How to help your students stay motivated for the Cambridge exams? 3 crucial tips for teachers

1. Set up goals for reaching the Cambridge exam, be specific and time-bound

From the psychological point of view, it is always helpful to see where all your efforts and activities are leading as we can then better understand and stay focused. Set up goals with them. You can, for example, use the well-known method of SMART, which helps to set up goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. The goals could vary from short-term to long-term, for instance:

1. Short-term: by the end of the lesson – they will be able to ask basic questions
2. Medium-term: by the end of the term – they will have improved their spoken English through the speaking test
3. Long-term: by the end of the year, they will have passed Cambridge B2 First

It is important to mention the deadline of the task and be specific in order to measure success.

2. Visualise students´ goals and successes – let them create their checklists

To setup goals we recommend using visualisation. It helps students to remember steps of the “goal-achieving-process”. Furthermore, with visualisation students take ownership of their own studying process. As within this process of visualisation, they need to think about individual steps they must take to get to the final Cambridge English exam.

Finally, take an A4 paper and let your learners write down all their goals with deadlines, details and visuals they can relate to and will remember.

Download the checklist

3. Use Cambridge English exam material and become part of our teaching community

In the Swiss Exams online shop as well as on the website, we have many official Cambridge English Exam Preparation material, books and digital tools that help you to prepare your students. To access these support materials, select “Preparation” on the menu above.

We are aware that learners need to practice for English tests in various ways. Therefore, we provide you with all the needed materials; from speaking resources to paper-based or computer-based sample tests and online activities.

We also know how important it is to share your experience and questions – so we are regularly running webinars and workshops for you. Have a look at our webinars coming up and join us.

If you wish to stay up to date and become a part of our community, follow “Swiss Exams” on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter!

Why it remains important

Here is just a quick reminder of why we actually do all this. Why it is important for your students to take an internationally recognised English Exam. Why is it important for you as a school to prepare and provide your students with internationally recognised English exams?

Here’s a list of reasons:

• many higher education institutions recognise and require English tests by Cambridge as entry requirements,
• An internationally recognised English Certificate by Cambridge gives your students a big advantage on the job market,
• Language exams by Cambridge focus on all the skills: writing + speaking + listening + reading,
• the learned communication skills are beneficial for the rest of their life, not only for studying or applying,
• and of course, successful students mean ambassadors for your school = which means higher recognition of the school.