Humanising Language Teaching
Year 4; Issue 4; July 02

Ballet Shoes and Slippers-
Or how to cope with Exam Stress

Judy Churchhill, France

Do you or your students suffer from pre-exam stress? The answer is probably yes, to varying degrees. It would take a very rare kind of person not to feel at least a small twinge of nerves at the bottom of their stomach before entering that dreaded room. In fact exam nerves can range from the flutter of "butterflies" to full scale pre-exam sickness (including incapacitating vomiting and or diarrhoea). Well if this has not already put you off exams than read on- help is at hand!

Of course not all stress is bad, a small amount is thought to be beneficial as it revs up the system. But it is not that kind of stress that I am interested in. It is that devastating, sickening, negative stress that causes students to under-perform when everything both in and outside the classroom indicates that they should achieve a good result. So how do you combat exam stress ? What tips can you offer your students to help them relax and remain calm on the all important day.

I think that "familiarity" is the key word here if not the "leitmotif". Familiarity in all its shapes and sizes. Fear of the unknown whatever the situation must be the single most significant trigger of stress which means that your first task is to demystify the set-up!

Familiarise your students with the circumstances they are going to encounter.

Firstly there is familiarity with the format of the test/exam itself. There is no substitute for knowing what to expect or for having done some mock tests prior to doing the "real thing".

When I put my own students in for the TOEIC, I make sure that they have done a couple of practice tests beforehand. I make extensive use of The TOEIC Official Preparation Guide as its contains a wide range of awareness raising exercises suitable for use in class or for self-study. I refer my French students to Vocable magazine published in France which has its own TOEIC component based on a selection of the magazine articles. In this way not only do students become comfortable with the format of the test but that also learn time-management, learning how to allocate enough time to each section of the test.

Finding oneself rushed at the end of an exam with one section still to go, can only add anxiety to an already stressful situation .In that all too familiar "rush to the finish line" mistakes that would not normally be made in more stress free circumstances are rife. Knowing that "you've seen it all before" is also a great confidence builder.

So, rule number one: familiarise your students with the test.

Secondly there is another kind of familiarity that I myself used to practise before my university finals. I found I would repeatedly work myself up into a frenzy before any kind of test or examination. This would have both negative physical and mental repercussions on my health. I therefore developed a strategy of doing a favourite, familiar activity before each exam session that would enable me to steady my nerves and have a calming down effect on my system without sending me to sleep. I donned my ballet shoes and headed off each morning for an early dance class.

The stretching movements were beneficial prior to be hunched up over a desk in an examination room and the exercises were strenuous enough to get the endorphins (the body's natural pain and stress killers) going without being too exhausting. To feel those ballet shoes on my feet and to know that this was a chosen non-compulsory activity of my own free choice, also helped to put me in a positive, confident frame of mind, not to mention cutting out the danger of last–minute cramming. It made all the difference. I was more than happy with my results and to this very day if I find myself facing a stressful situation, I go and do some sport. The ballet shoes have been replaced by running shoes but the effect is still the same. I asked around to find out if other people had had similar experiences in coping with exam stress and found that yet again the familiarity factor was evident. Ian Bell, Director of Development with The Chauncey Group, Europe, told me that he used to go into his exams wearing his slippers! Well why not? According to Ian, they were comfortable and familiar and took the edge off his exam nerves. Does this ring a bell?

You might have difficulty recommending this solution to your own students but in a test such as TOEIC where no personal belongings are allowed in the testing room, slippers are not such a bad idea!

Think back to any stressful situation you have been in yourselves. What calmed you down? My daughter asks me for one of my silk scarves with perfume dabbed on it if she is going away to unfamiliar surroundings or feeling under par. Smell is the fastest, most powerful trigger of neuro-responses. We have all experienced the flood of memories that can be sparked off by the smell of something familiar; a previous holiday, our grandmother's house, the school sports hall. Smell can trigger both positive and negative effects within our system. My daughter says the familiar smell on my scarves calms and comforts her. If sniffing something agreeable (and legal!) can calm your nerves and up your test score then I say "vive l'odeur"!

It would therefore seem evident that feeling comfortable in familiar surroundings where we know what to expect is a key factor in helping students perform to the best of their ability. Familiarity can relax, comfort, lessen anxiety, boost confidence and help to take away the fear factor. So what are you waiting for ? Start de-stressing your students!