Lesson 64 – The Inner Game
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The Thinker |
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The final piece of the IELTS jigsaw is YOU!
You need to prepare your inner game, get the confidence you need to be successful
Let’s begin with some tips and advice
As an examiner and teacher I have seen both sides of the IELTS ‘table’ the preparation side and the performance side and sometimes being an examiner was very frustrating as my natural leanings are towards the teacher and in the exam I was unable to reach out and help candidates who were too nervous or hesitant through their fear.
- IELTS is about performance on the day – everything depends on how you are and what you do on that day.
- In order to be really ready you have to prepare yourself mentally as well as in the skills.
- Think about an athlete – there is probably not much difference in the skills of the best few athletes in the world, so what makes the difference on the day? Their mental preparedness.
- If you go into the listening with confidence you will hear more.
- If you approach the reading in a panic you will see less.
- If you sit in front of the examiner with your knees knocking you will remember fewer words.
- And if you try to write with a shaking hand you will make more mistakes.
- This is all true – the more mentally prepared you are the better you will perform.
- A little stress is a good thing it keeps you alert and helps you to focus.
- Too much and you won’t perform at your best – so how stressed do you get? Try to use some relaxation techniques before the exam and below are a few things you can do if you feel panic.
- If you have taken the exam more than once then you may feel more stress than those who are doing it for the first time.
- Create stories for yourself about the fact that you are better now as you’ve had more practice, or you know a lot more vocabulary etc.. whatever you need to re-assure yourself that you are better prepared this time.
Key skills to develop:
- Deep breathing is a really good way of calming yourself down if you feel panic – close your eyes and breathe really deeply 2 or 3 times and it should calm you. You can do this at any moment. It clears your head too so when you look back at the paper you may find it easier to deal with (if you do it in the listening make sure that you don’t miss anything!)
- Try visualisation before the exam – close your eyes and imagine yourself receiving your results and that they are all exactly what you want – this helps to put you in a positive mood. Do this several times maybe every day. Doing it before you drop off to sleep is good as it will be dark and nothing can distract you.
- Try positive affirmation – tell yourself that you can do this and point out all the things in IELTS that you can do really well
- If there are areas that you are worried about DON’T IGNORE THEM, get help – send me an email!
- Exercise is good for concentration and study – try and get some each day (walk, swim, run etc..) to boost your learning –
- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-18367/Exercise-boosts-exam-results.html (this is about children but the principles are the same)
- Exercise and memory (language is a lot about memory) http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/how-exercise-can-jog-the-memory/
You won’t stop the fear and nerves but you can control them and use them to get a better performance
Don’t forget, if there is anything you don’t understand or can’t find send a message via Contact us
Now let’s look at some ways of improving performance and dealing with nerves
These are YouTube videos
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Follow this link to find some ways of dealing with stress
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Now look at some advice specifically for exams
These are exercises not videos
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Here are some exercises to try to help with motivation and performance
- Visualisation (listen to the audio – good for listening practice too)
- Affirmation (some things to help you keep positive and focused)
See which techniques work best for you and USE THEM!
Don’t forget, if there is anything you don’t understand or can’t find send a message via Contact us
Now you’re done!