BGCSE Setswana 1235 common mistakes
BGCSE Setswana 1235 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When answering a listening comprehension passage, the candidate writes a full sentence reply to a question that asks for a single name, number, or place, and loses marks because the required detail is buried in extra words rather than stated directly.
Candidates are used to writing full prose answers in composition tasks and carry that habit into listening tasks, where the examiner is checking whether the specific detail was heard and recorded, not whether a fluent sentence was produced.
What to do instead
Practise matching answer length to the question word: 'Mang?' gets a name only, 'Leng?' gets a time or date only, 'Kae?' gets a place only. Do timed listening drills where the candidate writes the bare answer first, then checks it against the question word before moving on.
The candidate hears a Setswana word in the listening passage that sounds like a different word (for example a near-homophone differing only in a consonant or tone) and answers using the wrong meaning, so the whole response is off-topic.
Setswana has many minimal pairs and meaning-changing tonal distinctions, and candidates who have not trained their ear rely on the first similar-sounding word they recognise instead of using the surrounding sentence to confirm the meaning.
What to do instead
Build a personal list of confusable pairs and drill them in short sentence contexts, not in isolation. During the exam, before writing, silently repeat the whole clause in which the word occurred to confirm which meaning fits the sentence.
In a reading passage, the candidate answers from general knowledge or personal opinion rather than from evidence in the text, producing answers that are plausible but not supported by the passage.
Under time pressure candidates skim for topic words, recognise the subject, and then supply what they already believe about it instead of locating the sentence that actually answers the question.
What to do instead
Train the locate-then-quote routine: underline the sentence in the passage that supports the answer and write the answer only after underlining. For inference questions, require the candidate to name the two textual clues that justify the inference.
When asked for the main idea or the writer's purpose, the candidate copies out a single supporting detail or the first sentence of the passage instead of stating the overall point.
Candidates confuse 'what the passage says first' with 'what the passage is about', and copying is safer and faster than synthesising, so it becomes the default strategy.
What to do instead
Practise summarising each paragraph in one short phrase, then combining those phrases into a single main-idea statement. Compare a good main-idea answer with a detail answer side by side so the difference in scope is visible.
The candidate applies noun class prefixes by guesswork, so subject concords, object concords, and adjective concords do not agree with the noun they refer to (for example using the wrong concord for a class 9 or class 10 noun).
Setswana concord systems are extensive and are learned by pattern exposure; candidates who memorise vocabulary lists without the class prefix and its concords have no reliable basis for agreement and default to the most familiar concord.
What to do instead
Learn every new noun together with its class prefix and a short model sentence showing its subject concord and adjective concord. Do concord-matching exercises where the noun is changed and the candidate must rewrite the whole sentence so all concords follow.
The candidate writes verb forms with the wrong tense marker or omits the subject concord entirely, producing sentences that are understandable but grammatically incorrect in past, present, or future narration.
In rapid writing, candidates translate the tense from English word order and forget that Setswana marks tense through a prefix attached to the verb stem alongside the subject concord, so the auxiliary structure is dropped.
What to do instead
Drill the same verb stem through a tense table (present, immediate past, remote past, future) with the subject concord included each time. In written work, require a final checking pass that reads each verb aloud to confirm both concord and tense marker are present.
The candidate uses a Setswana proverb or idiom in a composition where its meaning does not match the point being made, or translates an English idiom word for word into Setswana.
Proverbs carry high prestige in Setswana writing and candidates insert them to impress, but they often know the wording without knowing the restricted context in which the proverb applies; literal translation of English idioms produces phrases that no Setswana speaker uses.
What to do instead
Keep a proverb notebook that records, for each proverb, its exact meaning and one situation where it fits. Before using any idiom in an essay, state in one line what point it is supporting and check that the proverb's meaning matches that point.
The candidate writes a composition with a strong opening and then runs out of content, ending abruptly with no proper conclusion, or repeats the introduction in different words to fill the required length.
Candidates plan the opening in detail and do not allocate content to the middle and end, so under time pressure the essay collapses; repetition feels like progress because it adds words.
What to do instead
Spend the first three to four minutes on a skeleton plan with one line per paragraph, including the concluding paragraph, before writing anything. Practise writing full essays to time so the candidate learns how much space each planned paragraph actually needs.
The candidate answers a literature question by retelling the plot of the novel, play, or poem instead of addressing the question asked about character, theme, or technique.
Plot is the easiest material to recall, so candidates reproduce it as a safe strategy, and they do not check whether the question is asking for analysis rather than summary.
What to do instead
Practise turning each question into a required-response check: underline the key word (describe, explain, compare, discuss) and decide what type of evidence it demands. Then write answers that begin with a direct claim and support it with two specific incidents or quotations, using plot only as evidence.
The candidate quotes lines from a poem or passage in a literature answer but does not explain what the quotation shows, leaving the quotation to speak for itself.
Candidates are taught to quote for support and believe the quotation completes the answer, so they move on immediately after inserting it without linking it back to the question.
What to do instead
Enforce a quote-plus-comment rule: every quotation must be followed by a sentence beginning 'Seno se bontsha gore...' that states what the quotation proves about the question. In practice answers, count quotations and count comments and require the numbers to match.