Assessing iAnglais/i Paper Instructions Set by Francophone Primary School Teachers in Guidiguis, Far-north Cameroon

This study aims to assess the linguistic quality of Anglais paper instructions set by Francophone primary school teachers. Guided by the Error Analysis framework, 40 authentic CM2 question papers were examined. The analysis revealed recurrent word order and subject–verb agreement errors, alongside frequent orthographic mistakes. These issues were largely attributed to negative transfer from French and an incomplete mastery of English grammatical and orthographic conventions. Such errors compromise the clarity of instructions, risk confusing learners during assessments, and potentially undermine the objectives of Cameroon’s bilingual education policy. The study recommends targeted in-service teacher training focused on English grammar and assessment language, the development of clear instructional guidelines, and the institution of systematic quality control measures to ensure the production of accurate and comprehensible paper materials in English.