LGCSE Sesotho common mistakes
LGCSE Sesotho · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When answering a listening comprehension question, the candidate writes a general impression of what the passage was about instead of the specific detail the question asks for (for example naming the speaker's reason for refusing the invitation rather than summarising the whole dialogue).
Under exam pressure candidates read the question once, hear a familiar topic, and then write from prior expectation rather than from what was actually said; they also run out of time and write the first thing that comes to mind.
What to do instead
Practise a three-step routine: read the question stems before the recording starts and underline the interrogative word (mang, eng, hobaneng, neng, kae); during the recording jot only keywords next to the question number; after the recording turn each keyword into a full sentence that answers exactly that question word. Do two timed listening drills per week with the transcript checked afterwards.
The candidate reads a comprehension passage and lifts whole sentences verbatim from the text as the answer, including the pronouns and connectives of the original, so the answer does not actually respond to the question asked.
Copying feels safe and fast, and candidates have often been rewarded in earlier grades for locating the sentence containing the answer rather than reshaping it. They also lack confidence in producing their own Sesotho sentences under time pressure.
What to do instead
Teach the 'find, think, rewrite' method: locate the relevant line, identify the exact information requested, then rewrite it in the candidate's own words, changing the person and tense to fit the question. In practice, require answers to start with part of the question (for example 'Motsamaisi o ile a hana hobane...') so lifting becomes impossible.
In comprehension questions that ask for inference or the writer's attitude (for example why the narrator felt ashamed, or what the writer implies about the village), the candidate gives only a literal restatement of a fact from the passage and never states the inferred meaning.
Candidates confuse 'find the sentence' questions with 'read between the lines' questions, and many have never been explicitly taught the difference between literal, inferential and evaluative questions.
What to do instead
Sort past questions into three labelled columns (literal, inference, evaluation) and discuss the cue words that signal each. For inference answers, insist on the pattern 'point + evidence': state the inference first, then quote or cite the detail that supports it. Do a weekly passage where at least half the questions are inferential.
In the oral component the candidate delivers a prepared talk or reading that is fluent in places but breaks down on tone, stress and vowel length, pronouncing words such as 'ho bona' and 'ho bôna' identically and flattening the distinction between e and ê, o and ô.
Written Sesotho orthography uses diacritics that candidates routinely ignore when reading aloud, and classroom practice often focuses on silent reading and grammar drills rather than monitored oral production.
What to do instead
Build a minimal-pair drilling routine (bona/bôna, tšela/tšêla, rora/rôra) with a partner or recorded model, five minutes daily. Record the candidate reading a short passage, mark every mispronounced word against the written text, and re-record until the diacritics are realised. Include one marked oral rehearsal per week using the same timing as the exam.
The candidate writes a composition that is grammatically reasonable but structurally shapeless: no clear introduction or conclusion, paragraphs that mix several ideas, and a narrative that stops abruptly without resolving the conflict.
Candidates plan nothing and write straight onto the answer sheet, treating the composition as a long answer rather than a crafted text; they also misjudge time and spend too long on the opening paragraph.
What to do instead
Enforce a five-minute planning stage: write the ending first, then a three-to-five point outline, then allocate one paragraph per point. Practise the standard narrative arc (setting, complication, climax, resolution, closing reflection) on five different prompts. Do timed full compositions (planning plus writing) at least fortnightly with feedback focused on structure before grammar.
In the composition the candidate overuses direct speech and dialogue to carry the story, punctuating it inconsistently and letting characters narrate events that should be shown through action and description.
Dialogue is easier to generate than descriptive prose and candidates believe it makes writing lively; weak control of Sesotho quotation conventions and of the narrative tenses pushes them further into speech.
What to do instead
Set a rule for practice pieces: no more than one short exchange of dialogue, and every speech must be framed by narration. Drill the punctuation and reporting conventions of direct speech in Sesotho, then rewrite a dialogue-heavy draft as third-person narration, converting speech into reported action and description.
In grammar questions the candidate identifies a noun class or concord incorrectly, for example attaching the wrong subject concord to a class 5 or class 9 noun, or forming the plural of a noun by applying the wrong class prefix pair.
Noun classes are memorised as isolated lists rather than as a system of prefix pairs, and candidates do not check the concord against the noun's class before writing; the pressure of a timed test encourages guessing from the sound of the word.
What to do instead
Build a personal noun-class table (singular prefix, plural prefix, subject concord, example noun) and complete it for every new noun met in reading. Practise sentence-building exercises where the candidate must write the same verb with five different noun classes, then self-check with the table before marking.
When asked to explain a proverb or idiom, the candidate gives only its literal translation (for example that a proverb about a pot and a lid is about cooking) and never states the figurative meaning, the situation it applies to, or how it fits the passage where it appears.
Proverbs are often learned as memorised strings with a one-line gloss, so candidates can recite but not apply them; they also fail to notice that the question asks for use in context, not definition alone.
What to do instead
Keep an idiom and proverb log with three columns: literal image, figurative meaning, and a real situation where it would be used. For each proverb, write a short paragraph applying it to a character from a studied text. In exam practice, answer in the pattern 'meaning + situation + link to the passage'.
In literature answers the candidate retells the plot of the prescribed text instead of answering the question, and quotes nothing from the text to support the point being made.
Retelling is the easiest way to fill space and candidates fear that a short answer looks insufficient; many also read the set text once for story and never annotate it for themes, characterisation and quotations.
What to do instead
Rewrite a plot summary as an argument: for each paragraph, require a topic sentence that answers the question, one supporting incident, and one short quotation or close reference. Build a revision grid per set text (character, motivation, key episode, quotation, theme) and practise past questions under timed conditions with the text closed.
In literature and comprehension answers the candidate uses everyday vocabulary and imprecise verbs where a precise literary or descriptive term is needed, for example calling every character 'good' or 'bad' or describing a mood only as 'sad', and repeats the same word several times in one paragraph.
Vocabulary is built passively through reading without active retrieval, so candidates recognise words but cannot produce them; under time pressure the first available general word wins.
What to do instead
Maintain a synonym and character-description bank organised by function (admiration, disapproval, fear, resolve), adding five entries per week from studied texts and using each in an original sentence. In marked work, highlight repeated words and require a substitution from the bank before the piece is accepted.