Assessment of the Ordinary Level Cambridge Arabic Language Exam in Mauritius

Abstract

The history of Cambridge Arabic language exams in Mauritius dates back to 1984, when the first Ordinary Level (O Level) exam was  conducted in both government and private secondary schools. This exam lays a strong foundation for students to progress to the  Advanced Subsidiary Level (AS Level) and Advanced Level (A Level).Each student receives two papers (Paper 1 and Paper 2). Paper 1  involves essay writing, is worth 45 marks, and lasts for an hour and a half. Paper 2 consists of translation, reading, and comprehension, is  worth 55 marks, and also lasts for an hour and a half. The exam assesses grammatical rules through writing and translation, and does  not focus on language skills such as listening and speaking.Additionally, the O Level Arabic language syllabus does not recommend any prescribed textbooks, vocabulary lists, or grammatical rules studied at this level. Teachers determine what grammar, vocabulary, and  texts are suitable for their students from various sources.Since 2019, the O Level Arabic language exam has become extremely  challenging for non-native speakers, as the same exam is now available in Arab countries as well. While the format of the exam remains  unchanged, the content, methods, vocabulary, and question difficulty have been heightened to align with the proficiency of Arabic  speakers. This has led to poor results, with many students failing the O Level exam and losing interest in continuing their Arabic language  studies and advancing to the next level.One proposed solution is to provide another exam suitable for non-native Arabic  speakers, including various types of questions such as completion tasks, error correction, multiple choice, true or false questions, and  more.