Majaraibio (ya Bila Malipo) ya Kiingereza Mtandaoni

Ni muhimu kujua kiwango chako cha Kiingereza ili kujua ni nini unapaswa kusoma ili ujiboreshe. Kuna idadi ya majaribio ya bila malipo yanayopatikana mtandaoni ili kukusaidia kujua kiwango chako.

BBC hutoa idadi ya majaribio ya bila malipo – ingawa wanafunzi wanahitaji kufikia angalau kiwango cha B1 (intermediate) ili kufanya majaribio haya. Majaribio hayo yana maswali 15 kila moja, na yatamsaidia mwanafunzi kuthibitisha kama ako katika kiwango sahihi cha kutumia nyenzo mbalimbali za kujifunzia kwenye tovuti. Kumbuka kwamba, utapongezwa hata kwa kupata 1 kati ya 15 na haijalishi alama yako ni mbaya kiasi gani, tovuti itapendekeza tu hatua moja chini ya jaribio ulilofanya.- hata ikiwa umefanya jaribio lisilo sahihi kabisa! Ili kuhakikisha kuwa haujafanya hivi, inapendekezwa kwamba ikiwa alama yako ni ya juu sana au ya chini katika kiwango unachochukua, jaribu kufanya jaribio la kiwango cha juu au chini pia. Kwa manufaa, jaribio la BBC hutoa maoni kwa kila swali, kukujulisha ulikosea wapi.

Tovuti ya British Council hutoa jaribio la jumla la Kiingereza – mradi tu umejisajili kwenye tovuti. Jaribio lina maswali 30 yenye hadi dakika 30 ya kuyajibu na pia kusema kama una uhakika, huna uhakika kabisa, au huna uhakika sana kuhusu kila swali. Kumbuka kuwa tovuti haikuruhusu kufanya jaribio kwa mara ya pili ukitumia anwani ile ile  ya barua pepe kwa hivyo hakikisha hutakatizwa wakati unapofanya jaribio. Kwa upande wa matokeo, jaribio huonekana katika baadhi ya matukio kupendekeza kiwango cha juu zaidi kuliko uwezo wa mwanafunzi, kwa hivyo sogeza kiwango chini ikiwa utapata ugumu wa mazoezi ambayo tovuti inapendekeza kulingana na matokeo yako. Kumbuka kwenye tovuti zinazohitaji usajili Ikiwa unapewa nyenzo zisizolipishwa, unaweza onelea kuwa ni haki kutoa barua pepe yako na maelezo mengine kwa tovuti. Hata hivyo, ikiwa umechoshwa na kupokea barua pepe zisizoombwa kwa sababu ya kujisajili na tovuti, au huna imani kabisa na tovuti unayosajili kutumia, kumbuka kuwa unaweza kutumia barua pepe ya muda (kifungu kwa Kiingereza).

EF English First ni kampuni ya kibinafsi inayoendesha shule na kuandaa safari za masomo kwa wanafunzi wa lugha. Tangu 2011, pia imefanya majaribio kupatikana mtandaoni na kutumia matokeo kutoa ripoti inayolinganisha kiwango cha Kiingereza katika nchi tofauti. EF English First inapeana jaribio fupi ambalo unaweza kufanya hapo hapo, lakini hawatakupatia matokeo hadi uwape baadhi ya data (ikiwa ni pamoja na jina lako, barua pepe na umri) ambayo wanaahidi kwamba itatumika tu kwa utafiti wa kitaaluma. Jaribio hili huchukua takriban dakika 15 na lina maswali 20 ya chaguo nyingi, ikijumuisha sehemu ya kusikiliza. EF inasema kwamba jaribio lake mrefu (ambalo linaitwa EF Set) linatoa picha sahihi zaidi ya kiwango cha mwanafunzi. Jaribio hili huchukua dakika 50 na linajumuisha sehemu ya kusoma na sehemu ya kusikiliza yenye urefu sawa. Kampuni hiyo inasema kuwa jaribio hilo ni sikivu, ikimaanisha kwamba litauliza maswali magumu zaidi au rahisi zaidi kulingana na jinsi mchukuaji jaribio anavyofanya.

Majaribio ya Cambridge hayahitaji usajili na yanaweza kufanywa hapo hapo. Kuna majaribio nne tofauti ya kuchukua;General English, English for Schools, Business English and Young Learners. Kila jaribio lina maswali 25, isipokuwa kwa Young Learners  (wanaolenga watoto wa miaka 4-12) ambao wana maswali 15 pekee. Majibu ni ya chaguo nyingi. Mwishowe, wavuti itapendekeza ni jirabio gani la Cambridge utakuchukua, na pia kiwango kinacholingana cha CEFR.

Huenda umesikia msemo broken English (broken – vunjwa, vunjika) hii inatumika kwa namna mtu anavyozungumza ambaye anajua maneno kadhaa ya Kiingereza lakini hayayaunganishi vizuri. Inaweza kumaanisha chochote kuanzia kuwa na makosa makubwa katika sarufi hadi kutumia sarufi ya Kiswahili hadi kwa maneno ya Kiingereza! Ikiwa una wasiwasi, unaweza kuzungumza broken English basi unaweza kuwa na nia ya kufanya jaribio linalozingatia sarufi:

British Study.com ni mojawapo ya makampuni kadhaa ya kibinafsi yanayotoa majaribio ili kuwahimiza wanafunzi kuchukua kozi zao. Mtu yeyote anaweza kufanya jaribio hili bila malipo kwenye tovuti yao. Kuna maswali 40 ya chaguo nyingi ya kujibu na hakuna  na kikomo cha muda.

Exam English ni tovuti inayoendeshwa na mkaguzi mtaalamu wa Kiingereza, kutoa mazoezi ya bila malipo kwa mitihani mbalimbali. Kando na jaribio la sarufi na msamiati, tovuti hii pia hutoa jaribio tofauti la kiwango cha usikilizaji.

Majaribio yasiyo ya kullipiwa yaliyotajwa hapa yanaonekana kuwa ya manufaa zaidi kwa wanafunzi ambao tayari wako katika kiwango cha kati (B1/B2) au zaidi. Kama huyu ni wewe basi jaribu kuchukua zaidi ya moja ya majaribio hapo juu, kwa kuwa kuna tofauti ya ugumu katika majaribio haya. Kwa wanafunzi wa viwango vya chini (kwa mfano, wanafunzi wanaojaribu kugundua kama wako katika kiwango cha A1 au A2) mtihani pekee unaoonekana kufaa ni Cambridge Test for Young Learners. Ingawa hii inawalenga watoto, inajaribu sarufi sawa na msamiati ambao watu wazima watahitaji katika hatua za awali za kusoma lugha. Hata kama jaribio hili linaonekana kuwa gumu kwako, hii inamaanisha kuwa wewe bado ni mwanzilishi kwa kweli, katika A1 level. Unaweza kutaka kutazama programu hii ambayo imeundwa mahususi kwa wazungumzaji wa Kiswahili wanaohitaji mwanzo mzuri wa Kiingereza msingi. Ni muhimu usiwe na aibu kuhusu kiwango chako cha Kiingereza, kwani hii inaweza kukukatisha tamaa kuchukua hatua ya kujiboresha. Ikiwa bado haujaiona, unapaswa kusoma Sababu Tano kwa nini Hujajifunza Kiingereza. Ikiwa ungependa kuwa na maelezo zaidi na kuona orodha ya viwango vya Kiingereza, angalia makala haya.

It is useful to know what level of English you have in order to know what you should study to improve.  There are a number of free online tests available to help you to find this out.

The BBC provides a number of free tests – though students need to have reached at least B1 (intermediate) level to take them. The tests consist of 15 questions each, and will help a student to confirm if they are at the right level to use various learning materials on the site. Note that, a little confusingly, you will be congratulated even on scoring 1 out of 15, and no matter how bad your score is, the site will only suggest the level immediately below – even if you have taken completely the wrong test!  To make sure you haven’t done this, it’s suggested that if your score is very high or low at the level you take, you try taking the test for the level above or below as well. Helpfully, the BBC test provides feedback on every single question, letting you know where you went wrong.

The British Council site provides a general test of English – provided you register with the site. The test consists of 30 questions with up to 30 minutes to answer them and also say if you are certain, not really sure, or very unsure about each question. Note that the web site does not allow you to take the test a second time with the same email address so make sure you will not have interruptions when taking it. In terms of results, the test appears in some cases to recommend a higher level than the student is actually capable of, so move a level down if you find difficulty with the exercises that the site suggests based on your results. Note on web sites requiring registration If you are being provided with free materials, you may consider it fair to provide your email and other details to web sites.  However, if you are fed up with receiving unsolicited emails as a result of registering with sites, or do not entirely trust the web site you are registering to use, note that you can use a temporary email address.

EF English First is a private company that runs schools and organises study trips for language students.  Since 2011, it has also made tests available online and used the results to produce a report comparing the level of English in different countries. EF English First offers a short test which you can do immediately, but they will withhold your results until you have provided them with some data (including your name, email and age) which they promise is only to be used for academic research. This test takes around 15 minutes and consists of 20 multiple choice questions, including a listening section. EF states that its long test (called the EF Set) gives a more accurate picture of a learner’s level.  This test takes 50 minutes and is composed of a reading section and a listening section of around equal length.  The company says that the test is responsive, meaning that it will ask more difficult or easier questions depending on how the test-taker is performing.

The Cambridge tests require no registration and can be done immediately.  There are four different tests to take;  General English, English for Schools, Business English and Young Learners.  Each test consist of 25 questions, except for Young Learners (aimed at 4-12 year-olds) which has only 15.  Answers are multiple choice.  At the end, the site will recommend which Cambridge exam to take, and also the corresponding CEFR level.

You may have heard the expression broken English – this is applied to the way someone speaks who knows a number of English words but does not put them together properly.  It can mean anything from having serious mistakes in grammar to applying Swahili grammar to English words! If you are worried you may speak broken English then you might be interested in taking a test that focusses on grammar:

British Study.com is one of a number of private companies offering tests to encourage learners to take their courses.  Anyone can take this test for free on their web site.  There are 40 multiple choice questions to answer and there does not appear to be a time limit.

Exam English is a web site run by a professional examiner of English, providing free practice for various exams.  In addition to the grammar and vocabulary test, the site also provides a separate listening level test.

The free tests mentioned here appear to be more useful for students who are already at intermediate level (B1/B2) or above.  If this is you then try to take more than one of the above tests, as there is some variation between them in difficulty. For students at low levels (for example, students trying to discover if they are A1 or A2 level) the only test that appears suitable is in fact the Cambridge Test for Young Learners.  Although this is aimed at children, it tests the same grammar and vocabulary adults will need in the early stages of learning a language. Those who find even this test difficult are still real beginners, at A1 level. This app, is designed specifically for Swahili speakers who need a good start in basic English.  It is important beginners are not embarrassed about their level of English, as this can discourage taking action to improve. Sababu Tano kwa nini Hujajifunza Kiingereza looks at some of the causes of problems with English, and explains why they are not always the learner’s fault. If you would like to have more explanation and to see a list of levels in English, see this article.

Follow us for more articles like this.
Tufuate kwenye kwa maudhui kama haya zaidi.

If you like this content, share it on Twitter or Facebook.
Kama unapenda maudhui haya ishiriki kwenye Facebook, Twitter.