Freaking out for GCSE English Speaking

In yr10 we do the oral exam part of the english gcse to move onto English Language exam. I'm worried about what subject to choose because I have many interest but I'm scared of me waffling and it not being right (I love folk instruments and textiles.... and I'm passionate about politics but I want to not give and opinion which would be hard...)

I have also had lots of struggles, including becoming really prone to snapping under just a bit of pressure. I something is making me nervous I often lose abilities, one of them being able to communicate at all.

Any advice? Sorry it's so long!

Reply 1

elaborate-postgr

Original post by Blobethie

In yr10 we do the oral exam part of the english gcse to move onto English Language exam. I'm worried about what subject to choose because I have many interest but I'm scared of me waffling and it not being right (I love folk instruments and textiles.... and I'm passionate about politics but I want to not give and opinion which would be hard...)
I have also had lots of struggles, including becoming really prone to snapping under just a bit of pressure. I something is making me nervous I often lose abilities, one of them being able to communicate at all.
Any advice? Sorry it's so long!

this really isn’t as big of a deal as it was made out to be icl, i spoke about ‘should songwriters get the same amount of credit as the performers’ as i love music and this was something i could easily yap about. i wrote bullet points on flash cards and spoke them thru (pretty much writing the whole speech down and almost reading word for word but kept glancing up at the camera and ppl in my class) and got a distinction.

i get rly nervous in front of ppl but my class was small and i felt comfortable with the 7/8 other ppl although a couple of people in my class struggled with anxiety and the teacher said the only requirement for the qualification is that you need at least 1 or 2 ppl in the room aswell as ur teacher but that’s it. Ask your teacher if ur able to do the speech in front of them and a couple of ur friends instead of the whole class that way you may feel more comfortable. You need to have more ppl than just the teacher as you need to be able to answer questions at the end - for this to avoid stress that you won’t be able to answer what ur friends ask you- tell them beforehand exactly what questions to ask you so you can have ur answers prepared

hope this helps :smile:

Reply 2

toxicmotivation

Imo i think it would be better to avoid the politics because your opinion will be challenged during the Q&A bit unless you are fully confident in what your saying. I recommend memorizing asap so you build up your confidence and leave no room for mistakes. I defo rec using flashcards if you're allowed to. Even if u end up being super confident abt ur memorization, bring the flashcards (speaking from experience..ahaha-)

Anyway the main bit is the content so dw if u do make any mistakes during ur performance. Plus ik ppl who read out half their speeches and still got a distinction.

Overall do something u rlly love because that passion will show during ur perfrormance and earn u those points. I got distinction during mine so ur welcome to ask any more specific questions <33

Reply 3

Eve190

Original post by Blobethie

In yr10 we do the oral exam part of the english gcse to move onto English Language exam. I'm worried about what subject to choose because I have many interest but I'm scared of me waffling and it not being right (I love folk instruments and textiles.... and I'm passionate about politics but I want to not give and opinion which would be hard...)
I have also had lots of struggles, including becoming really prone to snapping under just a bit of pressure. I something is making me nervous I often lose abilities, one of them being able to communicate at all.
Any advice? Sorry it's so long!

Talk about what you feel comfortable with saying in front of the class. The best speeches are those that can have counter arguments (on the other hand….) and those that have done extra research so politics could be good at including statistics. Just remember to keep it interesting as other people will need to ask you questions for you to pass. But honestly don’t think to deeply about the topic - just plan asap.

Reply 4

99lambchops

Original post by Blobethie

In yr10 we do the oral exam part of the english gcse to move onto English Language exam. I'm worried about what subject to choose because I have many interest but I'm scared of me waffling and it not being right (I love folk instruments and textiles.... and I'm passionate about politics but I want to not give and opinion which would be hard...)
I have also had lots of struggles, including becoming really prone to snapping under just a bit of pressure. I something is making me nervous I often lose abilities, one of them being able to communicate at all.
Any advice? Sorry it's so long!

relax it isn't that that deep I have a laughing problem which makes teachers get angry when im presenting because they think im taking the mick when I literally laugh for absolutely no reason very unintentionally and the more I try to stop the more I laugh. its quite embarrassing actually but anyway I was standing there laughing in my speech and still got a merit which isn't top but its good considering what I was doing. you just need to present good, dont stand there like a lemon, move about. after the recording starts dont wait because if you do its like dead silence all around you and will just make you feel more nervous so as soon as the teacher or you say your name and candidate number or whatever just get straight into it dont start fumbling about with papers or waiting a few extra seconds.

Reply 5

99lambchops

also come up with a very clever tricky question and tell you friend to ask it in fact the only reason I think I got a merit was because of my good answer which I pre planned

Reply 6

Blobethie

Hiya! thank you everyone! Everything you aud was very helpful and ill take in consideration all your suggestions! This has defo made me less worried. Thanksssss!! :biggrin: