National Examinations Council
NECO English Language · Paper IV — Test of Orals
Sat separately from the written papers.
8 exam-style questions, written to the National Examinations Council format and free to read. The answers are here too — what they do not tell you is how many you would get right with a clock running.
1. This is written practice for the Test of Orals.
(a) State four features commonly found in Nigerian spoken English. [8 marks]
(b) Explain why the examination marks Nigerian standard English rather than Received Pronunciation. [8 marks]
(c) State two sounds Nigerian speakers commonly substitute, and give the standard form. [4 marks]
2. This is written practice for the Test of Orals.
(a) Explain what is meant by the rhythm of English speech. [5 marks]
(b) Explain five features that give English its stress-timed rhythm. [10 marks]
(c) State one difficulty this creates for a speaker of a syllable-timed language. [5 marks]
3. This is written practice for the Test of Orals; the examined paper is delivered by audio.
(a) State the difference in vowel sound between 'cot' and 'caught'. [6 marks]
(b) Give three further pairs of words distinguished only by their vowel sound. [9 marks]
(c) Explain why such pairs are called minimal pairs. [5 marks]
4. This is written practice for the Test of Orals.
(a) Distinguish between content words and function words. [5 marks]
(b) State which words would normally be stressed in 'She has gone to the market with her mother', and explain your choice. [10 marks]
(c) State one effect of stressing every word equally. [5 marks]
5. This is written practice for the Test of Orals.
(a) Define a homophone. [3 marks]
(b) Give the homophone of each of: 'their', 'flour', 'weak', 'principal', and state the meaning of each pair. [12 marks]
(c) Explain why homophones cause difficulty in dictation. [5 marks]
Reading these is not the same as sitting them.
Every question above is answerable given time. The exam does not give you time. Sit the whole paper on the real clock and the number you get back is the one that means something.
Sit it against the clock — freeExampaper is an independent study service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to WAEC, NECO, JAMB or any examination body. Exam names and subject titles are used only to describe what each paper is for.