual lessons and exam revision, so Ejaan preparation happens naturally during the week without the family drilling at night.
If your child dreads the Ejaan test every week, WhatsApp 011-2828 8676 for a free 60-minute 1-to-1 trial lesson. We will show you which syllable skills are missing and how quickly they can be fixed.
FAQ
My child still gets full marks by memorising. Should I change anything?
Yes, gently. Full marks from memorising hide the problem until reading passages appear in Primary 2 and 3. Add the syllable-splitting step now so the skill is in place before it is needed.
How many words should we practise per day?
Three to five is enough. Consistency across the week matters more than volume in one sitting.
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