Learning to Breathe: How to Reduce KET Exam Anxiety for Kids
Learning to Breathe
Quick Answer for Parents
One of the most effective ways to reduce KET exam anxiety is through breathwork. Techniques like box breathing calm the nervous system, improve focus, and help children think more clearly during the test.
The Biggest Return on Your KET Exam Investment
If I could choose only ONE THING to tell parents to do that would give the greatest return when preparing for the Cambridge Key A2 Exam (KET), it would be...
Image: Young student with no anxiety about the KET exam
Oh, wait!...
Before I answer, let's take a quick pop quiz. (Don't you love those? 🤭😱)
Which of these do you think would be the best investment of time when preparing for the KET exam?
Click on your answer below:
Learning the format of the Cambridge KET exam.
Learning study skills and test-taking skills.
Learning how to breathe.
Wait, breathing? Really?
I chose option #3! Did the answer surprise you?
Okay, so maybe the title of the blog gave it away (I mean I'm not being very stealth when I title it "Learning to Breathe"...), but humor me so I can share my story anyway.
Image: Frazzled woman at work that needs help to calm her nerves
Imagine this:
You've been preparing for a huge presentation at work.
If you do well, then you'll receive a promotion and maybe even a pay raise.
If you don't do well, there's no promotion, no pay raise, and you must revamp the presentation outside of work hours (with no extra pay) until your boss is happy with it.
The night before you present your proposal you don't sleep well.
That morning, the kids are arguing, and someone spills something sticky on your outfit.
Then, road construction makes you late to work.
Oh, the stress!
As soon as you arrive, your boss wants you to go immediately into the meeting and present your research.
Your brain is already frazzled and you can't think clearly.
It doesn't look like this is going to end well.
Image: Woman in a bathroom calming her nerves through breathwork
But... recently you learned how to breathe.
You excuse yourself for a moment to "powder your nose".
After locking yourself in the bathroom, you take slow, deep breaths in and out....
As you count each breath, you notice your thoughts become more relaxed and clearer. Your heart slows. Your nervous system calms.
When you return to the meeting, your boss tells you to begin.
You smile, and the presentation you've been working on comes out smoothly. Your mind feels clear, and the difficult questions your colleagues ask are easy to answer.
It's called breathwork
If you haven't yet learned about breathwork, you may not believe that deep breathing could actually cause that kind of change, but empirical evidence has shown a great deal of success for users of these breathing skills.
Yesterday, your edgy nerves; Today, your child's KET exam anxiety
Let's return to that crazy morning when you left the house with a sticky shirt.
But this time it's the morning of the Cambridge Key A2 exam. And it's your kiddo who's stressed and anxious.
Anxiety during the KET exam can scramble the brain of even the best-prepared student, the finest English speaker, or the most confident student. And that anxiety doesn't have to come from the test itself.
Image: A young ESL student anxiously preparing for the KET exam
How can I help my child with KET exam anxiety?
Your child wakes up late or forgets his pencils; she gets mud on her clothes or has an argument with her sibling. On a high-stress day, it doesn't take much for anxiety to kick in.
Breathwork is an incredibly simple and effective practice that you can start anytime. Students can use breathing techniques the night before the Cambridge Key A2 (KET) exam, on the car ride over, and even in the middle of the test!
The best tip to calm the test tension is to prepare for anxiety weeks in advance. Learn how to subdue those nerves, no matter what the cause.
What is breathwork and how does it help with exam anxiety?
Breathwork is a set of breathing techniques designed to slow down your breath, heart, and racing thoughts.
Often you'll learn to take deep breaths that you can feel all the way down in your belly.
These breathing exercises may encourage you to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Calming your nervous system; Quieting your brain
Focusing on our breath means the brain is compelled to give less attention to the things causing the anxiety. Deep breathing helps calm the nervous system and diminish the body's response to negative emotions like anxiety.
There are multiple breathwork exercises, as well as a variety of skills you can learn, but we'll focus on one specific method you and your child can learn and practice before test day.
Box Breathing for KET Exam Anxiety
One of the best breathing techniques we can use at any time is called Box Breathing. This breathwork exercise is very easy to remember, and so it is a good exercise for beginners and young children.
How to do box breathing
Follow these steps from an article in PubMed, an online scientific journal:
"It can be helpful to visualize a box with four equal sides when using this technique. Sitting in a comfortable position with your eyes closed, inhale slowly through your nose while counting to four. Hold the breath for four counts then slowly exhale for four counts. Hold for four counts. Repeat the cycle three more times." [1]
Image recreated from PubMed article: "Take a Deep Breath" by Linda Myerholz [1]
Teach your child to defuse KET Exam anxiety
If you haven't done this before, breathwork can be challenging for both adults and children when they first begin.
To help younger children learn box breathing, encourage them to trace each line of the square (using the image above), counting to four as their fingers follow the lines.
Easy as 1, 2, 3... and 4
Box breathing is a great exercise to begin with: if you can count to four, you can do this exercise.
Remind your child that it's all about the number four:
4 sides of a square
inhale for 4
hold for 4
breathe out for 4
hold for 4
do that 4 times in total
Why Breathwork Is the Best Investment for KET Exam Success
Remember when I said that this skill gives you the best return on your investment when preparing for the KET exam?
Image: A young ESL student practicing box breathing for the Cambridge Key A2 (KET) exam
Here's the reason: learning skills to deal with racing hearts, jittery nerves and anxiety helps your sweet child in all parts of life, not just the KET.
She can use this in all test-taking situations, but also when something more personal upsets her.
When kids grow up there will be stressors lurking everywhere -- as adults, we know this very well. Anyone who can regulate her emotions has a leg up in her personal life, job, and every place she finds herself.
And it's much better to learn how to regulate our emotions early on; this skill makes life so much easier!
Image: Young ESL students playing before studying for KET Exam
One More Simple Idea for KET Exam Success
If you and your kiddo enjoyed this KET study tip, let me suggest one that is even more fun and actually builds your child's brain for better learning in all situations.
You’ll find it in the blog: “Why Letting Kids Run Around Might Be the Best Study Strategy Ever” — a powerful way to support your child’s KET exam success. This is by far my favorite piece of advice on how to improve learning. (And it works for moms and dads, too!)
If your child feels nervous about test day, learning simple techniques like these can make a real difference in their KET exam performance.
