Saitama Public High School Entrance Examination - English common mistakes
Saitama Public High School Entrance Examination - English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Reading the four English options for a listening item before the audio plays and deciding on an answer, then holding that answer even after the speaker says something that contradicts it (for example, the printed options offer 'by bus' and 'by bike', the candidate locks in 'by bus' when hearing the word bus in the question, but the speaker says 'I usually go by bike, but today the bus is late').
Under time pressure the candidate treats the options as the source of truth rather than the audio, and because Japanese junior-high listening practice often rewards catching a keyword, the candidate listens for a match instead of for the full meaning. Numbers, times, and names in the options create a false sense of confirmation.
What to do instead
Use the pre-reading seconds only to underline the difference between options (bus vs bike, 7:30 vs 8:15) and to predict what contrast to listen for. While listening, mark the option that the speaker finally settles on, and treat words like 'but', 'actually', 'instead', and 'changed to' as the deciding signal. After the audio, re-ask 'what did the person finally decide?' before marking.
Answering a short-dialogue reading item from a single matching word rather than from the relationship between the two speakers' lines, e.g. seeing 'library' in the question and in option 2 and choosing option 2 although the dialogue says the library is closed and they will meet at the station.
Junior-high learners are trained to scan for identical words, and distractors in this exam are usually built by repeating a word from the passage in the wrong option. The candidate stops reading at the first match instead of checking what the second speaker actually replies.
What to do instead
Read the question stem first to know what is being asked (where, why, what will they do). Then read the whole short dialogue once, and only then compare options. For each option, find the exact line that supports or contradicts it; reject any option whose only support is a repeated word. Practise marking the one line that decides the answer.
In long-passage and information-retrieval items, copying a sentence from the passage as the answer when the question asks for a summary, an inference, or a comparison across two notices, so the answer is factually true but does not answer the question (e.g. asked 'why did Yuki start the volunteer group?', the candidate writes the sentence describing what the group does).
The candidate equates 'found in the text' with 'correct', and does not distinguish literal detail questions from inference and integration questions. Long passages with tables, posters, and multiple notices also tempt candidates to answer from the first notice they read.
What to do instead
Classify the question before answering: detail (one line), inference (two lines combined), or integration (two or more sources). For inference and integration, write a one-line answer in Japanese first, then find the English that expresses it. For information-retrieval tasks, list the conditions in the question (date, price, who, deadline) and tick each against every notice before choosing.
Choosing a grammatically possible option that is contextually wrong in sentence and dialogue completion, e.g. in 'A: Have you finished your report? B: Not yet. I ___ it tonight.' choosing 'write' because it fits the meaning, instead of 'will write' or 'am going to write' required by the time expression and the exchange.
The candidate checks only whether the sentence 'sounds okay' in Japanese translation and ignores the grammatical signals in the English: time words, subject-verb agreement, tense sequence, and the function of the second line in the dialogue (refusal, offer, apology, request).
What to do instead
Before looking at options, underline the signal words in the sentence (tonight, since, already, if, when) and identify what the second speaker is doing. Eliminate options that break agreement or tense first, then choose among the survivors by meaning. Keep a personal list of the ten structures most often tested (present perfect with since/for, future forms, comparatives, infinitives after want/decide, indirect questions).
Answering a situational-expression item with a sentence that is grammatically correct and polite but socially wrong for the situation, e.g. replying 'Yes, please sit down' when a teacher says 'May I sit here?', or answering 'You're welcome' to 'Would you like some tea?'
The candidate translates the Japanese response directly and does not track who is speaking to whom, or what the first speaker's utterance is doing (asking permission, offering, apologizing, thanking, requesting). Japanese politeness patterns do not map one-to-one onto English fixed expressions.
What to do instead
Label the first speaker's function in one word before reading options: offer, permission, request, apology, thanks, invitation. Then choose the response that matches that function and the relationship (friend vs teacher vs stranger). Memorise response pairs by function, not by translation, and practise rejecting responses that answer a different function.
In conditioned English composition, writing everything the candidate can say about the topic and ignoring the conditions (word count, required points, required sentence openings, number of sentences), producing an answer that is off-topic, too short, or missing one of the given points.
Candidates focus on producing English and run out of time or confidence, so they treat the conditions as decoration. The Japanese prompt's conditions are often read once and not checked again at the end.
What to do instead
Before writing, copy the conditions into a short checklist in the margin: number of words, the two or three content points, any fixed opening or ending, tense. Write one sentence per required point plus a closing sentence, then count words and tick the checklist. If short, add a reason or example sentence rather than repeating.
In situational/functional writing (a note, message, or short reply), writing a long paragraph with greetings and personal commentary and omitting the specific information the task requires, such as the meeting time, the place, or the reason for being late.
Candidates transfer the style of a Japanese informal message or of a school essay, and they believe length signals effort. They also answer the emotional part of the prompt ('say you are sorry') and forget the practical part ('say when you will arrive').
What to do instead
Underline every piece of information the prompt asks you to convey, and write one short sentence for each. Keep the register simple and direct: greeting, the required information, a closing line. After writing, check that a reader who knows nothing could act on the message (knows when, where, and what to do).
Spending too long on one difficult listening or reading item and then rushing the final section, leaving composition answers unfinished or blank.
The exam mixes listening, reading, and writing in a fixed time, and candidates do not have a personal time budget. A single unfamiliar passage or a fast audio segment triggers repeated re-reading, which consumes the minutes needed for writing.
What to do instead
Set target times per section in advance (for example, listening at audio pace with no going back, reading capped per passage, a fixed block for writing). Mark a hard item with a symbol and move on; return only if time remains. In practice tests, time each section and record where you overran.
Leaving answers blank or writing a single word where a full sentence is expected in composition and short-response items, because the candidate is unsure of spelling or grammar.
Fear of making an error leads to avoidance, and Japanese junior-high students are often trained to avoid risk. However, partial credit for content and communication is usually available, and a blank scores nothing.
What to do instead
Always write something relevant: use simple, known structures (I think..., because..., I will...). If a word's spelling is uncertain, choose a simpler word you can spell. In short responses, answer in a complete sentence using words from the question to keep grammar safe.
Ignoring punctuation, capitalisation, and sentence boundaries in written answers, producing run-on sentences or fragments that obscure the meaning (e.g. 'i think it is good because we can enjoy many things and it is important for us to study english hard.').
Candidates compose in Japanese and translate clause by clause, joining everything with 'and' and 'because'. Japanese does not require spaces or capital letters, so these conventions are not automatic.
What to do instead
After writing, read the answer aloud silently and put a full stop wherever a thought ends; start each sentence with a capital letter and end with a period or question mark. Limit each sentence to one main idea plus at most one connector. Build a short list of safe connectors (because, so, but, if, when) and practise using one per sentence.