How to use past exam papers to prepare students adequately

The third academic term is here with us and so is the overwhelming exam anxiety. It is doubtable if pep talk alone will diffuse this angst if the students haven’t had enough practice. Teachers must, therefore, constantly re-enact exam conditions using practice papers to acclimatize students to the concept of examination. The most common way to use practice papers is to do a full mock exam in exam conditions. This means: sticking strictly to the time limit, not looking at any notes or reference materials other than the ones the exam specifically allows and not communicating with anyone else during the exam. This will give students the nearest experience to the real thing. However, sometimes teachers allow students to practice an exam under less strict conditions - for example, you allowing students a bit of extra time if they run out, or letting them look things up if they are completely stuck. In as much as it helps them to identify which areas they need to do more revision in and how big a problem exam technique is likely to be, in the long run, this leniency does not help. It is point noteworthy that given our tight schedules and 50/40minutes lessons, it might be hard to squeeze in a full 3hour paper within class time without interruption. If you want to get more practice but you don’t have enough time, remember that you can make the students attempt individual questions or sections in exam conditions. For essay questions, it can also be useful to have them practice planning an answer quickly even if they don’t actually write the essay. It should also be pointed out that attempting a practice paper is useful even if nobody ever sees the result: students get a feel of how long they have, what their strengths and weaknesses are and how to keep themselves focused throughout the exam. Nonetheless, this practice is futile without feedback. If the exam paper has right or wrong answers, they might be able to mark it themselves or swap with a friend. However, on essay-based exams, students are not able to correct their own papers and this is where you come in as a teacher. This will give your students a better idea of how they have performed and where they can improve. It is equally important to create your own questions in anticipation of the exam and following the trend from the past papers. There will be a limited number of past papers available to you, especially if your course is new or has recently changed. Plan carefully to make sure you don’t run out. Many exams ask students to choose a certain number of questions from a longer list. This means that once they have used the practice paper, they can go back and attempt some of the questions they didn’t choose as individual questions. This also forces them to attempt a question they are less confident about - useful preparation in case you get a tough exam. All in all, this is an exam term and the only way to ensure that the learners are well prepared and far from panic is to keep re-enacting the exam scenario. The past papers are always available and the learners are now more enthusiastic and attentive than before; why not end this term with a win? The writer is a Language Consultant

Education

How to use past exam papers to prepare students adequately