Struggling or getting frustrated?
Follow those tips to revise for your exams!
1. Be organised
It is important to have a structured approach to your revisions. French is not the only exam you have to revise for, so plan ahead when you will dedicate time for it. It is tempting to spend more time on subjects we like/are interested in and postpone those we are less keen on. So if French is one of your weakest subject, make sure you schedule more time for it.
2. Know how to learn
We all learn differently. You have to know how you learn best. To help you understand how you can turn your revision sessions into the most effective revision time, fill this questionnaire up
This will help you determine your learning style and help you learn in the most effective way FOR YOU.
3. Make sure you make full use of all your resources
- Redo you past papers again and redo the parts where you failed to gain full mark.
- Learn all your tenses: the perfect, the imperfect, the conditional, the future simple, the subjunctive…and yes, don’t forget the present!!
- Master the specific vocabulary of your topics and that means learn whether each word is feminine or masculine.
- Master the skills needed for each exercise ie if you have a translation to do remember to translate the meaning of the words rather than the word itself for the sake of a word!
- Remember to use complex structures : subjunctives sentences that don’t only start with « bien que », relative clauses, if clauses, etc… (very important for A-level students).
4. Relax !
- Pace yourself ! First and foremost, and I’m sorry if you thought differently, you CANNOT learn a year or 2 worth of information in the space of 2 weeks…..yes the Easter holidays are too late to learn everything you have to know. Start earlier, way earlier ! Hence my second point…
- Discipline yourself ! You are in charge of your future, not your parents, not your teacher. They have nothing to prove, they have passed all those exams, they’re done. It’s your turn, your responsibility. So get ORGANISED NOW ! Revise regularly every week. A little bit every day will make the task so less daunting.
- Once you’ve done all you could, you need to chill : go out, meet up with your friends, exercise, get some fresh air, spend some quality time with your family, curl up with your cat on the sofa while watching your favourite movie ? Dare I say play your favourite video game on your playstation (only ONCE you have done some revision please!). This will prevent you from going ‘stir crazy’…yes it’s all about balance. We all need to switch off at some point, we’re only human !
- Get some sleep. Noone has ever achieved anything sleep deprived. It’s actually a sure recipe to failing !
- Drink and eat well. A healthy diet with some exercise/fresh air, will undoubtedly help along the way. A diet of crisps and cold pizza is a disaster !!
- If you feel stressed and overwhelmed by the task at hand, talk with your friends, your family, your teacher, anyone. Don’t bottle it up. You are far from being alone. We are here for you and it’s very important you know that. I have never, ever pushed a student away when they needed a compassionate hear. We all know how stressful exams are.
If you are still struggling, then don’t panic. Get in touch and I will help you get everything in order, ready for the exams.