In this post I will be discussing how you can optimise your exam strategy. There is no single way of doing things. However, after observing a series of learning strategies, I think we can identify some key features common to all of them. The approaches that I post here will be those taken by CamClass’s high achieving students.
Testimonial – Max (aged 22) from Moscow, Russia
“I print out a page from a book, let’s say a reading or grammar. I do it then I check my answers. Then I translate every single word that I don’t understand and I read it again. I can go over one page/text a few times in order to remember as much information as possible.
Other study habits – I listen to podcasts on the way to and from work and every time I listen to one I imagine those words/sentences in my head with a white background an black words, just like on a computer. But mostly, I’m like a sponge . When I am having a conversation with a tutor, I’ll try to remember that in English without translating it in my head. There are words that I don’t know in Russian but I know them in English, for example, the word “avid”.
YouTube/ films/ books and all that stuff I do only in English and only partly for pleasure. I do it mostly to learn. That’s it. “
Understanding and repetition are key features of any learning strategy. Here, Max makes sure he understands every single word on the page that he does not understand. This takes much patience and attention, it’s a practice that you can develop over time via a routine. Secondly, visualising the words in your head will help you recall spelling, it’s a form of practice too and the more you visualise, the more you recall. Finally, avoid translating words or grammatical structures in your head. This is advice I have heard many tutors provide and is quite hard to follow. The reason being that languages do not translate neatly over from one language to another. Students who translate inside their heads before speaking progress slower and they also transfer grammatical structures from their mother tongue over into their second language, this forms bad habits that are difficult to break.
While YouTube, films and books are all important, they are an unstructured way to increase your general exposure to language, especially if you do not live or work around other English speakers. It will also improve your ability to understand cultural references and colloquialisms.