EXPERIENCES ENCOUNTERED IN THE LAST SEMESTER’S ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXAMINATION

EXPERIENCES ENCOUNTERED IN THE LAST SEMESTER’S ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXAMINATION 

It was definitely a scene to remember in the examination hall. Qualified students were placed in their respective venues like every other examination waiting anxiously, patiently for the question and answer booklets. I could feel my heart panting double-time per second the more I saw the lecturers giving out the booklets to my nearby colleagues sitting in front, adjacent, backwards and opposite me. My nervousness seized the very moment I finally received my quota of the examination and immediately documentation of what is required as a submission criteria was done-what is known to be our particulars as a student which contains registration number, name, department, school etc. 

Subsequently, I went through the answer booklet thoroughly to make sure I was no different from any other serious student until it was official for everybody to start. Looking at those questions and with the duration scheduled for the paper, it definitely gave a soar look on our faces. Practically, the questions looked like a two-hour examination paper because it wasn’t something one could provide answers to at the very tip of their fingers; perplexity generated in our minds and all we were concerned about was trying to do what we could to finish during the assigned duration. 

Things got worse when the supervisors and invigilators kept on reminding how much time was left and so we had to rush through sections in the question booklet and attempt what we could-talking about the ones that were easily manoeuvrable, the little ones which could be easily given attention to as quick as possible just to beat the planned duration and submit with at least 60% assurance of getting a pass grade. 

This wasn’t what we bargained for to meet in the examination hall although I know we were expected to expect anything-If it were the questions on the booklet should have been trimmed to meet the duration of just one hour. It was the problem students faced generally in all the centres that held the same examination causing complains and to keep the sort of face that was ready to go for a war with the course lecturers and academic boards who had a hand in the choice of such a voluminous question for the duration of one hour. 

Personally, this is a major reason some students actually fail the use of English in comprehensive schools worldwide-in the recent years and in the college in addition. Yes, clearly the allocated duration for the exercise was not enough for them to express what they had and if this continues, I’m afraid the grooming of future speakers will be retarding. Students could end up disliking English language. This definitely has to be rectified to better the urge for education to move increasingly forward and also invite more upcoming students to have the zeal to take it up as a profession. Its development will yield positive results I can assure you except the students are not willing to learn in the upcoming semesters. It’s not a promise but something we can all observe as we grow together.