may 2008 uppersecondary teachers

Teacher’s notes and key

- 1 -

Starting off

This can be rounded up as a class discussion. Encourage them to think about different kinds of stress
(internal, external, emotional etc.) and to offer any examples or anecdotes they have. You, of course, can do
the same.

Before your read/First reading

Some of these may well be the same in the learners’ first language (L

) but, as ever when using L

, beware of

false friends and be sure to clarify pronunciation, especially stress patterns. During feedback remember to
check the collocating verb [DO] for these activities. Key:

1. True

2. False

3. True

4. True

5. True

Vocabulary 1

The learners can try to do the task without looking at the text first, to see how many of the items are already
familiar; they can then, of course, use the text to help them complete the others before feedback. Key:

1. cope

2. at the expense of

3. liable to

4. use up

5. plenty of

6. jumpy

7. sweaty

8. infection

Vocabulary 2

Key:

1. plenty of

2. sweaty

3. liable to

4. infection

5. at the expense of

6. jumpy

7. cope

8. used up

Second reading

This is a challenging task which requires the learners to read the text very closely, paying attention to textual
organisation at many levels: lexical (collocation, synonymy), grammatical (agreement of form and tense,
conjunctions, disjuncts) and discoursal (paragraph and text organisation, topic sentences, exemplification).

You may find it helpful to do the first example as a class so you can be sure they know what to do.
See the Teacher’s Copy for the key.

Speaking

This is a personalised task which will work best if the learners draw on their own experiences with stress. To
encourage this, you could begin by getting the learners to write down the last three situations in which they
faced stress (demonstrate by doing it first yourself on the board) and what they did before and after (again,
demonstrate yourself). For example, they may have had to take an exam and have gone for a walk afterwards.
Once they have gathered ideas in this way the activity should go well.

Teacher’s notes and key

- 2 -

Extension

The topic of examinations has plenty of potential for further activities. You could ask the class to prepare tips
sheets

for passing school examinations in a ‘dos and don’ts’ format for presentation in poster form.

Alternatively, and more ambitiously, you could ask the class to work in small groups and consider how they
would organise the school system: if they would have examinations at all, if they would have school every day,
when they would have holidays (and for how long), which subjects they would keep and which they would
change etc. This kind of task can be very valuable in helping the learners see the reasons for various elements
of the school/education system,

and also in helping you understand how that system looks from the students’

perspective. The activity may well begin with the learners being rather silly (long holidays, no mathematics) but
generally turns quite serious as they appreciate being asked genuine questions about their point of view
concerning something which is an important part

of their lives. Your role during the activity is to prompt (‘What

about…?’) and to encourage reflection (‘What will happen when…?’).

Contact

Please let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for future editions of Around English.

Peter Moran

petersmaterials@gmail.com

- 3 -

We have all felt it many
times. Trembling hands,

sweaty

palms,

inexplicable clumsiness
and worse. Stress can
stop us from performing
as well as we might and,
in extreme cases, cause
us to be physically sick.
So how can we beat
stress?

Well, perhaps the

first question should be
‘What is stress?

’ After all, if we wish to

beat something we must first know
what it is.

What is stress?

Stress is a feeling of tension,

excitement and fear which helps us to
make a big effort in whatever we are
trying to do.

When we feel stress our

bodies get ready for a special effort.

For example, they begin producing
adrenaline and other chemicals which
help us to react to danger or other
challenges.

Why is stress bad?

Stress is not always bad.

Stress is natural; it is part of normal life
and it can help us to perform better.
However, stress can be bad for us. It
can make us irritable and

jumpy

cause us to be rude to others, make us
tired and, paradoxically, at the same
time unable to sleep. Stress can also
make it harder for us to concentrate
and make us less able to resist viruses
and

infections

What causes stress?

The causes of stress can be

external,

such

exams,

job

interviews, dentist’s appointments and
so on, or internal

– worrying about the

future, trying to do too much or being a
perfectionist, for example.

How can we beat
stress?

There’s no perfect
way

deal

with

stress, unfortunately.

There are, thought,
some things we can
remember to do and -
more

importantly

some things we can
remember not to do
which will help.

Five tips for managing stress

PLENTY OF

SLEEP

This may be obvious, but it is very
important. Stress causes problems
with sleep but a lack of sleep can
cause stress.

2. O

RGANISE YOUR TIME

. One of the

most common causes of stress is
the feeling that ‘I can’t

cope

’.

Often, an impossible amount of
work becomes quite manageable if
it is organised sensibly.

3. EAT PROPERLY. When you have

a lot of work, the temptation is to
spend all your time on it, often

the expense of

eating. This is a

bad idea: eating properly will help
you to work better.

4. TAKE REGULAR BREAKS.

Again,

it may be tempting to keep working
as long as possible.

The fact is,

though,

you

will

productive and less stressed if you
take regular breaks.

5. GET SOME EXERCISE. Physical

exercise is one of the best ways to
cope with stress. As well as letting
you

use up

some nervous energy,

it will make you less

liable to

get

stressed later.

Keep a perspective

Remember, a lot of stress

comes from our own heads.

We often

see small things as enormously
important.

Keeping a perspective can

make a big difference.