Tuesday, April 30, 2024
The academic year is coming to a close, and for many students there is no escaping the fact that a language exam awaits them at the end, typically acting like some kind of gateway to the future. So, whether that be advancing to the following year, applying for an Erasmus application or even getting that long-awaited job promotion, doing an official exam usually requires a concentrated effort in and out of class to get there. And yes, there are some students who may relish the challenge of testing their knowledge but for many it can be the most daunting experience imaginable, so how can we as teachers help our students perform to the best of their abilities? Read on to find out some simple exam revision tips and activities that can make all the difference come exam time.
Practice makes perfect as the saying goes and by repeating past tasks students are likely to strengthen the connections in the brain regarding the various grammar points or target language such as collocations and prepositions. The key to this lies in spaced repetition, whereby content is reviewed at ever-expanding intervals. The theory being that at the start the language point is seen at closely spaced intervals such as at the beginning of each class, then it slows to once a week, a fortnight and so on. As time progresses, the recall then gradually becomes automatic. Online quizzes such as Bamboozle are great for this as they already have a wide variety of exam related content to choose from so zero preparation is needed, a mega-bonus come exam time for teachers.
Exams exude pressure by their very nature, even the word can cause shudders of apprehension in the best of us let alone the jittery among our students. However, by building mental resilience for what is to come, that is to say having students adequately prepared and knowing exactly what to expect, it’s simply another day at the office, well, desk at least. Thus, apart from simulating an exam situation (no talking, chairs spaced out, no help) to convey the pressure, doing timed tasks can also help. A dynamic way to do this could take the form of a race where questions are placed around the room and students have the text as they dash around trying to correctly answer them. Alternatively, having the questions or paragraphs cut up ready on the teacher’s desk and making the students come get each one as they work their way through can add some energy and competition to what would otherwise be a straightforward sitting down task.
Writing is often one of the hardest skills to obtain in a foreign language, especially the formal style that is required in essays and reports. But apart from having students hand in a constant stream of scripts (hopefully done under time pressure!) what else can be done? One often overlooked aspect that is definitely worth investigating is the marking criteria. This can be found in any exam handbook and should be as familiar to students as it should be to the teacher. The beauty of the handbook is that not only does it contain said criteria but it does so alongside authentic student work with corresponding marks and examiner comments. To put this into practice in a classroom, a great activity is to have students “mark” the example texts and then compare their results with the real ones. This often offers hope and helps students realise that perhaps they’re not as far off the mark as they had believed. On top of this and seeing as the writings are authentic, they can be used as texts to work on and improve chosen language points as well.
Most official language exams also include a speaking component that students must do, either alone or with a partner, and one of the typical issues is that instead of demonstrating their true abilities or pushing the boundaries students often (understandably) remain in their comfort zone. Therefore, teachers need to encourage candidates to expand their comfort zone to include specific language and structures appropriate to the grade, which of course necessitates practice. A simple requirement is having students choose X words that must be used when speaking and their partner ticks them off or writes them down as they are said. To reinforce this, they can repeat the exercise with a different partner and usually this second time is much more fluent – ah the wonders of repetition! To increase the challenge, don’t let students look at their chosen words so instead they have to rely on memory, which, of course, is all they will have in the exam.
While exam reading texts may occasionally be interesting in their own right, their purpose is to test and not to offer any sense of escapism, though if you can manage that in the exam good for you! Therefore, any reading exam activities need to balance interest with what students must cope with under exam conditions. One such thought-provoking exercise is to remove the answers, like in the multiple choice cloze or multiple choice, to allow discussion of what the answer could be before revealing the possibilities. This usually sees a lightbulb moment in students concerning just how important the context and question are as opposed to the distractors being offered in the answers. As the levels increase so too does the number of words students have to read and this means that how they read becomes as much of an issue as comprehension, especially at C1 and C2. Utilising time wisely by reading the whole text first to get the general idea (gapped text) or working through paragraph by paragraph or text by text (multiple choice and matching) can earn valuable thinking or revision time. So, getting students accustomed to reading in certain ways, that is to say exam technique, is vital prior to students sitting the exam.
Lastly, listening is also tested in most language exams and similar to reading, it is a skill that requires practice and knowledge of technique to be able to successfully navigate the range of typical exam traps and pitfalls. Curiously, one thing I’ve noticed from my teaching experience is that those who are able to take notes while listening tend to score higher marks, even doing something as simple as ticks, crosses or question marks is useful. On the other hand, playing a section of a listening and giving students an objective such as note down 5 details to share with their partner can also help build the habit. It’s also amazing to see that once several points have been noted, just how easy it is to keep expanding on them rather than relying wholly on memory. The younger students start learning to take notes, the better they will become at higher levels. Finally, most coursebook or exam practice listenings come with a transcript attached and this is a fantastic resource to exploit besides helping to identify the right answer.
As previously mentioned, practice makes perfect. So given that variety is widely considered to be the spice of life, make sure that your classes are full of various ways to practice the exam tasks required in the official exams – look back through this month’s social media posts for more ideas, all the best!
