Some students come to me to improve their languages for travelling, for a new job or a move to a new country, but the overwhelming majority are looking to improve their outcomes in GSCE or A-level examinations. Here are just a few of The Language Cabin’s tips and tricks to get you prepared and ready to do your best in all elements of your exams.
Understand your exams
First things first, make sure you fully understand what you are expected to do in each element of your exam. Get familiar with the structure of each exam - your teacher or the examination board should have a full list of all the topics you’ll be expected to cover.
Little and often is key!
I highly recommend you take the ‘little and often’ approach to improving your language skills, as opposed to cramming before your exams. You want to be effective and efficient in your learning and that’s why taking a regular approach to revision is key. It’s also good to learn in short bursts so you don’t become overloaded from holding too much new information in your memory at once. Try doing something every day. This is the best way to accelerate your progress and help get you better grades when the time comes!
Keep practising past papers, and then practise some more!
An absolutely essential part of revision is to make sure you look at as many past papers as you can. Timed practice in test conditions is an excellent way to prepare for language exams. Doing just a couple of test papers in the lead up to the exam will boost your confidence and help you get used to how the exam will be and prepare you for how to manage your time and allocate time for each section of the exam. Ask your teacher, or you can find past papers online.
Key tips for revision in general
Here are my top tips and resources for keeping on top of your work and helping you to get the best from your study time.
Jot down the most high-frequency words on flashcards or Post-It notes. This is a great way to review your progress every evening before bed or in the morning when you wake up.
Stick Post-It notes on items around the house to help you remember or associate a keyword to the object.
Use apps to pick up new vocabulary and improve skills on the go. Apps are improving day by day and showcasing more features from pronunciation to grammar checking. Examples include Memrise, Duolingo, Gojimo, which have over 40,000 practice questions for GCSE and A level exams.
Podcast language learning is a great way to learn when you are doing something else! Try downloading a few podcasts offline and you can listen when you are traveling to school/work.
Divide equal time to the four skills: reading and comprehension, writing and translation, listening, and speaking. The four skills also complement each other, so when you’re practicing reading you’ll also be practicing translation, and when you’re practicing speaking, you’ll be practicing listening as well.
Can watching foreign films help improve my language fluency for GSCE? The answer to that question is most definitely a yes! Watching an original language film with subtitles is an ideal platform for language learners of all abilities. Take a look at another blog I've written with lots of suggestions.
I also recommend listening to your favourite native speaking artists. Tune into radio stations broadcasting in your target language as this will expose you to lots of conversational material that will be valuable for your listening and speaking exams. It’s a fantastic way to learn colloquialisms and common expressions. You will be talking like a native in no time!
Another tip is that you and a friend set a writing task and read each other’s work, highlighting any mistakes and giving any suggestions to improve it and vice versa. I am always happy for my pupils to complete any pratice writing tasks and email them to me for corrections and feedback.
Reading is another great and easily accessible way to help your language learning. Online news articles and magazines are easy to find and are readily available. There are some great books to try in French and German – visit my blog post to find out more
The Language Cabin offers GCSE group revision days for French and German. Contact us for more information or visit our Events page.
Justine Burnett
The Language Cabin
justine@thelanguagecabin.co.uk