Whether we choose to include speaking assessments in our Spanish classes or not, they are inevitable. The AP Exam, The IB Exams, and many regional exams require students to complete a speaking assessment.
One thing that’s for sure- even your strongest students will be anxious about this.
I don’t blame them! It is a stressful and intimidating situation for them.
So, what can we do to help? Here are three of my tried and true tricks for easing student anxiety during any Spanish speaking assessment.
1. Make Small Talk
When they first sit down it is important to engage them in some small talk. Ask them about the basketball game they had last night. How is their brother doing in college? Basically, ANYTHING to get their mind off of the speaking for a moment.
If they sit down and we get straight to business, they will not have a chance to feel relaxed and put forth their best performance. Even just one or two personal questions will get their mind off of the speaking assessment and allow them to feel comfortable before getting started.
2. Give Them Something To Squeeze
Sounds weird but this has made a HUGE difference. Head to your local Dollar Store or grab some off of Amazon (here are some great ones!). Give one of these to your students while they are speaking. It will do wonders.
Nervous students tend to pick at whatever is in front of them, paper, their face, or really anything to calm their nerves- why not give them something to squeeze and manipulate.
My students have actually told me it helps them concentrate and some even call it a lucky charm!
Pre-COVID I would use one item until it got very “well-loved” and then I would toss it and grab another stress ball or stress toy. In times of COVID, I ordered these from Amazon so each student can have their own during the IB individual oral.
3. Do not look at them
Ummm…what?!
Again, they are so so nervous- a teacher’s stare while they are stumbling through a speaking assessment can only heighten anxiety and make things worse.
So, I make myself busy. I have a note sheet or a rubric on a clip board in front of me. While they are speaking, I am taking notes, writing, and looking up giving an encouraging smile every once in a while.
This helps me focus on what they are saying by writing down important vocabulary or follow-up questions I may want to ask, and also takes the focus off of them.
BONUS Tip: Make them Smile! Candy, Compliment, or Comedy
Choose your favorite. I want them to leave with the feeling of “that wasn’t so bad!” Sometimes a little treat, a compliment about their new sneakers, or a (most likely bad) joke will do that.
As you get ready to send your student on their merry way, what can you do to leave them with a positive feeling? I like to give them a little treat. Usually, I get Smarties candy because I love a good pun. I can then attach this to some sort of Smarty-pants bad joke and now I have made them laugh at my ridiculousness and also given them a little treat for later.
So, they have already done their speaking, what is the point of this? Sending them off on a positive note is helping to set you (and your students) up for success on the NEXT Spanish speaking assessment. If they walk out feeling that it wasn’t SO bad, the next time they have to do this they will feel more confident in themselves and at ease with the situation.
Wishing you luck on your speaking assessments. They are tough on all of us but these tips can definitely help ease student anxiety.
Another way to ease speaking assessment anxiety- embed natural conversations in your classes. You can do this with personalized questions, weekend chats, and Socratic Seminars. You can read more about Socratic Seminars here and don’t forget to grab your FREE Quickstart guide to get started today!
