PSLCE Chichewa common mistakes
PSLCE Chichewa · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writing composition and letter answers in a mixed register, slipping English words or informal Chichewa street forms into a formal letter or nkhani, instead of keeping one consistent level of language throughout.
Candidates think in English and translate word by word, so when a Chichewa term does not come quickly they drop in the English word and keep going; they also copy the casual speech they hear daily rather than the formal written register the exam expects.
What to do instead
Before writing, decide the register (formal letter to an elder or office, or a school composition) and keep a short list of formal connectors ready, such as 'komanso', 'chifukwa chake', 'makamaka'. Do timed practice writing one full letter and one full composition with no English words, then reread specifically hunting for borrowed words and replacing them with Chichewa equivalents or restructuring the sentence.
Producing the wrong noun class prefix or concords, so that verbs, adjectives, and pronouns do not agree with the subject noun (for example using a class 1 subject concord with a class 2 noun).
Chichewa agreement runs through many classes and candidates memorise vocabulary without memorising each noun's class and its concord set; under time pressure they default to the concord they use most often in speech.
What to do instead
Build a concord table by noun class (subject, object, possessive, adjective) and drill it with real nouns: for each new word, write the noun, its class, and one short sentence using the correct concord. In exams, before writing a sentence, identify the subject noun and its class first, then choose the concord.
Confusing the near past, remote past, present, and future tense markers, and mixing them within one narrative so the timeline of events becomes unclear.
Spoken Chichewa often relies on context and tone, so candidates do not consciously select tense markers when writing; narrative compositions tempt them to jump between 'did' and 'does' forms.
What to do instead
Learn the tense markers as a fixed set and practise converting one base verb through all tenses in a table. When writing a narrative, outline events in order first, assign each a tense, then write; finish by rereading and checking every verb's tense marker against your outline.
Treating proverbs and idioms as decorative quotations, inserting them where the meaning does not match the situation, or explaining them literally instead of applying their figurative sense.
Candidates memorise a handful of proverbs for exams and want to show them off, but they learn the words without the situational meaning, so the proverb clashes with the context or is paraphrased word for word.
What to do instead
For each proverb or idiom, record the situation it fits and one example sentence showing correct use. Practise matching exercises: given a short scenario, choose the appropriate proverb and justify the choice in one line. In composition, use at most one or two proverbs and only where the scenario genuinely matches.
Answering reading comprehension questions with general knowledge or personal opinion instead of evidence from the passage, and copying long chunks of the passage rather than answering the specific question asked.
Candidates read the passage once quickly, then answer from memory or from what they already believe about the topic; copying feels safe because the words are definitely in the text.
What to do instead
Read the questions before the passage, underline the key word in each question (who, why, how many, what happened first), then read the passage locating the sentence that answers it. Answer in your own words in one or two sentences and check that the answer directly addresses the question word.
Misreading tone and implied meaning in listening and speaking tasks, taking a polite indirect request or a humorous remark literally and choosing an answer that ignores the speaker's intent.
Candidates focus on catching individual words and miss stress, politeness formulas, and context; Chichewa indirectness in requests and greetings carries meaning that word-by-word listening does not capture.
What to do instead
Practise listening to short dialogues and after each one state who was speaking, what they wanted, and how they felt, before looking at any options. Learn common politeness and greeting formulas as whole chunks, and in role-play tasks respond to the intent, not just the literal words.
Writing letters without the required structural elements or in the wrong order, for example omitting the address, date, salutation, or closing, or putting the signature before the closing formula.
Candidates know letter content but have never fixed the layout in memory, and in formal versus friendly letters the expected openings and closings differ, so they improvise under exam pressure.
What to do instead
Memorise two templates, one formal and one friendly, with each element labelled and in order. Write each template from memory three times, then practise inserting new content into the template so the structure becomes automatic and content effort goes into the message.
Confusing similar-sounding or closely related vocabulary, such as near-synonyms for family relations, quantities, or everyday actions, and choosing a word that is grammatically possible but semantically wrong.
Vocabulary is often learned as single-word translations from English, so several Chichewa words map to one English word in the candidate's mind and the distinctions between them are never learned.
What to do instead
Learn vocabulary in pairs and groups with a short example sentence for each item, noting when each is used (for people versus things, respect versus casual, singular versus plural). Build synonym clusters and write one sentence per item so the difference is practised, not just recognised.
Producing incorrect verb extensions and derivations, for example forming causatives, passives, or applicatives with the wrong suffix or doubling a suffix that is not needed.
Candidates generalise one extension pattern to all verbs and do not check how the meaning changes; the extensions are taught as rules but rarely practised across many different verbs.
What to do instead
Take a set of common base verbs and derive the causative, passive, applicative, and reciprocal forms for each in a table, checking the meaning change each time. Practise by transforming sentences from active to passive and from plain to causative, then verify the suffix against the table.
Rushing the planning stage of composition, writing straight into the answer without an outline, so the piece lacks a clear beginning, middle, and end and loses coherence halfway through.
Candidates fear running out of time and start writing immediately, but without a plan they repeat ideas, digress, and run out of content before reaching a conclusion.
What to do instead
Spend the first few minutes writing a three-line outline: opening situation, main events or arguments, and conclusion or lesson. Allocate rough time blocks for planning, writing, and checking. Practise under timed conditions so the planning habit is proven to save rather than cost time.