Chapter 21: Making the Grade: Handling Exam Classes 313
Teaching Exam Classes
Most exam classes involve practising actual exam questions from past
papers and analysing what went well or badly. There is also a need for general
training in grammar, vocabulary, text structure and overall exam techniques.
The first thing to do is get hold of up-to-date information from the examining
board on what the exam consists of. Then sit down and take the exam
yourself. Don’t just answer the questions, make notes on how you found
the answer or structured your argument. There is always a reason why one
answer is better than another and it’s your job to explain it. Did you find
synonyms or use a process of elimination, for example?
Find examples of good written texts by students and analyse what makes
them successful. Do the same for poor attempts.
Organising your course
After you know what the exam is like, find some course materials. You need a
book of past papers or typical exam questions and another book which helps
students build up their skills. Ideally students should have their own copies
of the book(s) to save you doing photocopies every day and to encourage
self-study. Don’t worry too much about students looking ahead and cheating,
after all they are only cheating themselves. You can also draw on authentic
materials from the real world to liven things up and help students to find
their own learning resources. So, instead of a text from the course book, use
a newspaper article or extract from a popular novel.
Work out how much preparation time is available before the exam and
organise the course syllabus accordingly. Students should have a full mock
exam during the course, about three quarters of the way through so there is
time to put a few things right. Some teachers set a full mock at the beginning
of the course so students know what they are aiming for but this can be
intimidating. You should definitely go through all parts of the exam though.
For the Speaking test, see if you can get a colleague to pose as an examiner as
this feels more realistic than when you do it.
