VMBO BB Engels common mistakes
VMBO BB Engels · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Choosing an answer because one recognisable word from the question appears in the text, without checking whether the whole sentence actually answers the question.
BB candidates often scan for the keyword they remember and stop reading at that point; matching a single word feels like proof, so the surrounding negation or contrast is skipped.
What to do instead
After locating the keyword, read the whole sentence plus the sentence before and after it. Then cross out the option that only repeats a word and keep the option that states the same idea in different words.
Missing negation and contrast words such as not, never, hardly, unless, but, however, although, and treating the sentence as a positive statement.
These words are short and unstressed, so the eye skips them; the candidate builds meaning from the content words only and reverses the message.
What to do instead
Underline every negation and contrast word in the paragraph before answering. Practise by rewriting five sentences from a text with the opposite meaning and checking how one small word changes the answer.
Answering open questions with a full copied sentence from the text instead of the short phrase the question asks for.
Candidates believe a copied sentence is always safe, and they have not learned to identify the grammatical core of an answer.
What to do instead
Decide first what type of answer is needed (person, number, place, reason, time). Then copy only the words that fill that slot, and check that the answer still makes sense when read with the question.
Giving a global answer ('it is about sports') to a question that asks for a specific detail, or the reverse: giving one detail when the question asks for the main idea.
Under time pressure candidates read the question quickly and answer the topic they recognise rather than the question word (who, when, why, what is the writer's opinion).
What to do instead
Circle the question word and the requested information type before reading the text. For main-idea questions, check that the chosen option covers the whole text, not one paragraph.
Losing the thread after the speaker self-corrects, repeats, or uses a filler pause, so the answer is taken from the abandoned first attempt.
Spoken texts contain hesitation and reformulation that written texts do not; candidates treat the first number or name they hear as final.
What to do instead
Train with authentic audio containing hesitation. Practise the rule 'last version wins': when a speaker restarts or says 'sorry' or 'actually', overwrite the earlier note.
Writing the answer while the audio is still playing and then missing the next question because the recording has moved on.
Candidates try to produce complete, correct spellings in real time instead of noting and finishing afterwards.
What to do instead
Use a two-step method: during the audio write only initials, numbers or a symbol; after the fragment ends, complete the answer in the pause. Never let writing run into the next question.
Failing to use the reading time before the fragment to predict what kind of answer is coming (a price, a time, a name, a reason).
Candidates start reading the questions only when the audio begins, so they hear words without a target to listen for.
What to do instead
In the preparation seconds, mark next to each question what to listen for and any likely distractors (two prices, two times). This turns listening into checking rather than guessing.
Writing a short message or email with no greeting, no closing, and no reference to the situation given in the assignment.
Candidates focus only on the bullet points and forget that a message is a communicative act with a sender and a reader.
What to do instead
Use a fixed frame every time: greeting with the reader's name, one opening line stating why you write, one short paragraph per bullet point, a closing line, and your name. Check the frame before checking the grammar.
Leaving out one of the required content points, or writing three sentences about one point and nothing about another.
Candidates write freely from the first idea that comes to mind and never return to the assignment to count the points.
What to do instead
Number the required points in the margin, write one short paragraph per number, then tick each number off. An omitted point costs more marks than a small language error.
Producing Dutch word order and Dutch-influenced phrasing in English sentences (verb at the end of the clause, 'I have yesterday' instead of 'yesterday I'), and using a dictionary word without checking its fit.
Candidates translate mentally from Dutch sentence by sentence and pick the first dictionary entry, which often has a different register or collocation.
What to do instead
Learn a small set of sentence patterns (subject + verb + time + place; because-clause; question with do/does/did) and write with those patterns only. Use words you already know from the reading texts rather than rare dictionary words, and reread each sentence asking whether the verb is in the right place.
Reading a prepared answer aloud word for word from memory during the speaking task, then freezing when the examiner asks a follow-up question.
Candidates rehearse monologues but never practise reacting to unscripted questions, so the prepared text is their only safety net.
What to do instead
Prepare keywords, not sentences. Practise with a partner who asks one unexpected follow-up per topic, and learn three rescue phrases ('Could you repeat that?', 'I'm not sure, but I think...', 'Let me think for a second').
Answering only 'yes', 'no', or a single word, so the examiner has to pull every answer out of the candidate.
Candidates fear making mistakes and keep answers minimal as a defence; they have not learned that length and interaction are part of the assessment.
What to do instead
Use the answer-plus-reason-plus-example pattern: give the answer, add 'because', then add one detail from your own life. Practise giving every answer at least two sentences.