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Jaime Simpson

Dear Jaime,

I'm so worried about my future. I am having many tests this month.  I have tried to study but I find English so difficult.  I can't understand some of the new words,  can't spell them  or don't know when to use them.  I think I'm going to fail this exam.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Exams can be a very stressful time. It's important that you learn how to relax  before you study or take an exam.

If you go into your exam  thinking that you are going to fail, you will be too worried when you go through the paper and you won't be able to focus.

It's also important to talk to your English teacher about your concerns with the spelling and grammar.

The only way to improve your English is through practise. The more you work at it, the better you will become.

Your teacher might also be able to give you some more homework sheets to enhance your language skills.

One thing you can do is keep an English dictionary besides you when you study, so when you don't know the meaning of a word, you can look it up.

I encourage you to try and learn five new English words and their meanings every week from the dictionary.

You could also ask a friend to practise speaking English with you, and you could also ask each other to spell out some words  and discuss how to use them in the right context.

There is always the Young Post you can read as well, which will help you to boost your English ability.

Hi Jaime,

Last year I was really confident. However, this year I have lost all my confidence. I sometimes feel I am a failure. I don't know if I am failing at school because of my lack of confidence or if I just don't understand the work. Can I rebuild my confidence?

Nana

Hi Nana,

Yes, you can rebuild your confidence.

If you feel like you have lost your confidence, it's important to think about the situations that drained this confidence away.

One good way to rebuild your confidence is to start speaking 'words of greatness'  about yourself.

So instead of saying you are a failure, you can speak words of success. For example, 'I am confident that I have studied the best I can for this exam'.

I would encourage you to write out five statements about what you like about yourself.

There will always be things that you don't like and things that you aren't good at, but there is no point in focusing on those. The best thing to do is focus on your good qualities and the things that you are good at.

Once you have written out the five things that you like about yourself or that you are good at, read them out loud to yourself at least twice a day, when you get up and before you go to bed.

When you have a bad thought about yourself, change it straight away.

For example, if your thought says 'I am hopeless at this', you can change  it  immediately and say something like 'I am going to give them the best I can give, or I am learning to be great

at this'.



free to be me