Oral Exam Tips How to Manage Oral Exam Anxiety by Changing Your Thinking

By WR!TERS@WORK

Many PSLE and O-Level students dread the English oral exam, especially if they are more introverted. The oral exam requires students to analyse a picture and talk about it in a confident manner. Content aside, many students do not have the right frame of mind and may feel extremely nervous before their exams. However, nervousness is mostly in the mind – students can try changing their thinking to manage their oral exam anxiety. Remember – we speak in English every day – the oral exam is no different to your everyday conversations with family/friends.

Here are some tips to manage oral exam anxiety by changing your thinking:

1. Turn Your Mind Around

Students are often filled with self-doubt and nervousness before an exam. This is a natural emotion – everyone will feel nervous when their skills are assessed and compared to others’. However, students need to turn their mind around and remember that this is just to see how well they do at speaking English, which is something they have been doing throughout primary school. Students should aim to prepare themselves in the best way possible by learning all the content they need and speaking confidently in time for the PSLE or O-Level oral exam.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice.

One of the greatest aspects of courage is the courage of having done the thing before. Students should practise as much as possible before sitting for the exam. Students should read more newspapers and relevant articles to accumulate more content knowledge in time for the exam. If students are not confident in speaking, they should rehearse in front of a mirror or with someone else to practise how they will actually speak in the exam. With more practice, students will be able to assuage their own anxieties about facing a major academic milestone.

3. Remember that the Real Goal is Communication

Ultimately, the real goal of the PSLE and O-Level English oral exams is communication. The examiner simply wants to know how good you are at communicating about a particular topic. Remember – these national oral exams are just a measure of how well you can communicate – treat it as practice for the future. Communication is an essential skill you will need throughout life, and not just in an academic setting. At the workplace, with your family, with government agencies – effective communication is one of the skills you need that will never go away.

4. You Speak Every Day of Your Life. This is No Different.

Students should not feel so scared of the oral exam – after all, speaking is something students do every single day. The oral exam is just an albeit more formal setting of speaking. Students should feel at ease with themselves and remember that they are just talking – they are doing something they do on a daily basis anyway. By turning their mindset around and thinking that they are just talking, they may feel less nervous about having their skills evaluated. The examiner is there to give you marks, and they want to give you as many marks as possible – all the student needs to do is just demonstrate that he can speak well enough to get them.

Many people have the fear of public speaking – you don’t have to be the same. With the right mindset and proper preparation for the content, students will be able to ace their PSLE and O-Level oral exams in time! WRITERS AT WORK is keeping up with the changes made to the latest PSLE English syllabus, which includes a more difficult oral paper. Our students are trained to adapt to these changes so that they will not be caught off guard when it is their turn to face the oral exams. With our dedicated team of teachers and relevant materials, let us take care of your child’s English results!

Master the English Language with WRITERS AT WORK!

English is a compulsory subject which all students must undertake. However, mastering the English language is not something which happens overnight – it takes consistent practice and effort to learn the nuances of the language. Students must read more and practice writing to gradually improve. Cramming for a language subject nearer to the exams is an impossible feat. After all, Rome was not built in a day! Attaining such a skill will have positive implications for not only your child’s education in school, but also employment prospects in future.

At WRITERS AT WORK, we are committed to providing the smoothest learning experience for your child sitting for their English exams. With our carefully curated methods of teaching your child how to write well, your child will learn how to present their thoughts and arguments in a coherent and concise manner. WRITERS AT WORK reinforces your child’s language skills and provides a strong foundation for their academic success, keeping up with all aspects of their progress both inside and outside of the classroom to nurture them holistically. For more information about how WRITERS AT WORK makes a difference, feel free to explore our website and watch our YouTube videos!

If you are interested in our primary English tuition and secondary English tuition in Singapore, WRITERS AT WORK has expanded to 8 convenient locations. To find the nearest location that suits your needs, please explore our options. If you have any inquiries regarding our range of programs or class schedules, please feel free to contact WRITERS AT WORK!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Creative Writing Good for Kids?

Creative writing is good for children as it teaches them how to use their imagination. Children have a vivid imagination and will enjoy coming up with different storylines and characters. Through the use of creative writing, children can express themselves using the English language, which is also good for their emotional development and maturity.

2. What are Good Creative Writing Topics?

A good start is to write about what you know. Students can start by writing about things that are familiar to them, such as school or family. Then, students can move on to more complex topics, requiring them to use their imagination about events which would be unlikely to happen in real life, such as a fairytale or an adventure story. Older students can write descriptive essays about being in a situation or about more abstract concepts, such as regret.

3. How to Begin a Story?

A good story should have just the right amount of exposition to illuminate the setting and the characters for the reader without giving away the entire plot. The story should begin where it is relevant, and the general gist of the situation should be outlined. The writer should know how to move the plot along from where they start easily, and the story should flow logically.

4. What are the Basic Steps in Creative Writing?

A good first step would be to plan out the story – it is important that the story follows a Plot Curve which has a logical sequence of events and a clear conclusion. The main and supporting characters should be clear – there should not be a whole village of characters – just enough to further the plot. Moreover, the central conflict of the story should be clear.