2026 JSS2 First Term English Language Exam Questions and Answers

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Preparing well for the JSS2 First Term English Language exam is very Important step for every junior secondary school student in Nigeria. At this level, students build the grammar, comprehension, vocabulary, and composition skills that form the foundation for excellent performance in internal school exams and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). This guide collects the most relevant topics, sample questions, model answers, study strategies, and resources based on the official Junior Secondary School curriculum and common exam patterns used by schools and exam bodies. It will help learners, teachers, and parents to focus revision on high-value topics and to practice with real exam-style questions.

How the JSS2 First Term English Exam Is Set

Although schools may vary slightly in format, the JSS2 First Term English exam typically covers the following sections:

Reading and Comprehension: Short passages followed by multiple questions testing understanding, inference, vocabulary in context, and main ideas.
Grammar/Structure: Objective questions (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks) and short structured questions on parts of speech, tenses, sentence transformation (active/passive, direct/indirect speech), prepositions, conjunctions and punctuation.
Vocabulary: Synonyms, antonyms, meanings in context, word formation and spelling.
Composition/Writing: Short imaginative or narrative essays, letter writing (formal/informal), descriptive pieces, and sometimes report writing.
Oral/Speech Work (where included): Pronunciation, stress/intonation, reading aloud and short conversational exercises during class assessments.

Most schools time the exam for 1–2 hours depending on if the test is full-length or a class test. Schools that follow the official scheme of work will place slightly different emphasis across weeks, but the above sections represent the steady core of first-term assessment.

The Curriculum and Syllabus Basis (What You Must Know)

The Junior Secondary School (JSS 1–3) curriculum in Nigeria is coordinated by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). The NERDC curriculum sets out the expected competencies for English Studies across JSS1–JSS3 and breaks them into themes and language skills that teachers should cover across the three terms. For JSS2, the first term typically revises and consolidates earlier learning (JSS1 foundations) and introduces intermediate grammar topics, reading strategies, composition formats, and exposure to literature (prose and poetry).

Breakdown of High-Value Topics (First Term Focus)

Below is a practical breakdown of topics that appear most frequently in first-term JSS2 exams, with short explanations and common question types.

1. Speech Work / Phonetics

Focus: Pure vowels, diphthongs, consonant sounds, stress and intonation.
Why it matters: Schools test pronunciation and phonetic recognition in class and oral assessments.
Common question types: Identify word with a particular phonetic symbol; choose words with similar vowel sounds.

2. Grammar and Structure

Focus: Parts of speech, subject-verb agreement, tenses (present continuous, simple present, simple past, future), active and passive voice, direct and indirect speech.
Why it matters: Grammar questions are high-scoring and frequent.
Common question types: Multiple-choice on correct tense, rewrite active sentences in passive, change direct speech to reported speech, fill-in-the-blank with correct preposition.

3. Comprehension & Vocabulary Development

Focus: Reading for meaning, inference, vocabulary in context, identifying writer’s purpose, and summarizing passages.
Why it matters: Comprehension tests a student’s ability to apply reading strategies and is central to exam success.
Common question types: Short answer questions from passages, explain meaning of underlined words, state the main idea, true/false statements.

4. Composition (Writing)

Focus: Narrative essays, descriptive essays, letter writing (formal & informal), recounts, and short reports.
Why it matters: Composition tests organization of thought, paragraphing, use of linking devices, vocabulary and mechanics (punctuation & spelling).
Common question types: “Write an essay on…”, “Write a letter to…”, “Describe a market scene” etc. Students are often asked to plan and write 120–200 words depending on school expectations.

5. Literature in English

Focus: Short prose extracts, folktales, drama excerpts and poems. Students study themes, setting, characterization and figures of speech.
Why it matters: Even if literature is not separately examined in every school test, comprehension sections often use literary passages; scheme-of-work includes literature components in every term.

Sample Questions (Exam-Style) — with Model Answers

Use these sample items for timed practice. Try to answer without looking at the model answers first.

Section A — Objective / Short Answers (Grammar & Vocabulary)

Choose the correct option: “She ____ her homework now.”
(a) do (b) does (c) is doing (d) doing
Answer: (c) is doing. (Present continuous used for current action.)
Pick the antonym of “generous”:
(a) kind (b) mean (c) humble (d) polite
Answer: (b) mean.
Change to passive voice: “The pupils wrote the test.”
Answer: “The test was written by the pupils.”
(Focus: subject → object; active to passive.)
Fill in the blank with a preposition: “The book is ____ the table.”
Answer: on / under / beside (depending on intended meaning).
Choose the correct reported speech:
Direct: The teacher said, “I will mark your scripts tomorrow.”
Reported: The teacher said that she ____ mark our scripts the following day.
Answer: would (The teacher said that she would mark our scripts the following day.) (Scribd)

Section B — Comprehension (Sample Passage and Questions)

Passage (short):
Amaka enjoyed the market. She liked the noise and the bright, crowded stalls. Her mother asked her to buy tomatoes and salt. On their way back, Amaka saw a man selling roasted plantain and could not resist buying one.

Questions:

Why did Amaka enjoy the market?
Answer: She enjoyed the noise and the bright stalls (pleasure in the lively atmosphere).
What did Amaka’s mother ask her to buy?
Answer: Tomatoes and salt.
What did Amaka buy on the way back?
Answer: Roasted plantain.
Pick a word that means “unable to refuse” from the passage.
Answer: could not resist.

Section C — Composition (Model Task & Answer Outline)

Task: Write a short essay (120–150 words) on “My Favourite Teacher.”

Model outline & tips:

Intro: Introduce who the teacher is and the subject taught.
Body: Describe qualities (kind, patient, explains well), give examples of how they helped you learn, mention memorable classroom moments.
Conclusion: Summarize why they are your favourite and how they inspire you.

Sample opening paragraph:

My favourite teacher is Mrs. Ojo. She teaches English and always explains things clearly. When I find grammar difficult, she uses simple examples and games to help us understand. She is patient and always encourages us to read aloud and ask questions.”

Mrs. Ojo is also very kind and caring to every student in the class. She greets us with a smile every morning and makes the classroom feel welcoming. Whenever a student is absent, she checks on them and asks how they are doing when they return. She believes that every child can learn if given the right support, so she never gets angry when someone makes a mistake. Instead, she uses the mistake as a chance to teach us something new. Because of her gentle way of correcting us, many students feel comfortable participating in class.

What I love most about Mrs. Ojo is the way she makes her lessons interesting. She uses stories, pictures, role-play, and even short videos to explain topics. Sometimes, she divides us into groups to read passages and answer questions together. This makes learning fun and helps us to understand comprehension passages easily. She also gives us new vocabulary every week and encourages us to use the words in sentences. Thanks to her, my reading and writing skills have improved a lot.

Mrs. Ojo is not only a good teacher but also a great role model. She dresses neatly, speaks politely, and teaches us to respect one another. She always reminds us that education is the key to success and that hard work brings good results. Because of her, I now enjoy English Language and hope to become as confident as she is. I am truly grateful to have her as my teacher, and I will always remember her for the positive impact she has made on my life.

Practice Paper — 20-Minute Mini Test (for daily revision)

Choose the correct tense: “They ____ to Lagos last year.”
(a) go (b) went (c) gone (d) will go
Give the plural form of: “child.”
Use “although” to combine these sentences: “It was raining. We went to school.”
Write one synonym for “happy.”
Complete the sentence: “If I ____ rich, I would help the poor.”

Answers: 1(b); 2(children); 3(Although it was raining, we went to school.); 4(joyful/pleased); 5(were) — This mini test helps with quick daily practice to keep grammar and vocabulary sharp.

Also Read : JSS3 Free WAEC Expo for Art Students 2025: What You Need to Know

7 ways how to Revise for your Jss2 English Language Exams

Below are evidence-based, practical strategies tuned for JSS2 learners and the local school context:

Use the Scheme of Work: Follow the school’s scheme of work or the JSS2 national outline to prioritise topics for first-term exams. Teachers organize content weekly — use that plan to schedule revision.
Mix Active Practice with Passive Reading: Read short passages but also answer questions, summarise paragraphs in your own words and teach the passage to a peer. Active recall improves long-term retention. (Pedagogical best practice.)
Daily Short Tests: Use 10–20 minute mini-tests (like the one above) on tense forms, parts of speech and vocabulary. Short, frequent tests beat occasional long cramming sessions.
Past Questions Practice: Collect past school term tests and BECE past questions to familiarise with question formats. Timing practice under exam conditions builds speed and accuracy.
Peer Study and Group Discussions: Discussing composition topics and reading passages in small study groups improves fluency and exposes students to different viewpoints.
Teacher Feedback: Submit compositions regularly for correction. Correcting recurring mistakes (punctuation, subject-verb agreement) is critical for improvement.
Use Recommended Texts: Use class readers and recommended course books to build literary knowledge (prose and poetry units are often drawn from these texts).

How Teachers Can Use This Guide (Planning & Assessment)

Weekly micro-objectives: Use suggested weekly topics (speech work, structure, comprehension, composition) and set short quizzes at the end of each week. This monitors progress and flags difficulties early.
Model marking scheme: For compositions, mark on content (30%), cohesion & organisation (30%), vocabulary & expression (20%) and mechanics (20%). Provide learners with a copy of the rubric so they understand expectations.
Classroom activities: Role plays, pair reading, dictation, and sentence-building games reinforce learning in an interactive way. (Classhall)

Common Exam Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Weak Time Management: Students often spend too long on comprehension or composition. Practice with timed papers and allocate time per section.
Ignoring Instructions: Some lose marks for not obeying word limits or answering optional questions. Read instructions carefully.
Poor Paragraphing: Essays without clear paragraphs lose coherence marks. Teach learners to plan and write 3–5 paragraphs for short essays.
Mechanical Errors: Spelling and punctuation errors cost marks. Regular dictation and proofreading routines help eliminate these.
Over-reliance on Memorised Answers: Understand skills rather than rote answers — comprehension and grammar demand flexible understanding.

Additional Practice Resources & Where To Find Past Questions

To compile exam practice materials, teachers and students commonly use:

School term test repositories (teachers upload past tests to Scribd/class portals). These collections contain many JSS2 first-term sample papers and quizzes.
Scheme-of-work sites and lesson notes which show weekly learning outcomes (useful for planning revision).
BECE past papers (for JSS3 level) — while these belong to JSS3, working backward on JSS2 topics using BECE beginner-level questions helps deepen understanding.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How many words should a JSS2 composition be?
A: For first-term tests teachers often expect 100–200 words for essays; short paragraphs of 60–120 words may suffice for minor tasks. Check your school’s rubric and practice to the time limit.

Q: How often should students practice comprehension?
A: Short daily or thrice-weekly practice of 10–20 minutes yields real gains in inference and vocabulary. Combine with timed exams monthly. (syllabus.ng)

Q: Can JSS2 topics appear in BECE?
A: BECE focuses on JSS3 but is cumulative; a strong JSS2 foundation is crucial since JSS3 builds on those skills. Schools often ensure mastery in JSS2 to prepare students for JSS3 BECE revision. (NERDC)

Final Checklist for Students (Pre-Exam)

Revise tenses and parts of speech (daily short drills).
Practice comprehension with questions and summarisation.
Write one short essay every 3 days and get feedback.
Review literature notes and figures of speech (alliteration, personification, simile).
Sleep well the night before the exam and arrive early. Mental clarity helps more than last-minute cramming.

Conclusion

The JSS2 First Term English Language Exam is an opportunity to consolidate foundational language skills. By following the national scheme of work, practising past and model questions, using daily mini-tests, and focusing on feedback-led composition practice, students can build confidence and significantly improve performance. Teachers who align weekly lesson objectives with small, regular assessments will see steady improvement in grammar, comprehension and writing skills.

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