End-of-term English Exams

Each school in the area belongs to a cluster, which is just like American schools being part of a district. The exams are set and distributed by the cluster, but our school chose to create our own, which was a lot of work but I was happy with because the cluster tests just do not cover what I’d like them to. For the mid-term exams, I was there to help set them, and a group of teachers just sat in a room, found whatever books and newspapers were laying around, and photocopied articles from them to use in the test. Then made up a few questions for each. So it didn’t apply to the topics we cover, such as Population Education or HIV/AIDS. Thus I was happy to create my own test, using relevant articles and reading material for the learners to respond to.

Today our school received a copy of the exam the cluster made, and wooooo…here is my favorite question:

“Quote from the passage an adverb which can not the same par 6.”

Which is not to say I did the greatest job on my own. One task of the exam is to choose from a selection of topics and write an essay. One of the topics I offered was to write a letter to a pen pal in America, telling them about Lano Primary School. Some learners had asked me if they’d be getting pen pals, so I (wrongfully) assumed they all knew what a pen pal was. Two lovely essays:

Tobias: “Dear: My Frind. Firt of all I just what to great yurl.” (greet you: most Namibians say this, and most Namibians spell greet ‘great’) “Me I am very well how are you. I just what to tell you that I buy a new pen my pen is blue it use to wirte if the pen write it us to put stars in the worlds and it is very very good. I was just want to tell you thant is was very very good. Your friend. Tobias.”

Petrus: “One day I was going to school with out a pen. My mother go to Ondangwa and there is no pen and she go at Windhoek there is no pen. My mother here that the pen a only at America. In Namibia there is no pen. She go at Swakopmund and she go in the bout” (boat) “and she travery with a bout at America and the one say we are rich now gow” (go) “in America and he pal a new pen and she go in the bout and she never at home and she give me a new pen from America.”

Oops?