Fukuoka Entrance English common mistakes
Fukuoka Entrance English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
While the audio plays, the candidate writes a full Japanese translation of each sentence in the margin and only looks at the answer choices after the second reading finishes.
School English classes train translation-first habits, and the candidate believes comprehension means being able to render every line. In a single-play or two-play listening section, writing time is taken directly from the next sentence, so the candidate loses the thread and then guesses from a fragment.
What to do instead
Practise a two-pass routine: first play, mark only the answer choice each option seems to be about and note one keyword per blank; second play, confirm or switch. Ban all Japanese from the memo area during practice, and time yourself so that your pen stops within two seconds of the speaker pausing.
The candidate answers a listening question from a single word heard in the options (for example hears 'Thursday' and picks it) without checking what the speaker actually decided.
Options are written to contain words that appear in the audio, so surface matching feels safe. Under time pressure the candidate treats word recognition as comprehension and stops listening at the first familiar sound.
What to do instead
Before each listening task, underline the question word (when, where, who, how much, why) and the verb. After hearing a number or day, wait for the speaker's correction or decision ('Actually, let's make it...') before choosing. Drill with distractor-heavy items where every option is mentioned and only one is confirmed.
On long reading passages the candidate reads the passage first, then the questions, then re-reads the whole passage for each question.
The candidate was taught to read carefully from the top, and fears that skimming will cause missed detail. In an exam with several passages, this triples reading time and leaves the last passage unfinished.
What to do instead
Reverse the order: read the questions and the first line of each paragraph, then scan for the paragraph that answers each question. Practise locating the topic sentence of each paragraph and marking it, so the second pass is a targeted search rather than a full re-read.
The candidate chooses a reading answer that is true in general knowledge or true somewhere in the passage, but does not answer the specific question asked (for example a question about the writer's opinion answered with a factual detail).
Options are deliberately built from real sentences in the passage, so they feel correct. The candidate matches content instead of checking whether the option answers the question stem, and ignores qualifiers such as 'the main reason' or 'the writer suggests'.
What to do instead
Circle the question type word before reading the options: main idea, detail, inference, or vocabulary in context. For each option, write T (true in passage), F (false), or N (not stated), then eliminate any T option that does not answer the stem. Review wrong answers by naming why each distractor was attractive.
In dialogue and situational response items the candidate picks the grammatically correct reply rather than the socially appropriate one, ignoring the relationship and setting implied by the speakers.
Grammar drills reward correctness, so the candidate evaluates options as sentences rather than as moves in a conversation. Keigo and casual forms carry social meaning that the candidate has not been trained to read as information.
What to do instead
For each item, first label the setting (shop, school office, friend, teacher) and the relationship, then eliminate replies that are too casual, too formal, or that break the logic of the preceding line. Build a personal list of fixed situational phrases (apologies, refusals, requests, phone openings) and rehearse them aloud.
The candidate answers a situational response item using only the last line spoken, without tracking what was already agreed or promised earlier in the exchange.
Short dialogues look simple, so the candidate reads quickly and treats each turn in isolation. Items often hinge on a prior commitment ('I said I would bring...') or a change of plan, which is stated two turns earlier.
What to do instead
Read the whole exchange once before looking at the options, and note the speaker's goal in the margin in three words. Then check which option is consistent with the earlier turn as well as the final line. Practise with items that contain a plan change mid-dialogue.
In grammar and vocabulary items the candidate selects the option that 'sounds right' from memorised phrase patterns, without identifying the grammatical structure the blank requires.
Extensive exposure to set phrases makes some combinations feel familiar even when the sentence needs a different form (tense, voice, preposition, or part of speech). The candidate never names the rule, so the same error repeats.
What to do instead
Before choosing, say what the blank needs: part of speech, tense, agreement, preposition collocation, or conjunction type. Then check the chosen word against that requirement. Keep an error log with the rule name, not just the correct answer, and re-test yourself on the same rule a week later.
The candidate writes an English composition that translates a Japanese plan sentence by sentence, producing long sentences with unclear subjects and mixed tenses.
The candidate composes in Japanese first because it feels faster, then translates under time pressure. Japanese allows subject omission and topic-comment order, which transfers into English as missing subjects and misplaced modifiers.
What to do instead
Spend the first two minutes writing a skeleton in English only: subject plus verb for each intended sentence, with the tense chosen before drafting. Keep sentences short, one idea each, and add connectives (because, however, for example) to show structure. Check every sentence for an explicit subject and consistent tense before finishing.
The candidate treats the word limit as a target to fill and pads the composition with memorised general phrases, leaving no room to answer the actual prompt.
The candidate believes length earns marks and has a stock of safe expressions. Markers reward content that addresses the question, so padding displaces the required reason or example and the answer reads as off-topic.
What to do instead
Underline the prompt's task words (state your opinion, give two reasons, describe your experience) and write a one-line plan covering each requirement. Count words only at the end, and if over the limit, cut generic openers and repeated adjectives rather than the reason or example.
On chart and notice questions the candidate reads the surrounding text but not the axis labels, units, dates, or footnotes, and answers from the headline number.
Information-retrieval items are visually busy and the candidate skims for a familiar number. Units (per 100 people, thousands of yen), the year of the survey, and qualifiers such as 'except' or 'not included' are exactly where the marks are placed.
What to do instead
Before answering, circle the unit, the year, and any negative or limiting word in the question. Then locate the specific row or column and read across it. For multiple-condition questions, tick each condition off in the margin as you confirm it, and reject any option that satisfies only one condition.