Helping Students Prepare for the Final Exam

As I've watched students come in and out of their oral exams this week, I've been considering ways we can help them feel prepared on test day - both linguistically and emotionally. Here are some ideas for future semesters, to help all students feel ready to do their best on the final exam:

1. Our exams are performance based, so as long as students can show what they know, they are likely to do well. As a tip before students go into the exam, I've been reminding them that whatever they can say in the target language earns them points - even if it is to ask the examiner to repeat something. Their main objective is simply to keep the conversation going in the target language. The more practice they have doing this in class, the more natural it will feel during the exam. So, make them speak the target language in class - even just to say 'what?' or 'could you repeat that?' They may not like it at first, but it will help on test day.

2. Just like the oral proficiency exam given by ACTFL, our oral exams are meant to determine how well our students can express themselves in their new language. Accuracy is important, but far more important is their ability to express ideas - even if they make some mistakes. Here is the advice that ACTFL gives to students about to take their oral proficiency exam, and it is good advice for our students too:

When taking the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), listen carefully to the questions asked by the interviewer before answering. When answering, give as detailed a response as possible. Saying little to avoid making mistakes will not improve your rating. If you do not know a specific term in the target language, describe it and try to avoid making up words. (If you do not use the tested language or a slang term, do not be surprised if the interviewer asks you to describe what that word means in the target language).

3. Being able to guess meaning from context is an important skill for beginning students. They are unlikely to understand every single word said to them in the language of study, but can they catch enough to understand the overall idea? Let them practice this skill during class by not always acting as a human dictionary. If a student asks what a word means, see if they can figure it out for themselves, based on what they do know. Some educated guessing can earn big points on an exam.

4. Remind them to leave nothing blank. If they only know one word on a written exam question, they should take a guess at that question's meaning and answer anyway. Better to try for the partial credit, and they just might know more than they realize.

Is there anything else we all should be doing to help students prepare? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

And finally, happy last day of the Spring 2011 semester! Congratulations on a great job, despite the occasional weather-induced chaos! Have a happy summer, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all this fall.