IGCSE English as a Second Language: Listening, Writing, and Speaking
Preparing for your IGCSE English as a Second Language (ESL) exam can feel daunting. You are not just learning grammar
Learn how to write step-by-step answers, and score A* in your exam!
Announcement: Cambridge IGCSE, O Level and AS & A Level June 2025 past papers are now available.
We have received enormous amount of stress rescue requests from candidates. Especially when the exam is approaching.
We do hope parents and educators are paying kind attention to this post.
All of the candidates are pouring their hearts out to us, crying for help, because there is really no one listening to them or helping them.
Here are some of their cry out:
… and many many more.
Therefore, in this article, we will discuss how to “handle” your stress. Hope this would help you not only in your exam, you probably will carry this throughout your life. 🙂
Contrary to popular belief, we CAN NOT “handle” stress.
Stress does not exist. It is NOT a thing that you can hold nor eat 😉
Stress is a feeling resulting from your thought.
From your ‘negative’ thought to be precise.
When your mind constantly thinking on negative thoughts, for example: you are scared to fail, or not getting an A*, or not good enough comparing to your older brothers or sisters, etc…; you create a bad feeling inside your body from all the negative thoughts.
The bad feeling that you feel, is what you call ‘stress’.
The more you want to “handle” your stress, the more you think there is something wrong about you. Then, you put more pressure and create more unwanted negative thoughts about yourself.
Why would you do that then?
Shall we agree from now on you don’t try to “handle” your stress anymore?
We only take “YES” as the answer 😉
So what should you do then? Keep reading…
There is really no big deal to admit we have negative thoughts. Everyone has them.
Just the courage to admit we have them, we have already eliminated most of the bad feelings.
Aren’t you feel lighter now?
Know that you can’t fight darkness with darkness. You can only fight darkness with light. By admitting the existence of negativity, you have inserted the light of positivity.
That is the most important starting point, and it is essential for you to continue to the next step.
Now that you know stress is the bad feelings you created from all your negative thoughts.
All you need to do now is – Change Your Thoughts.
Here are some steps for you to start doing that:
When you are making your list, you will notice that you have a shift in your feeling.
You will feel must lighter, your mind is clearer, you have so much energy that you want to jump into the exam hall right now, and most importantly, you will notice a big smile on your face because now you are a much happier person!
The final step is, you must train yourself to keep this happy feeling and not let yourself slide backwards again to the negative thoughts.
Step 3 will show you exactly how to do that.
Join 62,169 (and counting) IGCSE & AS/A Level subscribers who've taken our insanely valuable FREE email courses. Learn exam tips & score A* in your exam!
The best way to keep your mind on positive thoughts is gratitude.
If you make a search, you will discover many great minds had always said the same thing about gratitude, and what kind of miracle it would bring to you.
Here are some of them:
“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.” ~ Tony Robbins
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.” ~ Melodie Beatty
Make gratitude your daily dose in your daily life.
You could be grateful for the chance to study, the ability to read and write, to be able to attend your exam at your comfort, to have a comfortable bed to sleep on each night, the luxury of clean running water and electricity, the money that have been given to you so you could continue your education, the fresh air, all your favourite food that is always available at your reach, etc etc etc …
The list is so vast that we simply couldn’t put everything here. But you get the idea of where to start 🙂
Pay attention to how you feel. If you are not feeling good, that means your mind is currently broadcasting negative thoughts.
Immediately find anything you could be grateful for to shift to positive thought.
***
Last but not least, please know that you are a worthy human being. Everyone is.
We are all here to do something important. We are all equipped with a special talent that only we have, no one else.
And we are meant to find out what we are good at, so we could contribute this talent to mankind. When you are contributing your best talent for the benefit of mankind, you will be rewarded handsomely (a.k.a earning a lot of money). 🙂
So now, go out there and score A*!
Join 62,169 (and counting) IGCSE & AS/A Level subscribers who’ve taken our insanely valuable FREE email courses. Learn exam tips & score A* in your exam!
Amal Elsayed
Kuwait
Preparing for your IGCSE English as a Second Language (ESL) exam can feel daunting. You are not just learning grammar
Choosing the right educational pathway for your child is one of the most significant decisions a family can make. In
The IGCSE English First Language exam places a strong emphasis on creative writing, with writing descriptive and narrative essays being
In the IGCSE English First Language Directed Writing task, you’ll be required to either write a speech, letter, or article
325 responses
Hello Igcse team,
my exams are starting next week and I have not done as much as past papers as my friends and classmates have because I revised the concepts more and wrote notes and was doing chapter and topic-related questions . I am unsure if I would be able to complete most of the pastpapers and the thought just stresses me out.Due to the COVID situation the teachers dont correct the pastpapers so I have to do that as well.Please help me out to manage my time and finish my revision in time
Hello Rakshitha,
At this point of time, you shouldn’t rush to practice lots of past exam papers. This would stress you out. Just take all your previous practices, and go through all the common mistakes that you normally make. Go through them with a calm mind, and not beat yourself up for the mistakes that you have made. Read and annotate your textbook for the questions you got wrong. Then, re-do those questions you got wrong. Lastly, don’t forget to take a deep breath.
We hope this helps. Good luck with your exams!
Thank you
by the way, do you have any tips for not getting addicted to social media because studying at home has brought a lot of distractions and it is very difficult to not get distracted
Hello Rakshitha,
You are very much welcome.
Here are some suggestions on how to limit your social media use.
1. Turn off alerts and notifications. This will prevent you from checking your phone every now and then.
2. Create a social media schedule. If you allow yourself scheduled time each day to do this you can focus more on getting your work done instead of wondering where that time went. Stick to those times!
3. If you feel like limiting screen time still won’t be effective, then actually turning off your phone or leave your phone in a place where it’s out of reach from you can make a huge difference.
4. Keep yourself busy with other activities. Meditate, practice yoga, exercise, listen to music, or do whatever that makes you feel calm. Sometimes disconnecting yourself from social media can help you focus on things that can be more productive.
We hope this helps. We are rooting for you!
Thank you so much IGCSE team.
Hello Rakshitha,
We’re glad to help you! We wish you well with your exams.
Hi I’m leana and my O levels are in 5 months. How can I be confident in Physics. I usually over stress problems how do I become confident in general
Hello Leana,
Thank you for writing in.
First of all, take a deep breath and relax. Preparing well for the exams will help you build your confidence. You must put your mind on studying, not stressing. When you concentrate in one thing, your mind can’t think of another thing.
Go through the syllabus (https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-o-level-subjects-syllabuses/). Start by listing down things you are confident and not so sure about.
Practice with the latest past exam papers (https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-o-level-past-exam-papers/). Make notes and revise the common mistakes you always seem to make. This would help you avoid the same mistakes during the exams.
You may also want to read this article: https://www.skolatis.com/how-to-answer-short-answer-questions-and-structured-questions-in-igcse-physics-0625/ for some tips on how to answer the Physics paper.
Lastly, our A* Subscription Courses can help you with your exam preparations. These courses had produced many A* candidates worldwide. We suggest that you register as early as possible so you will have sufficient time to go through the course before the exams. You may register here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses
Feel free to contact us for any further queries. Thank you.
Hi i am in grade 9 from India and my subjects are Math, Add Math, Physics , Chemistry , Economics,English,English Literature,Hindi 2nd language and Computer Science.
I will write my exams in year 2022 Feb March .
When should i start with past papers by latest to get A* in all subjects .
Please guide me how to make study table which update me with my current progress and declutter my unproductive works
Hello Jeet,
Thank you for writing in. You might want to consider our A* Subscription courses here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/ for your exam preparations.
We encourage you to subscribe at least 6 months before the exams or even earlier so you will have sufficient time and go through the programme in detail and participate in the Q&A sessions longer. You can keep the course as long as you want, just continue the monthly subscription payment.
Here are some tips how to make a study table:
1. Draw up a study timetable and block in all activities, classes, and any household or other responsibilities you may have. Include meal times and travel time. BE REALISTIC. This should be an actual timetable, which is possible, not some ideal that can never be achieved.
2. Work out your most effective study times. When do you study best? Morning, afternoon, or evening?
3. Estimate how many hours you think you need for each subject and try to match it with the hours available in your planner.
4. Block in some study times, preferably 2 to 4 hours at a time, with 5 to 10 minutes break every 40 to 50 minutes.
5. Start at exam date and work backwards, blocking in more study time in the relevant subject closer to the exam/due date. Make sure that you prepare for each exam over several days and don’t fill up the last few days too heavily. Also put in any events which may affect your study times, such as birthdays, social events and family functions.
6. You may want to plan in detail for each study session. Write down which topic you will be reviewing. This way, you can ensure that you will cover all the required information in the times you have allocated. Consider: What do I want to achieve in this session? (eg: summary/ notes / list of definitions/ practice past exam papers). Where will I need to study? Do I need access to a computer/ the internet/ the library?
Start using your study timetable. See how well it works. What did you leave out? It can be changed as you go, but do this consciously: look at what is not working, which areas you need more time in and change the timetable. This is much better than just throwing the timetable away. Then you can be sure that you will still cover all the material you need to.
We hope this helps.
Hi IGCSE Center!
I got A*’s and A’s in all my exams but SOMEHOW got a U in maths in 2019 October exams! I am retaking in June so any suggestions or advice from the professionals on a retake? I would really appreciate all the help and kindness! 🙂
Hello Elijah,
You might consider taking our online Revision Course. These had helped numerous students to score A*. It consist of: revision notes and video tutorials, a ready-made revision timetable, downloadable exam-style practices, common mistakes candidates make during the exams, examiners’ advice, and also some chosen of our word-renowned A* Model Answers (for the respective subject) would be provided free. If you do not understand any part of the video, you can always write in and the subject experts will help you. For more information, please refer to this page: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
If you need further assistance, feel free to write to us again.
it is a way of making money by cambridge.
you probably did well.
How did you get A*’s AND A’s. HOW JUST HOW. I BARELY EVEN MANAGED TO GET ONE A.
Hello there,
You may want to check out our A* online courses. Our courses are complete and comprehensive, and our monthly subscription programmes provide A/A* guarantee for candidates who follow our programme diligently.
Register and be one of our A* achievers here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses
Feel free to contact us for any further queries. Thank you.
I just wanted to ask which are the main AS subjects i need to become a biochemist.
I am currently doing IGCSE and took all three sciences and maths but can i not take physics in AS , i mean only chemistry , biology and maths.
Hello there,
Please find out from the university’s website, on the required subjects for Biochemist. We strongly suggest you check with the university you wish to apply to as each university and its programs has their own set of entry requirements.