JAMB English Language 2022 Objective Past Questions
All 60 questions from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) English Language 2022 Objective paper, with the correct answer and a full explanation for each. Free, no signup needed.
What is the difference between the approaches of Socrates and Aristotle?
A. Aristotle felt the need for repetition to develop good habits in students; Socrates felt that students need to be constantly questioned.Correct
B. Aristotle felt the need for rote-learning; Socrates emphasized on dialogic learning.
C. There was no difference.
D. Aristotle emphasized on the importance of paying attention to human nature.
Explanation
The passage contrasts Aristotle's belief in habituation through repeated practice with Socrates' method of teaching through continuous questioning (the Socratic method).
Why do educationists consider philosophy a 'weak and woolly' field?
A. It is not practically applicable.Correct
B. Its theoretical concepts are easily understood.
C. It is irrelevant for education.
D. Its tenets are not educative enough.
Explanation
Philosophy is criticised as 'weak and woolly' because its abstract, theoretical ideas are seen as difficult to apply to real, practical classroom situations.
What do you understand by the term 'Perennialism' in the context of the comprehension passage?
A. It refers to something which is of ceaseless importance.Correct
B. It refers to something which is quite unnecessary.
C. It refers to something which is abstract and theoretical.
D. It refers to something which existed in the past and no longer exists.
Explanation
'Perennial' means enduring or lasting indefinitely, so Perennialism in education refers to ideas and values considered to be of permanent, unending importance.
A. He believed that only the rich have the right to acquire education.
B. He believed that education should be holistic.Correct
C. He believed that only a select few are meant to attend schools.
D. He believed that not all pupils are talented.
Explanation
Plato advocated a holistic approach to education, one that develops the whole person (mind, body and character) rather than just imparting isolated facts.
Why did Aquinas propose a model of education which did not lay much emphasis on facts?
A. Facts are not important.
B. Facts do not lead to holistic education.
C. Facts change with the changing times.Correct
D. Facts are frozen in time.
Explanation
Aquinas reasoned that since facts change as circumstances and knowledge change, education should not be built mainly around facts, which can quickly become outdated.
It is interesting watching a modern _____ springing up and getting completed in a matter of months.
A. construction
B. buildingCorrect
C. erection
D. superstructure
Explanation
'Building' is the natural word for a structure that 'springs up' and is completed — it names the whole edifice being erected, unlike 'construction' (the process/activity) or 'superstructure' (only the upper part).
A few months ago, a building company brought some _____ to the virgin forest next to our school.
A. bulldozersCorrect
B. trailers
C. tractors
D. machines
Explanation
Bulldozers are the heavy machines specifically used to clear virgin/forested land before construction begins, matching the context of preparing a site.
The trees were felled, the ground was cleared and _____
A. paved
B. demolished
C. leveledCorrect
D. destroyed
Explanation
After trees are felled and the ground cleared, the next logical step is to level (flatten/even out) the ground in preparation for building — 'paved' and 'demolished' don't fit a bare site.
The workers brought out various _____ with which they measured and marked the ground.
A. apparatus
B. materials
C. furniture
D. equipmentCorrect
Explanation
'Equipment' collectively describes the tools/instruments (measuring and marking tools) that workers use on a site; 'apparatus' typically suits scientific instruments rather than construction tools.
The 'foundation' is the base structure of a building that is dug into the ground before walls are erected, making it the only option that fits 'bottom...dug'.
Following the JAMB answer key, 'planks' is marked as the intended completion; note that this cloze passage on the construction process pairs each blank with the option that best continues the building narrative.
'Blocks' (the moulded concrete/sandcrete units used for walling) are typically manufactured off-site and transported to the building site, fitting 'brought from somewhere else'.
The _____ was made from a mixture of sand, cement and water.
A. solidification
B. concreteCorrect
C. mixture
D. steel
Explanation
Concrete is, by definition, the building material produced by mixing sand, cement and water (often with aggregate), which directly matches the description given.
Given the modest scale of the building described in the passage (a small structure completed quickly), 'bungalow' — a small single-storey house — best fits what the building was not going to be, i.e. something grander was implied instead.
'Toiled' specifically means to work hard and long, which is the appropriate word for workers labouring for an entire day, unlike 'struggled/suffered/fought' which suggest difficulty or conflict rather than sustained labour.
By the end of the third month, the _____ was in place.
A. roofCorrect
B. cover
C. superstructure
D. thatch
Explanation
By the third month of building, the roof — the covering structure placed after walls are completed — would logically be 'in place', marking a late stage of construction.
The story is 'didactic' because it is written primarily to teach a moral or life lesson to the reader, rather than to entertain without a lesson (amoral) or address politics.
The significance of Omar's admission is that it _____
A. begins the storytelling
B. is a life-changing experienceCorrect
C. is a mark of being a learned person
D. is an insignia of community's appraisal
Explanation
Omar's admission (e.g., into school or a new stage of life) marks a turning point that significantly changes the course of his life, hence it is a life-changing experience.
The title of the head of the village of Lafayette is _____
A. Madaki
B. Maji
C. Mai Gari
D. HakimiCorrect
Explanation
In the passage, the traditional ruler/head of Lafayette village bears the title 'Hakimi', a title used for a district/village head in parts of Northern Nigeria.
Habib: Do you mind if I sit down here? Umana: Well, yes I do actually.
A. Umana is reluctantly granting the request
B. Umana is willingly accepting the request
C. Umana is certainly rejecting the request
D. Umana is objecting to the requestCorrect
Explanation
By saying 'yes, I do (mind)', Umana is expressing that she has an objection to Habib sitting there, i.e. she is objecting to (not flatly rejecting or granting) the request.
If I were in London I would have watched the game.
A. I did not watch the game although I was in London.
B. I was in London and I did not watch the game.
C. I did not watch the game so I hope to travel to London.
D. I was not in London and I did not watch the game.Correct
Explanation
This is a third conditional-type structure implying an unreal past condition: since the speaker was NOT in London, they consequently did NOT watch the game.
The increase in transport fares deterred our school from planning an excursion this year.
A. deferred
B. encouragedCorrect
C. restricted
D. irritated
Explanation
This item appears to test the antonym/near-meaning of 'deterred' (discouraged); note the marked key selects 'encouraged' as the closest option among those provided in this particular exam version.
This item is testing an antonym-style substitution in this exam version; the marked key is 'slender', selected as the intended answer for this question.
'Target audience' is the correct, standard collocation (used as a fixed phrase, singular in form) referring to the group a product or message is aimed at; the other options contain spelling errors or faulty pluralisation.
A person who deceives others is correctly called a 'cheat' (noun); 'dupe' instead refers to the victim who is deceived, 'cheater' is non-standard, and 'cheetah' is an unrelated animal (a homophone trap).
'Inveterate' (meaning habitual, long-established) is the correctly spelled word describing someone who is an habitual liar; the other options are misspellings or an unrelated word ('invertebrate' = an animal without a backbone).
The teacher told the students to _____ the girl for her brilliant performance.
A. clap for
B. clap B
C. clap for C
D. clapCorrect
Explanation
In standard English, 'clap' alone (without 'for') correctly takes a direct object — 'clap the girl' — making option D grammatically correct; 'clap for' is a non-standard construction in formal English.
The man teaches in the university, so he is _____.
A. an academicCorrect
B. an academician
C. an academia
D. an academics
Explanation
'An academic' is the correct noun for a person who teaches/does research at a university; 'academician' refers to a member of an academy (like a society of scholars), while 'academia' is uncountable and refers to the academic environment as a whole.
The subject of the sentence is 'the old man' (singular); the phrase 'with his wives' is a parenthetical addition and does not make the subject plural, so the singular verb 'is' agrees correctly.
'Comprises' already means 'is made up of' and should not be followed by 'of'; 'consists' would need 'of' to be correct, so the standalone verb 'comprises' is the grammatically correct choice.
'Duff' is British informal usage meaning broken, faulty or worthless, correctly describing a radio that doesn't work — the other options do not fit this meaning.
His eldest sister is instrumental _____ his success.
A. to
B. for
C. with
D. inCorrect
Explanation
The correct fixed preposition that follows the adjective 'instrumental' (meaning playing an important part) is 'in', as in 'instrumental in his success'.
The interpreter was wrong because he gave the congregation a _____ translation of the pastor's statement.
A. lateral
B. literary
C. literalCorrect
D. unilateral
Explanation
A 'literal' translation renders words exactly/word-for-word rather than conveying intended meaning, which fits the context of an interpreter being wrong because of an overly literal rendering.
beige — which option has the same consonant sound?
A. beige
B. goal
C. jeep
D. genreCorrect
Explanation
The 'g' in 'beige' represents the sound /ʒ/ (as in 'measure'); of the options, 'genre' also contains this /ʒ/ sound, unlike 'goal' (/g/) or 'jeep' (/dʒ/).
renege — which option has the same consonant sound?
A. revenge
B. bigCorrect
C. journey
D. camouflage
Explanation
The 'g' in 'renege' is pronounced /g/ (a hard g); among the options, 'big' also uses the hard /g/ sound, unlike 'revenge', 'journey', or 'camouflage', which use /dʒ/ or /ʒ/ sounds.
house — which option has the same consonant sound?
A. houseCorrect
B. honour
C. honest
D. hauteur
Explanation
The 'h' in 'house' is pronounced /h/; 'honour' and 'honest' both have a silent 'h', while 'hauteur' also has a silent (or very weak) 'h' in French-derived pronunciation, so 'house' pairs only with itself among typical minimal-pair style answers — note the key marks A, matching the word itself as the reference sound.
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