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Hello! Welcome to today's show of the ESL HELP! Desk, for fun help
with English grammar and communication.
Look at the photo to the right: Has this ever happened to you? What do you think the person in the photo is dreaming
about? Why do you think this person has fallen asleep?
If you are a college student or a college professor or if you have ever
been a college student or professor, you will know that everybody hates
finals
!
The final examination period
may last for up to
two weeks, a lovely period of time when there are no classes but when
everybody is
stressed out
. It is a time when many students
pull all-nighters
. Students who
have procrastinated
all
semester suddenly start
to cram.
Some students deal well with the stress
but others don't. Those who do not can have anxiety attacks. The
thought of a test makes them anxious. Many students become
particularly anxious around math tests, but never around English
tests; they love and look forward to English tests. Okay, I take that
back. ESL students also have
panic attacks because the tests and papers will be in English and this
also produces a lot of anxiety.
What can students do in order to relax
more during finals?
First of all, they can study hard during the semester and not
let
everything go until the last minute. They can learn how to
manage their time. To manage their stress during finals, they can try to take a walk every day and get
fresh air, and do things like meditation and yoga in order to calm their
minds. Some high schools and colleges have special stress management programs during
finals. Once, when I was teaching English, during the last class
before our final, our whole class sat in a circle and we had a group
meditation exercise led by one of the students!
Does cramming help in the end? Many professionals
say no, because you become so tired after all those all-nighters and so
confused that your test performance suffers in the end. But if you do
have to cram and pull an all-nighter, some suggestions are: keep a
window open, eat healthy foods such as bananas rather than junk food in
order to avoid sugar highs
and lows, take a 10-minute break for each hour you are studying, and drink plenty of water.
But of course the best suggestion is to
avoid having to cram and pull an all-nighter in the first place!
And how about you? Do you have any recommendations for how
to cope
with finals and the stress of exams and papers? We'd love to hear your
ideas.
If you have any questions or comments about this week's podcast
or suggestions for another topic,
send them to us and include your email address.
The ESL Help! Desk
Music Copyright, permission of Luca De Bernardi
Photo of Headphones Copyright Karl-Erik Bennion
Sound Effects permission of Freesound.org:
Robinhood76 (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=62971)
kerri (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=42932)
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