Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education
0531 IsiZulu as a Second Language November 2011
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
ISIZULU AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
Paper 0531/01
Reading and Writing
Key message
In order to do well in this examination, candidates should:
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in Exercise 1, keep answers brief and to the point as too much information can invalidate a response
and create the impression that the candidate has not understood the question
in Exercise 2, carefully select the information required from the source text
in Exercise 3, read the bullet points and the source text very carefully to ensure their notes are
relevant to the heading
in Exercise 4, answer succinctly in their own words by avoiding copying word-for-word from the
source text, and keep to the word limit
in Exercises 5 and 7, use paragraphs and carefully proofread their response
in Exercise 6, carefully reads the text and check their answers to ensure they are relevant
General comments
Overall, candidates performed better this session than they did in 2010. One reason for this is that there
were more candidates who were able to finish the paper, which appears to indicate that this year’s entry
were better at planning their time. Nevertheless, a small number of candidates who started answering the
last exercise were unable to finish it, probably because they ran out of time. Other candidates tackled
Exercises 5 and 7 first before turning to Exercise 6, with some leaving a number of questions in this
comprehension exercise unanswered. Exercise 4 was occasionally not attempted at all, indicating that a
small number of candidates are still not confident in tacking a summary exercise.
It was noticeable that some candidates sometimes used Ndebele words and phrases instead of isiZulu. It is
important therefore that the candidates are made aware of the differences between these languages,
especially in their usage. When these differences are not taken into account, there is appreciable scope for
inaccuracy, which will render many of the answers or short pieces of writing either ambiguous or
incomprehensible in isiZulu. To give a number of examples:
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the Ndebele word njalo means ‘always’ in isiZulu but it is frequently used to mean ‘and’ or ‘also’
where the isiZulu word would be futhi
the intended usage of the word bhala was sometimes either unclear or clearly incorrect in isiZulu. In
Ndebele, the word means ‘read’ while it means ‘write’ in isiZulu. The correct word for ‘read’ would be
funda in isiZulu
dinga means ‘want’ in Ndebele, and a number of candidates were appeared not to realise that the
word means ‘need’ in isiZulu. The word they should have instead is funa.
Comments on specific questions
Exercise 1
(a)
Most candidates answered this question correctly.
(b)
The majority of candidates answered this question correctly.
(c)
The majority of candidates answered this question correctly.
(d)
Some candidates used another word which still had the same meaning as amanani, but there were
also some who answered this question incorrectly.
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© 2011
Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education
0531 IsiZulu as a Second Language November 2011
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
(e)
This question was generally answered correctly, although there were also some candidates who
only gave an insufficiently complete or wholly incorrect answer.
(f)
Most candidates answered this question correctly, but many wrote more than Uhelo A, which was
all that was required for a correct answer.
(g)
Some candidates only wrote i-Internet without adding the word ucingo.
(h)
Most candidates correctly answered that the agency would not be able to help with passports and
visas for its customers.
Exercise 2
(i)
Most candidates supplied the address correctly.
(ii)
Most candidates gave the correct telephone number.
(iii)
Answers for the third gap along the lines of ‘n/a’ and alikho, or where candidates left the gap
unfilled, were all credited. A small number of candidates filled in one of the telephone numbers
given in the source text, which was incorrect.
(iv)
The majority of candidates gave the correct telephone number. A small number of candidates
supplied two telephone numbers, which was incorrect as in doing so the additional telephone
number invalidated the rest of their response.
(v)
Some candidates ticked either isiNgisi or isiZulu when both should have been ticked for the mark.
A very small number of candidates chose isiBhunu.
(vi)
Very few candidates had problems with this question.
(vii)
Although most candidates answered correctly, some wrote ukumodela.
(viii)
A few candidates only wrote ‘Pinetown’ which was insufficient to score the mark.
(ix)
Nearly all responses were correct.
Exercise 3
The first two exercises were, in most cases, better answered than Exercise 3. It appeared that some
candidates had not read the text and the questions closely enough as some of their answers lacked focus
and overlapped with other answers.
(a)
Most candidates answered this question correctly.
(b)
A number of candidates struggled with this question and were unable to identify the part of the text
which contained the information relevant for their answer.
(c)
Although the different steps were signposted in the text, not many candidates managed to score all
four marks on offer. A very small number of candidates opted not to leave their answer blank. To
leave questions unanswered is not advisable as credit may be earned for an answer which a
candidate is not sure of.
Exercise 4
There were some very good paragraphs written in candidates’ own words, but there were quite a few
candidates who relied too much on copying large parts of their answer from the piece. Some candidates did
not heed the word count and wrote too little or too much, which negatively affected the quality of their
answer. As in Exercises 5 and 7, candidates should be on their guard for differences in meaning and usage
between isiZulu and Ndebele.
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© 2011
Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education
0531 IsiZulu as a Second Language November 2011
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
Exercise 5
There were some excellent letters, with very few mistakes. At the opposite end, there were letters which
contained many mistakes, occasionally to such an extent that it was difficult to make sense of them.
Some letters were well balanced, covering every aspect of the question, and properly paragraphed. It was
clear, however, that some candidates were insufficiently familiar with letter writing techniques such as
paragraphing and layout, as their answers were often written as one long paragraph with little or no
discernable internal structure.
Future candidates are strongly urged to check their letters for spelling mistakes and the use of Ndebele or
English words before moving on to another exercise. The word shaya was often incorrectly written as
tshaya, for instance. Other examples of the influence of Ndebele in some of the letters included the use of:
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kumbe instead of noma for ‘or’;
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khatheze instead of manje for ‘now’;
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esikolo instead of esikolweni for ‘at school’;
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khashane instead of eduze for ‘close’ or ‘nearby’;
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ibizo instead of igama for ‘name’.
Quite a large number of candidates wrote the word for ‘and’, ‘also’ or ‘with’ (with the various connections) as
la- instead of na-. This mistake can inadvertently influence the meaning of the sentence, and therefore will
require more attention in future.
Exercise 6
Few candidates had problems with this exercise, although some candidates appeared to have been unable
to finish answering all the questions.
(a)
Only a few did not answer this question. Candidates had to provide two facts to achieve both of
the marks on offer, but some only gave one fact and scored only one mark as a result.
(b)
Many answered this question correctly, although some gave the colours ‘white’ and/or ‘black’ as
their answer.
(c)
This question was generally well attempted.
(d)
The majority of candidates answered this question correctly.
(e)
Some candidates wrote that ‘they were used to the herders’, but that was a circular response to the
question. Nevertheless, many candidates correctly understood that the reason one could tell that
the wolves were used to humans was that they hunted amongst the herders.
(f) (g) and (h) Very few candidates had problems with these questions.
(i)
Some candidates wrote about rabies without mentioning why this disease spread so easily within
the wolf packs and were therefore unable to score the mark.
Exercise 7
The performance was, to some extent, mirrored by performance in Exercise 5, but the difference in the level
of register and idiom required made Exercise 7 more challenging for candidates of average and weaker
ability. Many of the stronger candidates wrote excellent and very persuasive letters. Unfortunately, many of
the weaker attempts lacked paragraphing and an appropriate layout. A small number of candidates were
unable to finish their letter.
As in the other exercises which required longer answers in the candidate’s own words, candidates should be
reminded not to use Ndebele and English words in their pieces of writing, as this can have a negative impact.
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© 2011
Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education
0531 IsiZulu as a Second Language November 2011
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
ISIZULU AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
Paper 0531/02
Listening
Key message
In order to do well in this examination, candidates should:
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in Exercises 1 and 2, listen carefully and make sure that only one box is ticked
in Exercises 3 and 4, use the second time items are played to check responses carefully.
General comments
Most candidates did quite well this year. Apart from a very small number of candidates, everyone attempted
all of the questions in the paper.
Candidates should listen closely and write down their final answer carefully. Some candidates used Ndebele
words which have another meaning in isiZulu, which meant that some of their answers could not be given
credit. Candidates are reminded that the words they hear will often form a large part of their written
responses to questions in Exercises 3 and 4, and that answers in a language other than isiZulu cannot be
credited. In Exercise 3, for instance, some candidates used bala in the Ndebele sense of ‘to read’. In
isiZulu, bala means ‘to count’, which meant that some answers read ‘to count newspapers’ rather than the
required ‘to read newspapers’. The isiZulu word that should have been used is: funda.
Candidates may find it useful to make notes to help them identify the correct pieces of information from the
recordings, especially the first time items are played. The second time items are played can be put to good
use by checking answers already given.
Comments on specific questions
Exercise 1
The majority of candidates did very well in this exercise. Candidates are reminded, however, to check that
they have not ticked both the ‘true’ and the ‘false’ box for a question before they move on to the next
exercise.
Exercise 2
Candidates did not experience many difficulties in this exercise, and many scored full to near-full marks. In
other respects:
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answers A, C and D were occasionally chosen incorrectly for Question 7
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in Question 8, answers A, B or D were sometimes incorrectly ticked
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in Question 9, some candidates gave A or D as the incorrect answer
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in Question 10, C was sometimes given incorrectly as the answer.
Question 11 was in nearly all cases correctly answered, but on a very few occasions D was given as the
incorrect answer.
Exercise 3
Most candidates had few problems filling in the form on the famous soccer player Matthew Booth.
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© 2011
Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education
0531 IsiZulu as a Second Language November 2011
Principal Examiner Report for Teachers
Most candidates filled in Matthew’s height correctly. A very small number of candidates did not respond at
all.
The second answer, ‘Russia’, was also correctly identified by most candidates. There were some who wrote
the teams in South Africa he was playing for, perhaps because they were not familiar with the word for
‘countries’, amazwe.
There were hardly any problems with the third question. Some gave the same answer which they had
already given to the previous question.
There were quite a few candidates who answered only with kathathu, which was not sufficient information for
the mark. The answer looked for was ‘three times a week’ (kathathu ngeviki).
Although there were many correct answers, there were some candidates wrote that Matthew Booth wanted a
new challenge but forgot to mention that he wanted to move abroad with his family.
The Cape or Fish Hoek were in most cases correctly identified by candidates in the first part of their
response to the last question on the form, but fewer were able to provide a correct response to the second
part. Also, the word ‘to teach’ has to be fundisa in isiZulu. Some candidates used the Ndebele word
khuthaza, which could not be accepted.
Exercise 4
Question 13
Most candidates answered this question correctly.
Question 14
There were many correct answers, but some candidates did not write full sentences and conveyed only part
of the information they were asked to give.
Question 15
Most of the candidates answered this question correctly.
Question 16
Most candidates answered this question correctly.
Question 17
There were many correct answers but there were also a few candidates who did not respond.
Question 18
There were many correct answers, but some were unable to convey the word ukugwinya in such a way as to
make it clear that they had understood its meaning.
Question 19
Most candidates answered this question correctly.
Question 20
Most candidates answered this question correctly.
Question 21
There were many correct answers, although some only gave part of the required answer or said that the
female eats more than the male when it is pregnant, which was not corroborated by what was said in the
interview.
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© 2011