TEACHING OF

ENGLISH
(Revised)

Units 1-18 B.Ed.

Course Code 519

Department of Elementary Teacher Education

Faculty of Education
ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
ISLAMABAD.
 (All rights are reserved with the publisher)

Edition 2006

Edition First

No. of Copies

Price Rs.

Printer Marshal Printing Press,

Saddar .Rawalpindi.
Ph: 5563971, 5563981

Publisher Allama Iqbal Open

University, Islamabad.

ii
 Course Team

Dr. Tanveer uz Zaman Chairman,

Elementary Teacher Education
Department, AIOU Islamabad.

Mr. Fazal Ur Rahman Course Coordinator

Dr. Muhammad Arif Zia Course Development Coordinators

M. Aslam Shah Hashmi Writers

Prof. Dr. Mrs. Z. Z. Omer
Malil Muhammad Iqbal
Miss. Frazana Ursani
Dr. Zulkaif Ahmad
Prof. Mian Muhammad Afzal
Prof. Dr. Tariq Rehman
Dr. Mrs. Mussarat Anwar
Dr. A. R. Saghar
Mr. Abdul Hafiz
Mr. Nisar Zafar
Mr. Abid Hussain Abid
Mr. Bashir Mahmood Akhtar
Mr. Iftikhar Ahmad
Prof. Ismail Bhatti

Dr. Muhammad Arif Zia First Revision

Prof. Mian Muhammad Afzal

Mr. Abdul Hafiz Second Revision

Mrs. Raazia Waseem
Mrs. Shagufta Siraj
Mr. Ajmal Malik
Mr. M. Iqbal Naeem
Mr. Umar Farooq

iii
Mrs. Shahida Shah Editor
Mr. Umer Siddique Khattak

Mr. Aftab Ahmad Designer

iv
 FOREWORD

Education is nation-building activity which unlocks the

door to modernization. English is rated high in Education system
of Pakistan. It is a compulsory subject from class I to degree
level. English language is an important medium for exploring
scientific and technological knowledge and information at
advanced levels. It is also a medium of international commerce
trade and communication and serves as a lingua-franca in
contemporary world. This language has a historical association
with the social and political development and is considered as
the prime language of diplomacy in the world.
Allama Iqbal Open University is dedicated to improve the
quality of English language teaching through effective and latest
teaching methodologies and techniques. This course entitled
“Teaching of English” will give the students greater insights as
future English teacher as it contains all the basic requirements
to develop their instructional skills and usage in English
language.
I am grateful to all the reviewers who participated in the
revision of this course. I will highly appreciate any suggestions
for further improvements.

Prof. Dr. Mahmood H. Butt

Vice-Chancellor
2006

v
vi
 COURSE INTRODUCTION

This course has been developed keeping in view the

needs of the teachers of English Language. As most of our
teachers lack proficiency in basic language skills, emphasis has
been laid on both the language skills and the methods.

It is full credits course and contain 18 study units

distributed almost equally in teaching of linguistic and language
skills. The first unit describes the importance of English as a
second language. It also covers such topics as the nature of
language, its origin and evaluation, the teaching of English at
the secondary school level and the objectives of teaching
English in secondary schools.

Unit two is about the language learning process and

contains topics such as the influence of linguistic on language
learning goals of language learning the environment and the
role of the teacher. This unit is full of practical examples and
would be very useful for the teacher. Unit three is very
important from the methodology point of view. As you use see,
this unit is about methods of teaching English and covers a long
range of topics starting from the translation method to the audio
lingual method and communicative approach.

Unit four is based on teaching the learning skill explains

detail the methods of training in listening speaking, reading and
writing. Unit five of the course is about the techniques of
teaching English. Method and technique are two different things.
A method is a complete process of transmitting knowledge in a
planned manner, while technique as a part of the methods, help
in proceeding further with the method. The Unit on one side
explains the difference between a method and a technique and
on the other defines techniques for teaching English.

vii
 Unit six and seven are meant for teaching literature. Unit
eight covers composition. Unit nine is about the preparation and
used instructional aids. The approach of this unit is very
innovative and inspiring. It gives very simple and effective
examples of using different instructional aids. The lesson plan is
a guide for teaching a lesson' we usually ignore it only because
of working load. I dare say that the lesson plan is prepared only
when we prepare the lesson it self I think most of our teaching
is without any preparation and therefore there does not arise
the question of lesson planning. However, unit 10 is based on
lesson planning, merely to remind us that is also a part of our
job.

If we day by day, go on teaching and do not bother to see

the outcomes of our efforts our all activity proves futile and
useless. Evaluation is an integral part of teaching. It is not
something different. We can proceed further only if we know
that the students have assimilated the lessons taught
previously. As such unit 11 is devoted to the evaluation of
instructional outcomes and explains different methods of
evaluation as related to the teaching of English.

Units 12-15 are about basic language skills. They have

multiple examples and many exercise to practice. The last three
units i.e. 16-18 on textual study and critical appreciation of the
selected content of English text-books for IX and X classes. The
whole course deals with practical aspects of the classroom
situation and suggests practical solution. Besides our students
of the B.Ed prograrnnmes. The teaching community, at large,
will also find it useful for the teaching of English.

Dr. Tanveer-uz-Zaman
Chairman
Dept. of Elementary Teacher Education

viii
Unit – 1

ENGLISH
AS
A SECOND LANGUAGE

Written By:
M. Aslam Shah Hashmi

Revised By:
Mr. Umar Farooq
2
 INTRODUCTION
You have been a student of English language upto your
B.A. / B.Sc. examination. Like most of the students, you could
have found the English language a difficult subject during your
school and college days. Indeed, the teaching of English
language to Pakistani students has become a serious problem in
the field of education. This is evident from the poor results in
English at three levels of our public examinations i.e.
Secondary, Inter and Degree. There appear a number of
personal and impersonal reasons for this state of affairs. They
must be attended to if the objectives of teaching English as a
second language have to be achieved. While improvements are
needed in the spheres of planning, organizations, curriculum
and the teacher’s competency, we cannot ignore the significance
of the proper methodology adopted by our teachers of the
English language.
As a student of this course, you will have an opportunity
to make a comparative study of the various methods and
techniques suited to the different aspects of English language
teaching in the following units. This unit will however, acquaint
you with some fundamental information about the English
language in general, and its position as a second language in
our particular situation in Pakistan.

3
 OBJECTIVES

When you have completed this unit, you should be able

to:–

 Describe the nature of language; how it began and as

to how it reached the present stage;
 List the functions of language in human beings;

 Recognise the role of Psychology in the teaching,

learning process of a second language;
 Realise the necessity of including a modern language
in the education of our children;

 List the reasons for the importance of learning English

language in Pakistan;
 Explain the objectives of teaching the four basic skils
of English language in secondary classes.
 Identify the role of a good English teacher.

4
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. The nature of language – how it began and
reached its present stage 7

2. Summary 15
3. Self assessment questions 16

4. Some psychological problems faced by students

and teachers during the teaching learning Process
in second language learning 18

5. Summary 24

6. Self assessment Questions 25

7. Teaching of second language at the secondary

Level in east and west 27

8. Summary 29
9. Self assessment questions 30
10. The place and importance of English as a second
language in Pakistan 31

11. Summary 37
12. Self assessment questions 38

13. The objectives of teaching English in

secondary classes 40
14. Summary 46

15. Self assessment questions 48

16. Role of an English Teacher 50
17. Bibliography 53

5
6
1. THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE – HOW IT BEGAN AND
REACHED THE PRESENT STAGE.

1.1 What Language Really is?

Language is a complex phenomenon. Different people will

answer differently to the question ‘What is language?’ Some
think it as a skill (something we do), some as knowledge
(something we know), some as a possession (something we
have or possess), some as a tool (something we use), some as
an event (something which happens), some as a group identity
(something which transmit culture), some as an object
(something which we can describe), some as a living organism
(something which is born, lives and dies). These answers or
ways of thinking show the complexity of language.

As you have observed that a child tries to speak from an

early age. After the stages of babbling and -------, he learns his
or her mother tongue at the age of one or two.

All normal people in the world can speak. No group of

people without a spoken language has ever been discovered.

The language is universal. All normal human beings in a

community understand and speak well enough to carry out
every activity of human life. Many of these same people cannot
read or write.
Every language in the world is rich enough and sufficiently
complete for its speakers to carry out their daily activities. When
the need arises, expressions can be borrowed from other
languages or can be coined with the elements of the existing
language. For these reasons, the spoken language is considered
primary. It is considered primary also because people learn to
speak their native language several years before they learn to
read and write.

7
 The writing is thus considered a secondary system,
derived from speech. Usually, we write much less in a day as
compared to the amount of speaking we do. Even as we write,
we always think first of how we would say what we are putting
down on paper.

1.2 The Definition of Language

Language has been defined by many linguists around the
world. Let’s have a look at some of the definitions.

Language is the most frequently used and most highly

developed form of human communication.

An act of communication is basically the transmission of

information of some kind – a message – from a source to a
receiver. In the case of language, both source and receiver are
human, and the message is transmitted either vocally, through
the air, or graphically, by marks on a surface, usually paper.
Language is series of sounds, usually string together in
groups, which convey meaning to listeners. Let us examine a
more formal definition:

The Language has been defined as a system of

arbitrary, vocal symbols which permit all people in a given
culture, or other people who have learnt the system of that
culture, to communicate or to interact.
The various components of this definition of language
need explanation:–

Every language operates within its own system i.e, its

own recurring patterns or arrangements which are meaningful
to the speakers. The sounds which are used to form words,
which in turn, are used in speech utterances, are always
arranged in particular ways or designs which convey the same
meaning to all speakers of the language.

8
 When you say the words “the man”, I know you are
talking of one man and of a man previously mentioned. “The
men”, on the other hand, conveys the meaning of more than
one man. The difference was made by the middle sound of the
word. Similarly, when you hear the word “speak”, you know it
would fit into the place used for verb in a sentence. “Speech”,
on the other hand, would fit into the place used for what we
generally call a noun.
In language, word order is an important part of the
system. For example, compare the two sentences: “The dog bit
the boy.” “The boy bit the dog”. The change in meaning has
resulted only from the difference in word-order. Again the
sentence “Bag with went a he”, does not make any sense,
although we know the meaning of each word.

Examining another feature of the system, we find that in

English, adjectives do not agree with nouns. We say “This tree is
tall”. But in Urdu we would say “ ” and “ ”.
Thus in the native language of your students, changes may
occur because of gender (masculine or feminine) or because of
number (singular or plural).
Referring back to our definition of language, vocal means
that we make sounds in our mouth using the tongue, the teeth
and lips. We also use other organs such as the vocal cords and
the lungs simply produce air for the subsequent production of
sounds.

Every language has its own arbitrary symbols or words

to express the meaning of an object or an idea. Why does
“table” mean what it does in English? Why is “dog” the name for
the animal it represents? No one knows why words convey
certain meanings. But all the speakers of the language do know
and can use the general terms associated with the common
objects or concepts in their environment.

9
 The words “communicate” and “interact” as used in the
definition signify to understand and to speak; to be able to
hear and to respond or react to the spoken word. They also
imply the ability to talk about something that happened in the
past, that is happening at the present time, or that may happen
at some time in the future.

1.3 Characteristics of Language

A Language has the following characteristics:

a. Language involves the use of the vocal organs of the

speaker and the hearing mechanism of the listener.

b. It is a set of verbal symbols (words) which stand for

real objects, or actions, or concepts.
c. These words are chosen arbitrarily by speaker of any
particular language.
d. Language is culturally transmitted.
e. Language is spontaneous.

f. In using language, people usually take turns to speak.

g. Language is structure-dependent.

h. We can combine words and structures in any number

of different ways.

1.4 Function of Language

The communication through the use of the spoken
language means understanding and reacting to what someone
says. Communication would also include understanding and
conveying messages through the printed word. The writing, as
we have said, is considered a secondary system derived from
the spoken language. We write symbols (the letters of alphabet
and punctuation marks) to convey the words and ideas which
are themselves symbols of objects or ideas. For example:–

10
Visual Symbol sound Written Word

/bxt/ bat

/ho:s/ horse

Since the language is the medium through which people

express their ideas of the world wherein they live, it carries
within it what can be called “cultural meanings”. Native
speakers who have been brought up in the culture, are aware of
differences or shades in meaning which gestures, words or
expressions may convey. For instance, the expression “I am
having break fast” has an equivalent in all languages, but the
sentence may evoke different thoughts and images in speakers
of different native languages, depending upon the time they
usually eat, what they eat, where they eat, etc.

11
 To conclude, we may think of language as serving two
major functions. First, language serves as a system of
responses through which individuals communicate with each
other (inter-individual communication). Secondly, language
functions as a system of responses that facilitates thinking and
actions for the individual (intera-individual communication).

1.5 Non-Linguistic Systems of Communication

The function of language is communication or transfer of
meaning. Usually we think of language as something spoken or
written, but there are many other forms or devices which man
has been using for communication. For instance, there are
various signs of highway code which convey diverse information
to the motorists. Similarly, there are the red, green and yellow
lights and blinkers at the city road crossings. They depend upon
a visual symbolism of colours, in which red stands for “stop” or
“danger”, green for “safety” or “go”, yellow for “slow” or a
transitional signal, and a blinking light for caution.
In none of these cases, exists an interchange of
language, spoken or written. There has, however, been an
interchange of meaning, a transfer of significant concepts. If we
accept only the narrower definition of the language, as that
which is produced by the human vocal organs and received by
the hearing apparatus, we shall have to deny the name of
“language” to these transfers. If we accept the broader
definition of language as a transfer of meaning, there are forms
of language differing in degree but not in kind from a spoken or
written message. In fact, the sound symbols of the spoken
tongue are as symbolical of human thought and human meaning
as the various forms of activity like gestural, pictorial, artistic,
etc. by which men have conveyed significant messages to one
another since the dawn of history.

12
1.6 Origin and Evolution of Language

If there is one thing on which all linguists are fully

agreed, it is that the problem of the origin of human speech is
still unsolved. Many kinds of theories have been put forward,
some are traditional and mystical, like the legends prevailing
among many primitive groups that language was a gift from the
gods. Other theories may be described as quasi-scientific. One
hypothesis, originally sponsored by Darwin, is to the effect that
speech was in origin nothing but mouth pantomime, in which
the vocal organs unconsciously attempted to mimic gestures by
the hands.

The ancient Greek philosophers, who gave some attention

to the problem of the origin of the language, were led by their
speculation. Some of them held that language had come into
being out of “inherent necessity” or “nature”, while others
believed it had arisen by “convention" or “agreement”. How this
agreement had been reached by people who had no previous
means of mutual understanding, they did not explain.
In the past, a number of attempts were made to isolate
children before they began talking to see whether they would
evolve a language of their own. In recent cases of children who
had reportedly grown among wolves, dogs or monkeys have
shown that the human child, though ignorant of human
language when found, takes to it readily and with seeming
pleasure, something that his animal playmates are incapable of
doing. Animal cries, whether we choose to describe them as
language or not, are characterised by invariability and
monotony. Dogs have been barking, cats mewing, lions roaring
and donkeys braying in the same fashion since time
immemorial. Human language, in contrast with animal cries,
displays infinite variability, both in time and space. Activity and
change may be described as the essence of all living languages.

13
 The language is an expression of human activity, and as
human activity is forever changing, the language even changes
with it. It seems that the language changes least rapidly when
its speakers are isolated from other communities, and most
rapidly when they come across foreign people at the crossroads
of the world. Whether much or little, all languages change in
due course of time. Two different modes of change in language
are recognised. The change may arise very gradually, almost
imperceptibly, and be as gradually and unconsciously adopted
by the speakers; or it may arise suddenly, as the result of an
innovation made by one speaker who has prestige in the
community and is, therefore, widely imitated. .
It is estimated by scientists that some ten thousands of
years elapsed between its beginning of society and art (and
probably speech) and the first appearance of the writing. During
these long centuries, the language continued to evolve, but we
have no record of that evolution. The oldest languages of Indo-
European family of which we have records are Sanskrit, Greek
and Latin, in the order given. The approximate dates for each
are 2000, 1400 and 500 B.C. respectively.
As for the speech of infants, observers are still unable to
agree in their views. However, no view helps us in solving the
problem of the origin of speech, save for what concerns the
baby's obvious limitation of the language sounds. It is very
difficult to explain the process of association of sounds and
sound sequences with ideas and concepts which seems basic to
the human language. If all that is needed for language is the
process of imitation, why do cats and dogs, who have been
living with us and observing us for many centuries, fail to
imitate our language when we imitate theirs so well.

14
1.7 SUMMARY

i. The language is universal among human beings who need

it for carrying out various activities of life. The language in
the written form came long after the spoken language
which is basic and primary. The writing is secondary as it is
derived from speech.

ii. The language is system of arbitrary vocal symbols which

permit all people in a given culture, or other people who
have learnt the system of that culture, to communicate or
to interact.

iii. The purpose of the language is communication. The

communication through spoken language means
understanding and reacting to what a person says. The
language carries within it cultural meaning. It may adopt
the forms of inter-individual or intra-individual
communication. However, inter-individual communication is
also carried out through non-linguistic forms like colours,
shapes, facial expressions and physical gestures.
iv. There are several theories regarding the origin of the
human speech. Some attribute it to inherent necessity or
nature while others make it the result of convention or
agreement. The language, being an expression of human
activity, has been always changing. The change may be
gradual or sudden. The evolution of language took
thousands of years, of which there is little record. Imitation
seems to be fundamental in the learning of speech by
infants.

15
1.8 Self-Assessment Question-I

(A) PICK OUT THE CORRECT ANSWERS:-

1. In Pakistan, study of English language is compulsory
upto:-
(a) Secondary level (b) Inter level
(c) Degree level

2. Language is used by:-

(a) Civilised Nations (b) Illiterate People
(c) All Normal Human Beings

3. Writing System came into beings:-

(a) After the spoken language
(b) Along with the spoken language
(c) Before the spoken language

4. Language is basically a series of:-

(a) Words (b) Pharases (c) Sounds
5. The main function of language is:-
(a) Education (b) Communication
(c) Comprehension
6. Language also carries:-
(a) Cultural meaning (b) Literal meaning
(c) Little meaning
7. The communicative function of language may be carried
out by:-
(a) Wind (b) Colour (c) Trees
8. Some Greek philosophers believed that language
originated from:-
(a) Natural sounds (b) Speech of gods
(c) Inherent necessity
9. The essence of all living language is:-
(a) Loudness (b) Melody (c) Activity and Change

16
10 The oldest of Indo-European language is:-
(a) Greek (b) Sanskrit (c) Latin
(B) Write Short Answers to the Following Questions:-

1. Give some important features of language as found by the

language scientist.
2. Give a definition of language.

3. Describe the function of language.

4. Give an example of non-linguistic form of communication.
5. Compare and contrast the language used by animals and
human beings.

17
 2. Some Psychological Problems Faced by
Students and Teachers During the Teaching–
Learning Process in Second/Foreign Language
Learning
The effective instruction in a foreign language implies a
good knowledge of the laws of the psychology of thought and
speech together with the ability to apply these laws in practice.
A very important aspect in learning a foreign languages is the
practical speech activity (listening, reading speaking, writing)
without using the native language or translation. However, the
learning of speech should be preceded by a conscious analysis
of various linguistic facts. The teacher should make every effort
to develop in his pupils the ability to think in the foreign
language and a feeling for the language studied. The language
learning should start with oral speech and then pass on to the
written speech, and it is necessary to teach not so much the
receptive and reproductive as the productive use of language.
For the teaching of foreign languages in schools, a
particularly important role belongs to the psychology of teaching
a foreign language. It tells us, for example:-
i. The learning takes place when it is related to the
needs and experiences of the learner.

ii. The gradation and sequence of the language items are

important. The material should go from the known to
the unknown, and from the simple to the more
difficult.
iii. Many repetitions are needed to develop habits. The
learning of any skill takes place in proportion to
practice in that skill.

iv. The repetitions should be spaced at increasingly longer

intervals.

18
 v. The immediate correction of an error is important.
Knowledge that a response is correct leads to the
learning of that response.

vi. The learning is favoured when meaningful association

is established between sounds and concepts, and
cultural or social situation.

vii. The understanding of the place and function of

separate elements promotes learning. The learners
should, therefore, be given insight into the place and
function of various language items in skills involved in
broad communication activities.

2.1 Mastery of Language

Wherever a person works and whatever he does, his
activity can be productive or effective only if it has a scientific
basis. The language teacher must rely in his a scientific basis.
The language teacher must rely in his activities also on
pedagogical sciences, including the psychology of teaching
foreign languages. Learning of the foreign language is a
phenomenon most closely linked with the reasoning activity of
man. But the mastery of the language forms an organic unity
with reasoning and is closely linked with it. The foreign language
teacher must know and thoroughly understand the psychological
properties both of language itself and of speech as a way of
using language in practice. When mastering a language,
students master its phonetics, vocabulary and grammar. So it is
absolutely necessary for a teacher to know what psychological
laws affect these three basic aspects of a language.

2.2 Phonetics
The mastery of the phonetics of a foreign language
requires from students acute aural and functional sensitivity,
which is the basic for distinguishing the characteristic sounds

19
(phonemes) of a foreign language. The students must learn to
recognize accurately the sounds of a foreign language by ear
and to reproduce them correctly. Psychology says that both
aural and functional sensitivity are perfected by long training.
The teacher of a foreign language must skillfully recognize the
difficulties which pupils meet and which are connected with the
assimilation of phonetic peculiarities.
Some students are distinguished from the outset by poor
aural sensitivity, and are, therefore, unable to catch the subtle
differences between the sounds of the native language and of
the foreign language, and also between similar sounds in the
foreign language itself. It is quite wrong to consider such
students incapable of assimilating the phonetic system of the
language studied. On the contrary, they should be specially
trained in the perception of sounds, since training is always
accompanied by and increase of sensitivity. Other students, well
able to catch phonetic distinctions by ear, have extra-ordinary
difficulty in reproducing sounds correctly, i.e, they have a bad
and incorrect pronunciation. In such a case, too, one must not
consider the pupils incapable of assimilating phonetics. Knowing
that functional sensitivity also requires training and the teacher
must more frequently encourage such students to practice the
pronunciation of individual sounds and the whole words and
sentences.

2.3 Vocabulary
The direct link between the vocabulary of a foreign
language and the thought-process of students is most
important. Usually the teachers of a foreign language reduce the
semantic aspect of a word to what is called its “contextual
meaning”, confining themselves to its translation. Psychology
helps the teacher to understand that the meaning of a word is
not the same thing as the category of reasoning with which the
word is connected. What corresponds to a word in a person’s

20
reasoning is a concept which is expressed by the word. The
concept and meaning of a word are closely linked but they are
not the same thing. So to bring to the students’ attention only
the contextual meaning of words is to leave them in almost total
ignorance of the concept which is actually expressed by a word
in a foreign language.

In order to successfully reveal to the students the

semantics of foreign words, the teacher must have a good
knowledge of the psychological characteristics of the process of
forming concepts, of the different kinds of inter-relations
between concepts etc. For instance, when stating that the
English word “clash” has four meanings (to make loud noise by
striking to meet and fight, to occur at same time, to be in
disagreement) the teacher must try to convey a concept
corresponding to this word which can be explained as “striking
of one thing against an other”. If he does not get students to
understand the concepts expressed by the words of a foreign
language, the teacher will find his pupils confusing the meaning
of individual words and using them wrongly, e.g. “sink” instead
of “drown”. “see” instead of “look” “season” instead of
“weather”, etc.

2.4 Grammar

The teaching of grammar also requires the use of

psychology. From a psychological point of view, it is important
to distinguish between (i) knowledge of grammatical rules, and
(ii) the practical skills involved in using appropriate grammatical
constructions in speech or writing. The first will always be
conscious, while the second requires an automatic reaction
accompanied by the formation of a feeling for language.
The teacher of a foreign language must have a clear
impression of the inter-relations between knowledge, acquired
abilities and habits. Despite the psychological fact that habits

21
are only formed by repeatedly carrying out the appropriate
action, some language teachers in school wrongly suppose that
a direct transition from knowledge to habits is possible. This is
not the case. So the students with a good knowledge of
grammar are some times incapable of applying it in speech and
writing. In order to obtain from pupils the necessary automatic
approach to using and building grammatical constructions, the
teacher must have a clear impression of the habit-forming
process and the psychological nature of feeling for language.

2.5 The Psychology of Thinking in a Foreign Language

The peculiarity of a foreign language as the object of

teaching in schools is that pupils have to obtain a practical grasp
of it as a means of communication, i.e. they must learn to think
in it. The basic defect of our present method of English language
more than they are taught knowledge about the English
language more than they are taught to think in it, as a result of
which the main aim of teaching English language is often not
attained. In other words, pupils are principally taught the forms
of a foreign language without attention being paid to the fact
that practical mastery of these forms is only possible if they are
directly linked with the students' thought process.
The problem of thinking in a foreign language has not
been fully worked out by psychologists, for which reason the
technique of language teaching lags behind in this respect.
Moreover, and on the associated principles of techniques is
hampered by the incorrect view of some of our educationists
and psychologists that only a person’s native language is
directly linked with thought. This point of view is refuted both by
experience and research.
In investigating the psychology of thinking in a foreign
language, we take it as a principle that language and thought
are closely linked with each other. This gives rise to an

22
interesting question whether a person’s thinking has the same
character when he uses a foreign language as when he uses his
own, or whether it is somehow modified. In fact, the structure
of the foreign language is more or less sharply differentiated
from that of the native language in its phonetical, lexical,
grammatical and stylistic means of expression, so that this
difference must also be accompanied by differences in the
sphere of thought.

23
2.6 Summary

i. Effective learning of foreign language is facilitated by a

knowledge of the psychological principles of thought and speech
along with the ability to apply these principles in practice. A
teacher of language must base his instructional activities on
pedagogical sciences including the psychology of teaching
foreign languages. Psychological laws affect the following three
basic aspects of a language:
(a) Students must possess sharp aural and functional
sensitivity to master the phonetics of a foreign language. Thus
they will be able to distinguish the characteristic sounds of the
language. Poor aural and functional sensitivity of the students
results in bad and incorrect pronunciation. This sensitivity can
be improved by appropriate training and adequate practice.
(b) A foreign language teacher usually gives the students the
translation or the contextual meaning of a word. Psychology
helps him to distinguish between the meaning of a word and its
concept, which are closely linked. The teacher should know the
psychological characteristics of the process of forming concepts,
of the difference between concepts and ideas and of inter-
relations between concepts.
(c) The psychology helps the teacher in distinguishing
between knowledge of grammatical rules and the practical skills
involved in using proper grammatical constructions in speech or
writing. A foreign language teacher must have good knowledge
of the inter-relations between knowledge, acquired, abilities and
habits. He should know about the habit-forming process and the
nature of feeling for language.
ii. The learners of a second language must learn to think in
it. As psychologists have not fully worked out the problem of
thinking in a foreign language, its teaching techniques have not
proved effective in this respect. Though psychology reveals that
language and thought are closely linked with each other, yet a

24
person’s thinking does not have the same character when he
uses a foreign language as when uses his mother tongue.

2.7 Self-Assessment Question-II

(A) SOME OF THE STATEMENTS GIVEN BELOW ARE

TRUE AND OTHERS ARE FLASE. CHOOSE THE FALSE
STATEMENTS AND TELL WHY THEY ARE INCORRECT.
1. A foreign language is best learnt by using the native
language or translation.
2. The language learning should start with oral speech, and
then pass on to the written speech.

3. The learning takes place when it is related to the material

in the text-book.
4. When mastering a language, students should master its
translation, essays and letters.
5. The students must learn to recognize accurately the
sounds of a foreign language by ear to reproduce them
correctly.

6. The direct link between the vocabulary of a foreign

language and the thought-process of students is most
important.

7. The concept and meaning of a word are closely linked and

similar.
8. The teaching of grammar does not require much use of
psychology.
9. The students with a good knowledge of grammar are,
sometimes, incapable of applying it in speech and writing.

10. The main principle in the psychology of thinking in a

foreign language is that language and thought are not
related to each other.

25
(B) WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE
FOLLOWING REMARKS? GIVE BRIEF ANSWERS.
1. What does psychology tell us about the teaching-learning
process of a foreign language?

2. How can students learn best the phonetics of English

language?

3. How does psychology help in learning the grammar of a

foreign language?
4. Write a brief note on the psychology of thinking in a
foreign language.

26
3. Teaching of Foreign/Second Language at the
Secondary Level in East & West

3.1 Introduction
The teaching of a second language holds an important
position in the educational curricula of each country. The
educationists in all times have advocated the study of more than
one language for multi-purposes. In the past classical languages
like Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit in the east, and Latin and
Greek in the West were held in high esteem. The study of one or
more of these languages was considered essential for the
complete education of the young people. In present times, the
study of only modern and living languages is considered
important because of the mass communication at the
international level. A modern language is taught as a second
language to the students at the secondary-level in the East and
the West. It is almost given the position of a compulsory subject
of study at the secondary level.

3.2 Teaching of a Second Language in the West

In the West, modern languages, especially French,

Italian, German and Spanish were frequently a part of the
Englishman’s education, but they were for the most part
pursued for practical ends and purposes of travel. However, now
it has been established that their study has both practical and
educative value. It is recognized that they serve the purpose of
commerce and industry; they are needed for scientific
instruction and information and for the civil, diplomatic and
armed services. Besides, they alone can give us an intimate
knowledge of foreign countries and of the best thought of their
citizens. But foreign language, like most other subjects, are not
learned at school simply as an end in themselves. If properly
taught, they will serve to train the pupils in habits of accuracy,
and of clarity of thought and expression.

27
3.3 Teaching of a Second Language in the East

In the East, English has been the language of the rulers

for more than a century. Hence the study of English was
considered the special privilege of those who aspired to join the
ranks of bureaucracy. While the children of the upper classes of
society studied English Language in English-medium schools
right from the first year of their education, the majority of the
native children were taught English language after the
completion of the primary level. Although it was rightly decided
to change the medium of instruction in various subjects from
English to the native language, yet the change has adversely
affected the general proficiency of the students in English
language. English is taught to our students as a compulsory
subject upto degree level, but most of them fail to gain the
reasonable command of the language.

3.4 The Difference

The difference in the achievement of the learners of a

second language in the East and the West is the result of the
differences not only in the quality of their foreign language
teachers, but also in the methods and the techniques they use
in their teaching. In the West, teachers of the second language
have sound command of that language and they are well aware
of the latest and most effective teaching methodology with the
help of the modern language teaching aids, which are easily
available to them due to their ample resources. In the East,
comprising mostly developing countries with ,meagre resources,
the results of the second language teaching are not satisfactory
because they lack all the above requirements of effective foreign
language teaching.

28
3.5 Summary

The teaching of more than one language has been an

essential aspect of education in all ages. In the past, study of
classical languages was given great importance but in the
present times, teaching of one of the modern languages as a
second language is a compulsory part of the educational
curricula at the secondary level.
In the West, French, Italian, German and Spanish are the
main modern languages taught as a second language in schools.
They are learnt because of their utility from the international
point of view as well as for their educative and cultural values.

In the East, the English language holds a privileged

position in the educational curricula mainly because of its
importance as a means of gaining scientific and technical
knowledge, and as a means of entry to the all powerful class of
bureaucrats. The change of medium of instruction from English
to the native language is regarded as one of the causes of the
decline in the standard of the second language learning.
The difference in the teaching of a modern language as a
second language in the West and the East is due to the
difference in all those things that matter in a foreign language
learning, e.g. the quality of teachers, methods of teaching, the
modern language learning aids, etc.

29
3.6 Self-Assessment Questions-III

Complete the following statements with the words/

phrases:-

1. The educationists advocate the study of more than one

language for ……………………………………………
2. In present times, the study of ……………………………… language
is considered important.
3. In the West, it has been established that the learning of
modern languages have both practical and …………………………

4. Only the knowledge of a foreign language can give us an

intimate knowledge of that foreign country and of the
………………………… of its citizens.
5. The proper learning of a foreign language also helps as in
developing the …………………………… of thought and
expression.
6. The change of the medium of instruction has ……………………
affected the proficiency of students in English language.

7. The efficiency in the learning of a foreign language depends

upon not only the quality of teachers but also on the
……………………… they use in their teaching.

8. ……………………………………… for the teaching of English are

mostly not available in our school.

30
4. The Place and Importance of English as a
Second Language in Pakistan

4.1 The National and Foreign Languages

The languages may be divided into two categories –
national and foreign. Every civilized nation has got a language,
which is the expression of its thought and culture, its national
life, its customs and manners, and the whole range of its social
pattern. It is the vehicle of thought in official, administrative and
educational spheres, and helps the nation in carrying out its
manifold activities. This is known as the national language of the
country. In some countries, there arises the need of a foreign
language for establishing communication with the other nations
of the world, and for making access to the advancement of
knowledge in physical and social sciences. This foreign language
is incorporated in the educational curricula of the country as a
second language.

4.2 Complex Position in Pakistan

In Pakistan, Urdu has been officially declared as the
national language of the country. English is taught as a second
language in our schools and colleges. However, the position
assigned to English language in our curricula is not true for most
of our students whose mother tongue is not Urdu. In Pakistan,
there are a number of regional languages such as Pashto,
Punjabi, Seraiki, Baluchi and Sindhi, etc. which are quite
different from the national language, Urdu. A child learns to
speak the mother tongue at home, but he has to learn Urdu at
the primary stage. Than, he is also expected to learn Arabic
which is the language of the Holy Quran. It is the source of his
religious knowledge, and fulfils his spiritual needs. Among this
pattern of language learning enters English which is entirely a
different kind of language. Therefore, it is obvious that the
learning and teaching of English presents a number of

31
difficulties for the pupils as well as for the teachers. This is so
because English differs not only in syntax, structure and idiom
from all the Pakistani languages, but it has also a different mode
of thought and expression.

4.3 The Privileged Position of English

The English language occupies a very important place in

our educational curricula. During the British rule in the Indo-Pak
subcontinent, it was the language of the rulers, the chief
medium of instruction and language of the offices and courts.
When the British left this country, a reaction took us to the
other extreme and we started getting rid of English language in
many aspects of educational and social fields. Although it still
remains a compulsory subject in the public examinations upto
degree level, yet a very high percentage of failure in this subject
has led to a frequent protest from the public against the
teaching of English as a compulsory subject. A part from
sentimental considerations, either in favour or against English,
the fact remains that the study of English is indispensable for
any enlightened Pakistani young man who wants to reap the full
benefits of practical life. In fact, English still retains a privileged
position in Pakistan for the following reasons:–

(i) Medium of International Communication

Today, English is considered as the most important and
widely spoken language in the world. According to an estimate
more than half the world directly makes use of English. Rapid
means of transportation have conquered time and space, with
the result that it takes very little time to reach various parts of
the world. In the absence of an effective medium of global
communication, the tourists and travelers themselves in great
difficulty. Before some international medium of communication
is evolved, English serves the purpose best.

32
(ii) Store of Knowledge

The knowledge has been rapidly increasing in the present

age due to the work of scholars and scientists all over the world.
Most of them present the results of their research in English.
Fresh knowledge in every field of life is constantly appearing in
books and journals published in English language. English has
also a great literature which is continuously expanding in
quantity and quality. Besides, all the great books of the world
have been translated into English. To be able to read these
books is a valuable experience. It is also language of internet
which is a store of knowledge.

(iii) Language of Higher Education

English is the language of higher education in Pakistan,
and for the Pakistani students abroad. It is still the medium of
instruction for the scientific and technical subjects. For
professions like medicine, engineering and agriculture, and in
all branches of higher scientific work, knowledge of the English
language is very essential.

(iv) Store of Standard Terminology

The standard terminology in all sciences and technology is
available in English. If we translate them into the national
language, new words will have to be coined which are not in
actual use in the language and do not serve the purpose in the
scientific world. The great scientific advance in the modern age
is the result of a joint effort by all nations of the world. We
cannot effectively participate in this team-work unless we learn
and use the standard terminology of physical and social
sciences.

33
(v) A Language of Commerce and Industry

The international commerce and trade is vital for the

survival of a nation. The industrialist countries import raw
materials for their factories and export their finished products to
other countries. In both cases, exchange of commercial
information is essential. Industry in Pakistan can also benefit
from the use of the latest methods of production and sale which
are available in English language. Without the knowledge of
English language, it is almost impossible to take an effective
part in the international commercial market.

(vi) Language of Diplomacy

English is used by our diplomats in the foreign countries.
Our delegates to various international conferences, conventions
and seminars express themselves in English language. English is
one of the official languages of the United Nations and its
various organs and bodies. Without sound command of English
language, we cannot effectively represent our country at
international forums.

(vii) Means of Keeping Pace with Modern Developments

The knowledge of English is necessary for keeping pace
with the latest developments in technical professions. Members
of these professions must acquaint themselves with the modern
developments in their respective fields in order to increase their
professional abilities, for instance, doctors, engineers and
teachers have to remain in constant touch with the findings of
the latest research carried out in their professions all over the
world. They also contribute to the world knowledge by getting
the results of their study and research published in the English
language.

34
(viii) Important Means of Promoting International
Understanding
The learning of foreign languages is one of the most
important means of promoting international understanding and
cooperation. One of the observations made at a UNESCO
seminar was “The study of one or more modern languages, in
addition to that of the mother tongue, must find a place in any
educational system, aiming to preserve and develop the highest
power of human mind and spirit.” Dr. West also puts forth a
similar idea. “Many subject are taught in the school, not merely
because they are useful to the individual but because they are
desirable for the well-being of mankind. Foreign language are
such a subject …… International literacy promotes international
understanding and goodwill. To understand a nation, we must
appreciate their ideals, and these are best expressed by the
nation’s greatest man: these great men, living and dead, are
met at their best in the nation’s literature. International good
understanding can best be promoted by teaching the children of
the world to reach each other’s language.”

(ix) Market Value of English

A sound knowledge of English still opens up prospects of
employment at home and abroad. It has thus market value.
Young people proficient in English language, fare well in various
competitive examinations for prestigious services of the country
like the District Management, Foreign Service, Police, Customs,
Magistracy, etc. Those who wish to proceed abroad for
employment or education have first to qualify certain English
language proficiency tests conducted by some foreign countries.
For those reasons, English medium schools are more popular
than ordinary schools. This is evident from the number of
English medium private schools that have sprung up like
mushrooms in the country in recent years, and a great rush for
admission to them.

35
4.4 Conclusion

When a language becomes the vehicle of so much

thought and activity in a country, it does not remain entirely a
foreign language and it assumes a great importance in the
educational curricula. As a subject of study, it is taught as a
compulsory language from Class I to BA/B.Sc. level. However,
emphasis should be on tis functional aspect rather than on
literature, except for those who wish to pursue postgraduate
studies in English language and literature. As a medium of
instruction, English should be gradually replaced by the national
language. It should be done after careful planning and
preparation in order to prevent the decline in academic
standard, particularly at the University level where the students
need to study wide range of material in their respective
subjects.

36
4.5 Summary

i. English is the medium of international communication. It is

particularly useful for the international travelers and
tourists.

ii. There is a great store of knowledge in the English

language. Fresh publications in every field of knowledge
appear in this language.
iii. English is the language of higher education in Pakistan, and
for the Pakistani scholars in foreign countries.

iv. The English language contains the standard terminology

used in all branches of physical and social sciences.

v. English is the language of commerce and industry in the

international world.

vi. The English language is used all over the world in

international orgainsations, forums and diplomatic
relations.
vii. The knowledge of English language enables us to keep pace
with the modern developments taking place as a result of
latest researches in all spheres of life.

viii. The learning of foreign languages is a very important

means of promoting international understanding and
cooperation.

ix. The English language has a great market value in Pakistan

and abroad. Young educated people having sound
command of the English language can hope of getting
attractive jobs.

37
4.6 Self-Assessment Questions-IV

(A) PICK OUT THE CORRECT ANSWERS:

1. For communication with the nations of the world, a
country has to make use of:
(a) The National Language
(b) A Regional language
(c) A Foreign language
2. For most Pakistani children, English may be:
(a) The first language
(b) The second language
(c) The third language

3. In Pakistan, Urdu is the national language and mostly

used as the medium of instruction, yet English language:
(a) Is taught as an elective subject
(b) Holds a privileged position
(c) Is a favourite subject of the students
4. English serves well the purpose of:
(a) International communication
(b) Official administration
(c) Public examinations
5. We come to know about the research work of the scholars
and scientists of the world through their publications in:
(a) The American language
(b) The English language
(c) The National language
6. Pakistani students studying in Western countries acquire
education in:
(a) Arabic (b) Urdu (c) English

38
7. Importers and exporters in Pakistan will suffer loss if
they:
(a) Do not have knowledge of the English language
(b) Take much care of the quality of goods
(c) Have knowledge of the latest methods of
production & sale

8. If you are a delegate at a UNESCO conference being held

in Karachi, you will be required to speak in:
(a) Urdu (b) Sindhi (c) English

9. In order to keep abreast of the fresh teaching techniques,

a teacher should:
(a) Consult his senior teachers
(b) Read latest books on the subject
(c) Devise his own teaching methods
10. One of the requirements of seeking employment in Great
Britain and America is:
(a) To have a relative there
(b) To deposit a certain amount
(c) To qualify English Proficiency Test

(B) GIVE SHORT ANSWERS TO THE FOLLOWING

QUESTIONS

1. What is the difference between the national language and

the second language of country?
2. What is the position of the English language in Pakistan?

3. What is the greatest use of the English language for the

Pakistani students studying at the post-graduate level?

4. Why is knowledge of the English language essential for

international communication?

5. How can high proficiency in the English language help a

young Pakistani graduate?

39
5. The Objectives of Teaching English in Pakistan

We should agree that our first and foremost task is to teach

the English language to our students. The teaching of English to
our schools is designed to ful fil a number of demands, some of
which conflict with others. Among these demands are the need
to pass the examination, the necessity for achieving a minimum
degree of competence in the use of English language, the need
to teach a fairly large number of students in a limited time, the
demand to stay within the limits of the resources available in
the schools. Because of the external examination system, the
teacher is not entirely free to select his own books, his own
syllabus and his own consideration of what is important. In-spite
of all limitations and difficulties, a teacher of English must try to
achieve the objective of teaching English to our students at
school. We are expected to develop in our students a reasonable
degree of competence in understanding spoken English, in
speaking English, in reading English and in writing English.

5.1 Listening Comprehension

Every language is a series of sounds, arranged in groups
which convey meaning to the listeners. We receive sounds
through our ears. In order to learn a language, ear-training is
very essential. Unless we hear the correct sounds and pay close
attention to them, we shall not be able to produce the same
sounds ourselves. There can be no learning of a language
without exposing the learner to that language. We must take
into account the kinds of English to which our students are
normally exposed and what opportunity, therefore, they have to
learn the English language.

40
 There is little opportunity for our students to listen to the
spoken English outside the classroom. They would naturally
copy the model set before them by the teacher. Therefore, it is
important that the teacher of the English language must acquire
a fairly good standard of speech. The teacher should provide to
his students a variety of situations and experiences of listening
to the spoken language. A language leaner experiences
difficulties with the sounds of a foreign language, both when
listening and speaking. Trying to help students with their
pronunciation can also be annoying for the teacher. The teacher
should tackle this problem by considering first what the learner
as listener has to deal with, i.e. the nature of spoken English.
Then to help the learner to cope with the stream of sound as
input, and finally how to help the learner to develop satisfactory
pronunciation.
At the initial stage, the teacher has to carry out the hard
and boring task of repeating himself many times in order to
convey the correct sounds to the children’s ears. He has also to
ensure their interest and attention. The teacher has to cultivate
in them the habit of attentive listening. Therefore the first
experiences in listening should be made pleasant. For this, the
teacher should be as soft and sweet as possible. He should also
make the students actively participate in the lesson.

5.2 Reading Comprehension

The ability to read English with understanding is the skill

which will be needed most by our students in their future life–
while acquiring education as well as in practical life. However,
asking the students to read aloud is of little value in helping
them to develop into efficient reader because normally, reading
is a silent and individual activity. Of course, a teacher of English
needs a high level of skill in reading aloud since he has to
provide a good model of the written language (Textbook) for his
listeners to listen to. Most of the exposure to English language

41
in our schools take place through the reading of texts. Nearly all
new learning takes place while the pupil is reading. Therefore,
the quantity and quality of reading are of the first importance.
The textbooks of English must provide the situations and the
contexts in which learning takes place.
The learner should make a beginning with the common
place English and gradually move to the difficult and literary
aspect of the language, first, those words and sentences should
be introduced in the reading material which he has been
listening and which relate to his experience and knowledge. This
should be followed by simple stories and descriptions of familiar
objets. The general principle for the reading text should be,
“very simple English at the early stage, simple English at the
middle stage and full English at the high stage”.

The use of reading aloud for pronunciation practice has no

relation to silent reading. If the teacher really wants to do
pronunciation work, it is spoken and not the written material
that is needed. In our English class, reading aloud is often done
simply because the teacher wants a change of activity or a rest.
Although variety of activity for both teacher and learner is
essential, yet such an ineffective activity as reading aloud
should not be used so often for this purpose.

The reading comprehension has two broad aspects or

levels. First, there is basically a visual task in which the brain
receives signals from eye and identifies the marks on the page.
This mechanical level includes eye movement, from left to right
for English. This is also to be learnt by our student who uses
right to left script in all local languages. Secondly, there is a
cognitive task, that of interpreting the visual information. This
involves thinking skills by which the reader tries to build up in
his mind the meaning of the written material. Efficient reading
depends first of all on having a purpose for reading, i.e. knowing
why you are reading a text. The purpose could be a very

42
general one like reading a novel for pleasure, or on the other
hand, it could be very specific like looking up a word in a
dictionary. The purpose will usually determine the appropriate
type of reading and the relevant skills to be used.

5.3 Ability to Speak English

We learn to speak our mother tongue by imitating those

who speak around us. In a similar manner, a foreign language is
learnt by imitation and reproduction. In the earlier stages,
parrot-like repetition is more important than understanding the
various parts of a sentence, or formulating ideas in a desired
pattern. It is just like learning some skill as driving or knitting.
The rule followed is, “Practice makes man perfect”. When
certain forms of language have become automatic with the
learner, he will be able to reproduce them at his will. The
teacher should, therefore, give drill and ample practice in the
basic patterns of language so that they become automatic with
the pupils. The questions and answers also help in developing
the power of expression.

In order to acquire the ability to speak English, the

student must possess:
(a) Sufficient vocabulary;
(b) Areasonable command of English idiom;
(c) Reasonably correct pronunciation and intonation;
(d) A proper sense of sentence structure.
The skillful use of language requires endless repetition
and practice. It is due to the absence of this mode of learning a
skill that most of our students can hardly speak a sentence of
English even after graduation which means at least nine years of
study of the English language. The teaching of English must be
done by the skillful teachers for four reasons. First, children can
learn correct pronunciation only from a teacher whose own

43
pronunciation is reasonably correct, and who knows how to
teach the sounds of English that differ from those of the mother
tongue. Secondly, because it needs special skill, liveliness and
energy to give a lot of young children in a large class enough
practice in speaking a new language. Thirdly, because it needs
great patience and persistence to keep a repeating correct
sentences and correcting pupils’ mistakes with good humour.
Finally, needs the skill of a good teacher to vary the ways of
repetitions and corrections so that they turn into enjoyable
games.

5.4 Ability to Write English

On leaving the high school, a student is expected to be
able to write in simple stories, letters, applications and
descriptions of objects, places, process and events. The
communication rather than mere practice of linguistic forms
should be the main concern of the written exercises. A sentence
is the basic unit of a written text, so the students must know
the sentence grammar as well as the way of putting sentences
together for communicative purposes.
Before a student starts writing, and from time to time as
he writes, he should be asked, and encouraged to ask himself:
“What is the purpose of his writing? To tell a sequence of
events? To explain how something is made up? How something
works? The reasons for something? To compare? To advise? To
seek advice?" etc., etc. If the student knows sufficient language,
this highlighting of the function of what he is writing will help
call to mind the appropriate grammar and vocabulary learned
and used in relation to that function.

The teacher of English language should not ignore the two

mechanical aspects of the ability to write in which our students
are usually weak. First, English spellings are the common hurdle
in the learning of writing. Incorrect spellings are also a sign of
lack of command over the language. There being no regular

44
system of spelling English words, it causes great difficulty and
confusion to our students. However, often the cause of bad
spelling in pupils is the habit of carelessness in observation and
the hurried looks over the material read. Extensive reading with
concentration is a good handwriting. The first and foremost
characteristic of a good handwriting is that it should be legible.
A number of candidates score poor marks in the examinations
due to this defective habit, otherwise on the score of their
material they could have obtained higher marks. Legibility
depends upon the proper shape, uniformity and proportion of
different letters.

5.5 Inter-Relations of Language Skills

Among the four fundamental skills of language discussed

above, the first two, i.e. Listening and reading, are the passive
or receptive skills, and the last two, i.e. speaking and writing,
are the active or productive skills. If we analyse these activities
in learning English, we find a large overlap among the
component skills involved in them. There are some differences,
but there are many elements in common. They should be taught
in close association right from the early stages. This will bring
economy in learning.
Although the basic skills of the language are closely inter-
related, yet it is advisable that the teacher should keep a
specific aim in view in a particular lesson. A lesson for training in
speech should be exclusively devoted to the elements of speech,
i.e. pronunciation, intonation, tone and pitch of voice, etc.
Similarly, a lesson for written work should be devoted to the
teaching of spellings, sentence construction, punctuation or
other related elements. In short, the teacher should ensure
harmonious development of all the basic skills. He should pay
equal attention to all of them and devote proportionate time to
the development of each of them.

45
5.6 Role of an English teacher.

a) A good language teacher constantly seek PROFESSIONAL

UPGRADING and improvement of skills by attending
courses, workshops, seminars and talks. He is AWARE OF
CURRENT TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS in English
language teaching He reads professional journals, and also
reads extensively on non-ELT topics.
b) They have a GOOD COMMAND OF ENGLISH.
c) They are FRIENDLY and SYMPATHETIC to their pupils, and
sincere in their attitudes. They have a close rapport with
their pupils and are respected by them.

d) They are INNOVATIVE and CREATIVE willing to experiment

in their classes. They are flexible in their approach,
enthusiastic and lively in their work.
e) They adopt a STUDENT-CENTRED APPROACH by adapting
their materials and activities to meet the needs, interests
and capabilities of their individual pupils.

f) They create an atmosphere that PROMOTES LEARNING by

their pupils, and encourages self-directed and peer
learning. They use a variety of learning materials and
techniques. They evaluate their work and constantly seek
to improve the effectiveness of their lessons. They have a
mastery of questioning techniques.
g) They plan their lessons well, in a careful and methodical
way. They have clear goals to achieve in each lesson.
h) They cooperate with colleagues by sharing ideas and
pooling resources. They are receptive to constructive
criticism and suggestions. They relate well with colleagues,
superiors and parents, and are tactful in their dealings.

i) They test what they have taught, and set effective tests
and exams.

46
j) They have good communication skills, and express
themselves clearly and effectively.
k) They are dedicated people who take pride in their jobs.

l) Their judgments and decisions are sound and full of

common sense. They are self-confident.
m) They have an appropriate (preferably graduate)
educational background.

5.7 Summary

i. The effective training in listening facilitates the learning of

English language. Ear-training exercises should be provided
so that the students become quite familiar with the sounds
of English which are different from those of our native
languages.
ii. Reading is a silent and individual activity. However, the
most available opportunity of the pupils’ exposure to the
English language is the loud model reading of the text by
the teacher. For sound foundation in the learning of
reading, beginning should be made with commonplace
English and gradually take up the difficult and literary
English. Reading aloud in the class should not be used very
often by the teacher just for the purpose of change of
activity in the class room. Reading comprehension
demands visual and congestive tasks on the part of the
reader. The efficient reading depends on first determining
the purpose of reading.
iii. Speaking is the productive activity of the language and is
the fundamental means of communication. The speaking
ability can be acquired by persistent practice in speaking
and by imitation of the spoken English. As the teacher
provides the model of spoken language to the students, he

47
 himself should be reasonably perfect in various aspects of
English speech.
iv. At the end of the secondary stage, a student should have
developed the ability to write few sentence of simple and
correct English on topics of general interest. The students
should know the sentence grammar as well as the ways of
putting sentences together with coherence. They must be
conscious of the purposes of their writing, and be able to
collect, organize and convey their writing, and be able to
collect, organise and convey their ideas in the form of
simple, correct and coherent text. The teacher should also
devote sufficient attention to the spellings and handwriting
of the students.
v. The four basic skills of language are closely related and
overlap one another in actual practice. Their teaching in
close association brings economy in learning. However, it is
important that in each lesson, the teacher should have a
specific aim so that he may adopt the appropriate
methodology for imparting training in a particular skill. The
teacher should aim at balanced and integrated
development of all the basic skills of the English language.

48
5.8 Self-Assessment Questions-V

(A) COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS WITH THE

WORD/PHRASES.

2. The teaching of English to secondary classes is designed

to fulfil ……………………………
3. Every language is series of …………………………………………………
4. A language learner experiences difficulties with the
sounds of a foreign language, both when …………………………

5. Pupil’s first experiences in listening should be made

……………………………
6. Most of the exposure to the English language in our
schools takes place through ………………………………………
7. The Reading comprehension requires visual task and
………………………………
8. We learn to speak our mother tongue by …………………………

9. The skilful use of the language requires ……………………………

10. The incorrect spellings are a sign of …………………………………

11. The teaching of four language skills in close association

brings …………………………………

49
(B) Write Short Answers to the Following Questions:

1. What kind of teacher would be most suitable to teach

English to our children at the initial stage?

2. What is the difference between the purposes of loud and

silent reading?
3. How does reading comprehension take place?

4. What should be the main purpose of written composition

in our schools?
5. Suggest some measures to develop the ability of speaking
English in our students?

(C ) Activity
Give your opinion of a good teacher by putting √ marks in
the “Yes” or “No” column against the following activities carried
out by the teachers of English in our schools.

Activities of a Good Teacher Yes No

1. Does a loud reading of the textbook.

2. Translates the text in the class.

3. Teaches grammar rules to the students

4. Explains difficult words to the students
5. Checks the comprehension of the text
by asking suitable questions.
6. Always speaks English in the class.
7. Encourages the students to practice
spoken English.

8. Makes the students write a lot of

50
 English.

9. Uses interesting language activities in

the classroom.
10. Shows no reaction to the answers of
the students.

11. Uses only the exercises given in the

textbook.
12. Gives a lot of home-task to the
students.

51
 6. ANSWER TO SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

Self Assessment Questions — I

A. 1 (c) 2 (c) 3 (a) 4 (c)
5 (b) 6 (a) 7 (b) 8 (c)
9 (c) 10 (b)

Self Assessment Questions — II

A. False statements are 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 & 10

Self Assessment Questions — III

Works/Phrases to be filled in:

Accuracy and clarity, modern and living, adequate

facilities, multipurpose, best thoughts, methods and techniques,
educative value, adversely.

Self Assessment Questions — V

(A) Words/phreses to be added:
Listening and speaking, reading of tent, listening and speaking,
end less repetition and practice economy in learning, a number
of demands, pleasant, lack of command over the language,
imitating those who speak around us, cognitive task, ounds.

52
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abbot, The Teaching of English as an International Language.

Haq, A, The Teaching of English in Pakistan

Belyayev, B.V. The Psychology of Teaching Foreign Language

Bright & McGregor Teaching of English as Second Language

Finocchiaro, English as a Second Language: From Theory to

Practice
Gurrey, Percival Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Halliday, M.A.K. The Linguistic Sciences and Language Teaching

Ministry of Education, London Modern Languages.

Ahmed, N, Teaching of English as Second Language

Mario P, The story of Language
Michael, W, Dr. Learning to Read Foreign Language.

53
Unit – 2

LANGUAGE LEARNING
PROCESS

Written By:
Dr. Mrs. Z.Z. Omar

Revised By:
Mr. Umar Farooq
56
 INTRODUCTION

The Purpose of this unit is to make you aware of the new

trends of teaching as a foreign language. Since world war II, the
need for learning quickly the language of the invadors or
countries invaded has become more evident. Keeping this very
fact in view, the linguists paid more attention to methods which
helped in acquiring a new language more rapidly. In USA, such
methods were developed through which it was made possible to
acquire proficiency in a foreign language within three months.
The result of these activities led to the study of language
linguistic which resulted in developing new methods of teaching.
This unit is written to introduce to you some relevant
findings of linguistics. It is a fact that speech is a learnt
behaviour and the sound producing equipment of human being
is capable of producing all sounds that are found in any
language of the world. The linguists have analysed languages
and thus came to the conclusion that language is not a
haphazard confusion of sounds, which are assembled in a
jumbled whimsical order. Every language has a system of
arranging words, making sentences and expressing ideas
through signs and gestures.
The recent developments in linguistics and the psychology
of learning have produced a methodology of teaching a second
language which is also discussed in this unit.

57
 OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit thoroughly, you are expected to

be able to:

 Understand and describe the process of the language

learning:

 Know and discuss that the language learning is not a

theoretical process rather it is a habit formation:
 Describe and act according to the basic principles of
the language and teaching:

 Improve your teaching capabilities;

 Appreciate and create love for learning language;

 Make your methods of teaching English interesting and
meaningful.

58
 CONTENTS

S.No. Page No

1. The nature of language 61

2. The influence of linguistic on language Learning 64

3. The goals of language learning process 68

4. The principles of second language teaching 71

5. The learning environment and the role of the 76
teacher.

6. The guidelines for the teachers 81

7. Bibliography 83

59
60
 1. THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE

To be able to teach a second language effectively and in a

minimum period, you have to understand the nature of the
language:-

The characteristics of human speech have been described

in the following ways:

(a) Displacement
(b) Duality
(c) Cultural transmission

a) DISPLACEMENT:

It is the ability to communicate in the absence of original

stimulus. For example; the words like big, small, cup, spoon,
rivers, and mountains when uttered, immediately bring to the
mind of the learner the qualities of things with which these
words are associated. This is an important characteristic of
speech. It eliminates the use of real objects or things or
extensive use of signs in expressing ideas. You can imagine how
hard it would have been to communicate if the speech did not
provide this facility.

b) DUALITY:
It means the use of vast number of words with the help
of small number of sounds. The number of sounds used in any
language is relatively small. Similarly, the number of sounds
that distinguish one language from the other is still smaller. If
you go through the alphabets of English, you would notice that
the sounds represented by them are also present in your
language. The alphabets of a language are in reality symbols for
sounds of a language. Therefore the shape of alphabets differs
in many languages, but they represent the same sound. Take
the example of ; they represent the same sounds as A,B

61
and P in English. But the difference in the language lies in the
combination of these sounds, which are known as sound
clusters. The formation of sound clusters is very systematic and
standardised for speakers in a community.

c) Cultural Transmission:

All words in the language are symbols of something

human beings use. A language is a system of arbitrary vocal
sounds which allow all people in a given community to
communicate and interact. A language is a series of sounds
which acquire meaning when grouped together in certain
arranged patterns. Take the word ‘cat’. It is made up of the
sound c. a. t. It stands for a small animal, furry animal. The
combination of these sounds for a speaker of Urdu, means
nothing because he/she has not learnt to associate the
combination of these sounds with an animal. The association of
certain combination of sounds with certain objects or qualities or
activities is a learned behaviour depending upon the culture of
the people.

The language is thus a learned behaviour. The words are

used by ways as ‘Signs’ and as ‘Symbols’. The ‘Sign’ refers to
things in the environment and are accompanied by gestures.
The special human characteristic is the use of words for things
not in the environment and for concept. Example: Sputnik,
eskimo, whale, truth, honesty, etc.

The human being can also retain auditory images in the

mind. Other features of the human speech are ability to create
new messages readily. The ability to communicate thought,
feelings and values, are other features of the human speech.

The sounds of a particular language are not difficult or

easy. It is the familiarity or unfamiliarity of the learner that
makes them easy or difficult. A child can produce an indefinite
variety of sounds which an adult may find difficult to imitate. In

62
the process of learning his own language, a child learns to
eliminate many sounds that are not found in his own language.

ACTIVITIES

1. Note the total number of alphabets of Urdu and English.

2. Note some of the sounds common in English and Urdu.

3. Describe the sounds which are different in both the
languages.

SAQ-1

1. What are the characteristics of human speech?

2. How does one language differ from the other?

63
 2. THE INFLUENCE OF LINGUISTICS ON
LANGUAGE LEARNING

With the development of linguistics, the approach to

teaching a language has changed. Before the development of
linguistics, the study of a language meant the history of
development of language rather than how it was currently
spoken, read and written. The approach to teaching a second
language was ‘Grammar translation approach’ or reading
method. Bloomfield, the pioneer linguist, was the first to attack
on this method. He pointed out the importance of spoken
languae. He analysed the spoken language and recommended
the use of spoken forms in teaching languages. Bloomfield had
pointed out that each language consists of certain sounds.
These sounds are produced by human organs. The organs of
speech are lungs, bronchial tubes, throat including larynx,
ulvula, hard and soft palate, tongue, teeth and lips. The
following diagram gives an idea of these organs.

64
 The unit of sound of a language is known as Phoneme.
The phonemes may have various forms. The language is nothing
but combination of sounds produced by these organs. The
speech sounds are therefore “organized noises”. The sounds
produced by these organs are named according to the method
of production and point of articulation. In each language, the
phonemes – the basic unit of sound with its variant forms
allophones and its combinations are limited. For the practical
purpose, it is necessary that phonemes be easily distinguishable
and for this reason the number of phonemes in any language is
limited.

The other feature of the language is structure. The

simplest unit of structure is morpheme. A marpheme is any
word or part of word used as an affix or combining form that
conveys meaning and cannot be further subdivided into smaller
elements conveying meaning. Each linguistic sound has a
meaning. It stands for something, but the meaning change with
the way words are used.
Other features of the language are intonation, pause and
stress. These are called supra segmental phoneme. The
meaning of linguistic forms depends upon the arrangement of
these forms.

As pointed out earlier, the learning of a language does

not look as confusing and frightening if you understand that any
language has only a limited number of sounds and a definite
structure which may be different from your own language.
Understanding this very characteristic well makes learning
easier.
The teachers are advised to learn what organs are used in
producing English sounds. How the various sounds are
combined to convey some sense and the basic structure of
sentences. The practice of these makes both learning and
teaching easy. If you want to develop the ability to use English

65
language to convey thoughts, intentions, wishes and
information, you would need mastery of various elements.
These are individual sounds which are related to one another in
utterances by structure (the grammar of the language) in
respect of the written language. The written symbols that
represent the spoken word are also involved.

You must not forget that there are various skills involved
in the mastery of a language. These may be classified as
receptive skills: listening (spoken language) and reading
(understanding of written language) and productive skills:
(speaking and writing). These skills involve a further element of
selection of relevant language for the situation concerned.
As a teacher of English, you will need to exercise your
judgement to decide what skills should be taught to your pupils.
The choice of skills would naturally depend upon the purpose for
which you are teaching English. That is why you must have a
clear understanding of the purpose for which you are teaching
this language.
Again, for mastery of English, the patterns of this
language must be mastered. Just teaching rules of grammar
does not help in mastering structure. Rules of grammar are like
scafolding a new building. The scafolding are removed as soon
as the building is complete. The best way to master patterns is
continuous and systematic practice.
It is better to teach phrases, idioms and colloquial usage
in context without analysing their structure. The examples of
these are given for your help, very good, very bad, repeat,
altogether, see you, etc. If you use these continuously, they are
learnt without much effort.

66
 ACTIVITES

1. Try sounding alphabets of English and note what organs of

speech are helping in producing these sounds.

2. Look into the mirror while pronouncing these words. You

can look at the organs of speech in action.

3. Pronounce some Urdu sounds like and note the

difference in the working of organs.

4. Write down from where these sounds are being produced.

5. Try to classify different English phonemes according to the
organs that are helping in producing them.

SAQ-2

1. What is Bloomfield contribution to teaching language? How

has it changed the concept of teaching a second language?
2. Previously attention was given to only past development of
language, i.e. history of language, literary criticism or study
of folklore. Bloomfield pointed out the importance of
spoken language, how it is currently spoken, read and
written.

67
3. THE GOALS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS
The goal of language learning is that the students should
be able to understand and speak the language fluently to a
reasonable extent. The students should also be able to read and
write the language which they have learnt to speak. The goal is
to develop confidence among students to speak, read and write
the language with their own ability.

Many educators have recommended the idea that growth

in understanding of spoken language must come first before the
teaching of reading starts.
The process of language learning is a habit formation. It
is not a problem solving process like learning of mathematics or
sciences or other forms of knowledge. The process of problem
solving may come much later when the students have mastered
the language.

The Objectives of Teaching Language in the Beginning

Stages are:

1. To give training in listening and comprehension of what is

spoken.
2. To reproduce sounds that ear has learnt to recognise. The
sounds are not to be recgonised as isolated individual
sounds but as they are found in normal pattern of
utterances, i.e. in morphenes or words.
3. To recognise speech symobls in printed words. In order to
be able to understand the sounds represented by alphabets
or their combination for example what does A or B etc.
stand for or what sound ‘Th, ‘Sh, represent.
4. To be able to reproduce those graphic symbols (written
alphabets) in writing.

68
THOSE OBJECTIVES ARE FOLLOWED BY THREE MORE
OBJECTIVES, WHICH ARE A COROLLARY OF THE ABOVE
OBJECTIVES. THESE ARE AS FOLLOWS:

a. Controls of structure, sound, forms and order of new

language.
b. Acquaintance with vocabulary items that will involve
content and structure.
c. Meanings to indicate the significance of these oral or verbal
items have for the native speaker.

If one recognises and understands these objectives then

the methods of accomplishing them can be developed. Before it
is considered how to teach a language, it becomes necessary to
know how a person learns a language in normal circumstances.
In other words, what is the process of language learning.
Language learning refers to a number of processes which
are difficult to analyse, but some of the processes analysed are:
1. Interpretation or getting the idea from the utterance of a
person.
2. Ability to understand larger units of utterances, i.e. ability
to hear part of an utterance and supplement the rest. Thus
it is possible to get ideas quickly on hearing less. In our
every day conversation in our own language, we seldom
hear the whole sentence to understand, what the speaker
is saying. Thus our speed of understanding increases and
conversation goes on smoothly. This process is known as
aural comprehension.
3. Ability to retain an image of the noises until the auditor
(nearer) interprets them. This is aural language span which
is important in language learning, specially in second
language learning. Besides other factors, this will be
conditioned by the speed of the speech heard, the difficulty

69
 and continuity of its content, understanding of words or
expressions in the content. A symbol or an alphabet in a
word may be familiar, but learner may not know what it
means if he has no clear idea of what it refers to.

4. Ability to think in the language in which he is speaking or

listening the native speaker. For example, if the native
speaker says ‘cat’, the native listener does not analyse or
concentrate on the sounds of ‘c’ ‘a’ ‘t’, he pays attention to
the meaning of the word and immediately understands that
these combinations of sounds refer to the small furry
animal. Similarly in speaking, the native speaker gives
attention to thinking what he says without paying attention
to process of making noises or thinking of words. That is
why if a student of second language thinks in his native
language while talking in a foreign language his speech
lacks fluency.
5. Ability to develop linguistic set. These sets make us
respond in certain associations and inhibit others. It is
directional and discriminative, i.e. it makes us to do certain
things with certain material and not others

ACTIVITIES

Experiment with yourself, try to copy correct word sounds

of English. Use radio or TV broadcasts in English as model.
Study the objectives of teaching a second language; think of
some methods which would be helpful in fulfilling these
objectives.

SAQ-3

1. What are the goals of learning a language?

2. What should be the final outcomes of teaching a language?

70
 4. PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING

First language acquisition of a child is the simultaneous

development of the faculty of language as well as structure of a
particular language. As you must have noticed, it is the natural
and automatic product of the process of socialisation with adult
human beings. The child is more or less proficient in the use of
his native languge depending upon his language environment
and socialisation with adults surrounding him. It is a common
experience that the only child living in an adult environment
picks up adults language more quickly. It is also true that we as
adults continuously go on modifying language as we grow.
The process of acquisition of a second language is
complex at all levels. However, linguists, psychologists and
anthropologists are becoming increasingly aware of operation of
a second language in a social setting. You will read in the
following passages the principles of second language learning,
but you must not forget that language learning is a social
phenomenon and appropriate social environment is a basic
requirement for any language learning. It is, therefore,
recommended that games, paired conversation and group
learning must form an important part of second language
learning.

Psychological laws of learning and findings of linguistics

have been utilized to evolve the principles of second language
teaching. Following are some of these broad principles. They are
not the last word in teaching a foreign language. They may
change or be modified, if future knowledge and research open
new doors.

1. Speech and writing should come before reading and

writing. That means the approach to teaching should be
audio lingual. It is argued that the language finds more
complex expression in speech as intonations, stress,

71
 rhythm and juncture cannot be adequately expressed in
writing. The students who have oral mastery of language
can learn to read more readily whereas the students who
have learnt to read cannot learn to read as readily. That is
why deciphering written material without knowing language
patterns is an imperfect and wasteful technique.

2. The memorisation of basic language conversational

sentences, as accurately as possible, is supported by
linguistics. These sentences provide students models for
further learning. These sentences can also be dialogues in
authentic speech situation. Such as greetings, welcoming,
inquiring, giving information, asking questions, etc.
3. Learning individual words, sentences and rules of grammar
do not help in knowing a language. To know a language
requires the use of patterns of construction with
approximate vocabulary at normal speed of
communication. The pattern should be practised through
anology, variation and transformation to become habitual.
In English, like other languages, sentences are based on a
very limited number of types of words groups. The subject
predicate sentence is the most common and popular
sentence form, but other sentences-type are:

Question Sentences:
Did she say that?

She said that’

Equational Sentences:
The more the merrier

Like father like son

Fine young man, that’

72
Completion Sentences:

(Are you coming along?)

Whenever you are ready

(When shall we leave?) This afternoon.

Exclamatory Sentences:

Go away
How sad

Reporting Sentences:

Age fifty

Beautiful girl, Fair skin.

The practice of these sentence forms in a realistic situation
would make the use of language more realistic.

4. The sound system should be taught in expression and

sentence with intonation and rhythm of a native speaker.
The learner should acquire the system through
demonstration, imitation, contrast and practice. Attention
to phoenic differences and articulation should be given
along with pattern practice.
5. Minimum vocabulary should be used while students are
learning the sound system. The vocabulary should be
taught and practiced in real situations to clarify and
remember meaning.
6. Massive practice in problem units be given, i.e. in those
units and patterns that are structurally different between
the first and second language.
7. Reading and writing should be taught as graphic
representation of units and pattern already learnt.

73
8. The sentence patterns should be introduced in graded
steps. The patterns may be graded, questions and answers,
request, greeting as well as statements. The parts of
speech, structure, words and modification should be
introduced in full sentences. The presentation should be
adopted to the capacity of the learner.

9. The translation should not be used for language practice.

However, the full meaning of a sentence in the first
language to give meaning for patterns and memorization is
an acceptable practice.

10. Continuous practice is an important feature of language

learning. When new patterns are introduced, they should
be practised with already familiar vocabulary.
11. Interesting media for practice may be provided and each
student’s successful attempt be continuously appreciated.
12. The teacher should teach primarily to produce learning and
provide sufficient opportunity to listen, hear, carry out
instructions, make statements, answer questions, make
rejoinders.

To facilitate goals of language acquisition, attention must

also be given to the selection of content for teaching. Here are
some recommendations which might help you to choose the
content:
1. Choose the subject matter which is of immediate
importance to the learner.

2. Choose something which appeals to feeling. Balance

cognition and effect. Something distasteful is hard to learn.

3. Try to choose something which leads to emotional

response. Stories of adventure, bravery, etc. are topics
which appeal to emotions.

74
4. Look for content of greater significance. Choose content
related with learners external world. Try to integrate
knowledge, facts and behaviour.

5. Invent an inventory of instructional procedures that make it

possible for learners of different interest and abilities to
achieve the same educational gains.

6. Make the environment to be more rewarding.

7. Be aware of changes continuously taking place in the
society and anticipate what knowledge would be worthwhile
in society.

ACTIVITIES
Choose a sentence pattern that you wish to teach. Devise
a plan to teach this pattern to a class as beginners, with details
of the type of activities and methods of drill you would use.

SAQ-4

1. How would you start teaching a class of beginners? Write

the initial steps you would take.

2. How would you judge whether your students have

become proficient in the language?

75
 5. LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND THE ROLE OF
THE TEACHER
The age of student, linguistic and cultural back ground
mental capacity and educational background are important
factors in language learning. Special techniques will be needed
with different ages, such as play method, memorisation,
mimicry, role playing, dramatisation, recitation, etc.

In cases where learner needs the language for his social

and personal use, the speed of learning is faster.
Social prestige is attached to language if it is required for
business or professional or recreational use. The interest in
language is an important factor in learning. The interest would
be guaranteed if the learner becomes aware of its value for
future use. Good linguistic habits in the first influence second
language learning. A person using the first language skilfully will
be inclined to do the same in the second language.
Motivation is another important factor in learning.
Learning by rote, memorisation and mimicry may become a
little boring, and extrinsic motivation may be needed. For
linguistic setting, a proper atmosphere should be created. The
students will differ in the kind of material, they find easy to
learn and remember. Some may remember and learn by seeing
the written word for mental images; others may have vivid aural
perception or memory, for others muscular movement in
speaking and writing would be important. These differences
must be kept in mind for preparing and presenting language
material.
Teachers's influence is another important factor in
language learning. The knowledge of the subject matter,
enthusiasm, interest and the attitude of teacher will effect
learning. The teacher’s role is that of a catalyst. The behaviour
pattern of language will depend upon modelling by the teacher.

76
To teach language is to demonstrate. This needs a teacher who
is thoroughly at home in the language he is teaching.
A confident and well-prepared teacher can easily devise
ways of creating interest in language. A corner library
pamphlets, advertisements, posters, add interest to learning.
Films, film-strips, poetry, songs and dramas are added
incentives. The teacher should have to be actively aware and
involved in all these to create enthusiasm in learning the
language.

All educationists tend to agree that all that is necessary

for first class teaching is a good teacher and responsible pupils,
but they don’t grow on trees. Without teacher’s preparation and
special training in teaching a second language, little
improvement is expected.
A good understanding teacher is God's greatest gift to the
learner. Some of the qualities that make good teacher are
– Continuous professional development.

– Desire to help pupils by individual attention.

– Good at communication

– A voice that has tone modulation and carrying power.

– Interest in the profession
– Friendly and cooperative.

– Creative & innovative.

The following are some guidelines for developing a

programme for the learners. Additions and subtractions can be
made according to needs:

Guidelines for the learner: The language must be

related to the culture. Without cultural background the language

77
carries incorrect meanings. The following topics are suggested
by Brooks and other linguists in teaching language:

– Greetings, friendly exchanges, farewell, personal

exchange, show respect to age, status, sex, patterns
of politeness and their common formulas.

– Knowledge about personalities and themes of the

past and present which are sincerely respected. This
can be done by easy books, radio-listening, films, TV
magazines, etc.

– Speech development through pitch, intonation

patterns.
– Learning contractions and omissions. Abbreviating
phrases.
– Expletives, devices used to enliven speech by
commenting on one’s feelings and actions, or on
those people addressed.

– Likely errors in new language and their importance.

– Verbal taboos; what common words or expressions
or their words or expressions or their equivalent are
not tolerated in the language.
– Numbers: How are numbers pronounced, spelled and
presented in arithmetic notations.
– Folklores, myths, legends, stories, traditions and
customs universally found among common people.
– Childhood literature, lyrics, rhymes, songs, and
jingles of authentic merit.

– Discipline - in home, school, public places, military,

past time and ceremonies.

78
– Festivals -holidays, games, music, that a person is
likely to do.
– Practising saying a series of sentences describing an
action he was doing.

– Pattern practice.
– Re-statement.

– Completing sentences.
– Learning songs.
– Dramatisation - a story, a poem, an activity, an
experience or discovery, (doll play, house, postman,
doctor, etc.).

– Choral speech - good for teaching pronunciation.

– Repetitions and rhymes.

– Reading out stories to children.

– Listening to records, music, radio, seeing movies.
– Parents may be involved in some activities.
– Reading book in other fields in second language.

– Learning through sensory experiences. For example:

Pupils look at different shapes, touch them, handle
and talk about them. Other topics similarly treated,
may be colour, texture, sounds, temperature, solids,
liquids, directions, distances, length, time, etc.

– Reading dialogues dictated by children themselves.

– Stories with pictures.
– Choral Reading.
– Abridged editions of classics.

– Children books, magazines, comics.

79
 – Cartoons.

– Use of dictionary, encyclopaedias, reference books.

The teacher can develop a programme of his own
based on these ideas suitable to the need of his or
her pupils. You must keep in mind the following
other suggestions for improving learning.

– The learner must be active in his approach to

learning and practice.
– The learner must come to grip with language as a
system.

– The learner must use language in real

communication.
– The learner must monitor his own language.

– The learner must come to with effective demands of

language.

ACTIVITIES

1. Develop some simple dialogues teaching vocabulary

and structure practice in the classroom and record the
out come.

SAQS-5

1. How can you motivate students to learn English?

2. What habits of native language learning can help the
learner of English?

80
 6. GUIDELINES FOR TEACHERS

You as teacher of English must work on improving your

own mastery of the language. As you have been told repeatedly,
language is a learnt behaviour and it goes on improving with
practice. It is necessary that you go on improving your
language. I am giving you some suggestions for doing this,
though I am sure many of you are doing these things yourself:
– Keep a good dictionary at hand like Oxford dictionary
or Websters’ dictionary.

– A good reference grammar is absolutely essential.

Keep it with you always.

– Keep a diary of vocabulary of words you have learnt

recently or which have recently been introduced in
newspapers, books or radio or TV broadcasts.
Organise your vocabulary diary either alphabetically,
topic wise or like a diary of daily additions.
– Try to practise English with friends and colleagues. If
you have learnt new words or sentence structures,
practise them, with your friends, your family and
your students.
– Read materials in English outside the school text. If
you feel insecure, start with easy reading-material
even starting with picture stories, children cartoon,
children story books which would help you to
improve English and build your confidence.
– Evaluate yourself: What do you find most difficult to
do in English listening, speaking, reading or writing.
Concentrate on improving that aspect by a planned
programme.

– Use radio and TV programmes for improving English.

Listen to BBC programmes for learning English. If

81
 you have a TV, watch all English programmes from
Cartoons to films. You may not understand at all in
the beginning but if you regularly watch these
programmes you would improve your vocabulary and
get a feel for the language.
– Try to read English newspapers, start with headlines,
if you feel difficulty in reading the whole news item.
– If you can get hold of tapes, cassettes prepared by
national and international agencies for language
laboratories, take help of them in improving English.

– In this age of computers, there are various computer

programmes that are being advertised in our
newspapers. Keep your eyes and ears open and grab
any of these programmes if you can, and then use it.
– Form an English language club where you and your
colleagues can practise English – poetry reading,
dramatisation, dialogues, courtesies can be
consciously practised.
– See English classic-feature films. These provide
entertainment and learning, as well.
– Learn some skills of simple black board illustrations
like stick drawings, etc.

ACTIVITIES
1. Start your vocabulary diary in your class.
2. Start collecting saying, favourite couplets, poems you
like and share it with your students
3. Practise stick drawings or other types of B.B. drawing
in your lesson plans.

82
 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bloomfield, L, Language, Henry Holt and Co, New York:

Brooks, N, H. Language and Language Learning, Theory and

Practice, Harcourt, Brace and Co. New York:
Dolch, E, W, Psychology of Teaching of Reading. The Gewad
Press, Champaign, lllionois:
Dunkel, H, B, Second Language Learning, Ginn & Co., Boston,
Massachusetts:

Lodo, R, Language Teaching, McGraw Hill Inc., New York:

Piaget, J, The Language and Thought of the Child, The

Humanities Press, New York:
Finocchiaro, M: Teaching Children Foreign Languages. McGraw
Hill Co., New York:
Hay, C, J: English Language Teaching: Longman. London:

83
Unit – 3

TEACHING METHODS

Written By:
Malik Muhammad Iqbal

Revised By:
Mrs. Shagufta Siraj
86
 INTRODUCTION

In this unit you are going to learn about methods of

teaching English. Now, what is a method, you may ask, and why
do we need to know about various methods and use them in our
classes?
A method may be defined as a set of teaching techniques,
based on a course of study, which uses certain types of
materials. In other words, a method is a cluster of teaching
procedures utilized in a classroom situation. A method may also
be spoken of as a way to put across the selected language-
material to the learners so as to facilitate its understanding and
to make its impression everlasting.

The language is the most valuable human property. It is a

tool for social interaction. As an English teacher, you, are
engaged in an activity which has far-reaching effects and,
therefore, it is very important. A good knowledge of teaching
methods will help you in making your teaching more effective
and fruitful than it would be otherwise. Wilaga M. Rivers writes
about the need for a method in the following words:-
“The question how students learn is a vital one for all
teachers. Much teaching is diffuse, hit-or-miss
procedure because of unclear notions teacher have
on this subject. Increased efficiency must result from
scientifically based insight into learning process”.1

1. Wilaga M. Rivers, Teaching Foreign Language Skills. P. 88

87
 OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit you would be able to

1. know how different methods developed and what

sort of thinking has produced each method;
2. know which method is more effective in teaching
various aspects of your subject;
3. know the importance of English language which it
possesses in the present day world as a medium of
communication;

4. Sharpe your consciousness as a foreign language

teacher and would help you make a better teacher
than you would be without a knowledge of teaching
methods;
5. Motivate to read more about the methods of
teaching English.

88
 CONTENTS
Page No

1. The nature of language its origin and evolution 91

2. Grammar –translation method 96

3. The direct method 104

4. Dr west’s new method (the reading method) 112

5. Substitution method 122
6. Audio lingual method 133

7. Communication approach 146

8. The natural approach 157

9. Bibliography 165

89
90
 1. The Nature of Language, its Origin and
Evolution

According to Charles F. Hockett, “Language is the most

valuable single possession of the human race.”

(A) Definition of Language

The language has been formally defined in the following

words:
“Language is a system of arbitrary symbols which have
been agreed upon by a group of people”.

This definition is very concise; it needs some explanation

so that you may fully understand it. Following are the key points
in this definition.
i) That the language is a system – a system is a
combination of many items, it is not something like a
single entity which may be indivisible. The language
is an inter locked system of systems, many systems
are inter woven together to form a language. For
example, the phonological system of language in
which the sounds of a language are arranged in a
special manner to make words. The grammatical
system which means that words are arranged in a
special way to make phrases and sentences
meaningful, etc. As a matter of fact, any language is
a complex culture of various systems and the final
totality of combinations is called a language.

ii) Arbitrary Symbols

a) Arbitrary – The language uses vocal symbols
and these symbols are arbitrary. By calling the
symbols arbitrary, we mean that the symbols
have no relationship of physical-resemblance

91
 with the things symbolized by them. The
relationship is only conventional. That is, it has
been agreed upon by a group of people. An
example will make the point clear. Let us take
the English word ‘CAT’. There are three distinct
sounds in this word (K), (ai) and (T). Now,
there is no resemblance between the physical
shape of the animal and these sounds or their
orthographic form (written form). These
symbols are only arbitrary.

b) Symbol

A symbol may be called a conventional sign.

The signs are events or things which in some
way, direct our attention to the things signified
by them. The signs have some sort of similarity
with the things signified. The signs and the
objects signified by them are related naturally
or casually as shivering is taken as a sign of
fever; or the signs for railways, rivers, on maps
and the road signs, etc. The signs may also be
conventional but symbols are purely
conventional.

i) Agreed upon by a group of people: The vocal

symbols produced by the human vocal
organs and the visible marks of writing on a
surface have been agreed upon by a group
of people as to their arrangements and their
meanings. Thus each member of a given
language community uses these symbols in
strict accordance with the convention hence
they can understand each other. After the
explanation of the key words in the definition

92
 quoted above, the meaning of the definition
should be clear to you now.
ii) The basic material, of which all languages
are made, are the audible movements of the
human vocal organs, i.e. the human sounds.
The minimum distinct sound is called a
‘Phoneme’. It is the smallest unit of human
sound. The visible marks on paper or any
other surface are the graphic representation
of human sounds. This is called conventional
orthography, i.e. the written form of a
language. The language is marvelous
because by combination and re-combination
of a limited number of sounds and their
visible marks in writing, man is capable of
speaking about vastly greater and potentially
definite totality of human experience–past,
present and future. By dint of language,
many speak about the whole big huge
number of things that exist in the universe.

(B) The Role of Language in Human Society

The language plays a significant role in the human
societies, without which social interaction would be impossible.
Some characteristics of the role of language in society are as
follows:
i) The language is a means for communication. In this
capacity, it is a social tool without which social
interaction will not be possible as effectively as it is
now.
ii) Man’s understanding of nature depends on the
language. We name, classify and explain objects of
nature with the help of language.

93
iii) Man’s relationship with the past is possible through
language. The written record of the past events help
us to understand the past. Without language, our
access to the past would not be as effective as it is
possible with it today.
iv) Diffusion of knowledge, transmission of culture and
social traditions is possible through language. Thus
the national distinction and uniqueness is preserved,
continued and passed on to the new generations
through language. This transmission of cultural
heritage helps maintain the national integrity and
distinctive national features.
v) Accumulation of knowledge depends upon language.
If there is no record of previous knowledge, it would
be impossible to build on new knowledge and the
human advancement will be halted.
vi) The knowledge of other cultures and societies is
acquired through language. We read about other
peoples from books, as tourists we mix up with them
and learn about their faith, beliefs, and ideas
through their language.
vii) Self expression; feelings, emotions and ideas are
best expressed through the medium of language. In
brief, in states of anger and excitement, for
expression of the emotions of love and hatred, we
use language.
viii) The phatic communion, i.e. informal exchange of
ideas, talking about weather, etc. is done through
language. The phatic communion is not serious talk,
it is talk just for the sake of talking, but it is a
human need, which is fulfilled through language.

94
 ix) Without language, man would not have been capable
of receiving Divine Message. The Holy Quran and all
other revealed books, use the medium of language
to convey the message of God to the mankind.

x) The personal expression: A poet, a philosopher, an

orator or a political leader expresses himself in
language as well as a scientist put forward his ideas
and theories in language.

(C) The Specialised uses of Language

Over and above these general uses of the language,

many people have professional need to know something about
language from a specific point of view. Here are some
examples:
i) The speech correctionist, since his job is to help
people impediments in their use of language,
carefully studies the functioning of the language.
ii) The psychologist who knows that the language is
one of the important factors which differentiates
human behaviour from that of animals, like rats
and apes etc., needs to know about language.
iii) The literary artist, who must know his medium and
its potentialities just as a painter, must know his
pigments, brushes and clours.
iv) The Literary critic needs to know about the
language for similar reasons.
v) The missionary who may have to learn some
strange languages for which no ready made
primers or dictionaries are available.
vi) The foreign language teacher, for instance of
English teacher like yourself, needs to know about
the nature of the language and the rules which
govern its functions, so that the foreign language

95
 teacher may successfully achieve his set goals. An
insight into the working of the language will help in
teaching of foreign language.
vii) The anthropologist needs to know about how
language works because (a) the language is a part
of what he calls ‘culture’ and (b) because in .
often confronted by practical problems of a
linguistic nature.
viii) The linguist or the language-scholar studies
language for his own sake. He wants to understand
the functioning of the system of the language.
ix) Similarly the historian, the philosopier and the
communication engineer needs to know about the
working of the language.

2. GRAMMAR – TRANSLATION METHOD

This is the traditional approach to teaching of English and
in spite of the fact that strong criticism has been levelled against
this approach, it is still very popular with the teachers and is
vastly used in our schools.
The Grammar Translation method started around the time
of Erasmus (1466-1536). Its primary focus is on memorization
of verb paradigms, grammar rules, and vocabulary. Application
of this knowledge was directed on translation of literary texts–
focusing of developing students’ appreciation of the target
language’s literature as well as teaching the language. Activities
utilized in today’s classrooms include: questions that follow a
reading passage; translating literary passages from one
language to another; memorizing grammar rules; memorizing
native–language equivalents of target language vocabulary.
The focus of this method is on the written language. It
makes little or no provision for practice in spoken language.

96
 The basic principles of this method may be stated as
follows:
1. Translation from the target language (English) into
mother tongue (Urdu) and vice versa, is the best
way to understand the linguistic patterns of English.
2. That in the process of interpreting English into the
mother tongue, the sentence pattern of English is
assimilated.
3. The linguistic facts of English explained in the mother
tongue and the rules of grammar are rigorously
taught. It is assumed that the learners will apply the
rules thus taught and be able to produce the foreign
language expression when confronted by a situation.
4. The structure of a foreign language is best learnt
when compared and contrasted with that of the
mother tongue.1
In brief we can say that there are three key concepts in
this semantic approach: the focus is on the understanding of the
written language, that the best way to do so is through
translation and the foreign language facts are taught by the
rules of grammar which ensures the production of correct target
language.

This method has its roots in the techniques used for

teaching classical languages i.e. Latin and Greek in Europe
during the middle ages and afterwards. Latin and ancient Greek
were dead languages and the interest of the people in these
languages was for the sake of their classical literature and
religious writings. They read the great classical authors like
Cicero and tried to imitate their styles. The Latin grammars
believed in preserving the ‘chaste’ language of the celebrated
ancient authors and prescribed the standard of corrections.

1. Thomson and wyatt the teaching of English in India.

97
Famous books on Latin Grammar written by Varro, Aclius
Donatus and Priscian were out-standing examples of this
approach. Donatus grammar was used right into the middle
ages.

By the Middle Ages, it was realised that Latin was no

longer the native language for the majority of its prospective
users. Instead of describing the living facts of the language, the
grammar books degenerated into a set of dry rules. The concept
of correctness became more rigid and dominant. Grammar was
defined as “the art of speaking and writing well”. Grammar and
classical literature had become complementary subjects and
were pursued in their own right for the cultivation of intellectual
discipline, social manner and cultural accomplishments.
A similar attitude developed towards teaching and
learning ancient Greek. The language of the best literature was
held up as a model and a guide for the desired standard of
speech and writing.

The effects of such an attitude towards language teaching

on later thought, was considerable. The sixteenth century was
the peak period of prestige for Latin and Greek studies. This
caused a setback to the study and growth of native languages.
They were called vernaculars (local languages) and considered
to be base and inferior to Latin and Greek. Spanish and French
were seen as examples, of much decayed languages. The
popular adjectives for English, in the sixteenth century were
such as bases, barbarous, rude, grass, vile and incloquent.1
However, with the passage of time, this wave of interest
in classical languages ebbed down and interest in the mother
tongues developed. Grammars were written for the new
languages, but the models of Latin and Greek grammars were
followed. The best authors were studied as examples of “what a
language was like”. Although the shift was from Latin and Greek

98
to the study of native languages, but the old tradition in the
methods of study lingered on.
When the English grammars were written in the
eighteenth century, the scholars steeped in Latinite and Greek
literary traditions, produced only “rules of correct usage”, hence
the grammar books which followed the old models are referred
to as “Prescriptive grammars” by modern scholars of linguistics,
because these grammars prescribed normative rules instead of
giving a description of the living facts of a language.

Similar standards were imposed on other languages like

Spanish, French and German. But at last the people realised
their mistake and the fallacy of these grammars was exposed.
Traditional grammars failed to fulfill their purpose because the
rules prescribed by them became more and more removed from
the current usage of the majority of speakers.
Towards the beginning of the present century, the old
approach was severely attacked and finally made humble before
the findings of a new discipline called Linguistics, which
appealed to the reason and were convincing. In the light of
these findings, new principles for learning languages were laid
down and a fresh approach emerged as a result. It was first
called Reformed Method, but later on it was popularly known as
Direct Method which we shall study in the next section of this
unit.
We have seen above that the basic tenets of the
grammar-translation method are:
i) Teaching rules of grammar to describe the target
language with the aim that the learner would
produce right patterns of language if once he
mastered the rules of grammar;

99
 ii) Use of translation for semantic purposes, i.e. foreign
language is best understood when translated into the
mother tongue of the learner;

iii) It is by the process of translating that the sentence-

patterns and other facts of a foreign language are
easily assimilated by the learner.

The question of translation from one language to another

is a complicated one. It is a specialised skill in its own right and
deserves special study which is not possible here. However, a
brief treatment may be desirable here in the context of
grammar-translation method and as a tool for learning foreign
languages.
The advocates of the grammar-translation method believe
in the efficiency of translation as a technique of foreign
language teaching on the following grounds:
A German scholar wrote: “It is not till one can translate
the word that one has complete mastery over it, so that one not
only understands it but can use it.”1

Henry Sweet, a staunch advocate of the natural method,

takes a lenient view of mother tongue if used sparingly, he
remarks “……… and if the judicious use of mother tongue would
help in this process (to establish an instantaneous association
between thought and sound) in the initial, giving meaning of
new words or arrangements of words and foreign expressions
then there is no harm in it.”2
Thomson and Wyatt, writing on “The vernacular in the
teaching of English”, say! “There is, first the finding of
vernacular equivalents for single words. This goes on
throughout the course, because very often the best help we can
give the pupil is to give him in his own language the equivalent

1. Thomson and Wyatt. Teaching of English in India P. 23

2. Henry Sweet–The Practical study of Languages Oxford University Press,
London, 1972.

100
of a foreign word”. There is next the translation of special
sentences. Our object here may be either to explain
grammatical structure or to convey the meaning of idiomatic
expressions”.

“In both cases, translation is resorted to not for its own

sake, but as a means to an end. The end being the more
effective teaching and learning of the foreign languages”.
Probably such theoretical framework provides the basis
on which the practitioners of grammar–translation method
include translation of the foreign language into the mother
tongue and out of the mother tongue into the foreign language,
but one may argue against them and say that mere
comprehension of the foreign text is no guarantee for learning
other skills of that language and using it correctly and fluently.
Correctly and fluently: By translating foreign language
individual sentence or a compact paragraph passive
understanding may occur, but it can never ensure smooth and
uninhibited fluency in speech. As a matter of fact, translation
proves a hindrance in acquiring spontaneity and smooth natural
flow of speech in the foreign language. A learner who has
acquired foreign language via the translation and by parroting
the rules of grammar, when confronted by a foreign language
situation, is not thinking in that language, so he cannot speak
fluently and with natural case. His style in both speech and
writing is laborious and the result is a variety of language which
may be approximation of English but not the language spoken
and written like the native speakers.

The variety of English produced as a result of learning the

rules of grammar and by translation has earned itself the name
of pidgin English, which is a degrogative epithet and conveys a
severe disapproval on the part of the native speakers.

101
Grammar

While teaching English by Grammar-Translation Method,

the general atmosphere in the classroom is permitted with the
mother tongue. This reduces the contact frequency of the target
language. In other words, the time spent in teaching the rules of
grammar, and in translation exercises from and into the mother
tongue, could be used in the learning the facts of English. Thus
providing more chance to the learners to come into contact with
the target language and the results are likely to be much better
in terms of acquiring foreign language skills. The most widely
known method is grammar–translation method which in
basically an adaptation of techniques used to teach classical
languages. Its corner stones are the teaching of rules of
grammar and translation of sentences and passages into the
target language. Texts for translation can, in fact, offer quite a
rich semantic experience for language learning and up to a point
the method ensures that the learners are clear about the
meaning of the language they are learning. The learners also
generally acquire a good reading knowledge of the target
language and if they have learnt conscientiously, they may be
accurate in the production of the foreign language. However, as
the method focuses on the written word, they tend not to
cultivate oral fluency and spontaneity. Moreover it is not
necessarily true that the best way of acquiring facility in a
foreign language is through translation. The emphasis on
creating a framework in which rules can be applied can also lead
to stilted and unnatural use of language both by teachers and
learners. Because the mother tongue is used to give
explanations of the grammar taught, the method is clearly
unsuitable for groups of mixed nationalities and mother
tongues.

102
 ACTIVITIES

Self-Assessment Question — I

a) Encircle T or F in the following statements.

i) The grammar – translation method is a traditional

approach to teaching English.

ii) The grammar – translation method is still used in most of

the countries in the world.
iii) In Pakistan the English teachers use grammar-translation
method because of the examination requirements.

b) Choose the right answer

i) The grammar-translation method is used by many
teachers because:
A. The don’t know any other method.
B. They think other methods are not effective.
C. The do not have fluent command over English.
D. Teaching of English is geared to examination needs
which values teaching grammar and translation.

ii) Teaching English by grammar-translation method

produces such students:
A. Who have command over all the four skills of the
language.
B. Who can speak English fluently.
C. Who are comparatively better in reading skill.
D. Who do not have command on spoken skill.

iii) Use of grammar-translation method must continue in our

schools because:
A. Our English teachers are trained on these lines.
B. We do not need English, primarily as a spoken
language.

103
 C. Our Curriculum obliges us to do so.
D. It is an effective method.

The Direct Method

As we have examined in the previous section, the

grammar-translation method after a long period of dominance of
the scene of foreign language teaching was eventually attacked
by the forces of Reform Movement which emerged in the late
nineteenth century. The method was finally humbled and
replaced by a more rational and practical approach called the
Direct Method.

The Reform Movement has an important place in the

history of foreign language teaching. From 1882 onward, there
has been a spate of publications on the subject. Beginning with
pamphlets and articles, the new consciousness developed into
writing substantial works like Henry Sweets ‘(Practical study of
Languages’ (1899). Professional associations and societies were
formed to promote the new ideas, notably the International
Phonetic Association (IPA), an association of French teachers
constituted in 1886. The IPA popularised the principles which
finally materialised into a form called the Direct Method.
The direct method originally came from Germany and was
first called reform method. In the beginning of the present
century, the Reform Method was given official approval in
several European countries.

Since it was popularised by a German schoolmaster

named Berlitz who, like Sauveur, had migrated to America and
seeing the need of the people for learning modern European
languages, opened many schools not only in America but in
France, Germany and England as well. Berlitz’s network of
schools began by teaching French and German in 1882 and
English as a foreign language followed shortly afterwards. There
Spanish, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Danish, Czech and Hungarian

104
had all been added by 1910 alongwith Swedish, Polish,
Portuguese and Japanese. By 1910, twelve modern European
languages were being taught in Berlitz schools. He employed the
native speakers and used the direct method.

Berlitz gave very clear and straight forward instructions to

the teachers. Later on, these directions became the basic
principles of the Direct Method:
i) No translation under any circumstances.
ii) A strong emphasis on oral work.

iii) Avoidance of grammatical explanations.

iv) Maximum use of question-answer techniques.

“Direct method would not have happened. When it did,

without Berlitz very few people would have benefited from
it”. (A.P.R. Howatl P. 204).
The Direct method in the early requires that all instruction
be conducted in the target language with no recourse to
translation.

Reading and writing are taught from the beginning;

although speaking and listening skills are emphasized. Grammar
is learned inductively. It has a balanced, four–skill emphasis.
One of the earliest claims for an introductory “silent period” was
presented by Hills (1929) and Place (1925). Teachers were
cautioned that they should not expect unrealistic results from
the Natural Method after only two years of study.

PRINCIPLES OF THE DIRECT METHOD

The Reform Movement, referred earlier, was founded on

three basic principles:
i) The primacy of the speech.

105
 ii) The connected text as the central point of teaching–
learning process.
iii) Absolute priority of an oral methodology in the
classroom.

The basic assumption in the direct method is that the

primary function of language is the communication of ideas.
Therefore, unlike the grammar-translation method which
focuses on the written words, the direct method puts the
emphasis on the spoken word and aims at achieving spoken
fluency and spontaniety in the target language. The direct
method has been defined by Henry Sweet as “to establish an
instantaneous association between thought and sound”.
The ‘direct bond’ as the phrase has been used by many
exponents of the method, means that the meanings of the
words and sentences of the foreign language should not be
taught through the mother tongue but a direct bond should be
established between the word and the object and between the
word and the action or quality and this can be done through
various techniques.

The advocates of the direct method believe that the use

of mother tongue should be totally excluded from the classroom
and a monolingual atmosphere should prevail therein. All
instructions to the learners should be given in English.
Translation has no place in the direct method approach. English
is taught as if it is the mother tongue of the learners and the
use of their native language will be reduced to the bare
minimum as a last resort. However, some writers on the subject
do not follow this rigid line. For instance, Henry Sweet takes a
permissive stand on this point and concludes …and if the
judicious use of mother tongue would help in the process (i.e.
the initial giving of the meaning) of new words or arrangements
of words) then there is no harm in it”.

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 This view, on the use of mother tongue in teaching
foreign languages, is held by most of the modern advocates of
the direct method. In the opinion of the present writer, this may
be described as a realistie attitude, Jesperson writes:
‘Translation ought to be used sparingly, and at all events, it is
not a word or at the very most, a sentence now and then’. “The
principle” says Kirkman, “is that a foreign word or word-groups
should be associated with its meaning directly – in other words
without the habitual intervention of the native speech”.

In short Grammar has no place at all in this method. As a

matter of fact this approach has developed as a sharp reaction
against grammar-based methods. In its essence the method is
‘a system of acquiring language by dent of listening and using it
spontaneously in real life situations. The process of acquiring a
new language is modeled on the pattern of acquiring mother
tongue, it is evident that the child does not acquire his mother
tongue by learning the rules of grammar, nor with the help of
translation. He learns the first language in a natural way, i.e. by
listening to the elder members of his speech community and
then by repeating the learned expressions in proper contexts.
This is meant by ‘learning a language in a natural way’.
However, a thorough knowledge of grammar is necessary for
the teacher. What is rejected in this approach is the
objectionable practice of giving the rules of grammar in a
deductive manner and to force the learners to commit them to
their memory. Summing up this point, we may say that
grammar may be tought provided it subserves the main purpose
of the method of giving the learner a better and a fuller
knowledge of the language he is learning so that to enable him
to use it more effectively. What is objectionable to the
practitioners of the direct method is too much dependence on
deductive grammar. If now and then inductive method of
grammatical rules is used it may be in consonance with teaching
of other subjects of the curriculum.

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Theoretical Frame-Work of the Direct Method

The theorists of the direct method share a common belief

that students learn to understand a language by listening to a
great deal of it and that they learn to speak it by speaking it––
associating speech with appropriate action. This, they observe
was the way children learned their native language, and this is
the way children who are transferred to a foreign environment
acquire a second language apparently without great difficulty.
The various oral and natural methods which developed during
the nineteenth century can be grouped together as forms of the
direct method, in the sense that they advocated learning by the
direct association of foreign words and phrases with objects and
actions without the use of native language by the teacher or the
student. Speech precedes reading, but even in reading students
are encouraged to forego this direct bond between the printed
words and their understanding without passing through an
intermediate stage of translation into the native language. The
ultimate aim is to develop the ability to think in the language,
whether conversing reading or writing”. The key concepts of the
direct method can be summed up as follows:
1. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, two
factors contributed to the formulation of this
method.

(a) General dissatisfaction with the grammar-

translation method.
(b) New interest in the modern European
languages and the need to learn them as
spoken languages.
2. A group of scholars and teachers openly attacked
the assumptions of the current practices of the
time and came up with a new approach which saw
‘speech’ as the first means of communication and

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 gave reading and writing a secondary position.
Speech is considered more important because:
(a) The children learn mother tongue through
speech.

(b) Speech is more universal than writing.

3. Translation is not only unnecessary for acquisition
of a foreign language, but is positively a hindrance.
Translation is harmful because it encourages to
colour the thought patterns of foreign vocabulary
with mother tongue. As a matter of fact; learning a
foreign language means learning new and different
thought pattern.
4. All material to be learnt is first presented orally at
the primary stages.
5. No grammar rules are taught. Grammar is taught
through situation and association.
6. The focus is on listening and oral practice. The
students are required to repeat over and over
again what the teacher says until the grammatical
pattern becomes automatic.
7. Mother tongue is totally excluded.
8. The strong point of this method is that the students
cultivate fluency and spontaneity.
9. One of its weak points is that this method does not
impart grammatical awareness and leaves the
learners helpless in the face of new situations.

10. The language material presented consists of

everyday vocabulary and structure especially at the
initial stages.

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 11. Correct pronunciation and intonation is taught by
presenting correct models of speech.

ACTIVITIES

1. Teach a comprehension lesson to a section of class 10 by

grammar–translation method. Then teach the same lesson
to another section of class 10. Compare the results, which
method, do you find to be more effective?
2. While teaching by the direct method which difficulties do
you encounter? Can you overcome those difficulties?

3. What are the main advantages of this method?

4. It has been observed that: “The direct method demands

highly competent teachers, willing to spend a great deal of
time and energy on each lesson, for results which are not
always worth the effort”. What is your idea about this
remark?
5. How far are the exponents of the direct method justified in
their claims: keeping in view the aims and objectives of
teaching English in Pakistan evaluate the use of direct
method in your classes?

SELF ASSESMENT QUESTIONS II

Q.1. Encircle or tick mark T or F in the following statements:

i. The direct method developed as a result of
general dissatisfaction over the grammar –
translation method. T F

ii. The reform movement recommended the use

of direct method. T F

iii. The term direct method was first coined by the

French phonetician Passy. T F

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 iv. The direct method does not impart the
grammatical consciousness and leaves the
students helpless in new situations. T F

v. Without Sauveur direct method would not have

happened. Without Berlitz very few people
would have benefited from it. T F

Q.2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER

i) The basic assumption in the direct method is that:

a. The primary function of a language is

communication.

b. A foreign language is best learnt through abundant

listening and initiating at the early stages.

c. Rules of grammar and translation exercise prove a

hindrance in the way of learning a language in a
natural way.
d. All the above

ii) The direct method lays emphasis on:

a. Reading

b. Speaking
c. Writing
d. Teaching literary texts.

iii) The direct method pays more attention to:

a. Oral work at initial stages
b. The reading skills at advanced levels
c. Listening and speaking

d. Spoken word in the initial stages and all the other

skills also receive due attention.

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4.1 Dr. West’s New Method (The Reading Method)

.1. Historical Development

Dr. West’s New Method or the Reading Method, as it is

popularly called, emerged from and experimental project
undertaken by Dr. West in Bengal. The project itself was written
up in a report called ‘Bilingalism’ (with special reference to
Bengal). It was published by the Indian Bureau of Education in
1926 and provided the data for West’s Ph.D. degree awarded to
him by Oxford University in 1927. The title of his doctoral thesis
was ‘The Position of English in a National System of Education
for Bengal.
Michael West went to India in 1912 and worked as
Principal of the Teachers’ Training College in Dacca and as the
Inspector of Schools for Chittagong and Calcutta. He was also
the Honorary Reader in Education at Dacca University and
published articles in the field of education. Both his experience
as and educationist and his knowledge of the Bengali
Educational system prepared him for the experiment in material
development which he undertook in 1924-25.
The Bengal Project Report contains significant ideas
pertaining to teaching of English as a foreign language
especially the teaching of Reading, which later developed as
Reading Method.
As a pilot experiment, West tried this idea out with a class
of eight-year-old whose knowledge of English on the standard
tests he used was virtually zero. The materials he used were
locally produced for primers and elementary readers. Each new
text was introduced by the teacher and it was he who decided
which were the new words. He then glossed them and practiced
them with the class. Comprehension questions were answered
in Bengali.

112
 The results of this first trial was disappointing so the
procedures were changed. This time the students were
encouraged to tell the teacher which were the difficult words
they did not understand. But still there were great many
difficulties and the progress was slow.

2. West’s Important Principles for Improving Reading.

West thought that there were two main ways in which the
reading text could be improved so that to make them more
understandable and interesting for the learners. The first was to
simplify the vocabulary by replacing old-fashioned literary words
by their more common modern equivalents. For example, West
discovered words like plight, mode, isle, sought, and groom. He
replaced them by more commonly used words like state, way,
island, nothing, and servant. This principle which can be called
lexical selection principle was to become a dominant one during
the next twenty years. This principle also echoed the ideas of
palmer who, working in Japan, had put forward similar ideas to
make teaching of English easier for the Japanese students. West
was trying to develop, ultimately ‘International English’
particularly in the form of informative texts. Later such a variety
of English did develop which is now popularly called simple
English and can be heard from the voice of America in its special
programmes, and can be read in the form of simplified versions
of literary pieces.

West's second principle of reading ability could be called a

lexical distribution principle, which is perhaps more important
than the first one. This principle points out to the fact that:
“Not only were there too many new words overall, but
they occurred too closely together in the current readers.
Almost every sentence contained a new word with the result
that both the teacher and the taught were frustrated and tired

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of the frequency of new items with the result that none of them
could be practiced, properly.”
In the light of these principles, West developed his own
reading materials which were later known as New Method
Readers by Michael West and became very popular. West
compared his simplified materials with four readers in current
use at both the Primary and First Reading Book levels.
In the New Method Readers which Michael West adopted
or wrote himself, the overall number of new words dropped
from an average of 420 to 236 in the First Reading book and
from an average 450 to 208 in primers. In the New Readers,
instead of meeting a new word in every sentence, the children
would practice five or six sentences with each new word.
West's first experiment with the New Method Readers
compared the children in class 2 of a severely disadvantaged
school with one of the best schools in the province. On entry the
disadvantaged children knew on the average 9.5 letters of the
English alphabet in seventeen and a half weeks, they had
gained the equivalent of two and a half years and were
comparable to class IV children of the better school who were
using the old materials. The second experiment was more
impressive with a gain of two and a half years in only ten
weeks. The starting point here was higher and all the children
were literate in Bengali, which had not been the case in the first
school. Research of this kind is full of uncontrolled variables of
one kind or the other. Nevertheless, the main point was clear
enough. The children made better progress in the reading with
texts that did not introduce too many new words too quickly.

3. The Problem of New Words in the Reading Text:

We have already stated that two procedures were
adopted to indicate the new vocabulary in the reading text. Both
these procedures were abandoned in favour of a new technique

114
which was a clear, unambiguous indication of the new words,
properly marked in the new words, properly marked in the text
so that the children would be alerted and the teachers need
would also be met.

A controlled vocabulary with each new item explicitly

indicated on the printed page, provided the model for the New
Method Reader Scheme which began to appear from Longmans
in Calcutta from 1927 onwards. Later they were published for
the world market in London alongwith other New Method series
such as New Method Conversation (1933), New Method
Composition 1938, etc. Harold Plamer contributed the New
Method Grammar (1938) and also wrote a series of New Method
English Practice books published in the same year.
After his departure from India, Michael West emerged as
an international figure on the scene of English language
teaching. He had collaborated with Harold Palmer, another
World leader in English language teaching and champion of
spoken language, but West was doubtful about the efficiency of
spoken language on Palmerian lines. However, both these men
were the founding fathers, in two different approaches, of the
modern method of teaching English, Palmer in spoken language
and West in the written.

4. The Concept of Basic English

BASIC ENGLISH stands for British American Scientific
International Commercial English. Another idea with the idea of
simplified texts to make reading as easy as possible, is the
concept of Basic English which developed during thirties and
caused bitter controversy as well as won support and favour.

As this concept is closely related to the method of

reading, it is worthwhile that we, as English teachers, should
have a background knowledge of this concept in order to better
understand reading texts prepared on this principle.

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 Basic English is English made simple by limiting the
number of its words to 850, and by cutting down the rules for
using them to the smallest necessary number for the clear
statement of ideas. And this is done without change in the
normal order and behaviour of these words in everyday English.
This is the first point to make clear. Basic English, though it has
only 850 words, is still normal English. It is limited in its words
and its rules, but it keeps to the regular forms of English. And
though it is designed to give the learner as little trouble as
possible, it is no more strange to the eyes of any reader than
these lines, which are in fact in Basic English.

5. Reading Method

The reading method was prominent in the U.S. in 1928.

The earlier method was similar to the traditional
Grammar/Translation method and emphasized the transference
of linguistic understanding to English.

Presently, the reading method focuses more on silent

reading for comprehension purposes. At the present time,
reading proficiency remains an important second language skill
as contemporary researchers in L2 reading take an information-
processing approach to instruction and stress the role of reading
strategies in comprehension.

So far we have studied the development of reading

method which emerged as a result of the efforts of Michael West
who worked with the Bengali-speaking students of English
language. But Dr. West was not the only person who developed
the idea that reading skill plays an important role in learning
English as a foreign language. In the United States, Coleman's
Report, published in 1929, also came out with similar
recommendations. The Coleman's report was publishid as a part
of the Modern Foreign Language Study in the United States. The
Report concluded that the majority of American students study

116
a foreign language for a period of only two years. Therefore, the
report maintained that the only objective which could be
considered attainable in such a short period was the
development of reading ability.

As a result of Coleman’s recommendations, teachers

began to look for the most effective ways of developing the
reading skill so that the students who offered language courses
of short durations should be made capable of continuing
independent reading after their formal study of the foreign
language had ended.

It was believed that the students should be trained to

read in the foreign language with the aim of direct
understanding of the text. No conscious effort to translate the
material they were reading should be made.
The teacher formulated the following principles, to
develop an effective reading skill:
1. The facility in reading could be achieved quickly and more
easily if the students are first given training in: (A) Correct
pronunciation; (B) Comprehension of simple spoken
English; and (C) The use of simple speech-patterns by the
learners.
2. Writing should be limited to such exercises which help the
student to remember vocabulary and structures essential
to the understanding of the text.
3. The student of grammar should be geared to the specific
needs of the learners for whom quick recognition of certain
verb forms, tenses, negatives, questions and other
patterns of language are important.
4. The main focus is on developing the reading ability with
understanding of the text though other skills, writing and
speaking may receive less attention or may be neglected
comparatively.

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5. The reading skill is to be more effective so that, after the
formal education of the student has stopped, he could
continue his study of foreign language at his own and be
able to improve his knowledge and skill through extensive
reading.
In the reading method, instruction of the language begins
with oral-phase, i.e. in the initial stages the learners are
thoroughly trained in the sound-system of the language. This
means the correct native pronunciation and the natural rise and
fall in the tone when speaking complete sentences containing
everyday use vocabulary. The students become habituated to
listening and speaking simple phrases.
After the oral phase, the technique of reading the text
aloud is used. Loud reading is done by the teacher himself or by
one of the students in the class. Then questions and answers on
the text follow.
The other techniques used are intensive and extensive
reading. This constitutes the main part of the course. The
intensive reading is done under the supervision of the teacher.
It is analytic acquisition of vocabulary and a source of material
for teaching grammar, as well as for training in reading
complete sentences for comprehension. The student is not
encouraged to translate, but to infer meaning of unknown words
from the context.
In extensive reading the student reads entirely on his
own many pages of connected text graded to his level of
achievement. Special readers have been published which
conformed to specific levels of word. Frequency of idioms counts
and the student is guided by the teacher from level to level as
his reading ability develops. In this way, he acquires a large
passive or recognition vocabulary. His comprehension is tested
by questions on the text and not by translation.

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6. Evaluation of the Reading Method

1. It increases the ability, of the bright students in

reading the foreign language texts, but it proves to
be a burden on those who have reading difficulties.

2. The system of extensive reading gives the students

an opportunity to progress at their own rate
Students within the same class can work with
readers at different levels of difficulty.
3. The method arouses interest in the people who
speak the language and a curiosity to know their
culture and their way of life.

4. The system of extensive reading leads to satisfaction

with quantity rather than quality. The number of
pages read matter more than degree of
comprehension achieved.
The reading method for the most part produced students
who were unable to comprehend and speak the language
beyond the very simplest exchanges. After the World War-II,
increasingly closer contacts between nations made it apparent
that the reading skill alone is not enough as the end-product of
a foreign language course as it does not meet the new needs.

7. SUMMARY
The Reading Method may be called a rethinking of the
subject which tends to correct the undue emphasis on the
teaching of spoken English. This method focusses on the reading
skill with the aim that if a student does not complete a language
course, he can continue to improve his knowledge of the foreign
language through the reading skill mastered during the year of
his formal education.

119
 This method gives each phase of the teaching of English
its legitimate place in a complete system of teaching the
language. No stage is considered to be only a preparatory stage
to the subsequent stage. Speech is considered more important
at the initial levels and it is made sound foundation to develop
the reading skill. Grammar and translation do not receive much
attention.
The interest in silent reading is built which paves the way
for writing and finally the student makes progress to speak the
language and to understand it when spoken. If a boy leaves the
school earlier, he will carry away with him something of
permanent value and utility if reading is made its objective.
Reading should be silent and purposeful. The student should get
meaning out of reading and be able to enjoy it. It should not be
only oral reading. Purposeful, enjoyable, silent reading is the
teacher’s chief concern.
The reading books should provide interesting reading
matter using a specially controlled vocabulary so that to make it
easy and the student should get pleasure from it. In order to
realise this aim, simplified texts are prepared in which the range
of vocabulary kept as small as possible and the new words are
evenly spread over the pages. The new words are repeated so
that to make them completely familiar to the learner.

The aim of silent reading is to get pleasure by reading

interesting stories in English and to create desire for more and
more reading. Thus, when a child can read an English story at a
reasonable; speed and can understand and enjoy it, he has
attained some definite and permanent achievement in the
language.

This method is more suited in those conditions where the

only objective is a reading knowledge of English.

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 ACTIVITIES

1. Find out some simplified readers and give them to your

class for silent rapid-reading exercise.

2. Find out some good test and simplify it, then make its
photocopies and give them to your class for reading.
3. Make a list of the bridged and simplified versions of some
literary works that you know about. If some of them are
available in the school library, use them in your class as
reading material, for pleasure and information.

4. What steps would you take to inculcate the habit of silent

reading among your students?

5. How far would you agree with Dr. West's idea of emphasis
on reading as a tool for teaching English?

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS-III

Q.1 Tick mark T or F in the following statements:
i) West challenged the concept of filtering by
pointing to educational wastage it entailed
due to a high percentage of dropouts. T F

ii) West’s idea was that training in spoken

English was useless for the majority of school
leavers. T F

iii) West believed that reading skills could be

used in the students’ later life. T F

iv) West’s important discovery was that in the

current readers, too many new words
occurred too closely which made
comprehension difficult and uninteresting. T F

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Q.2 CHOOSE RIGHT ANSWERS

(i) The aim of silent reading is:

a. To get pleasure from stories.
b. To create desire for more reading.
c. To learn English.
d. To develop the reading skill for future life.

(ii) The reading method won popularity because:

a. It was reaction against too much emphasis on
spoken English.
b. It was a realistic approach.
c. The students enjoyed reading interesting stories.
d. Reading skill is more important than the other
skills.

(iii) After the second world war, the reading method has lost
much of its importance because:
a. Close contacts between nations have shown that
reading alone is not enough.
b. People have little time for reading.
c. More reasonable methods have emerged.
d. Linguistics have severely attacked this method.

5. Substitution Method

The basis of this method is the Model Sentence. Some

particular structure, a phrase or an idiom, is selected from the
textbook and a sentence is made with it. Then, the sentence is
practised by substituting certain items in the model sentence
while keeping the main structure constant.

For example, if you wish to teach the phrase “there is”,

then the model sentence would be some such a sentence:
“There is a book on the table.” This sentence has three parts:
‘There is’ ‘book’ and ‘on the table’. The first term ‘There is’ is the

122
main structure, which the teacher wants the students to
understand to learn and to make it a part of their active
vocabulary so that they can use it spontaneously at the proper
occasion.

5.1 The Model Sentence

The model sentence, 'There is a book on the table' is

orally practised and its meaning are made clear to the students.
Then the substitutions are made:

There is a pen on the table.

There is a piece of chalk on the table.

There is a watch on the table.

There is a knife on the chair.

There is a boy near the car.

There is a shop near the school.

Similarly: There are some boys in the playground.

There are some taxis at the stand.

There are some books on the shelf.

And now: Is there, are there, isn’t any, there is no, and there
are not, there are no, etc, can be practised in the
same manner.

Examples: Is there a post office near here?

Is there a Cinema some where here?

Are there any apples in the basket?

There isn’t any tea in the teapot?

There is no sugar in the pot.

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Simple Substitution

If the structure of the model sentence is such that there

is provision for only one term to be substituted, this may be
called simple substitution. For example:

He is a police man
He is a doctor

Compound Substitution
If more than one terms are substituted, this may be
called compound substitution as we have seen in the earlier
examples:

Instructions to Use the Method

It is important to remember while using substitution
tables, as they are called, that meaning of the model sentences
are very clear to the students. The various terms being
substituted should be within the range of the vocabulary of the
students. As the focus is on the main term, which is kept
constant, no terms should be introduced in the substitutions
which the students have not learnt already.
The success of this method depends on the thoroughness
with which the model sentence is taught. The pronunciation,
intonation and meaning of the model sentence must be
completely mastered by the whole class before any advance is
attempted. The speed is also important. The model sentence
should be so well practised that it can be repeated at a speed
equal to the normal speaking speed. This indeed is the test by
which the teacher may know that the sentence has been really
grasped and a new habit is being successfully formed. The
model sentence should be practised to the point that it becomes
automatic.

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Advantages of the Model Sentence

One of the great benefits of this method is that it not only

measures the formation of right speech habits but also
eliminates the possibility of acquiring wrong speech habits.
English taught by translation and grammar rules, which are
mostly imperfectly understood, results in labouriously
constructed sentences and the tendency is to translate literally.
The language thus produced, lacks the idiom and the natural
ease and fluency which is the mark of the native speakers. For
example the following sentence is the product of literal
translation from Urdu: His both feet were injured (Us key donon
pauon zakhmi ho gai).
If the English idion ‘both of has been practised through
substitution drills in the following manner, the chances of
students’ being led by mother tongues construction would have
been minimised.
Both of his sons are doctors.

The books were so interesting that I brought both of

them.

Both of the TV sets are equally good.

Both he and his wife are teachers.
By learning a large number of model sentences
thoroughly, and by using these model sentences as frameworks
for substitution tables, the students are reducing the chances of
making mistakes to the minimum. The correct sentences with
right pronunciation and intonation and with appropriate native
idiom, are put at the tip of the students’ tongue which will
spring out automatically at the proper moment.

125
 EXAMPLES

Some examples of model sentences and their

substitution:

1. Has to, have to and had to,

He has to get up at 5'0 clock in the morning.

She has to prepare the breakfast.

I have to go to the office at 8'0 clock.

We have to finish the work before evening.

They had to see the doctor.

Ali had to go to the post office to collect the parcel.

2. Ought to:

I ought to go to school.

He ought to do his homework.

She ought to send a telegram.

3. Neither – nor:
He is neither a teacher nor a doctor. He is an advocate.
He is neither my brother nor my pupil. He is my friend.
He speaks neither French nor German. He speaks English.
4. Either – or:
You can either sit there and watch TV or you can go out
for a walk.
He can either become a journalist or a teacher.

126
 He can either buy a watch or a pair of sun glasses.

She can either take tea or coffee.

5. Model sentences can be given in the question forms as
well.

For example:
Do you want the money?

Do you know his name?

Do they play foot-ball?
Pattern Practice or Structural Drill

The substitution method is also called pattern practice (or

the Parson’s cat). The Parson's cat is a game which the English
boys play in their homes and class-rooms. It is a very good
device to teach sentence patterns and lexical items. You can
play the game with your students in this way. You may begin
with the following sentences:
The Parsons’s cat -is an ANGRY cat. Then ask a student in
the class to make another sentence about the cat by changing
the word ANGRY. The student's sentence would be something
like this:

The Parson’s cat – is a black cat.

Another student may replace this word black and make

sentence like the following:

The Parson's cat is a white cat.

Now the class has understood the game and would
continue like this:
The Parson’s cat is:
a clever cat.
a funny cat
a good cat.

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 If any student substitutes a word with which the sentence
makes no sense, for example if he says: The Parson’s cat is a
Hard cat. The teacher or the other students would protest and
say ‘you can’t say that, it doesn't make sense.’

While the game is in progress, someone would introduce

a variation which everybody else would initiate. The variations
might be:
The Parson’s cat is a city cat
a country cat

a village cat

It is not necessary that you should begin the game with

the phrase ‘The Parson’s cat – you may choose something else
that will arouse the interest of the class. The important point in
this game is that children like repeating a sentence which
sounds rhythmical and is interesting, they avoid using one which
sounds dull.
Another game with the same objective may be played
with a model sentence like this:
I went to the market and what did I buy? I bought –
some apples.
The substitutions for structural drill can be the following
items:

I went to the market and what did I buy? – I bought

some oranges/mangoes/grapes/pears, etc.
The model sentence may be changed to useful variations
which can be introduced whenever you feel a change is needed.
For example:

I am going to Karachi and what shall I do there?

I shall go to the sea-beach.

I shall do some shopping.

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 I shall visit the Tomb of Quaid-e-Azam.

I shall see my friends.

The Substitution Table

The substitution table is a useful device in the hands of

English teachers. Different words can be substituted in each
section of the given tabulated – pattern and a large number of
sentences in the required construction can be produced. A
simple substitution table on the model ‘subject–verb’ would be
appear as follows:

Table 1: SUBSTITUTION FOR THE SUBJECT

Subject verb

He
The boy
One of the girls
None of us laughed
They
The women

Table 2: SUBSTITUTION FOR THE VERB

Subject verb

Came in
Went away
He Sent a telegram
Visited the zoo

When these two tables are combined into one, many sentences
can be produced by using any subject with any verb.

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 Table 3
Subject verb

He laughed
The boy came in
One of the girls went away
None of us sent a telegram

Table 4

new
My best book was lost
English

These simple substitution tables on the model of subject–

verb can be elaborated by using adjectives before the subjects:

Table 5
1 2 3 4

The little on English Grammar was stolen

The best from the library was lost
The red book written by Ali is on the shelf
The Arabic that my father gave me is missing
The big you had written was damaged

SUMMARY
The substitution method is a useful tool for teaching some
particular structure, a phrase, an idiom or lexical items. The
teacher selects a model sentence and then asks the students to
substitute some items in the sentence while the structure under

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focus remains constant. This method can be used at any level of
instruction.
It is especially useful for:

1. Giving practice in a new construction.

2. Teaching a new use of construction already taught.

3. Drilling a correct usage where an incorrect form is
likely to become a common error.
4. Teaching the correct use of English tenses which
are troublesome for foreign learners.

5. To eliminate common errors by giving good

practice in right construction.

The substitution method can be employed in the form of a

game as, for example ‘The parson’s cat, which can be practised
orally or in writing. Sentences can be written in tabular form.
The teacher writes the constructions along with their variations
on the black–board and asks the students to make correct
sentences.

ACTIVITIES

1. Think of some important structures and teach them

with the help of substitution tables.
2. Add some more items in the following tables:

1 2 3

My watch is More expensive than

His watch is not as beautiful as your watch

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 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS-IV

Q.1 Tick mark T or F which you think in the following

statements:

i. Substitution drill is an effective device for

teaching English because the children
enjoy repeating a sentence. T F

ii. The substitution method is more useful at

the initial stages of teaching English. T F

iii. The success of the substitution method

depends on the thoroughness with which
the model sentence has been taught. T F

iv. The substitution technique is based on the

theory of language that it is best learnt
through grammar. T F

v. The substitution tables enable the student

to produce a number of sentences from a
few items given in the table. T F

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6. ASTP and the Audiolingual Method:

This approach is based on the behaviorsit belief that

language learning is the acquisition of a set of correct language
habits. The learner repeats patterns and phrases in the
language laboratory until able to reproduce them
spontaneously.

ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program) was an

intensive, specialized approach to language instruction used in
during the 1940’s. In the postwar years, the civilian version of
ASTP and the audiolingual method featured memorization of
dialogues, pattern drills, and emphasis on pronunciation. The
audiolingual approach achieved some of its goals such as good
pronunciation and formulaic speech, although it did not always
result in communicative competence.

Audio–Lingual Method
This is the latest approach in foreign language teaching.
It is also called aural–oral approach but, as the term was
confusing and difficult to pronounce, Nelson Brook of Yale
University, U.S.A, suggested the term Audio–Lingual for this
method which has since then gained popularity and is now
vastly used throughout the world.

Factors Contributing to the Development of Audio–

Lingual Method

During twenties and thirties, there was a great interest in

the United States, in research in human behaviour. The
anthropologists were studying patterns of human behaviour in
cultural context. These scholars viewed language as a learned
activity in a given culture of a people. The language too was
viewed as a set of habits established by reinforcement in the
social context.

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 The fact that native language is first learned by the infant
in the spoken form provided the basis for the theory that: The
students acquire the foreign language more easily if it is
presented to them in a spoken form first and then in the written
form.
This theory led to the formulation of the cardinal principle
of this method, i.e. listen, speak, read and write.
Listening should precede speaking and reading should
precede writing. This is the central tenet of this method.

In the new approach, emphasis was laid on the ability to

communicate in the foreign language by developing listening
and speaking skills first as a foundation on which the skills of
reading and writing would be built later.
The origins of the audio–lingual method may be found in
the theories of the American scholars of linguistic sciences,
cultural anthropologists and behaviour psychologists. In
linguistics, this took the form of description approach which in
simple terms means that language is what people do say in their
mother tongue. This view of language is in sharp contrast with
the view held by the traditional grammarians who maintained
that a language is what people ought to say. As we have already
elaborated this point in the grammar-translation method,
grammars written on Latin and Greek models were prescriptive
in the sense that they prescribed and presented standard of
correctness in language use. The modern view of language is
descriptive, i.e. linguistic science describes the language as it
functions in day-to-day social interactions.

The following linguistic principles form the bedrock of the

audio–lingual method:

1. Language is speech not writing

2. A language is a set of habits

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 3. Teach the language, not about the language

4. A language is what its native speakers say not

what someone thinks they ought to say

5. Languages are different

Now we shall explain each one of these principle and see

what bearing they have on techniques used by the audio–lingual
teachers in the classroom.

Language is Speech not Writing

All languages first developed as speech. And we first learn

our mother tongue in spoken form. The written representation
of language comes at a later stage in learning the mother
tongue. So, this is a natural order of learning a language. The
proponents of audio-lingual method lay stress on learning to
understand spoken language and to speak it at least some
amount of the language before learning to read and write it.
They maintain that the first contact of the learner with a new
language must come through ‘speech’. This does not mean that
the learner must learn the whole language by speech before
learning to read it. What actually this principle implies is that
any portion under study should be first mastered orally before
presenting it in written form. This order of presentation of the
teaching material (listening and speaking before reading and
writing) has been accompanied by emphasis on correct
pronunciation and intonation. The great advantage of this
procedure is that the threat of spelling pronunciation is
eliminated and the learner’s first contact with the foreign
language material through speech ensures near-native accent.
Beginning the language with the written form has been
criticised as a potential threat to the mastery of the phonetics
(the sound system) of the new language. It is believed that
unless the student first listens to the standard pronunciation,
the orthographic symbols of the new language are highly

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misleading and are the source of substandard pronunciation.
The written form of English is a hindrance in the way of mastery
of the right pronunciation and intonation because the student
has already learnt the sound system of his mother tongue and
he is likely to confuse the new sound system with the one he
has already acquired. Moreover, the English spellings are a
great mis-fortunate. In many cases their written form is
different from their spoken form and this is the root-cause of
wrong pronunciation. If once the student has learnt a wrong
pronunciation and it has been fixed in his speech habit, it
becomes difficult to uproot it and to substitute it by correct
pronunciation and intonation. Therefore, in order to nip the evil
in the bud and to block the source of pronunciation mistakes,
the first contact of the learner with the new language must be
based on oral approach. A time lag should be allowed between
the oral presentation of the material and its graphic form so that
the spoken form is well assimilated by the students and
becomes fixed as a result.
Emphasis on spoken language has led to a radical change
in the selection of material for teaching at early stage. In
contrast to the traditional approaches, where the first units of
teaching were letters and words in the audio-lingual method
complete utterances with normal intonation are taught. The
variety of language selected are colloquial forms of speech
which would be used by the native speakers in their country of
origin in ordinary life situations by a person of age and position
similar to that of the learners.
In every-language, there is a difference between its every
day spoken form and its literary or the written style.

In the audio-lingual method, the students are exposed to

listen and repeat these utterances at normal native speed with
the usual stresses, pauses and the rise and fall of tone of the
native speaker.

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 The principle that ‘language is speech, not writing’ should
not create the misunderstanding that the audio–lingual method
neglects the other skills (reading and writing), this is not true.
The order for learning of language skill is: listening, speaking,
reading and writing. All the skills receive attention and are given
due importance. Strong emphasis on listening and speaking,
especially at the early stages, is due to the fact which has
already been explained, i.e. the ultimate aim is to acquire a
near-native command of the language which can only be
achieved when the learners get a rigorous exercise and practice
in listening and speaking on the model of the native speaker.

Teach the language and not about the language

This principle voices a revolt against the grammar-

translation method. We have already discussed the point that in
the traditional approach, the process of studying the structures
of the language constituted explanation of grammar rules.
Teaching the rules of grammar is synonymous to teaching about
the language. While teaching structures and developing the
ability to produce at the proper moment means the teaching of
language itself.
Teaching the rules of grammar was followed by exercises
consisting of individual sentences, segregated from the context.
They aimed to test the students if they have grasped the rules.
Little effort was made to make an oral use of the language thus
learnt. Similarly, the translation exercises comprised of
segregated sentences of imaginary kind. Such exercise may
have taught the rules of grammar, but they did little to equip
the students with language skills which they could use with ease
and facility when faced with a real situation. In brief, we can say
that in the past grammar and translation were taught in a way
that these techniques became an end in themselves and the real
aim of teaching the language was lost in the process. For the
audio-lingual teacher grammar or any other technique is only a

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means to an end. In principle teaching of grammar is avoided,
but if deemed necessary at all, especially at advanced levels,
then functional grammar is taught. That part of the language
which is most useful is more stressed and is practised
thoroughly so that it is internalised by the student and becomes
a fixed habit.

A language is what its native speakers say, not what

someone thinks they ought to say

The expressions which the audio-lingual teacher presents

to the students to master for use at proper occasions are those
which they would hear around them in the country where the
language is spoken. The language of the textbooks is the model
of language currently in use, a living reality of the day. In the
traditional approaches, the language presented to the learners
was artificial at it was specially structured to explain the points
of grammar, and it was drawn from literary texts accepted as
classics which usually belonged to the past eras. The current
spoken language was neither presented in the classroom nor the
learners had any opportunity to hear it from anywhere else, so
the result was quite obvious.
As a matter of fact, the current variety of the language as
used by the people in the day-to-day business and in social
interactions for communication, was rejected as corrupt and
debased language. The desired standard of correctness of the
language were thought to be only those written by great
scholars and men of letters of the past.
It is evident that such language proved to be of little
practical use in the day-to-day experience of living with people
of the foreign country.
In audio-lingual material selected for use in the
classroom, those structures are preferred which are of high
frequency, i.e. most commonly used. Contemporary colloquial

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clichés, of conversation are taught in the form of dialogues. A
careful attention is paid, however, to the social level of the
language, the colloquial speech learned should be acceptable
according to the emotional effects of the language. They are
learning to use, whether it is formal or informal, respectfully or
rude, friendly or hostile, subservient or gently teasing or
severely offending, etc. At advanced levels, attention is paid to
regional differences of pronunciation and expression as well.

Languages are different

The ancient scholars held the notion of a universal

grammatical system which can serve as a framework for the
organisation of the facts of all languages. This wrong concept
led to the writing of grammar for modern European languages
on the models of Latin and Greek languages. The structural
linguistics attacked this view of language and analysed each
language according to its unique structure and inter-relationship
of its various system phonological, syntactical and semantic,
etc. According to the findings of applied linguistics, the major
difficulties for the learners lie in those areas where the foreign
language differs more radically from their native tongue.
In the audio lingual approach, those areas of the foreign
language are diagnosed which present specific difficulties for the
learners and the teaching materials are so designed wherein the
learners special attention is drawn to those problems. Special
techniques are employed to achieve the best results in teaching.
The materials emphasise and give special drilling in the major
areas of contrast between the native tongue and the target
language of the learner.

The most useful structures and those most likely to be

confused are presented first with continual drilling and
constantly reviewed to ensure mastery.

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 Traditional translation exercises are regarded by audio-
lingualists as a dangerous activity at the early stages of foreign
language learning because of the tendency of the students to
look for exact equivalents of individual words and because of
cultural differences in the mode of expressions due to the
ignorance of which the students tend to make ridiculous
mistakes.
The prolonged and detailed translation exercises are
postponed to advanced stages when translation is taught as a
spccialised skill with its own techniques.

Techniques of the audio-lingual method

The audio-lingual method aims at teaching the language
skills in the order of listen, speak, read, and write. Therefore, at
the beginning stage there is more emphasis on spoken language
as it is used in everyday social situation. As the students move
on to the advanced levels, the other two skills, reading and
writing receive increasing attention and literary forms of
expression are presented to them. However, listening and
speaking skills continue to be practised side by side and are not
neglected at any stage.
At the starting levels of teaching, the material presented
for learning consists of dialogues. These dialogues contain
commonly used expressions and the fundamental structures of
high frequency. The vocabulary content is reduced to the
necessary minimum and the students are encouraged to
concentrate on achieving the mastery of structures and not
bother about the meanings of lexical items.
The student learns the dialogues by heart. First, they
listen carefully to the teacher or a tape-record model until they
can distinguish the sounds and intonation of the expression to
be learnt. Then, they repeat the sentence over and again till
they achieve the degree of accuracy and fluency. When in this

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way one sentence has been grasped fully, they go on to the
next sentences. This process is continued first in a chorus, then
in smaller groups and finally individually. When all the phrases
of a dialogue have been mastered completely, questions and
answers are exchanged in the form of a dialogue. The roles are
reversed so that each student gets chance to ask questions and
to give answers.
The dialogue sentences which have been well practised
and are now at the top of the tongue of the learners, are made
a base for further learning. Adaptations are made with a more
personal application to the students’ own situation. Then the
teacher links the dialogue expressions to ‘pattern drills’ (a
technique vastly used in audio-lingual method) based on the
structures in the dialogue. Usually, this becomes the main
teaching-learning activity.
Some teachers prefer to introduce pattern-drills on
structures other than those practised in the dialogues. They
maintain that dialogues should only be used to introduce
common expressions to the students for natural conversations
in everyday situations.
The pattern drills are first practised orally in chorus which
is followed by small-group practice and finally the individual
responses. When a student has achieved facility in a particular
structure, to some degree, he is given some texts in which the
structural pattern he has been working on, is presented in
generalised forms. Writing is postponed till the student has
acquired a small stock of useful expressions and has developed
some confidence in using basic structures. Only then he will be
encouraged to express himself on certain topics by first giving
oral reports to the class and then writing them down in the form
of short compositions which no matter may consist of a small
paragraph of even a few lines. Actually this early attempt on
writing is only a re-combination of what has already been learnt.

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This type of composition is strictly controlled in vocabulary
content so that the students’ chances of making mistakes are
reduced.

The traditional notion of composition in which the

students were required to write long essays with formal
composition has been redefined as the ability to write some
coherent sentences on simple topics which may be with in the
personal experience of the learner.

Reading

As the students advance in spoken language, more and

more attention is paid to reading materials. Passages of literary
quality are carefully chosen keeping in view the difficulty level of
language and the cultural context of the native speakers.
Even when the students are mature enough to read
compact paragraphs and to write short pieces of composition,
practice in listening and speaking is not neglected. It continues
side by side with the practice in other skills and thus the
objective of harmonious development in all the four skills is
taken care of.

Listening Comprehension

The teacher reads out the text and the students listen to
it with book shut. Then the text is orally discused, through
questions and answers. If the text has not been comprehended
well enough to generate discussion, the second or even the third
reading may be necessary. Finally, the students are allowed to
open the books or the handouts are distributed, to read the text
silently. After the silent reading phase, the text is normally dealt
with as a reading comprehension exercise.

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Activities

1. If you have acquaintance with a native speaker of English,

record a piece of English prose in his voice and play it
before your class.

2. There are English lessons from B.B.C. Record some of the

lessons and repeat them in your classes.

Draw the attention of your students to the pronunciation of

the native speaker.
3. Encourage your students to listen to B.B.C. and the V.O.A.
at home.

4. Think of any other ways by which you can make your

students listen to the native speakers of English.

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS-V

Q.1 Tick mark T or F which you think is correct in the
following statements:
i) Audio-lingual method is based on the
principle that a foreign language is best
learnt through imitation. T F

ii) Audio-Lingual method admits teaching

grammar. T F

iii) Language-learning is a pattern of human

behaviour in a cultural context. T F

iv) During the World War-II, the U.S.

government severely felt the need for the
foreign languages to be taught with the
aim of achieving a near-native command. T F

v) A language is a set of habits. T F

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Q.2 Choose the right answer

1. The proponents of audio-lingual method stress on:

A. The written language
B. The spoken language
C. Reading
D. Writing and composition

2. One of the basic tenets of the audio-lingual method is

that a language is:
A. Best learnt by listening and speaking to the native
speakers.
B. Best learnt through listening and imitating
C. Best learnt by abundant practice in listening and
speaking
D. Best learnt by all the three A,B,C.
3. Beginning to teach English with the written form poses a
potential threat to:
A. Mastery of the sound system of English
B. Comprehension
C. Spoken form
D. Correct spellings.
4. If we switch over from traditional methods to the audio–
lingual method:

A. We shall have to modify our examination system

accordingly.
B. Our students will not adjust to the new method
C. We shall have to conduct refresher courses for
English teachers to train them on modern lines.
D. We shall be doing a great service to the nation.
5. A language is:

A. What the grammar – books prescribe

144
B. What the ancient scholars wrote in literary master
pieces.
C. What its native speakers say.

D. What someone recommends that the native

speakers ought to speak.

145
7. Communication Approach

In the section you would learn about the communicative

approach to foreign language teaching. This approach is also
called the functional approach or the national approach. Some
important concepts of this approach are the following:
– The language form

– The language function

– Communicative competence.
We shall soon explain these concepts

What is Communicative Approach

The key idea in this approach is that language is a tool for

social communication and to acquire the ability to communicate
in a foreign language. The learner must use that language in a
real communicative situation.
The advocates of this approach take a functional view of
language, i.e. as language functions in the society or in a given
social situation. Therefore, it is the meaning (the function of the
language) which is more important than its form. The message
that is to be conveyed has preference over the grammatical
pattern of the language. As social situations differ in their
nature, the choice of language must vary accordingly. The
choice of words and phrases are determined by the given social
situation in which the communication is taking place. Many
factors are involved in a social situation such as:
– Social status of the persons and their mutual
relationship in social terms. For instance, whether the
communication is taking place between two friends, or
between the employer and an employee etc.

– Nature of the event being communicated. Whether it is

an alarming event such as the report of a fire in a

146
 house, felicitation on success in the examination, or
the communication of a normal everyday life event.
– Getting information from a stranger, asking the way to
the railway station or to a bus stop. Similarly giving
information about places, time and public amenities
etc.

– Introducing people at social gatherings ……

The key point in the communicative approach is that
the most appropriate language should be used in
every social situation so that the message is correctly
conveyed and the speaker does not cause any
annoyance to the listeners. Hence the emphasis is on
the choice of the right words, the right intonation and
the right gestures and facial expressions.

Assumptions of the Communicative Approach

– The ability to communicate in a language is best
acquired by using that language in a real
communicative situation.

– Communicative ability is usually acquired quite

easily and rapidly if practised in actual life
situations, grammatical accuracy on the other hand
increases slowly and after gaining a lot of
experience in the language.
– That a conscious understanding of grammar is a
pre-requisite to acquiring communicative
competence is a faulty notion. It may be helpful to
some students but it cannot be true for all.

147
Historical Back Ground of this Approach

The communicative approach became prominent during

the middle of the 1970s. Although there are some other factors
which contributed to the development of this approach, the
most immediate one was the expansion of the European
Common Market.

During 1970s European Common Market had expanded

and there was a growing need to bring the member countries
closer together. As each country had its own separate language
there arose the problem of effective communication. The council
of European Common Market appointed a commission to study
the problem and to find its solution. After examining the
situation, the commission put forward the recommendations in
practical terms for teaching the foreign language skills which
were needed by the adults who wanted to be able to
communicate successfully while visiting a foreign country and
with foreign visitors who came to their home countries, and to
be able to establish social relationships with those whom they
come across. These goals were the first ideas of what came to
be known as the central concept of communication competence.

Communicative Competence

Among other factors contributing to the development of

this approach may be mentioned that the teaching by grammar–
based traditional approaches does not produce the ability to
communicate efficiently and effectively. The traditional
approaches focused on the form of the language, i.e. the
grammatical accuracy or linguistic accuracy and neglected the
social dimension of the situation in which communication takes
place. The learner is not made conscious of the fact that he
should choose the language appropriate to the occasion. As a
result of this neglect of the social as well as cultural aspect of
the language and undue emphasis on the linguistic correctness,

148
the traditional methods, failed to produce graduates who could
make effective communication in the given social situations. The
communication approach is an attempt to correct this situation.

Key Concepts in the Communicative Approach

– The Language form: This means the grammatical
patterns of the language, they are also referred to
as linguistic patterns. Hence the terms grammatical
or linguistic competence, i.e. the ability to produce
language patterns which are grammatically correct.
For instance, “Switch on light is grammatical form”.
“Would you mind switching the light on, please”,
and, “Switch on the light, will you”, are all different
grammatical forms.

– The Language Function: This means the message

which a grammatical pattern conveys i.e. the
meanings of the language in a social situation. For
instance, the above quoted sentences about
switching on the light can be spoken in particular
situations. The first sentence would be spoken by a
senior person addressed to a person who is junior
to him in position. For instance a bank manager
can say this to his peon. The second sentence can
be spoken to a stranger only with whom the
speaker has no social relationship and a sort of
formality exists between them. The third sentence
can be addressed by a friend to friend between
whom there is a degree of frankness. The point to
note here is that each social situation call for an
appropriate form of language. All language forms
are not indiscriminately applicable to all situations.
In the communicate approach, language is chosen
keeping the social situation in view. In other words

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 it is the function of the language which is more
important and which determines the form.
Communicative Competence: This is a key concept
in this approach. It means that the learner should
be competent enough to communicate in the target
language most effectively. He should be able to
choose the language patterns most appropriate to
the context and the situation keeping the social
positions of the persons involved in the
communication and the character of the event
being communicated. This ability to use the
language is referred to as communicative
competence in the literature. As a matter of fact, to
produce communicative competence in the learners
is the cherished goal of this approach.

What does Communicative Competence consist of?

W. Little Wood, an expert of the Communicative

Approach, identified four areas which should be recognised and
developed:
(i) Communicative Competence builds on linguistic
competence (grammatical competence). The learner
should be able to use the grammatical patterns
spontaneously. He should feel at ease in order to
express the meanings he wants to convey.

(ii) The learner must be able to use the grammatical

forms as the functions of the language.

(iii) The learner must be able to communicate as

effectively and efficiently as possible by assessing how
much the other participants in the conversation already
know and understand.

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 (iv) The learner must have a full realisation of the social
significance of the language he uses. He must learn to
use generally acceptable forms and to avoid using
offensive one.

Communicative Syllabus and Text-Books

Emerging from the work of council of European was a

specification how much a learner needed to know in order to
achieve a primary degree of communicative competence which
will communicate his message effectively. Foreign language
learners need opportunities to develop these skills by being
exposed to situations where the emphasis is on using their
available resources for communicating meanings as efficiently
and economically as possible. Since these resources are limited’
this may often entail sacrificing grammatical accuracy in favour
of immediate communicative effectiveness.
In the same way as for comprehension, then the learner
needs to acquire not only a repertoire of linguistic items but also
a repertoire of strategies for using them in concrete situations.

Who is the Most Efficient Communicator?

In his book ‘Communicative Language Teaching’ W. Little
Wood makes a difference between those who can manipulate
grammatical structures of a foreign language and those who are
efficient communicators in it. He says:

“The most efficient communicator in a foreign language is

not always the person who is best at manipulating its structure”.
It is often the person who is almost skilled at processing the
complete situation involving himself and his learner, taking
account of what knowledge is already shared between them
(e.g. from the situation or from the preceding conversation and
selecting items). When the recommendations of the Council of
Europe were translated into the form of syllabuses, the items in

151
these language courses were not lists of grammatical categories
which the student should learn but rather, lists of things which
the learner would be able to do in the target language when he
had achieved a specified degree of communicative competence.
For example the learner should be able to:
– Ask the way to a bus stop or to a railway station.

– Give directions for going to a bank or a post office

– Introduce his friend at a party

SUMMARY

What we have discussed so far may be summed up as

follows:
– Communicative approach views language as a tool
for cultural situations.
– This approach attaches more importance to the
‘function’ of the language than to its form.
– A general feeling prevailed that the traditional
approaches did not produce communicative
competence in the learners.

– The approach emerged during 1970s as a result of

the recommendations of the commission set up by
the Council of Europe to meet the communicative
needs of the member countries of the European
Common Market and gained popularity.

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Q.1 SELF–ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS-VI

Choose the right answer by encircling A, B, C.

1. The communicative approach emphasises:

A. Mastery of grammatical forms

B. Developing communicative competence
C. Understanding social situation

2. The communicative approach emerged as a result of:

A. The reaction against the grammar - based
approaches.
B. The need for the European Common Market
Countries to come closer to one another.
C. The feeling that the learner should be able to
communicate effectively.

3. Communicative Competence means that:

A. The learner should be able to express the meanings
in the appropriate language.
B. Grammatical Competence is unnecessary for
effective communication.
C. The learner must be able to use generally
acceptable forms and to avoid using the offensive
ones.

Q.2 TICK F/T IN THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS.

1. The key component to acquire
communicative competence is to allow the
student to use the language for real
communication. T F

2. A conscious understanding of grammar is a

pre-requisite to acquiring communicative
competence. T F

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3. The two basic conditions for learning
additional languages are the need to
acquire the language and the opportunity T F
to use it for real communicative purposes.

SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMUNICATIVE EXERCISES?

In a communicative classroom for beginners, the teacher
might begin by passing out cards, each with a different name
printed on it. The teacher then proceeds to model an exchange
of introductions in the target language: “Guten Tag. Wie heissen
Sie?”
Reply: “Ich heisse Wolfie,” for example. Using a
combination of the target language and gestures, the teacher
conveys the task at hand, and gets the students to introduce
themselves and ask their classmates for information. They are
responding in German to a question in German. They do not
know the answers beforehand, as they are each holding cards
with their new identities written on them; hence, there is an
authentic exchange of information.
Later during the class, as a reinforcement listening
exercise, the students might hear a recorded exchange between
two German freshmen meeting each other for the first time at
the gymnasium doors. Then the teacher might explain, in
English, the differences among German greetings in various
social situations. Finally, the teacher will explain some of the
grammar points and structures used.
The following exercise is taken from a 1987 workshop on
communicative foreign language teaching, given for Delaware
language teachers by Karen Willetts and Lynn Thompson of the
Center for Applied Linguistics. The exercise, called
“Eavesdropping” is aimed at advanced students.

154
 “Instructions to students.” Listen to a conversation
somewhere in a public place and be prepared to answer, in the
target language, some general questions about what was said.

1. Who was talking?

2. About how old were they?

3. Where were they when you eavesdropped?

4. What were they talking about?

5. What did they say?
6. Did they become aware that you were listening to
them?

The exercise put students in a real–world listening

situation where they must report information overheard. Most
likely they have an opinion of the topic, and a class discussion
could follow, in the target language, about their experiences and
viewpoints.
Communicative exercises such as this motivate the
students by treating topics of their choice, at an appropriately
challenging level.
Another exercise taken from the same source is for
beginning students of Spanish. In “Listening for the Gist,”
students are placed in an everyday situation where they must
listen to an authentic text.

“Objective.” Students listen to a passage to get general

understanding of the topic or message.
“Directions.” Have students listen to the following
announcement to decide what the speaker is promoting.

“Passage.” “Situacion ideal… Servicio de transporte al

Aeropuerto Internacional… Cuarentay dos habitaciones de lujo,
conaire acondicionado… Elegante restaurante…de fama
internacional.”

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 (The announcement can be read by the teacher or played
on tape.) Then ask students to circle the letter of the most
appropriate answer on their copy, which consists of the
following multiple-choice options:

a. a taxi service
b. a hotel

c. an airport
d. a restaurant
Because of the increased responsibility to participate,
students may find they gain confidence in using the target
language in general. Students are more responsible managers
of their own learning

How do the Roles of the Teacher and Student Change in

Communicative Language Teaching?
Teachers in communicative classrooms will find
themselves talking less and listening more–becoming active
facilitators of their students’ learning. The teacher sets up the
exercise, but because the students’ performance is the goal, the
teacher must step back and observe, sometimes acting as
referee or monitor. A classroom during a communicative activity
is far from quiet, however. The students do most of the
speaking, and frequently the scene of a classroom during a
communicative exercise is active, with students leaving their
seats to complete a task.

8. NATURAL APPROACH/THE LANGUAGE ACQUISTION

APPROACH
This approach is called ‘Language Acquisition Theory’
because its proponents claim that their approach states how a
language is acquired and that this approach is based on the
research findings about language acquisition phenomena.

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What is Natural Approach
The Natural Approach may be stated as, “acquiring a
foreign language in a purely natural environment”. The natural
environment means where no conscious effort for “learning” a
language is made. The language is ‘picked up’ in a sub-
conscious way during the process of communication. The sub-
conscious way of acquiring a second language by the adults and
by the children who have already acquired LI (their first
language; the mother tongue) is similar to acquiring their
mother tongue which was not learnt by learning the rules of the
language. The linguistic ability is developed by degrees, by
communicating in the mother tongue. An important distinction is
made between ‘acquiring’ a language and ‘learning’ a language.
The traditional approaches employ the learning techniques in
teaching a second language but the natural approach advocates
the ‘acquisition’ of second language.

Language Acquisition
While acquiring their mother tongue’ the children are not
conscious that they are acquiring a language. They are only
aware that they are communicating. Their linguistic ability is
being developed through communication in a natural way. It is a
sub–conscious process. The linguistic competence and fluency
are the results of language acquisition. The acquirer is not
aware of the rules of grammar. He can produce correct
language without knowing the rules of the language. He has a
“feel” for correctness. When he bears an error, he doesn’t know
exactly which rule has been violated but somehow he knows and
feels that an error has been committed.

The key point in the natural approach may be stated as:

In order to acquire the ability to

communicate in another language one must
use that language in real communicative
situations

157
 Language Learning

Language learning is ‘knowing about’ a language. it is

having a ‘formal knowledge’ of the rules of language. Learning a
language is a conscious process. It refers to ‘explicit’ knowledge
of rules; being aware of the rules and being able to talk about
them. This kind of knowledge is quite different from language
acquisition which can be termed as sub–conscious and implicit.

The Difference Between Language Acquisition and

Language Learning may be Summarized as Follows:

Acquisition Learning

1. It is similar to child’s 1. Formal knowledge of

acquisition of first language, language.
and is automatic.
2. It is a subconscious process. 2. Conscious effort is made
to learn a language.
3. It is ‘picking up’ a language 3. ‘Knowing about’ a
language
4. Implicit knowledge of the 4. Explicit knowledge of the
language language
The exponents of the natural approach have stated the
basic hypotheses of their theory. Their first hypothesis is the
‘acquisition–learning hypothesis’ which we have stated above in
a very simplified form as a key idea of this approach. Now we
shall state the remaining of the hypothesis. A hypothesis may
be said to an ‘intelligent guess’ about a phenomena. The
hypotheses of the natural approach, which the authors of this
theory claim to be supported by the research findings, may be
understood as key concepts of this approach.

158
 The Input Hypotheses

This hypothesis is of crucial importance. It states that we

acquire language through listening and reading that is
understandable and meaningful. The language we listen to or
we read is termed as ‘input’. The emphasis is on the
understandable. Language acquisition takes place through
understandable input.
Listening comprehension and reading with understanding
are of primary importance in language acquisition programme.
The ability to speak (or to write) fluently will emerge on its own
in due course of time.

Speaking fluency is not taught directly. It emerges after

the acquirer has built competence through comprehending
input.
The input hypothesis states that in order to make
progress in the target language, the acquirer need to
understand the input language that also includes structures
which are the part of the next stage.
But how to do this? How can they understand language
that uses structures which have not been acquired? The answer
is:
Restricting their talk to ‘here and now’ and to what is in
the child’s domain at the moment. Good teachers do this by
adding visual aids and by using extra–linguistic context.
Summing up this point we can say:

– The input hypothesis claims that we use meanings to help

acquire the language.

– The teacher should make sure that the acquirers understand

what is being said or what is being said or what they are
reading.

159
 The Concept of Care Taker Speech

Teacher, parents and of the adult members of the family

talking to the children simplify their speech. This ‘simplification’
of language which is aimed at communication, is termed as
caretaker speech. Children acquiring second language, if they
get simplified input are assumed to acquire faster than those
who do not.
Caretaker speech has the following interesting properties:
1. The caretaker uses simplified language with the desire
to be understood. He modifies his language to
communicate and not with an aim to teach.

2. The caretaker speech is simple in structures than the

language which the adults use with each other. It
tends to get more turned to the linguistic level of the
child. Caretakers speech tends to get more complex as
the child grows in linguistic maturity.
3. Caretaker speech is about here and now.

As very young children have no idea of time and

space, adults do not talk to them about events which
are taking place in spatial or chronological distance.
Caretaker speech is about here and now. As the
children grow in linguistic competence the input
becomes more displaced in time and space.
Caretakers “teach” language by altering their speech to
children’s level so that they would be understood. In other
words they are providing input that is understandable.
Simplified–speech or the ‘Caretaker speech’ should be
made available to adult foreign language learners as it has the
same effect on them as it does on the children acquiring their
first language.

160
 Main Point of the Input Hypothesis

1. Relates to acquisition, not learning.

2. We acquire language by understanding it.

3. We can acquire language which is a little beyond

our current level of competence with the help of
context.

4. Spoken fluency emerges gradually and it is not

taught directly.
5. When the caretakers talk to acquirers so that they
understand the message, the input contains the
grammatical structures which the acquirer is ready
to acquire.
Stating very briefly the natural approach to second
language acquisition occurs in only one way by understanding
messages. We acquire language when we obtain
comprehensible input. This means that acquisition is primarily
based on what we hear and understand, not what we say.

ACTIVITIES

1. Think of some real communicative situations in the

classroom. Practise very simple dialogues with a class of
beginners and see the results in terms of language acquisition.
Do your results verify the claims of the Language Acquisition
Theory?
Example: Ask a student to shut the door/to open the window/ to
bring some article to you’ etc. Practise a simple dialogue.

What is your name? Saeed/I am Saeed/My name is Saeed.

Ali, is Saeed your brother? No he isn’t. He is my friend. Saeed, is

Ali your friend? Yes/Yes, he is/Yes, Ali is my friend.

161
Note:

The communication situations should not be artificially

created, they should be real situations and dialogues should be
made accordingly.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS-VII

Q.1 Language learning is:

A. Knowing about the rules of a language
B. Picking up a language in natural way.

C. Similar to child’s acquisition of mother tongue

2. Language acquisition

A. A subconscious process
B. Learning a language in a natural environment

C. To develop linguistic competence.

3. The major aim of natural approach is:
A. Mastery of spoken language
B. To develop communication competence

C. Emphasis on the function of language.

4. The input hypothesis states that:
A. Our formal knowledge of a second language is
responsible for fluency.
B. Learning has only monitor function.

C. Children acquire a language through listening which

they understand:
5. The caretaker uses simplified language because:
A. He wants to teach the listener.

162
 B. He wants his language to be tuned to the linguistic
level of the child.
C. He wants to be understood.

TRUE FALSE QUESTION

Q.2 Circle T or F which you think is correct in the following:

1. The basic idea in the national approach is

that children acquire language through
communication. T F

2. The language acquisition approach

maintains that language acquisition is an
explicit process. T F

3. In order to acquire the ability to

communicate in a second language one
must use that language in real
communicative situations. T F

4. The hypothesis of natural order states that

all acquirers acquire the grammatical
structures in the same order.

5. The production of utterances in a foreign

language is the result of acquisition system. T F

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 9. Answer to Self Assessment Questions

Self Assessment Questions — I

(a) i) T ii) T iii) T

(b) i) D ii) D iii) B

Self Assessment Questions — II

Q1. i) T ii) T iii) T
iv) T v) T
Q2. i) a ii) b iii) c

Self Assessment Questions — III

Q1. i) T ii) T iii) T iv) T
Q2. i) d ii) d iii) a

Self Assessment Questions — IV

Q1. i) T ii) T iii) T
iv) T v) T

Self Assessment Questions — V

Q1. i) T ii) F iii) T
iv) T v) T
Q2. i) b ii) a, c iii) d iv) c

Self Assessment Questions — VI

Q1. i) B ii) B, C iii) A, C
Q2. i) T ii) F iii) T

Self Assessment Questions — VI

Q1. i) A ii) A iii) B
iv) C v) C
Q2. i) T ii) F iii) T
iv) F v) T

164
 10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brumfit, C.J., and Roberts, J.T., (1983). An Introduction to

Language Teaching, Bastford Academic and Educational Ltd.,
London,:

Vroguhton, G, et al (1980.) Teaching English as a Foreign

Language Houtage and Kegan Paul, London:

Billows, F,L.,: (1967) The Techniques of language Teaching,

Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd. London:

Crystal, D.(1977) Linguistics: A pelican original.

Fench, F.G. (1963) Teaching English as an International

Language, Oxford University Press. London:

Frisly, A.W. (1970) Teaching English: Longman Group Ltd.

London:

Howatt, A.P.R., (1970) A History of English Language

Teaching; Oxford University Press: London:

Lee, W.R., (1970) E.L. TL. Selection No.2: Oxford University

Press, London:

Mackey. W.F., (1969) Language Teaching Analysis:

Longmans,

Palmar, H.E., (1974) The Principles of Languages Study:

O.U.P.

Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. D: (1983) The Natural Approach:

Language Acquisition in the Classroom. Perpamon Press,
Oxford.

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Unit – 4

FOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS

AN OVERVIEW

Written By:
Miss Farzana Ursani

Reviewed By:
Mr. Ajmal Malik
168
 INTRODUCTION
This unit is obviously for the teachers of English. Our
English teachers are not speakers of English, and though their
level of English is adequate to teach, they should also be in
touch with the modern teaching methods.

In this unit, an attempt has been made to share ideas

and views about language learning and teaching.

In this unit, you will find a basic introduction of the four

language skill i.e listening, speaking, reading and writing. The
teachers will be asked to make some extra efforts to teach
student these skills and help them to actually learn them and
gain some proficiency in the English language. It is not
suggested that teachers should discard all their own teaching
methods if they bring some good to the students. They should
keep on practicing them, but it is always good to keep on adding
new techniques. It is in this unit that you will find information as
to how one can improve the old teaching techniques, and with a
little imagination and hardwork a teacher can work wonders
with an old prescribed English textbook.
All the four language learning skills are inter-related and
can never be taught in isolation. The proficiency in the English
language can only be attained if all these four skills are
integrated and taught with equal emphasis.

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 OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit the students will be able to:

 Assess the importance of the four language skills in

learning a foreign language.
 Distinguish between the four language learning skills
i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing.
 Describe how our existing English textbooks can be
effectively exploited.

 Exploit existing learning material with new teaching

methods.

 Know about the three common stages; controlled,

guided and free practice and their usefulness in
learning each language skill.
 Realize the fact that speaking and listening skills are
equally important in learning a new language.
 Distinguish between intensive and extensive reading.

170
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Understanding the four language skills 173

2. Speaking and writing as productive skill 177

3. Training in listening 179

4. Speaking 186
5. Reading 194
6. Writing 200

7. Bibliography 207

171
172
 1. Understanding the Four Language Skills

In recent years, teaching of English has undergone many

changes. Since years our students are forced to study English
literature in their schools and colleges. This is time when serious
consideration should be given to the Teaching of English as a
foreign/second language.
There is a noticeable change all over the world in the field
of teaching languages. What we need today is a practical
command in English language, so as to be able to function,
perform or communicate in a foreign language environment.
With this expansion in language needs, a change in the nature
of courses have come across. These modern language courses
are now written and designed keeping in view the needs of the
variety of learners. These courses are more closely related to
the need of the learners all over the world. Our students need to
be proficient in English language so that they may be able to
pursue their higher education and academic and professional
careers. The most common LET terms we come across today in
respect of language teaching and learning are:-
a) Functional English (FE)

b) English for Specific Purpose (ESP)

c) Teaching of English as a Foreign language (TEFL)

d) Teaching of English to Students of Other Languages

(TESOL)

What is the Functional English

The functional English means teaching English through

those situations which are commonly used in day-to-day life. It
fulfills the purposes for which people learn to speak or write. It
provides the learners guidelines to communicate accurately the
kind of English they need is practical or Functional. In other

173
words, the functional English equips the learners to perform
common tasks, such as:
 Greeting people

 Asking advice or information

 Expressing surpise, happiness, grief

 Anger or disappointment

 Agreeing or dis-agreeing, etc.

Why do we need to learn the functional English?

Who needs to learn the functional English?

As a grown up adult, one is expected to use the mother

tongue effectively in one’s educational or professional life. But
he finds himself handicapped in expressing his ideas and
feelings when he suddenly finds himself plunged into a foreign
environment and this frustrates him. He realises his
incompetence in communicating. It is now a matter of urgency
for him to learn enough English so that he could at least
communicate his basic views. It is here that the “Functional
English” comes to rescue him. This functional English provides
him knowledge and skills he needs to solve his communication
problems.

In English Language Teaching (ELT) methodology, it is

therefore necessary to teach the four integrated language skills
of speaking–listening–reading–and writing in order to gain
certain level of proficiency.

Students want to learn a language to use it, they do not

want to learn about the language. Learning a language means
acquiring a skill, or rather several skills.

174
 These skills may be mentioned as follows:

i) The skill of expressing oneself fluently and

accurately in speech. (Speaking)

ii) The skill of understanding what it heard, spoken at

normal speed. (listening)
iii) The skill of expressing oneself accurately in writing.
(Writing)
iv) The skill of understanding what is read. (reading)
Each of these four skills are learned through practice. One
cannot be simply able to speak, listen, read and write by
learning rules. All these processes need practice.

Productive and Receptive Skills

According to H.G. Widdowson, we use listening and

speaking in ORAL COMMUNICATION and reading and writing in
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION. The sender of a message uses the
spoken or written form in order to communicate his ideas. The
receiver of the message utilizes the listening or reading skills in
order to interpret the message. We can, therefore, group these
four skills in two large groups:

i) Speaking Are Active

ii) Writing Productive — Skills

iii) Listening Are Passive

iv) Reading Receptive — Skills

175
 The former two productive skills require:

1. The correct use of vocabulary items, i.e. the right

word in the right place.

2. The ability to recall words spontaneously.

3. Grammatical accuracy.
4. Fluency in producing correct rhythm, stress and
intonation.

The correct spelling and sequenced sentences

The latter two receptive skills require:-

1. The ability to recognize vocabulary items.

2. Acquaintance with the main grammatical patterns.

3. Skills of assimilating rapidly what is said or read.

Widdowson believes that these four integrated skills can

never exist in isolation, i.e. in order to achieve a considerable
“COMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE” or spoken or written fluency, all
four skills should be given an equal consideration. At the same
time, Widdowson says that while conversing normally, the
speaker does not conscious of the language rules but is only
concerned that whatever is said or spoken is understood by the
listener.
Let us understand more clearly as why speaking and
writing are called the active or productive skills, and why
listening and reading are known to be the passive or receptive
skills.

176
2. Speaking & Writing as Active/Productive Skills
Speaking, as we all know, is “an act of communication
performed in a face to face interaction. It is not an isolated
activity but is more of a reciprocal activity. “When we are
talking or speaking or saying, we do not only use our vocal
organs, it also involves our gestures, facial expressions and
body movements. At the same time, a lot of visuals are also
associated with this act of speaking.” Speaking is productive
skill because a speaker needs a listener.
Writhing, as a physical activity, is productive in the same
way. As in speaking the sounds are perceived by the ear,
similarly in writing the movements of the arm and fingers
produce letters which are perceived by the eye. Writing is not
simply producing letters randomly, but a productive writing is
that which manifests the correct graphological and grammatical
system of the language. While writing a writer is not just
producing English sentences, but is consciously arranging them
in a sequence to create a discourse. In writing too you need a
reader as in speaking you need a listener. A writer is persuading
his reader that whatever he is writing has a purpose which is
worthwhile.

Listening & Reading as Passive/Receptive Skills

When we say that we understand a piece of spoken
language, we mean that we are recognising the phonological
and grammatical system of the language. We understand the
meaning of the sentences as well as their significance in the
spoken discourse or interaction. Every word or sentence spoken,
has a communicative function to perform. Listening, therefore,
is the receptive counterpart of speaking because it is the activity
of recognizing signals conveyed through speaking.
Speaking is the ability to recognize sentences and their
meaning. We can also say that it is an ability to recognize how
these sentences function to form a coherent discourse. In
reading, it is essential that a reader is quick enough to grasp the

177
written message, in other words he should be a good decoder.
Reading requires the mastery of the mechanics of reading.
These mechanics are:
1. Letter/sound correspondence.
2. Spelling/sound correspondence.
3. Spelling/meaning correspondence.
In this way reading is more of a receptive skill.
The most idealistic goal in learning a new language is
acquiring an adequate proficiency.
The highest level of proficiency in the speaking–skills is
when one acquires a native speakers ability to process
meaningful sounds.
The highest level of proficiency in writing skill is the
ability to express and communicate in the written form of the
language.
Realistically, for a foreign language learners it is a difficult
task to achieve the native speakers proficiency in all these four
skills. As an evidence, we have our own teaching system. Over
emphasis on the learning and teaching of linguistic rules inhibit
the development in linguistic skill ability. The question,
therefore, arise is: How we should teach these skills, and – how
to help the learners to understand the usage as well as the use
of the language.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTION
Do you think, we should teach our students functional
English. If so, what they would need instead of studying literacy
works. Give your own ideas.

178
 TRAINING IN LISTENING
Let us understand each skill separately. All these years it
has been assumed that listening competence will come naturally
while learning a foreign language. Teachers have only given
importance to the teaching of reading, writing and little on
speaking, but have ignored that training of listening. All those
students going to western countries for higher education or
exchange tours and those holiday makers or travellers visiting
foreign countries suffer a shock when they find out that though
they speak English reasonably well, cannot understand the
native accent in normal conversation. Students face difficulties
in following lectures, understanding seminars or participating in
group discussion. As we will all agree that our teachers teach us
English or speak in English in an unnaturally slow pace and
style, making every effort to pronounce each and every word as
clearly as possible. This is not the kind of English we hear when
we interact in an English language environment. Native English
speakers do not speak with a slow speed, give unnecessary
pauses and stresses. Their way of speaking is natural and is
more of a colloquial or informal style.
Some years back there was a tradition of being stylish
while speaking on radio or giving lectures. These days the style
is more ordinary, conversational and informal. Teachers giving
lectures or new-readers reading news on radio/T.V. have
adopted this new informal style of speaking. Most of our
students have difficulty following this rapid flow of speech.
Listening, they say is an internal process, and one doesn't
know what occurs in a listener’s mind when he is listening to
something. But one thing is certain that the listener is actively
engaged all the time in constructing the message of the
speaker. When we listen to something, our first reaction is
whether we are hearing an organised sound (language, music)
or simply random sounds. It is here, that we can differentiate
between HEARING and LISTENING. Hearing is simply the

179
recognition of sounds, whether they are organised and
meaningful or disorganised. We hear all sorts of noise around us
without paying a conscious attention. But listening is giving
conscious giving attention to whatever is being said.

Once we understand the sounds, we impose some kind of

structure on those sounds and arrange them into words and
sentences. And then we select what is useful and important for
us and store that particular message in our memories.
Our students can become good listeners when they have
knowledge of phonology or sound system of the language. Also,
the knowledge of the topic or word between the speaker and the
listener. We do not expect our students to understand a topic or
some situation which is completely foreign or new to them.
While we are writing, we are conscious that it should be clear
and precise, because we are addressing an absent reader. But
while speaking, we tend to become repetitious. At times it is an
advantage for that learner who has missed out something for
the first time; he may have a second opportunity. A listener
should cope with these repetitions and also other things such as
speaker’s pauses, unfinished utterances, tones, etc...A good
listening exercise should incorporate these aspects of spoken
language, otherwise the task will appear artificial. One other
thing which is important in a listening task is to give
environmental clues. A typical example of this is announcements
at public places, such as airports, railway stations, etc. This
trains a listener to pick out the relevant message. Ideally
speaking, we should expose our learners from informal
conversational English to the more formal varieties used during
lectures, public speaking and broadcasts.

When we are listening to something in our own language

or in a foreign language, we do it because:
* We want to find out some information about a person or
an event.

180
* We listen to something for our own pleasure or interest.

* We listen to serious lectures, seminars or discussions or

important texts read aloud, in order to understand it.

The following exercises are meant for teachers, which

they can keep in mind teaching their students listening
comprehension. Teachers are advised to take out passages and
dialogues or poems from the prescribed textbooks and devise
listening exercises on them. Here once again a teacher’s
imagination and dedication is required.

When you travel by train or by air in a foreign country

you hear the announcements, repeating the same information
you already know. Now if one doesn’t understand the spoken
language and have difficulty in following the native flow of
speech, it will be a great hindrance. So it is better to give
students listening practice in hearing various announcements.
Play the audio tape for the students and see how far they can
understand this airport announcement.

Activities

(i) May I have your attention please. The 2.30 plane to

Karachi PK-175 will now depart at 4.45. Passengers are
requested to stay in the lounge. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Now that you have listened to the announcements, look at the
sentences below and complete the blanks:
may I have your ___________ The ________plane to
_________ will depart at _____. ________ are requested
to stay in the ______________ for the ______________

(ii) Let us practice listening to a dislogue:

Ali: Hello, Karim!
Karim: Oh Hello, Ali!
Ali: I’m going to see the film “Silsila” why don’t you
come along?
Karim: Sorry! I am not feeling well.

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Ali: Oh, really! What’s wrong?
Karim: Indigestion.
Ali: Well, rest now. I’ll give you a ring tomorrow.
Karim: Fine, see you then. Bye...Bye.

Now that you have listened to the dialogue, tick the right
answers.
1. (a) Ali is going to see the film.
(b) Karim is going to see the film.
2. (a) Ali is not feeling well.
(b) Karim is not feeling well.

3. (a) Ali will ring Bell.

(b) Karim will ring him.
4. (a) He has got indigestion.
(b) He has got insomnia.
One of a very useful and practical listening exercises can
be to listen to the news. We listen to the news on the radio or
T.V. because we have an interest to know what is going online
the country and around the world.
Let us listen to this piece of news:

“Australia handed England their third consecutive defeat

in the one day world series competition. Mike Gatting, the
English captain won the toss, and decided to bat. Australian
captain Allan Border scored 6l runs with the partnership of Geoff
Marsh.”
Now that you have listened to this piece of news (once or
twice) on your tape recorder, can you tick the correct answer?

1. (a) It’s a sport news.

(b) It’s an economics news
2. (a) Allan Border is the England team’s captain.
(b) Allan Border is the Australian captain.
3. (a) Mike Gatting scored 61 runs.

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 (b) Allan Border scored 61 runs.

4. (a) Australia won the match.

(b) England won the match.

5. (a) It was a test match.

(b) It was a one-day match.
Teachers should devise listening exercises from the
prescribed English textbook. Record a poem, play once or twice
and give students a handout or the same poem with words
erased, ask student to make use of the memory and insert the
correct words. This will encourage them to listen attentively to
the recorded poem. One should always introduce these study
skills from beginners level and then proceed on to more serious
tasks. Our English students need a slow and gradual climb, so
before we start tackling longer, serious and more difficult texts,
we should give our students listening practice in lighter topics.
This sort of listening comprehension practice will help the
students to understand lectures (rendered in English) better and
also improve their note-taking skill.
As teachers, we should always explain reasons for
listening, so that a student can form an idea about the task he
is going to do and moreover he will know what he is expected to
do. While teaching lower classes, listening and dictation
exercises will help improve student’s spellings. Another kind of
exercise is listening and blank filling which will help students to
gain speed and accuracy. They are made to listen to the
recorded text and at the same time keep on filling the missing
word on a similar written text.

Few general principles in teaching listening

comprehension are:
1. Listening comprehension (LC) lessons must .have
definite goals, carefully stated. These goals should fit
into the overall curriculum, and both teacher and
students should be clear about their objectives.

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 2. Listening comprehension lessons should be
constructed carefully through step by step planning.
The student should know exactly what the task is and
he is given directions as to “what to listen for, where
to listen, when to listen, and how to listen.”
3. LC lesson’s structure should demand active student
participation. Most active student participation
involves a written response to the listening material,
and that immediate feedback on performance helps
keep interest and motivation at high levels.

4. It is advisable to give the students the writing

assignment before they listen to the material. (It
serves the same function as the “before” question in
the reading class).
5. Listening comprehension lessons should stress
conscious memory work. One of the goals of listening
is to strengthen the student’s immediate recall in
order to increase their memory spans. “Listening is
receiving, receiving requires thinking, and thinking
requires memory: there is no way to separate
listening, thinking, remembering.”
6. Listening comprehension lessons should “teach and
not test”. By this it means that the purpose of
checking the students answers should be viewed only
as feedback, as a way of letting the students find out
how they did and how they are progressing. There
should be no pass/fail attitude associated with the
correction of the exercises.
Presentation of the listening exercises should be in the
following way:
1. Selection of the teaching point.
2. Focussing of students attention.

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 3. Listening and completion of the task.

4. Feedback.
Listening material can be of various kinds; it can be
dialogues, narrations, description, discussions, announcements,
etc. If the teachers make some extra efforts and arrange the
class timings more suitable, they can practise listening skill by
choosing from the same English textbooks.

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION

1. Do you think that teaching of listening skill is greatly

neglected in our English teaching system.? What improvements
do you suggest for the inclusion of the listening skill in our
English syllabus?

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 4. Speaking
A person learning a foreign language needs speaking for
the communicative purpose. To acquire a language, we need to
master all the four skills. It is observed by researchers that the
most important skill which a learner requires is the oral skill or
the speaking skill. In our teaching situation, English teaching is
more textbook oriented. An English teacher faces a lot of
constraints of syllabus completion, the size of the classroom,
number of students, and the hours available for teaching,
therefore it is not easy to devote all the time to practise
speaking skill. Those who are interested to supplement the
textbook material with certain new teaching techniques, cannot
make innovations due to all these constraints.

A learner needs oral skill or speaking skill in order to

perform social functions. Oral communication is a two way
process between the speaker and the listener. The speaker has
to “Encode” the message while the listener has to “Decode” the
message. The main goal in teaching the productive skill of
speaking is oral fluency.
According to Don Byrne, “it is the ability to express
oneself intelligibly, reasonably, accurately and without
hesitation". To attain this goal, a foreign language learner has to
start from merely imitating the models from the teacher and
steadily becoming competent enough to express in the language
he is learning.
Learning to talk in foreign language is often considered as
the most difficult aspect of language learning. A teacher faces a
hard task to help the students with their speech problems.
Speaking skill is taught in many different ways. Teachers either
stick to the conventional methods of teaching or invent their
own individual styles.

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 The most widely practiced stages of teaching speaking as
well as other skills of reading, writing and listening are:
1 2 3 4

OBJECTIVES PRESENTATION PRACTICE TRANSFER

1. Objectives–means telling students explicitly what

they are going to learn and what is the optimum
level of understanding they have to reach.
2. Presentation–means how a teacher is going to
present a new language item, structure or rule. He
hopes to make his presentation through:

Pictures

Translation–role play – dialogues

Discussions – songs & games etc.

The most common and useful presentation while

teaching speaking is considered to be through a
dialogue. Presenting a key structure in this
framework will actually mean placing the language
can be effectively done through a dialogue.
3. Practice: Having presented new structure or rule, the
Teacher must now go on to practise it. Practice
needs a lot of drilling.
John Hay–craft believes that, “much more time
should be spent on practice than on presentation. In
this practice stage a teacher gives controlled and
guided practice, providing students with a lot of
clues/hints.

4. Transfer stage is where the teacher relaxes the

control altogether and leaves students free. Students
are actually tested to give free expression.

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 These four stages, objectives–presentation–practice
and transfer are the teacher’s tools. In fact these are
the stages of a teacher’s most mediocre lesson plan.
We have to see now that how much opportunity a
student gets to practise these language items.
Practice can take many different forms. In the
practice stage, teacher can give a choral (chorus)
repetition of the structure or give the following most
commonly practised exercises:

i) Controlled practice

ii) Guided practice

iii) Free practice.

These three kinds of exercises ensure the steadies
growth of students ability to learn a language.
Let us now understand more clearly as
 What these controlled, guided and free exercises
are?

 How do they help learners?

 What actually is taught under them and how?

Controlled Practice
This is the stage where learners are given intensive
practice in the new structure. Their production of the new
language item is very carefully controlled, so that the form and
usage of that particular item is fully grasped by the learners.
See the following example of a controlled exercise, and
you will notice the use of mechanical drilling. The teacher wants
to teach WH questions to high school level students. It is
advisable that the teacher should tell the objectives of the
exercises so that the students should know about what they are

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expected to learn. The teacher should state the objectives by
saying; with this exercise you should be able to:
Practise: WH questions like what, where, when, why.

Understand: their use, as when and where to use them.

After telling the objectives, the teacher should give a

presentation. Suppose she/he presents WH questions through a
dialogue. The dialogue presentation would be as follows:
Miss Zarina: I want to see Mr. Rehman, please.
Receptionist: What’s your name?

Ms. Zarina: Miss Zarina Qureshi.

Receptionist: Where do you come from, Miss?

Ms. Zarina: I’m from the news bureau.

Receptionist: What do you do?

Ms. Zarina: I am a newspaper reporter.

Receptionist: One moment please.
Write on the blackboard the WH questions from the dialogue:
(a) What’s your name?

(b) Where do you come from?

(c) What do you do?
Select one kind of WH questions at one time. Give students
controlled practice in form of a chain drill.
This will be as under. Teacher to student 1: I am Farzana,
– What's your name?
Student l: I am Aziz. (To student 2) What's your name?
Student 2: I am Haider. (To student3) What's your name?
Student 3: I am Javed. (To student4) What's your name?

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 Student 4: I am Mahmood. (To student 5) What's your
name?
Student 5: I am ………………………….

And so this sort of repetition is called a chain drill, where

you must have noticed that they are just imitating the model
sentence given by the teacher and therefore the chance of
making errors is reduced. Similarly practise two other WH
questions.
Where do you come from?

What do you do?

Let me give you another example of controlled exercise.

This is also in form of a chain drill:
Teacher to student 1: I am from Karachi, Where do you come
from?
Student 1 : I am from Pindi, (to student 2) where do you come
from?
Student 2: 1 am from Quetta, (to student 3) where do you?

Student 3: …………………………………….

Guided Practice

Making the use of same presentation, the same WH

structure, we can move on towards giving to the students
Guided Exercises. The teacher should at this stage slightly
release the control and guide students to ask and answer
questions themselves using the clues or hints given by the
teacher.

In Guided Practice students have some opportunity for

personal expression. After the controlled practice, they have
built up enough confidence to use the structures without too
much hesitation. Here the drilling should be less mechanical and

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more meaningful. The teacher displays five or more than five
flash cards.
The cards will somewhat look like this?

Rosi
Pakistan
Karachi
Nurse
Jinnah Hospital

Card No. 1

Rupa
Indian
Bombay
Actress

Card No.2
Now show to the students one card.

Tell them - Suppose I am Rosi -ask me questions.

Student 1: What is your name'?

Teacher: My name is Rosi.

Student 2: Where do you come from'?
Teacher: I come from Karachi.

Student3: What do you do?

Teacher: I am a Nurse.
Student 4: Where do you work?
Teacher: I work at the Jinnah Hospital.

Free Practice: Now it’s time to let students manage for

themselves. In free practice the involvement from the teacher is

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very less. She does not intervene much, does not correct errors
but let the students free to express and say whatever they
want. Remember that the teacher gives them the structures on
which they are working or practising. As in controlled or guided
practice, the drill work offers a very little choice. In free practice
students are free to give a variety of responses. We can
therefore say that free practice is more “personalised. A good
example of free practice can be to provide maps, travel guides
or hotel guides to the students. The students will ask each other
questions like:

Where does river Indus flow?

What is on the north side of Peshawar?

What is the most interesting historical sight of Lahore?
Where can I eat the famous chappli kabab etc… etc… etc.
Another kind of free exercise can be to work in pairs of
two students. Ask one student to interview another in front of
the whole class. This sort of activity will appear like this:-

Student 1: What’s your name? ,

Student 2: I am Faheem Ahmed.

Student 1: What do you do?

Student 2: I am a T.V. technician.

Student 1: Where do you come from?

Student 2: I come from Peshawar.

At this stage the teacher writes down few other WH
question on the black board and guides the students to use
those also.

For example:

Where do you live in Peshawar?

What do you do in the evening?

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 You will notice that students are taking interest in
knowing about each other as well as in practising these
structures. One other thing, you as a teacher will notice that
with such a prolonged controlled and guided practice in these
two WH structures, the students are now able to fluently use the
WH questions and can even make their own. Encourage the
students to make as many WH questions (starting with where
and what) as possible and ask for responses. In this activity you
should involve the entire class. Students should go on asking
each other questions in a way similar to chain drill. This kind of
activity will appear like this:

1. Where are you sitting now?

2. I'm sitting in the class room.
3. What are you doing now?
4. I’m listening to you.
5. What will you do in the afternoon?
6. I will eat my lunch,

7. Where will you eat your lunch?

8. I will eat my lunch at my home.

As we are already aware of the fact that learning a

foreign language in a class room is an artificial situation,
nevertheless if a teacher tries to make the examples and
exercises real and close to life, students will achieve a
considerable success in learning a language. Controlled and
guided oral work is necessary at early stages, when it is
necessary and of utmost importance that the students grasp the
pattern or structure, pronunciation and usage thoroughly. Their
errors need to be corrected, they need encouragement and
guidance and then they are finally on their way to give free
expressions.

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 Self–Assessment Question

What are the four common stages of teaching language

skills. Describe their usefulness in learning a new language.

5. Reading
When the writers write, they begin writing with some
purpose (s), therefore they choose and use their words,
sentences and paragraphs to fulfill the purpose (s). Similarly,
the readers goal is, to understand and absorb. But in the second
language learning most learners cannot be made effective
readers unless they are trained. To do this, teachers need a
programme which can deal with methodology, opportunities for
practice, and appropriate facilities to help the learners to acquire
better reading techniques. Most reading material is written to
achieve one or more purposes. The main purposes in a writer’s
mind are:
1. To present information

2. To interpret information
3. To interpret human experience

4. To move the emotions

5. To stir the senses
6. To provide entertainment

Understanding a written text means extracting the

required information from it as efficiently as possible. For
example, we apply different reading strategies when looking at
a notice board searching for some specific information, and
when carefully reading an article of special interest in a scientific
journal.
In the first case a reader will quickly reject the irrelevant
information and find what interests him. In the second case he

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has to read in detail and cannot afford to skim the article, or to
be more simple cannot skip paragraphs or pages.
In our every day life, we come across many types of
reading material:

 Novels, short stories, other literary texts like diaries,

biographies, etc.

 Plays, poems, letters, telegrams, notes, etc.

 Articles, editorials, classified ads, weather forecasts,
radio/T. V. programme, etc...

 Summaries, accounts, reports, reviews, business

correspondence.

 Handbooks, guide books, recipes, catalogues, travel

brochures, puzzles, problems, etc...

 Instructions, directions, notices, rules and regulations,

posters, signs, menus, price lists, tickets, etc.
 Comic strips, cartoons, legends, maps, diagrams
 Time tables, directions, dictionaries etc.

We read all these things

(a) for pleasure, and

(b) for information.

Some of us read just casually even while reading serious
journals or reports, and some of us read seriously even while
reading classified ads or cartoons. These sorts of reading
activities can be broadly divided into following two categories:
(a) The Intensive reading
(b) The Extensive reading.

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 Extensive reading: Reading longer texts, usually for one's
own pleasure. This reading needs fluency. It is a sort of an
outside reading.

Intensive reading: Reading shorter texts to extract

specific information. This kind of reading needs accuracy for
detail.

Reading is an active skill which involves guessing,

predicting, checking or asking oneself questions. It would be
better if the teacher links the reading skill with the other three
skills of writing, listening and speaking.

Reading and writing can be linked together when

summarising, note taking or replying to letters, etc……
Reading and listening can be practised together when
comparing recorded and written news-bulletins, using recorded
information to solve a written problem, etc……
Reading and speaking can be practised by discussions,
debates, etc……

Some people think that reading cannot be taught but only

learnt, but all of us will agree that the teacher’s job is to tell
students many different ways to attacking a text. A notable
linguist Brum fit states his ideas that there are two approaches
of reading:

Reading for accuracy (intensive)

Reading for fluency (extensive)
Both these approaches obviously need different classroom
procedures. Intensive reading needs close guidance of teacher.
The aim of intensive reading is to arrive at a profound and
detailed understanding of the text.
The extensive reading is mostly done out of class. The
class time is too short to achieve fluency, one has to read a
great deal which can be only done in the spare time. People

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read in different ways using different strategies and skills. But,
when a reader is a foreign language learner then he needs slow,
careful and laborious reading strategies in order to extract the
maximum information from it. .

Therefore, let us once again revise what intensive and

extensive reading are:

Intensive reading: This kind of reading aims at reading

shorter texts, which needs accuracy for detail.
Extensive reading: This kind of reading emphasises less on
gaining accuracy and more on gaining fluency, since extensive
reading is usually done outside the classroom, and for the
reader's own pleasure, an extensive reader is at liberty to
pick up a book of his own interest

read the book at his own pace, whenever he feels and

gain as much exposure as he wants in a language.
Whenever you pick up a book on “Teaching Reading Skills”, you
will come across such terms:

Skimming
Scanning

Predicting

Anticipation
Silent reading

Reading in chunks
Guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words
All these techniques train you in acquiring fluency in
reading as well as accuracy in reading. Let us see what these
terms explain.

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SKIMMING: It means reading a text quickly in order to get the
gist of the text. The reader is just concerned with the main idea
and leaves the other minor or supporting details. Skimming is a
useful reading technique especially in extensive reading. It is
useful when a reader does not have much time to go through
the whole text in detail. So, skimming enables us to read just
the relevant parts in a book which might interest us.
SCANNING: It means reading a text quickly in order to look for
specific piece of information. This reading skill is very useful in
our daily life when we are looking for a telephone number in a
telephone directory or searching for the meaning of some
unfamiliar word in a dictionary. Therefore, instead of going
through the whole directory or dictionary we just settle for the
specific areas where we can find that particular information.

PREVIEWING: This gives us the first impression about a book.

We can have fair idea about the book by looking at
the title

the blurb or back titles,

reviews,

the foreword or preface,

the contents page, and
the index.

PREDICTNG: This is a kind of guessing game. The reader is

utilising his previous knowledge of language and subject, and is
looking forward to reading what he predicts will be in the book.
ANTICIPATION: Anticipation in reading means guessing about
the text in a global level or at an overall level. Anticipation
means the reader is constantly anticipating what the next line or
page would bring. The difference between the anticipation and
prediction is that anticipation is global at the entire book level,
while prediction is local or at a sentence level.

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SILENT READING: As we know that reading is a cognitive
activity. The imagination of a reader is all the time playing an
active role where he is thinking, rethinking, giving pauses,
referring back, sometimes even skipping certain lines or pages.
Silent reading is a readers private activity and unlike reading
aloud when the reader is deprived of this privilege.

READING IN CHUNKS: Williams says that "the reader is not

simply a passive object, fed with letters, words and sentences,
but is actively working on the text and is able to arrive at
understanding without looking at every word...” This reading
technique once again enables us to avoid unnecessary concern
about individual letter or word which can slow down our reading
speed, instead, we look for the general idea or message of the
book or the writer. Giving too much importance on individual
word and its meaning, a reader is likely to miss the overall
message or meaning of the text.
GUESSING THE MEANING OF UNFAMILIAR WORDS: As
mentioned in reading in chunks, a competent reader is the one
who does not stop over a particular word and look up for
meaning in the dictionary but is able to guess the meaning of
that unfamiliar word with the help of the context.. Suppose your
task is to teach a novel to your B.A students. You can actually
start a discussion on the author of the book and the book itself,
so that your students will form an idea about the book and of
course their interest is also aroused.

Give your students an opportunity to give their

suggestions. You can ask “preview questions” like:
What is the text about?
Who is it for?
Who’s the writer?
When was it written?
Other books by same author.

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 Your students will probably guess the answers by looking
at the layout of the book, the front and the back cover, a look at
the contents or the preface etc… After this preliminary
discussion, you can teach one or two chapters at a time. Ask
your students to come prepared by reading it. Let them discuss
their findings in the next period about:

The setting
The year–season
Characters

Any other thing which they find interesting.

Encourage your students to write down all they are

learning through discussions and criticism. So at the end every
single student will have a complete work on that particular novel
and while preparing for they can refer to their class notes. So,
you must have realised that we are actually practising
predicting, skinmming and scanning teachiniques.

Self Assessment Question:

Do you think it is useful for your students to spend some
time on “extensive reading?” Do you think it helps students to
gain fluency? Give your ideas.

6. Writing
As you are already told, writing is a productive/active skill
like speaking. Why, because you need a reader to decode the
message which you as a writer are encoding through writing. In
writing, a writer is translating his or her thoughts into language.
Since there is no direct contact or interaction between the
reader and the writer, a writer has to be very explicit in his
ideas and expressions. Writer has only words to play with and
by arranging and linking together these words and sentences
writer is able to communicate successfully with readers. Besides

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words, a writer makes use of other graphological devices, such
as punctuation, capitalisation, underlining, etc.. etc... All these
writing devices play a role to get the written message across the
reader. While speaking, a speaker faces a listener and therefore
he not only uses words but through expressions and gestures he
is communicating with his listener. But in writing, there is only a
paper and a pen which a writer has in his control and so he has
to ensure that whatever he’s writing is understood without any
further help. We all will agree that writing is an individual
activity or a solitary activity and the writer undergoes a lot of
mental exercise in revising and rewriting the sentences, until he
is sure that his absent reader is getting the right message.
Incomplete or ungrammatical sentences are not tolerated in
writing. Since we learn English as a foreign language, our
students need to be treated with patience and a teacher should
guide the learners from the very beginning in developing writing
skills. We can help the students by telling them all the minor as
well as major mechanics of writing.
When we write anything, whether it is a personal or
business letter, an application, an examination paper, a report,
a shopping list-anything, we need a different strategy, a
different method to write. To write clearly is a difficult thing
because most of us just never stop to think or ponder, but
continue with writing as the ideas pour into our heads. This,
sometimes leads to inconsistency, disorder and ambiguity and
the readers are unable to follow what is written. Of course, I do
not mean here that your students should be trained as
“professional” writers or novelists, but it is very necessary that a
good student should be properly guided and taught to write
effectively.
The most important thing, therefore, is that before we
start to write we should organise our ideas and order our
thoughts. Once having decided on what to say, say it neatly,
clarly, simply, coherently and consistently. Neatness is

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particularly important when one is writing a job application of
filling a form. Neatness is also of importance in writing
examination papers. Because neatness will make a better
impression on a perspective employer or on examiner. Clarity is
also very important. Try to write short sentences, without too
many subordinate clauses. Long sentences will appear heavy
and too tricky, so avoid this by cutting long sentences into short
by using punctuation. To give you an example we will see this
example:

“China is exporting increased quantities of non-traditional

goods like engineering products, machinery, components
equipment, electronic goods etc…for which There is a growing
demand-among the non-aligned countries, and which China
offers not only at a competitive price, but on comparatively
easier financial terms and with facilitates of after sales service.”
It would be better to say:
“China is exporting increased quantities of non-traditional
goods like engineering products, machinery, components,
equipment, electronic goods, etc.. There is a growing demand
for such goods among the non-aligned countries”.
You must have noticed that one long sentence has been
cut into three and made simple and clearer. Simple writing is
much easier to read and to understand. It is better to avoid long
words. Long words interrupt the flow of thought and common
readers will face difficulty to understand them, until they refer
to dictionary very often. Different words can very easily be
substituted with easy words, which will not alter the meaning of
the sentence. Examples of difficult words are:
Abbreviated/short

Necessitate/need
Multifaceted/many sided

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 One can excuse professional writers, because they know
that they are doing, but teaching students to use jargons
frequently will be a mistake. Jargons are technical words and
are of mixed language origin. Punctuation is very important.
Without it words would follow each other in an endless stream
and the meaning would be lost. Punctuation makes the meaning
clear. An average student surely knows the use of a full stop,
comma, semicolon, colon, question mark, exclamation mark,
inverted commas, brackets, hyphen, dash etc…etc… What is
noticeable is that in our English periods, teachers do not treat
the problem of punctuations separately, i.e. no adequate time
and teaching is given on the teaching of punctuation. This is a
very important writing device which needs lot of work and
practice. Our learners should be taught that their writings
should have coherency and consistency.
Coherence means a writing which makes sense, is easy to
follow and understand. A coherent writing is one where words
and sentences are placed in a correct place and are in a right
order. A coherent piece of writing is devoid of any ambiguity or
obscurity, that which does not create any sort of understanding
in the minds of the readers.
How can we help our learners to write simple, creative
expression? First of all, we should give our learners an
opportunity to look at the various written formats. This wide
exposure to various models will provide them with an insight to
many different and appropriate writing models and will also give
them a taste of variety. Too much exposure to any particular
format, for example dialogue or narrative prose, will hinder their
learning any other form. At the same time our learners should
be made to realise that each and every written piece of work
has a definite communicative purpose and is addressed to a
specific reader.

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 Donn Byrnn in his book “Teaching writing skills” says that
a foreign language learner will learn a new language more easily
if all the activities whether they are related to speaking,
reading, listening or writing are more realistic and are based on
a realistic context or situation. He means to say that we as
teachers should provide our students a contextual or real-life
frame work. This will make writing tasks more purposeful. It is
advisable that to provoke interest among the students, we
should give them activities which should integrate all the four
skills. One of the most useful activity of this sort is giving an
advertisement for a job to a student. Of course, a student will
read it, which involves reading, talk about it or discuss in
pairs/groups which involves speaking or listening, and then
decide to apply for it, which involves writing.

Thus the writing activities given to the student should not

lack reality. Tasks to write letters and notes are much more
relevant to learner’s needs. Ask them to write formal letters or
reports, but once again give them a life-like situation in which
they can feel at ease. Slowly and gradually we can motivate our
learners towards creative writing, such as writing imaginative
stories. Motivate them to provide an end to the story or write
description about any particular person or a landscape or any
other thing.

The most common drawbacks in our students writings are

incorrect punctuations or complete absence of punctuation as
well as incorrect use of linking devices, such as co-ordinators,
conjunctions, sequence or time markers etc… etc… We should
devise such kinds of exercises which will familiarise the students
with these cohesive devices, sentence linking and sequencing
devices. Select few common conjunctions or coordinators at one
time and give them activities of combining sentences with these
devices. For example:

It was raining, Rahim went out as usual, (but)

204
 Many other activities of such kind, practising all the
cohesive devices will force a student to think about the
meaningfull relationship between the sentences and clauses.

Given students short texts or letters with these cohesive

devices erased and ask them to provide the correct device.
A good and effective writing programme should:

(a) reinforce the language learnt orally,

(b) include a large variety of resources of the written
language, such as linking and rhetorical devices,
and

(c) gradually give independence to a learner from a

much controlled practice towards writing free
expressions.

Whenever we as teachers ask our students to write, we

should allow them freedom to write about their own ideas,
experiences and interests. Very often, our students just write
believing that they should write what the teacher wants.
Teachers should encourage their students to be imaginative and
make them believe that each one is an interesting person with
interesting experiences, thoughts & ideas that are important and
worthwhile to share. Another thing the teacher should explain to
their students is that they should not think that when a writing
assignment is given to them, all the ideas they need just, jump
magically in their minds. Sometimes, they do have few ideas
but it is possible to be blank and have nothing to say. To boost
up their capabilities and stimulate their minds, a teacher should
do some ‘pre-writing’ activities with them. If, for instance you
give them a topic “Advantages of College Life”, ask the class
some questions like:

Why did they join college?

What interests them most in college?

205
 How did they feel on their first day?
When was their first day?
What are the good and bad points?
So on and so forth.
Eliciting answers from the entire class will provide them
enough material, which each student will go back to while
writing, and improve upon them.
Another useful pre-writing activity is listening the main
ideas. For example:
More freedom in college.
More work in college.
More fun in college…………
Then, if the teacher has enough time, he can take one
main idea and then ask students to give ideas to support it. For
example:
More freedom in college.
To select courses.
To bunk classes.
To make future plans etc………
Once students are engaged in a free writing activity, tell
them not to worry about the grammar, punctuations, spellings,
organization etc... Try not to stop and do not decide if their
ideas are good or not. Just put the ideas as they come into the
minds. The teacher can help them later on to decide which ideas
include, where to begin or end the paragraph etc... The
language experts have given a name to activities as
“Brainstorming” activities, that means a student is forced to
think and write as naturally as the ideas are pouring into their
minds.

206
 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Christina, & Mary (1976) Teaching English as a Second Language,

Techniques and Procedures: Little Brown and Company,

Peter (1980) Teaching English as an International Language:

Pergamon Press,

____________ (1977) New Orientations, in the Teaching of

English: OUP.

Widdowson Teaching Language as Communication.

Bright J.A. & Mcgregor G.P. (1970) Teaching English as a

Second Language: Longman,.

Gerry & Peter (Eds) (1981) The Teaching of English as an

International Language: A practical guide: Collins,.

Fraida & Elite (1977) Facilitating Language Learning: A guide

book for the ESL EFL Teacher: Mcgraw-Hill.

Wilgaa M. & Mary, S. (1981) A Practical Guide to the Teaching of

English; the British Council,.

British Council. (1981) Focus on the Teacher: ELT documents;

the British Council,.

Hill L.A. & Dobbyn M. (1979) A Teacher Training Course.

Lecturers book: Cassell,.

207
LISTENING

Brown, G, (1977) Listening to Spoken English: Longman.

Scarbrough, D. (1984) Reasons for Listening: Cambridge

University Press,.

Penny (1984) Teaching Listening Comprehension: Cambridge

University Press,.

SPEAKING

Johnson & Morrow, K. Communication in the Classroom

Craft B. H. The Teaching of Pronunciation

Dakin J. The Language Laboratory and Language Learning.

Byrne Dr. Teaching Oral English

Brown W.& Yule G. Teaching the Spoken Language: An

Approach Based on the Analysis of Conversational English.

Habbard, J, Thornton, W. A training Course for TEFL. Oxford

University Press.

208
READING

Grellet F. (1981) Developing Reading Skills. A Practical Guide to

Reading Comprehension Exercises: Cambridge University Press.

Mann, M. K. (1981) The Forgotten Third Skill: Reading a Foreign

Language: Pergamon Press.

Nuttal C. (1982) Teaching Reading Skills in a foreign Language:

Heinemann Educational Books.

Oxford University Press. Reading and Thinking in English: OUP

(1980.)

WRITING

Thornton, G. (1986) Teaching Writing: Development of Written

Language Skills: Edward Arnold.

Raimes, A. (1983) Techniques in Teaching Writing: OUP.

Byrne, D. (1979) Teaching Writing Skills, Longman.

Lawrence, M. S. (1972) Writing as a Thinking Process:

University of Michigan Press,.

209
Unit – 5

TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING
ENGLISH

Written By:
Dr. Zulkaif Ahmed

Reviewed By:
Mr. Ajmal Malik
212
 INTRODUCTION
Teaching of English occupies an important place in the
curriculum of our schools and colleges. Our contact with this
language, through a historical revolution, is more than a century
old. Throughout Pakistan, English is taught and learnt as a
second language as well as a compulsory subject from class one
to B.A. level in all schools and colleges. However, it is a
compulsory subject from class one onward in English medium
schools. Its international, diplomatic and academic place is
conspicuous and goes without saying. You have already studied
in detail the importance of teaching English in Unit One. In this
Unit we shall study and discuss some of the useful techniques,
and methods of teaching English.

In teaching any 1anguage, it is very important for both

the teacher and the taught what they hope and intend to
achieve. In teaching a foreign language, it is well known that
there are four general aims: to teach reading comprehension, to
teach speaking, to teach writing and to teach listening with
comprehension. Teaching grammar, pronunciation, and
vocabulary remain ingredients in each. It should always be the
teacher's general concern to get the pupils language abilities
into action. To teach effectively and achieve the objectives in
maximum, the first and foremost concern of the teacher should
be to select and adopt the most suitable method. Some very
useful principles of language teaching are discusses in this unit.

213
 OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit intensively, you are expected to be

able to:

 Understand and use the various principles of teaching

English as a second language.
 Comprehend and make use of various techniques of
teaching English.
 Make your teaching more effective.
 Involve the students more effectively in teaching learning
situation.

 Know and appreciate the techniques of prograrnmed

learning and language laboratory.
 Appreciate and enjoy the teaching of English.

214
 CONTENTS
Page No

1. General principles of Teaching English as

a Second Language 217
2. General Techniques of Teaching English 222

3. Specific techniques of Teaching English 225

4. Classroom Dynamics 239
5. Bibliography 244

215
216
 1. General Principles of Teaching English as a
Second Language
The most immediate problem for the language teacher is
to determine the methods and techniques useful in the
classroom. The choice of the specific teaching techniques
depends on the nature of the language, preparation and
experience of the teacher and background and environment of
the learners. Some general principles of teaching English as a
foreign language are discusses in the following pages.
The teaching of English as a foreign language involves
some crucial activities like imitation of the forms of the foreign
language as uttered by the teacher, spoken and written, drills
and tests which will evaluate and determine the progress of the
students in acquiring the new idioms of English. The objectives
of the teacher, at the early stage, are to encourage the students
to reproduce the sounds and forms of English both spoken and
written in the way they are guided to. The teaching techniques
involve language drill, discussion of the relationship between
forms and constructions in the foreign language with those of
the native language and the presentation of models of spoken
and written English which are to be imitated, repeated, learned,
memorised or followed by the students in their efforts to acquire
knowledge.

Lado has enumerated 17 principles of teaching a foreign

language. The summary is as follows: (13:50-55)
1. Speech before writing: Teach listening and speaking
first, reading and writing next.

2. Basic sentence: Have the students memorised basic

conversational sentences as accurately as possible.
3. Pattern as habits: Establish the patterns as habits
through pattern practice. (Only words, sentences

217
 and rules of grammar; do not constitute knowing the
language.)
4. Sound system for use: Teach the sound system
structurally for use by demonstration, imitation,
props, contrasts and practice.
5. Vocabulary control: Keep the vocabulary load
minimum while the students are mastering the
sound system and the grammatical patterns.
6. Teaching the problem: Problems are those units and
patterns that show structural differences between
the first language and the second.

7. Writing as representation of speech: Teach reading

and writing as manipulation of graphic
representation language units and patterns that the
students already know.
8. Graded patterns: Teach the patterns in cumulatively
graded steps:

a. Begin with sentences, not words, and order the

sequence of materials on the basis of sentence
pattern.
b. Introduce the sub-sentence, such as parts of
speech, structure words and modification
structures, in connection with full sentence
patterns.
c. Add each new element or pattern to previous
ones.

d. Adapt the learning difficulty to the capacity of the

students.
e. Keep to a minimum the patterns that are
introduced in the dialogues before they appear in
graded steps.

218
9. Language practice and translation: Translation is not
a substitute for language practice.
10. Authentic language standards: Teach the language
as it is, not as it ought to be.

11. Practice: The student must be engaged in practice

most of the learning time.

12. Shaping the responses: When a response is not in

the repertory of the student, shape it through partial
experience and props.

13. Speed and style: Practice should end in linguistically

acceptable and psychologically full experience.

14. lmmediate reinforcement: Let the student know

immediately when his response has been successful.

15. Attitude towards target Culture: Except in case of

enmity or war, impart an attitude of identification
with or sympathetic understanding of the people who
seek and learn the second language, rather than
merely a utilitarian attitude towards the language or
a disinterested or negative attitude towards the
people or the language.
16. Content: Teach the meaning of the content of the
second language as it has developed in the culture
where the language is spoken natively.
17. Learning the crucial outcome: Teach primarily to
produce learning rather than to please or entertain.
Lado believes that while these principles remain
constant in all language teaching, specific conditions
and variables must be considered when
programming any teaching. According to him, the
chief conditions and variables that must be
considered are related to the; (1) student (2) the

219
 materials and equipment (3) the teacher and (4) the
setting.
The teachers of foreign languages must be concerned
primarily with building, in their students, an automatic control
over the several sub-systems of the foreign language. This
automatic control of the language without pre-mediation which
is another way of saying that as teachers we seek to develop in
our students a new set of linguistic habits which can be
summoned at will in addition to the entire set of linguistic habits
belonging to the native language. Learning the language is
fundamentally an acquisition of skill and habit so that the
process of utterances in the language becomes automatic.
It is further stressed that the basic methodology for
teaching a foreign language is founded ultimately upon a few
fundamental but immensely significant principles connecting the
nature of the language itself and the language learning process.
Another expert, Anderson, has also pointed out some
principles governing the natural learning of a foreign language.
He believes that these are essential for effective teaching
language situation. These are as follows: (1: 49-54)
1. The eye plays an important part in learning a foreign
language. The student’s eyes are glued on the teacher
as he speaks the new language. The teacher plays an
important role before the eyes of the learners. In
seeing the models, associating sound with objects, and
in observing visual aids, eye is a good gate of
knowledge and a good teacher makes full use of it.

2. The second principle of governing the learning of the

language is the creation of what may be called the
climate of sound. The best way to create the new
climate for a teacher is to speak himself the foreign
language.

220
 3. The third principle according is to translate as much as
possible, the new language into action. Love of action
is universal with the learners.

According to R.A. Close, teachers and students of English

should adhere to the following basic principles: (6:22-25)
1. Both teacher and students should observe what is said
and written by speakers and writers of authentic and
acceptable English.
2. They should forget oversimplified rules of thumb as
soon as these have served their early practical
purpose.

3. They should seek the essential factors beneath the

incidental ones.

4. The teachers should resist the temptation of explaining

in the abstract too early.
5. The teachers should present their students with typical
and vivid examples.

6. If the learner suggests some way, teacher must

accommodate it.

221
2. General Techniques of Teaching English

Some general techniques are summarised as below:

1 Use the students and yourself (your clothing, the
things you carry) to teach appropriate vocabulary
before using pictures or other materials.
2 Start with known environment of the students.

3 Use dialogue wherever possible and keep building on

the same dialogue situation where possible.
4 Plan as many different oral practice activities for
each lesson as can be done briskly and with
reasonable accuracy.

5 Vary the type of student-participation for the

different parts of your lesson. Use chain drills, but
break the chain after five or six students. First call
on students in order, then at random and then
anyone who can.
6 Give model sentences or expressions for two or three
times then ask the students to have a drill.
7 Call an able students before the weaker ones.

8 Use students native language judiciously to ensure

comprehension.
9 Encourage the students to prepare relevant material.

10 Simplify and adapt stories which you can tell your

students.
11 Create a cultural island in your class-room. Do it by
having pictures, maps, bulletin boards, proverbs and
labels in English.

12 Utilise the community resources and bring the people

in the community into your programme. It provides
stimulation and creates interest in the students.

222
 13 Utilise the incidental happenings in the school or the
immediate community to teach or review items.
14 Give your students the feeling and the assurance
that English is an international vehicle of
communication and its learning is useful for them.
15 Provide opportunities for students to act as listeners
as well as speakers.
16 Use authentic language at normal speed.
17 Spur your students to greater effort.

18 Summarise what has been done at various times

during the lesson. Make sure through questions,
charts, diagrams and as a last resort through
translation, that students understand what they are
repeating.
19 Teach, don't test. It does not mean not to give tests
and examinations, but testing is to help teaching.
20 Tailor your course to your students. Their interests,
their environment, their abilities should be kept
constantly in mind as you plan the content and
activities of your lesson.
In this section, some basic principles and teaching
techniques of English as a second language have been
discussed. Before going ahead, let us recall back and catch hold
of some important points.

223
 Self Assessment Questions

1. Enumerate some basic principles of teaching English

as a second language.

2. What is the nature of learning a language.

3. What should be the main objective of the teacher of

English on the preliminary stages.

4. Which general techniques of teaching should be

adopted by a teacher of English.
5. What kind of atmosphere is needed to teach English
as a foreign language.

ACTIVITIES
1. Observe the attitude of a child who is trying to
imitate the human sounds and write down your
observations.
2. Interview an experienced teacher of English and ask
him what techniques does he use to make his
teaching effective.

224
 3. Specific Techniques of Teaching English

Some specific techniques are discussed in the following

pages. The discussion includes programmed instruction,
language laboratory, asking question, dramatization, dialogue
and modular approach.

Programmed Learning
Under the influence of behaviorist psychology, the idea of
programmed instruction has been steadily gaining ground. In
developed countries especially, a number of institutions have
conducted complete language courses using programmed
material allowing students to proceed at their own speed. It is
presumed that at least certain programmed courses permit the
lower aptitude students to overcome their handicaps. The
techniques of preparing programmes is highly scientific and
sophisticated. The programmed instruction helps the learner to
find out by himself where he has gone wrong and then tells how
he should pick up the thread.
The programmed learning is a learning by means of
material that breaks the task into minimal steps, requiring an
active response for each step and providing an immediate check
on the correctness of the responses. The teaching machines are
the part and parcel of this instruction. These machines are
mechanical devices that present the frames of a learning
programme one at a time, require response and then show the
correct answer. There are varieties of teaching machines
ranging from simple boxes to computer-based devices.

It is pointed out that the appearance of programmed

materials for foreign languages show the application of
principles of immediate reinforcement and a breaking of the
subject into graduated steps. The material for study is divided
into tiny steps. The learner begins at the easiest step and
moves through progressively more difficult materials.

225
 There are two major criticisms that are directed to this
programming. One is the limitation of the theory which cannot
tell us very much about what is going on in the pupils mind and
the other is that the programmes do not allow different pupils to
work through programmes in different ways according to the
difficulty they experience. It is usually said that programmes for
language are not as successful as in other areas of curriculum.
The perfect synchronisation of sound track and teaching
machine which would permit the student to work at his own
speed, has not yet been devised. In spite of its shortcomings,
this method of teaching has its merits. It can successfully be
used partly in teaching vocabulary, structure and pattern
practice of language.

Language Laboratory
The language laboratory is one of the new and very
effective, but at the same time are expensive methods of
teaching any language. The knowledge of its principles and
basic philosophy may be helpful in the improvement and
development of other methods of language teaching.
The language laboratory is an effective way of learning in
terms of the repetition and over learning of the behaviour
patterns that are to become habitual. The essential components
of a laboratory are these: tape recorders, ear phones,
microphone and the positions at which the students are to listen
to a master voice, to repeat what they hear and at times to
record their responses for review and correction. The language
laboratory, in all its technical variety, is an attempt to harness a
term of tape-recorders for class use. The term is loosely used to
cover a wide range of installations the simplest of which is the
extension of a single tape recorder by means of a junction-box
with which a number of stethoscope-heads are connected.
Hilton categorises the teaching materials into the tape recorders
and other machines and mentions four of them (12:26-36):

226
 1. Listening material in the tape recorder.

2. Audio-visual aids in the laboratory.

3. Audio-lingual exercises with the help of mechanical
devices.

Audio–Textual Work

Lado defines language laboratory as a special room for

practice with sound equipment (13: 174-175). The tape
recorder used does not constitute a laboratory but what
constitute a laboratory is a special room with necessary
equipment set aside for practice by the students. It can provide
good models of speech of the target language for imitation and
manipulation by the students.
Oliva dilates upon this topic and mentions five basic types
of language laboratories from the simplest to the most complex
types: (14: 183-200)
1. Listening room in which the tape recorders play for
groups of students. The students listen and respond as
a group.

2. The listening laboratories. This type of installation

consists of individual student booths. At each booth
there is a head phone.

3. An Audio active laboratory. It is sometimes called the

listen-respond laboratory. It is divided into individual
booths. At each booth, there is a set of head phones, a
microphone and an amplifier plus the volume control
and the channel selector.

4. The listen-respond record laboratory. It adds another

dimension. It permits students to make recording of
their responses.

227
 5. The Deluxe Laboratory. It has all the features of
listen-respond-record laboratory plus facilities for
visual aids as well.

The language laboratory method is highly effective, but it

is expensive; moreover it does not replace the teacher. The
teacher is all the more important in it. In Pakistan, it is not still
in vogue. Some very good institutions have, however installed
the language laboratories and made a very good use of the
same.

Questioning and Answering

Asking questions is a very useful technique to involve the

students in teaching learning process. This keeps the students
active in the process and the pace of comprehension increases.
You can write on the board, the comprehension questions
for the students to find answers, while they read the text book
or hear it read. This helps them to concentrate on finding an
answer rather than centering their attention on vocabulary of
structure. As a result, their rate of reading increases. This
technique also discourages the word-by-word or translation
approach that many students have been trained to use. You
may sometimes wish to ask the comprehension questions after,
instead of before, the students read the textbook. The gifted
teacher will skillfully interweave both approaches. In addition to
asking specific comprehension questions, you may wish to ask
the students to close their books and tell you what the
paragraph they have just read is about. Comprehension
questions may be ranked from easy to difficult as follows:
1. Questions answerable by Yes or No, True or False.
Example: Did Rubi eat a banana? (Yes, she did, or No,
she didn't.)

228
 2. Information questions (Who, What, Where, When,
How, How much, How many, How long) answerable by
directly quoting from the passage.

3. Why or How questions requiring the student to pull

together several ideas from the passage.
4. Inference questions. These require the student to
understand what the test implies. Example: How do
you think the parents of the bride felt?
5. Questions that require the student to make a value
judgment or form an opinion. Example: Do you think
she should have scolded him?

Choose the type of question to fit the level of both your

class and the individual student. For example, if the level of the
class is low but you have a few exceptional students, don't ask
the quicker ones a question with an easy yes or no answer.
Make sure the students understand the questions you ask
them; they may have particular difficulty with the first and
second words. To help them with this problem, you may, after
asking the question, ask them which question they have heard.

After you are sure that the students understand the

question, have them answer it.
Note: Initial question words Is, Was, and Does are often
confused; Wh-questions are more easily understood. Other
questions (Did he go home, or did he go to the store?) often
baffle the students. You may, to begin with, simplify the
questions as follows--Did he go home or did he go to the store?
To give the students a more difficult task, you may ask
them to make up a question beginning with a particular question
word:

The boy ate banana-ice cream.

Teacher: Make a question beginning with What kind.

229
Student: What kind of ice cream did the boy eat?
This exercise gives the student practice in the use of past
tense did and present tense eat. This is a challenging task for
the student because it makes him think. All too often the
teacher does the thinking for the students.
Because forming questions is a particularly difficult task
for the students, the following procedure is recommended: First,
read the passage and check comprehension, use the question
patterns already illustrated. Secondly, go over the passage
phrase by phrase, and ask the students to make up questions,
using the same questions that you previously asked them.

If a student has difficulty in formulating a question, you

may want to use this forward build-up-method:
The girl ate a banana.
Who ate banana?
What was eaten?
You may also make a diagram of the question on the
board using arrows, deletion marks, etc. to show how it was
constructed from the original sentence.

Another technique is to write a sentence on the board and

have the students create as many questions as they can, think
of, using the question words you give them. (Don't forget tag
questions: He ate a mango, didn't he? and either… or questions:
(Did he go home or to the mosque?) When the students have
had practice with these responses, the final step is to release
control and have them try to make up any questions they want.
The teacher may call on students to answer these questions; or
the student making up a question may call on someone to
answer it; or the student form pairs and ask each other
questions. Sometimes you may wish not to require answers at
all.

230
 You will find that this technique dramatically improves
comprehension. The various techniques of asking
comprehension questions require the students to think carefully
about what the author or speaker is saying. It entails writing a
series of questions on the board and asking the students to
select the questions what may be answered.

Drama and Dialogue

Using drama as teaching device is creative activity and it
fulfils the normal function of all creative activity; it provides a
medium through which the individual can express his ideas has
reactions to the impressions he receives and by expressing
them, learn to evaluate them. By this process, vague
impressions are brought into sharp focus, puzzling impressions
are understood, fragmentary ones are completed and alarming
ones are faced so that fear is overcome. This use of the creative
arts makes us examine what we are thinking and feeling.
Imaginative observation is stimulated and our understanding of
ourselves and the world around us is extended and deepened.

So, because it is one of the creative arts, drama in

teaching begins, not with somebody’s text, but with the student
self-expression through the acting of his own experiences.
Dramatisation is a valuable device in teaching language patterns
and in increasing fluency. Many points of language structure and
grammar can be made clear and become an experience of the
child which he might never forget. For example, ask Aslam to
give the book to Naz. Put the sentence on the board Aslam gave
the book to Naz. Then ask “who gave the book”? Who received
the book? What Naz received? etc.

Now, when we use the expression in relation to a direct

object, “the receiver of the action,” it means much more than an
empty group of words that some students have merely
parroted.

231
 A similar technique can be utilised in teaching indirect
objects. Example: Riaz gave the pen. Has Riaz given a pen to
Naz or any other student? Restructuring it, using the other
words it can become a reinforcement that has real meaning.

Another use of dramatisation is having students take the

parts of different characters in a story, with students assigned
to read what the characters say and another student reading the
narrative parts.
Since modern language teaching employs a serious of
dialogues as the core of the program, why not make maximum
use of these in the classroom, especially when there is a lack in
oral fluency which stifles many students from making real
progress in the language arts. The main purpose is to allow
enough practice in English language patterns using the
vocabulary needed so as to increase the verbal and listening
fluency as well as reading comprehension.
The first using dialogue as teaching technique is very
useful in teaching foreign languages. The teacher uses a “Stop”
position of the hands, somewhat like a traffic policeman, when
the group is to listen during the aural stimulus. When he wished
the class to respond orally, a “come on” gesture is used. Very
little practice will produce excellent results. When “this
technique” is used to build speech accuracy, it becomes a “solid”
experience.
When a new student appears in the class, the use of a
dialogue brings very good results. Each member of the class
introduces himself to the new student, allowing him to introduce
himself last. This way he is accepted and feels a part of the
group at the same time he is learning the way for introducing
himself properly. Sometimes the first student in each group will
be asked to introduce the next student in his group or row.
Appointing a student to act as host or hostess for the new

232
student to see that he finds his way to his next class. It is
always appreciated.
Dramatisation may be used to teach “the thing to do” in
social situations, such as greeting callers at home.
Dramatisation of social situations from a script or as role playing
gives experience appreciated by most pre-adolescents who are
struggling to establish easy social relationships in the correct
way. An example of a dramatisation of this type follows:
Yesterday Rubi answered the door-bell. It was Mrs.
Akram, a friend of family.

“Is your mother at home Rubi?” she asked.

“Yes, she is, Mother! Mrs Akram’s here.”

Her mother came hurrying in and invited Mrs. Akram to
come in. "And next, time, don’t yell, leading a guest outside the
door". Later Rubi answered the doorbell again. There stood a
man whom she had never seen before.
“Is your mother at home, young girl?” he asked, smiling.

“Yes. Come in and sit down and I'll call her.”

After the man had left, Rubi’s mother scolded her: “Don’t
ever invite a stranger to come into the house. Let him wait
outside while you get your father or me.”
“But you didn't like it when I left Mrs. Akram standing at
the door! How was l to know that to do?”
“Maybe we’d better make a clear cut rule about this,” her
mother suggested.
In order to make perfectly clear the content of this role-
playing sketch, the teacher must explain in depth what has been
acted out. This, of course, is taught after fluency has reached a
level whereby general understanding is not too difficult.

233
Modular Approach

A new strategy for arranging learning experiences in

education has been receiving much attention. This strategy,
learning-modules-has become a part of almost all programmes
at all levels “Unipacs,” and “Learning activity packages” are
among the large assortment of titles used for this strategy. No
one title has gained universal acceptance; however, “learning
module” often is considered the generic name for this strategy.
A learning module is a self-contained package dealing
with one specific matter unit. It can be used in any setting
convenient to the learners and may be completed at the
learner’s own pace. It may be used individually or in small
learning groups. It is structured so the learners can identify the
objectives he wants to achieve, select the appropriate material,
follow a learning sequence by selecting from a variety of
methods of presentation and evaluate his own accomplishments.
The learning modules provide a strategy for the teachers
and the learners to mutually share the responsibility for
learning. The teacher becomes a facilitator of learning rather
than the traditional dispenser of knowledge. He has more time
to help the learner identify educational needs and select
appropriate strategies for meeting these needs. Thus the learner
accepts responsibility for his share of the learning process.
Although learning modules will differ, each can be
expected to have similar elements. The specific learners and/or
the subject matter will dictate the elements and their sequence
in the module. All learning modules should have the following
elements.
i) A title or topic designation.

ii) A list of major concepts to be learned.

iii) The rationale for studying the module.

234
 iv) A pre-assessment activity.

v) Objectives stated in behavioral terms.

vi) Guidelines for leader/teacher preparation.

vii) A detailed learning sequence.

viii) Suggested depth or quest activities.

ix) A post-assessment activity.

The learning modules need to be subjected to critical

appraisal in the following seven areas:
(i) Objectives

(ii) Subject matter

(iii) Design characteristics

(iv) Learning activities

(v) Adaptability

(vi) Validity
(vii) Evaluation
The following questions can serve as a guide for the
appraisal of both structures and content of a learning module:

235
Objectives

The modules must have clearly stated objectives for the

learner. The learner should know precisely what he will learn by
completing the module:

1. Are Objectives stated for the learner in behavioral

terms?

2. For whom is the module developed -adults, sixth

graders, slow learners, gifted students, etc?

3. Are the objectives reasonable and attainable?

Subject Matter
The selection and arrangement of the subject matter are
critical if the learners is to achieve his objectives:

i) Is the subject matter consistent with the objectives?

ii) Is the subject matter divided into single units for the
learner?
iii) Is the subject matter organised into a logical
sequence?
iv) Is the subject matter suitable for the entry level and
competency of the identified learner?

v) Is the subject matter objectively presented and

representative of all sides of an issue?
vi) Is the source of the subject matter documented?

vii) Is the subject matter clear, concise and pertinent?

236
Design Characteristics

Although a module may take on a variety of forms, it

should have certain general design characteristics:

i) Is the module self-contained? That is, are all the

materials at hand or readily available to the leaner?
ii) Are there instructions for the leader/teacher?

iii) Is the subject matter organised in small steps?

iv) Is the material appropriate for the time specifications
indicated?

v) Are the concepts to be learned identified?

vi) Is the rationale for the learner to study the module

presented clearly?
vii) Is the over-all design appropriate for the content?

Learning Activities
The main element of the module is the learning activities
in which the learner engages:

i) Is the learner actively involved in the learning

activities?

ii) Does the learner receive immediate feed back?

iii) Are alternative modes of learning available to the
learner?

iv) Are supplemental or quest activities available or

recommended?

237
Adaptability

The module should take into account individual

differences in learners and facilitators:

i) Does the module take into account varying attitudes

and capabilities of the learners?
ii) Is the module adaptable to differences in available
time?
iii) Is the module adaptable to a variety of physical
facilities?

iv) Is the module adaptable to variation in the size of

the learning group?

v) Are differences in leader/teacher competencies

considered?

Validity
The subject matter and process used should be able to
accomplish what the module aims to do:

i) Is the subject matter accurate and based on

research data?

ii) Has the module been field tested for effectiveness as

a learning activity?

Evaluation
To be truly accountable, the module must provide a
means of evaluation:
i) Are pre-assessment and post-assessment activities
available to determine the learner’s achievement of
his objectives?
ii) Is there an opportunity for the learner to provide
feedback on the teaching/learning process?

238
 Learning modules are potentially a vital strategy for
helping learners meet their educational needs. The criteria
proposed will aid teachers to more carefully select learning
modules or to develop their own modules.

Example: Every study unit of distance learning system is

an example of learning module.

4. Classroom Dynamics

In many classrooms students are not ready to engage in

learning activities, or some or some aren’t. As teachers, we
often find ourselves trying to figure out which students to teach
to, how to get the uninvolved students more involved, and how
to get the class as a whole interested in what we want them to
do or learn.
There are some specific things we can do in classrooms to
get them to be more active, to improve their dynamics. It is
important to realise that the ingredients of classrooms are
content, activity, and interaction.

The content refers to what we want the students to know

or be able to do. The example of content are not hard to come
up with. They include everything that is the substance of
learning: the alphabet, the comparison-contrast, essay, the
answers to the reading comprehension questions etc. There are
some teachers who believe that content “teaches itself,” that if
the content is interesting, students who are exposed to it' will
learn it.

The next important element, in language classrooms is

activity, or what we do in the classroom to establish the
knowledge or behaviour in or for our students. There are, of
course, many kinds of classroom activities: lectures, group
discussion, questions and answers, sentence completion
exercises, small group problem solving, writing journals and so

239
on. Often we tend to think that the best way to improve our
teaching is to find new and interesting activities for the students
to do, and often it is true. The activities we choose or create for
our classrooms can have a lot to do with what and how the
students learn.
One of the reasons that classrooms work better or worse
is because of the third element of classroom behaviour or
dynamics. Dynamics refers to the way that interaction takes
place between teachers and students and between individual
students and groups of students. Many teachers are not quite
aware of what some of the basic elements of classroom
dynamics or interaction are. Even great teachers, who may
already be using some of these elements well may not know
what they are and may not be able to adjust them to fit differing
classroom needs.

Some Techniques to Improve Classroom Dynamics

As stated by Karl Kahnke, the following techniques can be

helpful in improving the classroom situation:

(a) Space
 Let the students sit at an equal distance from
each other. It gives the teacher an equal access
and helps him in communication.
 Let there be a minimum distance between the
teacher and the taught. It helps in establishing
the communication channel. Moving away or
increasing the distance breaks and widens the
communication channel.

 Some times when students are at work,

remaining behind the students decreases the
authoritative role of the teacher.

240
 (b) Eye Contact

 Establishing eye contact opens a

communication channel and helps to select the
student for a turn.

 Breaking eye contact during student turn and

seeing other sides can disturb the students
communication throughout the class.
 Scanning the class regularly can keep the
students engaged and provide important
feedback to the teacher.

(c) Voice
 Changes in voice quality can be used to
indicate different functions such as giving
directions, giving expansion examples and
supplying feedback.

INTER ACTION TECHNIQUES

a) Directing questions to specific and distributing
the turns around the room increases the level
of attentions on the part of the students and
increases the students participation.

b) Use names to direct the questions.

c) Ask other students to confirm or comment on
students response, for example:

i) Ahmad, do you agree what Anwar said?

ii) Seema, what do you think about what Jamila
said?
These kind of activities broaden classroom interaction and
increase the opportunities of individual efforts and opinions.

241
 c) If there is a variety of answers, ask the same
questions to a number of students.

SUMMARY

An efficient teacher chooses the effective technique of

teaching according to the need and situation. The best method
is that which is most helpful in achieving the goals set forth for
teaching. While selecting a technique, it should be kept in view
that language learning requires a great deal of practice. The
learning rules and hearing about language is not learning a
language. Learning a second language requires, imitating,
practicing, memorising, listening, reading, writing and speaking.
While teaching, the teachers must have favourable attitude
towards the target language and the learners should
continuously be encouraged to enhance their achievement.
Every possible effort should be made to utilise the available
indigenous resources.

In teaching foreign language, programmed instruction is a

very useful method. The students can learn according to their
own speed and immediate reinforcement is provided by
mechanical devices. It can be uses partially according to the
resources available. The language laboratory is no doubt a very
effective method, but it is an expensive and not available in
most of the schools in Pakistan.
Some modern techniques of teaching English include
questioning and answering, dramatisation and dialogue,
modular approach and students active involvement in teaching
learning situation. These techniques are at the disposal of the
teacher and the teacher is not bound to stick to only one of
them. He should carefully select one where it is most effective.
His approach may be combined and comprehensive.

242
 Self Assessment Questions

1) Why should a teacher involve the students in

teaching learning process and which technique is
most useful in this connection?

2) What are the main mechanical devices used in

language laboratory and how the same are used?

3) What is programmed learning? What are its merits?

4) How a language teacher can use the technique of
dramatisation in enhancing the pace of learning?

5) How dialogues can be arranged in the process of

teaching English? Give examples.

ACTIVITIES

(1) Visit any institution which has set up language lab.

Record your observation regarding the working of
the lab.
(2) Write a dialogue between a teacher and a learner of
English wherein the learner asks to explain the use
of “a” and “an” and the teacher explains it with
examples.

243
 5. Bibliography
Theodore A. (1953): Teaching of Foreign Language in
Elementary school. Heath Boston,.
Bilows, F.L (1961): Techniques of Language Teaching, Longman,
London.
Board of Int. & Secondary Education (1974): Research Report on
Development of English Curriculum for Secondary, Stage, Lahore.
Bright J.A. and McGregor G.P. (1974): Teaching English as a
Second Language, English Language Book Society and Longman
Group Ltd.
Nelson B. (1964): Language Learning, Harcourt Brace and World
Inc. New York.
Close, R.A. (1962): English as a Foreign Language Learning,
George Allen and Unwin Ltd,. London.
Mary F.(1967): English as a Second Language, Regent's
Publishing Co., New York.
Betty F, J, (1970): Teaching English as a Second Language, Palo
Verde Pub. Co., Tucson Arizona,.
Ministry of Education (1987): Learning Modules Writers
Workshop Report, Islamabad,.
Ministry of Education (1980): Report of National Workshop on
Modern Techniques of Teaching English, Karachi.
National Curriculum Committee (1976): English Curriculum for
Secondary Classes, Islamabad,.
Hilton, J.E (1974): Language Teaching. A Systemic Approach.
Methuen Educational Ltd, London.
Robert L,: Language Teaching, Mc-Graw Hill Book Co.
Oliva, P, F. (1969): The Teaching of Foreign Languages,
Prentice-Hall Inc. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Ahed, S, N (1975): Teaching English as a second Language, The
Carvan Book House, Lahore.
Ward, J. (1983): Techniques for Teaching Reading in English.
Teaching Forum Journal.

244
Unit – 6

TEACHING LITERATURE

Written By:
Dr. Tariq Malik

Revised By:
Mr. Ajmal Malik
246
 INTRODUCTION
It has been recognized now that students fail to develop
reading skill of the ordinary English prose intelligently unless
they are taught to do so. Reading, therefore, is not something
which is acquired simply by recognizing the letters and the
words printed or written on a given surface. It involves
sophisticated skills which in turn involve the intelligence, the
memory, the emotions and other psychological factors. These
new insights into the nature of reading process have made the
linguists to come to the conclusion that prose reading is itself a
skill which can be taught.

In the following unit, you will be given some theoretical

knowledge about the art of reading prose. This will be followed
by practical suggestions and questions meant to test your
knowledge. The theoretical knowledge will be communicated to
you in a graded manner so that you find it easy to understand
the unit as a whole.
The second part of the unit will deal with the teaching of
English pronunciation. This will be presented in simple manner,
which means that only the most important aspects of this
branch of language–studies will be introduced to you. For
further reading, you may take the help of the attached
bibliography.

247
 OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this unit are as follows:
 To enable teachers to understand the importance of
teaching (a) prose, (b) the art of reading, and (c)
basic pronunciation skills of English.
 To enable teachers to familiarize themselves with
new techniques for acquiring the above mentioned
skills.
 To provide a graded course for teachers who will be
called upon to apply their theoretical knowledge to
practical classroom situations while communication
these skills to their pupils.

248
 CONTENTS
Page No

1. Reading Prose 251

2. Techniques for Teaching Pronunciation 259

3. Notes 280

4. Bibliography 282

249
250
 1. READING PROSE

Reading Prose Priliminaum

(a) History: The most ancient literary texts are in
poetry, not in prose. However, it would be wrong to assume that
poetry was always more important than prose. Poetry was
preserved because it was sung, memorised and formed the
major entertainment of a linguistic community. Prose was used
for very important purposes, such as buying and selling, seeking
justice, making war and peace and recording events of every
day life. Poetry was recognised as literature because it was to
imaginative writing whereas prose was often practical. However,
the stories told for children and adults were also in prose and,
by the eighteenth century, imaginative literature started being
produced in prose.
(b) Complexity of prose: When prose, like poetry, was
also used as a vehicle for communicating deep and imaginative
truths, it became complex. It was not only necessary to
understand what the surface or literal meaning of the words
was, but also to understand in what deeper of metaphorical
sense the words were being used. This brings us to the major
objectives of teaching learners how to read prose.

The Objectives of Teaching Prose

Gaining Information
The main objective is to enable the learner to recognise
the letters and words he sees. This is based on the elementary
skill of literacy. The printed words are a symbol. This means
that they stand for something concrete or abstract known to
human beings. Consider the following words.

251
 CAT
This can be written in different ways: cat or CAT, but if
we have understood which letter stand for which sound, we shall
pronounce it as “Kact”. Then our mind will tell us that this sound
itself is a symbol, i.e. it stands for an animal with which we are
familiar. In other words, the main activity in reading is the
conversation of the visual (written) symbols into sound (or
phonological) symbols and ultimately into meaning. Once we
can do this, we can understand the surface or literal
(denotative) meaning of what is written. For instance, if we
knew basic English and we found the following visual symbols
before as:

THIS IS A DOG.
We could easily convert this into spoken words or
phonological symbols. Then, we would understand that we are
being given the information that the object which is being
pointed out is an animal which we call the dog. If we have
understood this, we have fulfilled the first objective of reading
purpose which is:
“To gain information through written words”

GAINING INSIGHT

The meaning of a word are not only literal or denotative,

but also metaphorical or connotative, and because we live in
societies in which dogs are associated with some negative
behaviour traits, the connotative meaning of ‘dog’ are servile,
object, lacking in self-respect and toadying.
This is the second objective of teaching prose, i.e. to give
the reader an insight into the imaginative meaning of text.

252
 BROADENING THE MIND

Literature does not only convey information, it also

conveys values. If the literary text is read with deep interest
and attention, it takes us to a world in which the values, the
standards of judging what is right and wrong , good and bad,
are quite different from that of the reader or very similar. If
they are different, he may be forced to think whether his values
are correct or not. If they are the same, he will feel that he is
right and that he should adhere to his values.

A good example of forcing the reader to examine his

understanding of life is furnished by Jonathan Swifts in his essay
entitled ‘A modest proposal’. Swift suggests that poor peoples
children should be eaten to relieve their parents of the
responsibility of bringing them up. This is what the surface text
says. But this is not the real meaning. It can be understood by
reversing what has been said. Such a text is known as an
IRONICAL one. Irony is a technique for saying something which
generally means the opposite of what it appears to mean. So
when we understand the text fully, we come to the conclusion
that swift means that poor peoples’ children are eaten away by
the rich in the sense that they do not pay enough money to
their parents to enable them to support them.

Once a pupil has started understanding such devices are

irony, metaphor and symbols, he has mastered the art of
understanding literary prose. And such prose may take him
more aware of life’s problems, may make him examine his own
attitudes and values in a fresh manner and may make him
understand people who are different from him. This is the main
purpose of reading literature-it enriches our life.

OBTAINING PLEASURE
Once the habit of intelligent reading has developed, it will
be possible to enjoy reading. Good writers pack a lot of meaning

253
in their writing. They convey meaning through the devices
named above and many others. Many readers do not read
intelligently and miss the clues provided by the writer to fully
appreciate his work. It is very important for teachers to realize
that the written text will never become a meaningful experience
for their pupils unless they start understanding all that is packed
into it. In order to make this convenient, it will be advisable to
start from easy texts. Many pupils will start enjoying reading
and some will go on to live a life in which intellectual and
emotional pleasure based on reading will form an important
part.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY–I

The teacher should give Aesop’s Fables to the class and

allow his pupils to read it silently. Then he should check
whether:
(a) The literal meaning of the words has been
understood.
(b) The literal meaning of fable has been understood.

At this stage he should point out that the fable may have
an aim, i.e. to instruct the reader into some moral idea or tell
him how to behave. Thus, he should make his pupils understand
that even very simple stories work on two levels of meaning.
i. The surface level of the story (i.e. what happened).
and

ii. The deeper level of theme (i.e. what is the writer

trying to say in a general way about life through a
particular story).
For example it may be pointed that in the story of the
“fox and the grapes”, the writer is saying that when somebody
cannot obtain something he says that it is not worth getting.
The class may be told that

254
 “THE GRAPES ARE SOUR”

It is not only a literal expression but also a metaphorical

one. To understand what it means metaphorically is to begin to
understand the symbolic aspect of prose.

READING

Reading has already been defined as giving meaning to

visible symbols.
In 1957 the “the second report of the national committee
on reading “said that any conception of reading that fails to
include reflection, critical evaluation, and the classification of
meaning is inadequate. In 1963, R. Morris called reading which
involved these factors “responsive” reading. Modern linguists
and teachers, therefore, stress the process of deductive thinking
in order to reach new conclusions. In other words, the emphasis
has shifted to using the information and insights provided for
furthering understanding of life. Reading can, therefore, be seen
as an activity which fulfills the reader’s need. If he is a driver, it
will give him information about the roads and what to do. If he
is a doctor, he will learn which medicines to give to his patients,
and if he is a scholar he will gain new information, discover
more about the world and gain pleasure from his reading. This
new approach is worth emphasizing.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY –II

The teacher may make his pupils interested in reading as

follows:

1. Ask their students why they should read.

2. Tell them in which way it will help them in practical
day-to-day living.

255
 3. Introduce them to the pleasure of a good story and tell
them that the enjoyment of this pleasure comes from
reading.

Self Assessment questions-1

1 Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE.

a) Everybody can learn how to read any kind of

prose as intelligently as anyone else. T F

b) If ‘A’ has an I.Q of 90 and B has I.Q of 120

the chances are that B will be able to read
prose more intelligently than A if other
factors are equal. T F

c) Prose can give you useful information about

a given society. T F

d) The metaphorical meaning of a word is what

it actually means. T F

e) The connotative meaning of a word is its

literal meaning. T F

UNDERSTANDING PROSE LITERATURE

The highest achievement in reading prose is probably the
comprehension of sophisticated literature. It has been
mentioned already that novels, short stories and other prose
work may have more than one level of meaning. It has also be
mentioned that the following devices may be used in prose:
i. Words may be used in a metaphorical sense.
ii. Irony may be used.
iii. Symbols may be used.
iv. The narrator may not be the same as the author.
v. The narrative may not be logical or may not be in
sequence.

256
 Item (I) and (II) have been explained in the beginning so
the remaining once will be explained here.
iii. Symbols: A symbol is something which means
more than itself. For example take the national flag. It is merely
cloth, but it stands for national life, honor and unity. Thus it is
symbol. In literature symbols are used to convey meaning. In
William Golding’s novel Lord of the files, the conch is a symbol
of civilized democratic values. Likewise in E. M. Forster’s novel A
passage to India, there are many symbols which should be
interpreted by every reader independently.

iv. The narrator is the person who tells the story.

Sometimes he is not the author but a person who is very
different from the author. For example in E. M .Forster’s story
entitled “The story of a panic”. The narrator is an English man
who is very different from forster. The narrator thinks that
children should be treated harshly and given no freedom
whereas forster believed that they should be given a lot of
freedom. Finally narrator is afraid of passion of love whereas
forster believe that love and physical passion are good. Thus
while the narrator narrates the story he expose himself. The
story criticises the English character whereas the narrator
merely finds faults with the Italian.

This example has been given because this story was

grossly misunderstood by an Italian lady who protested that
forster had made fun of the Italians. She had made the mistake
of not understanding that the story was a ironical and the
narrator did not reflect the attitude of the writer. To avoid such
mistakes the teacher must teach his pupils the difference
between the narrator and the author.

In the twentieth century, many writers have written

novels and short stories in which the events are not arranged in
an orderly sequence. Things which happen in the end are placed
in the beginning and so on. Sometimes senses are cut in half

257
and the grammar may be unusual. Such texts should not be
taught to students unless they have been given introductory
lectures on James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and other modernists.
The teacher may, however, inform his students about the
possibility of coming across such texts. The meaning of such
texts is difficult to find because it depends on non-visual
information and on what is left out rather than what is written.
After some practice, the students will be in a position to react
imaginatively to sophisticated prose.

Classroom Activity –3

(a) Give O. Henry’s short story “The Last leaf” to the

class for reading. In this story an old painter paints a
leaf outside a sick girl’s window to prevent her from
thinking that she would die when the last leaf falls.
The girl recovers but the painter dies. The class
should be asked to discuss why the story has such a
powerful impact on the reader.
(b) Read and explain E. M. Forster’s short story “The
machine stops” in the class.
In this story human beings live under the earth and every
aspect of life is controlled by a machine. In the end the machine
fails and every body dies except those few people who have
managed to escape to the surface of the earth.
The theme of the story is that over-development of
science can destroy human civilization.

Self Assessment Question-2

1. Are the following statements true or false ?
a. A symbol is the same as a metaphor. T F
b. Irony is when there is hard criticism. T F
c. when we read we require only what
can be seen to understand every thing.T F

258
 2. Techniques for Teaching Pronunciation

Introduction

The way in which the speakers of a given language create

sounds in order to communicate meaning is known as the
pronunciation of that language. It is obvious from this definition
that the way speakers stress a word (i.e. in the beginning,
middle or end) is included in pronunciation. Intonation, i.e. the
rise and fall of the voice, is also included since that too conveys
meaning.

Key Definition
Language is the production of sounds by one or more
speaker. These sounds can be roughly classified as VOWELS and
CONSONANTS. The branch of knowledge which deals with
sounds in all their functions in a language is known as
PHONOLOGY. The study of the production of sounds, the
description of these sounds and how the sounds are represented
through symbols is known as PHONETICS.

The branch of phonetics which deals with the production

of sounds is known as ARTICULATORY PHONETICS. (Articulation
means speaking).

The branch of phonetics which deals with the reception

(or listening) of the sound is known as AUDITORY PHONETICS.
(Auditory means something to do with hearing).

The sound itself is called a PHONEME. But a phoneme is a

theoretical unit of sound. For example, there is the sound of ‘s’
in English. It is found in the following words:
SCHOOL: ASK: GAS: SUCK: MISS: SUN:

We say that these words use the phoneme of the ‘s’

sound. However, we cannot speak the phoneme alone. Every
time we actually pronounce it, we either put a vowel before or

259
after it. Thus phonemes are theoretical units. Now, since ‘c’ is
also used for producing the ‘s’ sound i.e. CENT: ACCENT:
CENTURY –We need one symbol to represent this phoneme. For
the sake of convenience the symbol which is used is ‘s’ and in
order to show that we are representing units of sounds of
phonemes ‘s’ is put inside two parallel lines e.g. |S|

The phonetic symbols

As you must have noticed, English spelling does not
represents its pronunciation. Bernard Shaw, a famous
dramatist, once remarked that GHOTI could be pronounced as
FISH. This is possible if the value of the letters is taken as it is
in the following words:
ROUGH GH represents the ‘f’ sound here
WOMEN O represents the ‘I’ sound here
STATION TI represents the ‘sh’ sound here
Therefore, Ghoti can represent the pronunciation of FISH
in English. Therefore, in order to teach the pronunciation of
English, you must acquaint your pupils with the International
phonetic alphabet. This is a convenient system of symbols
where every phoneme is represented by one symbol. Thus, if we
are using the ‘s’ sounds, we shall not use ‘c’ but only one agreed
upon symbol which is ‘s’. Then, when we are representing the
pronunciation of a word, we can write down only the symbols
given in the IPA (International Phonic Alphabet) and there will
be no confusion about the pronunciation.
Here is the IPA adopted from one of A.C Gimson’s book
on the subject:

260
International Phonetic Alphabets:

VOWELS

i bean i pit ci Boy

a barn e pet ai Buy

ði By

9 born æ pat ðμ No

^ Putt

u boon b pot au Now

3 burn μ put i∂ Peer

∂ another ∑∂ Pair

μ∂ Poor

CONSONANTS

P pin
b bin
t tin
k come
g gum
ts chain
dz jane
f fine
v vine
Q think

261
J this
s seal
z zeal
S sheep
Z measure
h how
l let
r red
m my
n no
nj ring
j yes
w wet

1. Vowels: there are sounds which are produced by

the air coming from the lungs and escaping from the mouth
without being stopped by the teeth, the tongue or by any other
organ in the mouth or the nasal passage.

2. Diphthongs: these are combination of two vowels

spoken so rapidly that they represent one sound.

3. Consonants: these are produced by stopping of

friction of the air coming from the lungs with any part of the
vocal organs or the nasal passage.

How to Teach Pronunciation: The chart given before

should be displayed in the class room. There is no need to
memorise it without understanding it. The pupils should be told
how helpful this chart is in finding out the pronunciation of a
word. For instance, we want to find out the pronunciation of the
word CHAOS. Now suppose we do not know whether ‘CH’ is
pronounced as in CHINA or with a ‘K’ sound. Also, we are
unsure whether ‘a’ is pronounced as in FATHER or in FAT. Let us

262
now open dictionary of pronunciation. The dictionary gives the
pronunciation as follows:
/ k ei o s /

Now we are sure that ‘ch’ here represents the K phoneme

and the vowels are to be pronounced in the same way as they
are used in the words given in the chart.

Classroom activity–4

(i) Make the pupils note that Pakistanis tend to make

certain mistakes when they pronounce certain
sounds. For instance, in ROADS we tend to use a
single lengthened vowel sound. The sound which
English speakers take out is a diphthong. It is written
phonetically as follows:
/r ð  d/

you should pronounce ROAD, LOAD, TOAD AND

MODE with this diphthong and not a vowel. However,
this may not be easy and you should only
understand the difference without affecting to speak
like native speaker of English.
(ii) Make the students represent simple words in IPA
CAT = /k a t/

PUT = /p  t/

GOOD = /G  d/
(iii) Write down words in the International phonetic
script and ask your students to identify them:

a. |b  t| = but

b. |Tsin| = chin
c. |sc:p| = sheep

263
 How to teach pronunciation: Once the pupils have
understood how to find out the pronunciation of a given word
from a dictionary of pronunciation using the IPA, the teacher
may teach them some basic features of English pronunciation.
For basic learners only those features may be taught which are
often confused by Pakistani speakers. For instance, the following
two rules may be taught:

(a) The ‘R’ dropping rules: According to this, ‘R’ is not

pronounced except when it occurs before a vowel
sound.

Take the following words:

CAR
RAT
CART
BAR

These can be written in IPA as follows:

|Ka:|
|Raet|
|ka:t|
|Ba:|

You will notice that ‘R’ has been pronounced only

in Rat. Here it occurs before a VOWEL, so it should
be pronounced. However, it has been left out in CAR
which is pronounced /Ka:/ because here it is in the
end. It has also been left out in CART (pronounced
/Kat) because a consonant comes after it .

264
 Pakistani speakers tend to pronounce ‘R’
wherever it occurs. However, it should be pointed
out that only English man from the middle class or
those who have been educated in public schools and
universities drop ‘R’ since the pronunciation of these
educated Englishman is known as RP (received
pronunciation ) and is regarded as standard English.
It may be useful for your students to know that they
drop ‘R’.

It should also be noted that Americans and many

people in Scotland and other parts of Britain do
pronounce ‘R’ wherever it is written. Infact this rule
about dropping the ‘R’ came in to existence at about
the end of the seventeenth century. Americans
pronounce it because they follow the old rule which
educated Englishmen abandoned.
(b) The allophone of P,T,K sounds: when/p/t/ and /k/
sounds are used in the beginning of the word, they
are aspirated. This means that a little bit of air goes
out of the mouth when they are pronounced. You
can also understand it by imagining that a little bit of
‘h’ sound is added to these sounds. However, when
they are not used in the beginning of a word, this ‘h’
sound is not added. For example:
PAT KING TEN

Are pronounced /phact/ /khing/ /then/

The little ‘h’ on top of P,K and T shows that they are aspirated.

Now P,T and K when used in the beginning of the word, are
pronounced slightly differently than when they are pronounced
in other positions: they are called ALLOPHONES of each other.
If you pronounce these all allophones in the same way, your
meaning will be clear, but your pronunciation will seem foreign.

265
Since Pakistanis do not aspirate these sounds, it may be useful
to tell them that other speakers of English do. However, there is
no need to force Pakistani speakers to aspirate these sounds
artificially. If this is done they will develop a highly artificial way
of speaking.

Classroom Activity–5
(i) Pronounce:
(a) Mary
(b) Robin
(c) Carrot
(d) Boar
(e) War
(f) Bare
Point out to your pupils that ‘R’ is pronounced only in
MARY and that is because there is a vowel after it. Also
point out that it is not pronounced in BARE; here the ‘e’ is
not pronounced and so it appears that ‘R’ is in the end.
(ii) Bring a cassette of sentences spoken by a british and an
American educated speaker and point out to your pupils
how ‘R’ is dropped by the former but not by the letter.
(iii) Using the same cassette, point out how P,T and k sounds
are aspirated by both.

266
Stress

A Word Stress
First of all let us look at what we mean by word stress.

1. A syllable can carry primary stress, that is to stay strong

stress. The syllable is longer, louder and said with mote
breath effort.
2. A syllable can be unstressed. In other words it is said
very quickly, lightly and with very little breath effort.

3. A syllable can carry secondary stress. This syllable is said

with more breath effort than 2 but less than 1

Marking if you look into a good dictionary you will find

that the stress pattern of a word is marked. The primary stress
is marked with a high upright stroke, before the syllable, the
secondary stress is marked with a low upright stroke, before the
syllable.

B Sentence stress
In a normal English sentences certain words are stress
and certain words are unstressed.
Normally stressed are content words – the words that are
essential for conveying the message. These are nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs (most) and demonstratives.
Normally unstressed are the form words, the grammatical
or structure words that result in a correct grammatical utterance
even though these words are not essential to the
communication of a message.

For example – in the following sentence:

Saira has ‘ gone to the baker’s,

Saira, gone, bakers are the content words and are

therefore stressed. (The utterance as it stands communicate the

267
message and would be readily understood – compare, for
example, the language of telegrams that tends to use only
content words --- ARRIVING MONDAY. NEED CAR.)
Has, to, the, are form words not essential to the
communication of the message and so are unstressed.

Activity
Mark the stressed words in the following sentences by
placing an upright stroke before the stressed syllable.

1 I saw your brother yesterday.

2 Can I carry your suitcase?

3 Would you like a glass of milk?

4 Have you heard about usman? He’s going to New
York tomorrow. He’s flying on the concorde.
5 I must be going. My wife’s waiting for me at the
corner of the street.

C Teaching Stress
As with other aspects of pronunciation teaching, the first
stage is pure imitation, repetition of the teacher’s model in
chorus and individually. Should there be difficulty with, say,
‘Good morning’ when it is repeated in its entirety, then the
teacher can isolate the stressed syllable ---MORN ---, get that
repeated a few times and then put the phrase together again for
further repetition. So the process can be summarized as follows:
1 repeat whole phrase.

2 Isolate and repeat stressed syllable only.

3 Repeat whole phrase.

The teacher may also wish to indicate the position of the
stressed syllable in some way. It is here that he has several

268
options open, dependent on the two most valuable aids to
pronunciation teaching—the blackboard and the use of gesture.

1 Gestures

The teacher may do any of the following to indicate the

stress pattern:

(a) thump the air when saying the stressed syllable

(b) make a downward stroke of the hand – marking the
‘beat’ like a conductor

(c) punch the palm of his other hand

(d) clap his hands

(e) bang his hand against something – e.g. the desk or

the blackboard.

(Note: the danger of (c), (d), and (e), however, are that
the additional sound may distract from the sounds of
phrase. A silent gesture of some type is probably
preferable.)

2 The Blackboard

This is probably the most valuable aid for making

pronunciation points visible to the class. The teacher can exploit
the blackboard at both the initial non-text stage, when the
written form of the language has not yet been introduced, and
at the text stage. What he actually puts on the blackboard may
vary.

Non-text stage

Without writing the word or phrase, the teacher can

indicate the stress pattern by using symbols. There are several
possibilities and it does not really matter which the teacher
chooses provided that he is consistent.

269
(Taking ‘Good morning’ as an example)

(a) —  —

(b) □ □
(c) o Ο o

Text stage
(a) The above symbols (especially a and b) could be
written above or below the phrase.

(b) The stressed syllable could be underlined.

(c) The stressed syllable could be written in capital

letters (though this is probably inadvisable in the
case of learners who have a different script for the
mother tongue and who have not yet mastered the
Roman letters)

(d) The stressed syllable could be written in a different

coloured chalk.
However, once the written form has been introduced,
there is a danger that the learner on seeing two words may
separate the words when he says them, making a very slight
pause between ‘Good’ and ‘morning’. If this happens, though if
it has been presented and practised orally first this should not
occur, then the teacher can draw attention to the ‘continuity’ of

270
the phrase and show how words are linked by drawing linking
circles.

Activity

Choose one technique from Gestures and practice on your

colleagues (or if you are reading this alone at home do it in front
of a mirror) with the phrases listed below.
Then choose one blackboard technique from non-text stage and
one from text stage and practise ‘writing’ (preferably on a
blackboard or if you are at home on a piece of paper) the stress
patterns of the following phrases:

1 Good evening.
2 Good afternoon.

3 Excuse me.
4 Cheerio.
5 I’d love to.

Of course, whether using gesture and/or symbols on the

blackboard, the teacher is going to have to give the spoken
model several times. How is he going to say it? A technique of
slight exaggeration is probably advisable, as students’ imitations
always tend to fall short of the model. In the case of stress, this
would entail over-emphasizing the stressed syllable(s), but the
teacher must be careful not to pause either before or after the
stressed syllable. ‘Good morning’ must still sound like a natural
friendly greeting.

271
D. Sound Linking

‘One of the problems of English pronunciation is the way

words run into one another. Without good sound linking and
good stress, words become unmanageable chunks, and fluency
is obstructed.’
The problem is exaggerated when the two words that run
together end and begin respectively with the same constant.
E.g. ‘I’ m more than an hour late.’

Activity
Practise saying the following:

1 He isn’t tall.
2 She’s sorry.

3 We’ve varied the programme.

4 We’re running in the same race tomorrow.
5 She’s singing well.
6 Fred doesn’t like tea.

7 I’d decided before I met maria.

8 She’ll leave it to the last minute.

This can be used with students as a ‘listen and repeat’

exercise.
Students may find problems with linking /r/, pronounced
before vowels. For example of exercises to deal with this and
other linking problems, see Ann Baker, ship or sheep and Colin
Mortimer, Link-up.

272
Intonation

A Functions of intonation
Basically there are two functions of intonation:

1 It indicates grammatical meaning, in much the same way

as punctuation does in the written language. For
example:
(a) He lives in London.
A full stop in the written language indicates that this is a
statement. A falling intonation pattern indicates the same
in the spoken form.

(b) He lives in London?

A question mark in the written language indicates that
this is a question. A rising intonation pattern indicates the
same in the spoken form.
(c) Do you come from London?
Is the normal question form. There are clues to the
meaning, such as the use of do, that show this, even if
the intonation pattern is not produced correctly. BUT…

(d) You come from London?

Is a perfectly acceptable way of asking the question in the

spoken language. The clue do is no longer there. It is one
of those words that have a weak form, and here it has
become so weak that it has disappeared altogether. The
intonation pattern would be the only clue left to suggest a
statement or a question. In fact, because the intonation
pattern gives the meaning, the do is redundant. It is not
necessary, so it can be omitted
We hope that these examples have clearly
demonstrated the importance of intonation as a means of
conveying meaning and as such that it should be part of a

273
teaching programme and not the optional luxury that it
often is.
Stress and intonation can also change meaning.
Look at the following:

(a) I want to see your son ‘Ajmal. (The son is called

Ajmal.)
(b) I want to see your son,/ Ajmal. (The speaker is
talking to Hamid, who has a son, whose name we
do not know.)

(a) My brother who lives in London/ has just got

married. (I have more than one brother. It is the
one who lives in London…)
(b) My ‘brother,/ who lives in London/ has just got
married. (I have only one brother and he has just
got married.)
(a) Farzana said her mother/ had gone to the market.
(Farzana’s words are being reported. It is her
mother who has gone to the market.)

(b) Farzana, said her mother/ had gone to the market.

(Here it is Farzana’s mother who is talking and
farzana is the one who had gone to the market.)

(a) My brother was born in England. I was ‘two.

(b) My brother was born in England. ‘I was too. (Here,
of course, the contrasting written forms of two and
too reveal the meaning, but in spoken language the
differing stress and intonation patterns provide the
only indication.)
(a) He lives in Gujrat ‘where? (i.e. in which part of
Gujrat.)

274
 (b) He lives in Gujrat ‘where? (I’m sorry I didn’t catch
the name of the town. Could you repeat it?)
2. Intonation can also indicate the speaker’s attitude.

Look at the following examples:

(a) Really? May be an expression of great surprise, or of
mild puzzlement, or merely a polite conversation-
oiler, depending on the intonation pattern.
(b) What’s your name? may show a great interest and
desire to be friendly to the other person, or may
simply be a request for information (made by a
government official or policeman, for example).
Again the intonation pattern would indicate which.
In some cases both grammatical meaning and attitude
are conveyed by the intonation pattern alone.
Example: (I’d like a drink)
(a) You would?
(simply a conversation-oiler, that has
the additional function of asking for
confirmation of the statement.)

(b) ‘You would.

(Here annoyance and criticism is
conveyed. The implication is one of:
‘well, that’s just typical of you. You
always want a drink.’)
From the above examples it should be clear that the
attitudinal function of intonation is a complex area. It is made
even more complex by the fact that standardization and
classification is difficult, though not impossible, to accomplish,
as the expression of feelings and attitudes are connected to the
individual personality. And when teaching foreign learners there
is an additional culturally-bound factor. It is near impossible to

275
make an introverted student produce an exclamation of great
surprise, when may be he would not do such a thing in his
mother tongue. Therefore we suggest that basically the
practising teacher should concentrate on the use of intonation to
convey grammatical meaning, perhaps limiting the attitudinal
function to listening and recognizing at lower levels, and
including only a limited amount of production at more advanced
levels. The basic question that now needs to be answered is,
which pattern for which type of utterance?

There are four possible tune movements – two of them

simple (moving in one direction only) and two of them
compound (moving in two directions).
Simple falling (moving downwards)
rising (moving upwards)
Compound falling than rising
rising than falling.
B Teaching intonation

Again the use of gesture and the blackboard will help the
teacher indicate the rising or falling pattern.

1. Gesture
A sweep of the arm from high to low will indicate the
falling tune (vice-versa for the rise). Note, however, that
the teacher should produce this gesture backwards – from
right to left – as this will be the right way round – from
left to right – for his students. However, this gesture can
be somewhat vague, and gesturing from right to left while
you mentally ‘see’ the utterance from left to right is
difficult and does need a lot of practice. So it is possibly
easier and more effective to use the blackboard. The
gesture, however, can be useful since the teacher can

276
 indicate the rising or falling tune as he conducts a choral
structure drill.

2 The blackboard

The non-text stage

(i) The teacher draws two parallel lines on the
blackboard; the top line represents a high pitch; the
bottom line represents a low pitch. Then an arrow is
drawn to indicate the direction of the intonation
pattern. E.g. (for ‘Good morning.’)

(ii) It is also possible to indicate both stress and

information at the same time.
e.g. (for who is it?)

(Note: once the convention of the lines and symbols

has been established the lines can be dispensed with
and only the symbols used.)

The text stage

Once the learners are able to read English (even if they
were able to before, initial pronunciation work in a class of non-
beginners should be oral only) the teacher can use a sign
system over the text, either on the blackboard or on a stenciled
handout with exercises for pronunciation work.

277
 Self Assessment Question – 3

(i) Are the following statements true or false?

a) A vowel is produced by closing the lips. T F

b) A diphthong is a long vowel. T F

c) Intonation is the accent of a speaker. T F

d) Words can not be divided into syllables. T F

e) A phoneme is a unit of meaning. T F

(ii) Transcribe the following words phonetically:

a. Am
b. Could
c. Had
d. Were
e. Does
f. Is
g. Shall
h. Was
j. Must
k. Them
(iii) write these words in ordinary English:
a. /Se:/
b. /J Σ ∂
c. Qin

d. S M
e. /Ka:/

278
 SUMMARY

This unit has been divided into two major sections. In the
first section, you have been taught why it is important to teach
how to read prose as well as some techniques for teaching it.
You were told that reading is an important activity which may be
improved through good teaching. You have also been told that
good writers pack in a lot of meaning in their writing and you
should be able to understand some basic concepts like
metaphor, symbol, irony and the use of the narrator to be able
to read intelligently. Once you learn to read intelligently, you
will not only gain more information from writing but also learn
more about life, behavior and human values. This will give you
pleasure and make you more understanding the complexity of
life.

The second part of the unit was devoted to the teaching

of pronunciation. In this you were given some definitions and
introduced to the international phonetic alphabet chart. The
symbols given in this chart can help you to understand how
English words are pronounced. You were introduced to stress
and intonation in English.
If you master this unit, you will be able to introduce your
students to the study of prose and English pronunciation.
However, this unit is merely the first step towards mastering
these subjects. If you want to study these subjects in more
details, you should read the books given in the bibliography.

Answers to Self Assessment Questions:

Self Assessment Questions —1
a. F
b. T
c. T
d. F
e. F

279
Self Assessment Questions —2
a. F
b. F
c. F

Self Assessment Questions —3

(i) a. F
b. F
c. F
d. F
e. F

(ii) a. /ac m/
b. /k vd/
c. /h ea d/
d. /w3:/
e. /d  2/
f. /I z/
g. /s ac l/
h. /w ð 2/
i. /m st/
j. /j e m/
(iii) a. She
b. These
b. Thin
c. Sum
d. Car

280
 NOTES

1. W.S.Gray in Second Report of the National Committee on

Reading quoted from Donald Moyle, The Teaching of
Reading (London) Ward Lock Educational Ltd. 1968,
Fourth edition, 1976 p .25.

2. R. Morris, Success and Failure in Learning to Read (Old

bourne 1963).

3. E. M. Foster: Collected Short Stories (Penguins, 1984).

4. A. C. Fimson: A Practical Course of English Pronunciation:

A Perceptual Approach, (London: Edward Arnold, 1975,
Reprinted 1977) P. 7.

281
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burt, C (1937) The Backward child, (U L P)

Clark: M.M (1970) Reading Difficulty in Schools, (Penguin)

Gimson, A.C1980) An Introduction to the Pronunciation of

English, (Edward Arnold.)

Hougton & Daric, J.C. (1966)Bulletin of the United Kingdom

reading association,

Morris, R (1963) Success and Failure in Learning to Read

(Oldbourne)

Moule, D1968) The Teaching of Reading, (Ward Lock Edu.

Schonell, F.J (1942) Backwardness in Basic Subjects, (Oliver &

boyd)

Smith, F (1978) Reading, (Cambridge U.P.)

Wall, W.D (1945 and 1946) British Journal of Educational

Psychology, 15, 16.

282
Unit – 7

THE APPRECIATION OF ENGLISH

POETRY

Written By:
Prof Dr. Tariq Rehman

Revised By:
Mrs.Razia Waseem
284
 INTRODUCTION
This unit shall enable the teachers to teach English poetry
to students at the high school level. With this in mind, the unit
has been designed to enable the teachers to understand certain
critical concepts without mastering which, they can neither
understand poetry themselves nor teach it. This may be called
the academic aspect of the unit. There is, however, another
aspect of it which may be even more useful than the purely
academic one: this is the pedagogical aspect. In this the
emphasis is one the techniques of imparting instructions to the
students. If the teachers, after acquiring the necessary
knowledge, make efforts to make their teaching enjoyable, clear
and comprehensible, they will go a long way to becoming
effective teachers of poetry. Unfortunately, the emphasis has
been on acquiring knowledge and not on enjoying the
experience of reading good poetry. Efforts has been mad here to
reverse this pattern. The teachers has been invited to change
their concepts about poetry and work towards making their
teaching enjoyable. Exercises and examples have been provided
in the text to make the unit more effective. In the end, there is
a bibliography which will be of help for those want to pursue the
study of poetry further.

285
 OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you are expected to be able to:

 To know and apply the techniques for enabling pupils to
appreciate English poetry;

 To be familiar with the basic concepts necessary to

understand and appreciate English poetry;

 To learn and enjoy the experience of reading English

poetry;
 To master the techniques and skills of teaching English
poetry,

 To learn to teach the English poetry in its true sense and

spirit.

286
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. The significance of poetry in human life 289

2. Poetry as music 298

3. Use of the figurative language 306

4. The nature of students assignment in poetry 318

5. Conclusion 320
6. Summery 320

7. Answer to Self Assessment Questions 321

8. Bibliography 322

287
288
 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF POETRY IN HUMAN LIFE

The poetry is the oldest form of literature in existence. In

India, the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata; in the middle
east the epic of Gilgamesh; the Icelandic Sagas and the folk
songs of almost all the ancient civilizations are forms of poetry.
The novel rose much later when the middle class started
becoming predominant, and the short story as we know it
today, was also a late development.
This being so, it would appear that there is deep natural
impulse toward poetic expression in human beings. Evidence
that this is so, comes from the fondness of illiterate people for
folk songs and urban dwellers for popular songs from films, etc.

In ancient civilisation, poetry was a part of day to day

experience. The poets helped to preserve the traditions of the
tribe by giving its young man the pride in its identity. They
provided entertainment by telling stories and catering to the
love for rhythmic incantation which is part of reciting verse.
These functions were taken over by prose in more complicated,
urban cultures. However, the poetry is still significant. Its
significance does not lie in the fact that it can preserve the
traditional values of a sub-group. On the other hand, it is
important because it can make us transcend (i.e. rise above),
narrow groups and develop an awareness of mankind as a
fraternity.
Poetry also help us to widen our imagination and this
enable us to understand other cultures, other sub-groups and
people. All this should not make us less aware of the fact that
the poetry can give us emotional and intellectual pleasure and
this is, in fact, its real significance in human life. For those who
can enjoy this kind of pleasure, can find the kind of happiness
which is denied to those who drive pleasure from, say,
gambling.

289
 It is this last aspect of the poetry which must be
emphasized by anyone who proposes to teach it to uninitiated
pupils.

The Objective of Teaching Poetry:

(a) To help the students to become capable of deriving

pleasure from English poetry.
(b) To make the students aware of the principles which
will facilitate their enjoyment of poetry.

(c) To enable the students to develop their critical

faculties so that they can distinguish between good
and bad poetry.

Poetry is not an easy form of literature. Hence its

teaching is also complicated. The students at all levels regard it
as headache instead in enjoyment. The teachers foremost task
is to make them get interested in reading poetry without the
fear of explaining it or being tested about it.

a) How can the teacher make poetry interesting for the

learners? The teacher can present poetry as music. Music is
produced by various devices such as rhyme scheme (using the
words with similar sounds at the end of the line). Example of
rhyme scheme is given below:
Baba…

Baa baa black sheep

Have you any wool

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.

The jingle is produced by the rhyming of ‘wool’ with ‘full’.
The sounds are, so to speak, parallel. And because they are so,
they may be denoted by the letter ‘b’. So, one can say, the
rhyme scheme here is (a,b,b).

290
 This is an example of parallelism being used to create a
musical effects at the simplest level.

Classroom practice

The students can be made to sing songs, nursery rhymes

and poems which tell a story (narrative verse) to make them
enjoy poetry. The following poems fulfils the purpose:

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the bows

And state as long as sheep or cows:

Etc.
Here is another example
Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,

Wednesday’s child is full of cool,

Thursday’s child has far to go,

Friday’s child is loving and giving,

Saturday’s child works hard for a living,

And the child is that is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

When the students have started enjoying simple rhyme
for its own sake, they may be told that there are three other
devices which are used to created verbal music out of similar
sounds.

These devices are:

291
 (a) CONSONANCE

(b) ASSONANCE
(c) ALLITERATION

Now take them one by one:

Consonance is said to occur when the final consonantal

groupings of words are the same. For instance, in end/blend and
wall/hall the final consonant in the first case are ‘n’ and ‘d’ and
they occurs in both the words. In ‘wall’ and ‘hall’ the all sound is
common.

Assonance is said to occur when the words have vowel

sounds in common. For instance, in same/late the common
vowel sound is ‘a’ (rendered as ‘al’ in phonemic transcription).
This creates a certain chiming, an internal music and is used as
a poetic device.

Alliteration is the device of using the same initial sounds in a

number of words in sequence. This creates a certain rough
parallelism of sounds and contributes to the jingling effect.

For examples the dry day made a dull beginning

Classroom Practice

As this form of parallelism is enjoyed by children and

unsophisticated learners, it would be best to sing such lines as
the following in chorus:

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,

The furrow followed free;
We were the fist that ever burst
Into that silent sea
(S.T. Coleridge: The Ancient Mariner)

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 The repetition of the ‘f’ sound in ‘furrow followed free’ is
enjoyed in chorus more than it is in silent reading. The young
people also enjoy the rather tricky alliteration of the following
nonsense jingle:

She picked the sea shell on the sea shore.

They can be made to play this game so as to feel that the
appreciation of poetry can be fun.

The teacher can make an exercise like the following in

which the learners are asked to find words that alliterate with
the words in the above line. Here is an example:

Here lies Sam Shay.

Smoked six packs a day.
He started smoking when he was one.
Now he’s one dead son-of-a____gun______
Here lies Sam Shay.
Smoked six packs a day.
He started smoking when he was two.
Now there’s nothing he can___________

Dad (yelling):
Turn that thing off!
Mom:
It’s time to study.
Child:
I’d rather watch my favorite TV show
With my best buddy;
I sneak down after homework
And turn the set on low.
But when he sees me watching it,
My mother yells out...
Mom (yelling):

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No!
Dad:
If you don’t turn it off,
I’ll hang it from a tree!
Child:
I rather doubt he’ll do it,
‘Cause he watches more than me.
He watches sports all weekend,
And weekday evenings too,
While munching chips and penuts--
The room looks like a zoo.
So if he ever got the nerve
To hang it from a tree,
He’d spend a lot of time up there--
Watching it with me.

Next the teachers can get the learners interested in writing their
own poems. This activity will give them practice in the poetic
devices as alliteration as well as rhyming etc.

How to write poems about feelings

[by Bruce Lansky from the internet]

Some of the most memorable poems ever written are about

feelings. Here is a good way to get your students thinking about
poems that discuss feelings:

1. Ask your students to name as many feelings as they

can. To get them started write “sad,” “mad,” “happy,”
and a few others on the board. As your students think
of more feelings, add them to the list.
2. Ask the students to choose one feeling from the list.

3. Have the student write down their answers to one of

the following questions:

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Here lies Sam Shay.
Smoked six packs a day.
He started smoking when he was three.
Now he’s buried beneath a__________

Here lies Sam Shay.

Smoked six packs a day.
He started smoking when he was four.
Now he is knocking on heaven’s_________

Here lies Sam Shay.

Smoked six packs a day.
He started smoking when he was five.
Now the poor guy ain’t__________

If the teacher looks carefully for the missing word are

provided in the sentences; such as knocking. Even the
children can come up with the word knocking at the door,
that rhymes with four.

Besides filling in the blanks for the alliteration, the poetry

can be enjoyed through dramatization. This activity does
not take much preparation. Here is a simple example of a
poem with three voices: the son, the father and the
mother. Three volunteers can take up acting the three
parts.

[Adapted from the poem by Bruce Lansky in poetry

party, taken from the internet]

The teacher can also dramatize a poem in the class. It will

create interest in the learners and make poetry come alive.
Here is an example. There are 3 characters in the poem,

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the son, the father and the mother. He wants to watch the
TV. But his parents do not allow him to do so.

Summary: A child debates watching TV with his parents.

Presentation suggestions: Have the students read or
perform the poems in front of the class.

Props: A TV would be a great prop but if one is not

available the poems can be performed without it with a
simple card board acting as TV.

Delivery: The lines of the poem need to be read with

poetic rhythm.

Mom
Turn off the TV!
Child:
My father gets quite mad at me;
My mother gets upset—
When they catch me watching
Our new television set.
-when do I feel [insert feeling]?
-why do I feel [insert feeling]?
-how does it feel to be [insert feeling]?

Their answers to the above questions will become the

poem, although you may encourage them to revise and
polish their poems as needed. What will make these poems
work best is if they tell a story or if the reader can learn
something about the writer from the poem. Often it’ is
Easier to write about feelings in free verse-so tell your
students they don’t need to worry about rhythm and rhyme
patterns.

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Here’s an example:

I feel miserable when…

I have a big math test coming up so I have to study

instead of watching my favorite TV show
My mother doesn’t believe I have a fever, so I can’t stay
home and miss a big math test I didn’t study for
My teacher doesn’t believe I have a fever and refuses to
send me to the school nurse until the math test
I get a “d” on the math test

Here’s another example that answers two questions: “when

do I feel happy?” and “what is it like to feel happy?” (Notice
that this poem is a good way to stimulate metaphorical
thinking.)
When Santa brings me the toy I wanted most for Christmas
I’m so happy I feel like:
Singing at the top of my lungs
Jumping in a mud puddle (too bad it’s December and the
puddle is covered with ice)
raiding the cookie jar and eating all the cookies

playing with my new toy all day and not letting my bratty
little brother touch it far a single second (which, as I recall,
is why my parents tool away my favorite Christmas toy last
year and hid it from me for one whole week)

-Finally, ask them to find words that alliterate with the

words expressing a feeling such as mad. They may first
suggest words such as lad, had, bad, pad etc.

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 Note: if some of your students produce confused or
poorly dealing with some “heavy” personal issues,
they may needed your help in discussing the
experience and sorting out exactly what is they felt
before they can productively revise the poem. Or it
might make sense for you to provide a comforting.
Supportive presence and leave the discussion of
how best to fix the poem for later when the student
isn’t feeling quite so confused or vulnerable.

Note: if some of your students produce confused or

poorly written poems dealing with some “heavy”
personal issues, they may need your help in
discussing the experience and sorting out exactly
what is they felt before they can productively revise
the poem. Or it might make sense for you to provide
a comforting. Supportive presence and leave the
discussion of how best to fix the poem for later when
the student isn’t feeling quite so confused or
vulnerable.

SECTION 2: POETRY AS MUSIC

(PARALLELISM: RHYTHM etc.)

The English words, as has already been noted, can be
divided into syllables. There are words of one syllable such as
AND, BUT, CAT, CUT, RUT, RAT; words of two syllable as
TALKING,WALKING, BARKING; and words of three, four and
more syllable when we speak we tend to stress one or more
than one syllable. However, all syllables are not equally
stressed. This fact forms the basis of the metre (any rhythm) of
English poetry. For instance take TAKING. It can be divided into
two syllables, TA and KING. The first syllable is generally

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stressed so we can put an account on it TA. The word will be
written as TAKING. Sometimes, to show that the second syllable
is unstressed we mark it as follows: TAKING.

Once stressed and unstressed syllables follow each other

in a given pattern, this pattern is called the metre. The rise and
fall of voice according to meaning and the metre is called the
rhythm. Obviously the effect of metre and rhythm is based on
some sound pattern repeating themselves. The rise and or
stress in one line, it may be said, parallel the same features in
another line. Thus the effect of metre and rhythm is musical
and, as in the case of rhyme, this music is based on parallelism
of sounds.

Classroom practice:

The young people should not be taught the formal

aspects of prosody in the beginning. There is no point in
breaking up the poem into syllables and asking them to find out
whether its metre is iambic pentameter or trochaic tetrameter.
This will reduce the poem to the level of a mathematical formula
and it will lose whatever hold it may have on the imagination of
the reader.
It would be advisable to make the pupils listen to poetry
being recited. For instance:

A down the glen rode armed men

Their trampling sounded near er.

The rise and fall of the voice should be exaggerated and
may be accompanied by thumping the table. Then, when several
such poems have been recited in chorus, they may be scanned
as follows:
A down the glen rode armed men
Their tramp ling sounded nearer

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 The lines are divided into eight syllables each. The first
line follows the regular pattern of their being an unstressed
syllable followed by a stressed one. The second line has a
stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one.

In the above line the stressed part of the complete word

adown in only DOWN. The other part A remains without stress
i.e. we do not put any force on it. You will find that in English all
words have either more or less stress. Mostly words like a, the,
an, are unstressed. Many words have more than one syllable
e.g. TRAMPLING. You can see that this will be divided into two
parts, i.e. TRAMP and LING. These are its two syllables and the
dictionary tells us that the first syllable is stressed under
ordinary conditions, i.e. Tramp ‘ling’.
Here is another example of the iambic foot:
The curfew tells the knell of parting day
The lowing herd winds slowly over the tea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way,

And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

(Gray: Elegy written in a country churchyard)

The foot used in iambic. Each line divides into ten syllables. In
other words we can divide the feet as follows:

The cur tells the knell of part ing day

1 2 3 4 5
This shows that five iambic feet have been used in the
metre. The poem may be said to be in IAMBIC PENTAMETER.
Now if two feet has been used, it would have been in
DIAMETER; THREE—TRIMETER; FOUR—TETRAMETER ; SIX—
HEXAMETER and so on.

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 This is the formal metre of the poem. Once we read it, we
do not always stress words as required by the metre. We make
pauses and the stress some words more than others: this
creates another pattern which we can call RHYTHEM. The
rhythm of the stanza given above has been discussed in detail
by Robin Skelton. There is, however, no need to go into these
details.

(1) Trochee: In this stressed syllable follow an

unstressed one i.e

An example of the trochaic foot is:

Earth, re ceive an honoured guest

William yeats is laid to rest. (I have scanned William as

follows: will I am)

The metres given are used more than the once which
follow:

Anapacst two unstressed syllables followed by one

stunb syllable.
Dactyl one stressed syllable followed by two
unstressed ones.
Spondee two stressed syllables
Pyrrhic two unstressed syllables.

Amphibrach once unstressed syllable followed by a

stressed one which is in turn followed by an
unstressed one.
Let us take some examples of some of these feet:

And the/wheel’s kick/and the/winds song/

And the/white sails/shaking/.

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And a/gray mist/on the/sea’s face/and the/gray
dawn/break ing/.
Here john Masefield uses pyrrhics and spondes in order to
reproduce ‘the relentless, forceful surging of wave on wave’
Shelley uses anapests to give swiftness and emphasize the last
word in his poem “The cloud”:

Like a child/from the womb/, like a ghost/from the tomb

I arise/and unbuild/it again.

The use of metre and rhythm, it is obvious from these

examples, is not for musical or ornamental purposes alone.
Good poets use these devices, as they use rhyme, to help them
to create some special effect or add to the significance of the
poem. One of such uses is onomatopocia: the production of the
sound of something or some action through the rhythm and the
arrangement of sounds. For instance, the sound produced by
the hoofs of a galloping horse is created in the following lines:

O young Lochinivar has come out of the west

And through all the wide border his steed was the best.

Another famous example of onomatopocia is:

Faster than fairies faster than witches
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches

And charging along like troops in a battle

All through the meadows, the horses and cattle.

The rhythm here echoes the sound of a train running fast.

Teaching practice:
Take a poem which is in the course and let the students
listen to its rhythm. Then scan the poem and see if you can
explain why the poet has chosen that metre.

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Classroom practice:

Several such examples should be found to make the

pupils appreciate not only onomatopoeia, the music of rhythm.
In the beginning, poems should be recited or, better still, sung
in chorus. There is no need, however, to make the student
commit poems to memory. That merely creates an aversion on
poetry. It may be helpful, however, to bring records or cassettes
of poems read out by accomplished readers like Dylan Thomas
and Richard Burton. Once the student have started enjoying the
rhythm, they may be taught what has been written in the last
few pages. The emphasis should be on the pleasure one can
derive from poetry rather than the acquisition of information
and analytical skills.

Self Assessment Exercise No 1

Determine whether the following statements are false or true:
a. A dactyl consists of two unstressed syllables. True False

b. Museum has four syllables. True False

c. Onomatopoeia occurs when the first sound in
a line of a poem are the same. True False

d. Rhythm and meter are not the same. True False

e. A tetrameter has five feet. True False

THEME:
The theme is defined as the idea, perception, or
impression that a work of literature conveys. It is obvious from
this definition that the theme of a work of literature is not its
summary or plot. It is the idea, the view about life or the world,
which the writer wants to convey. Thus the theme should be
stated in a few words whereas a summary is much longer.

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 It is fallacy to assume that if the idea is good, the poem
will be a good poem. It is not the worth of the idea but how it is
presented that makes for poetic significance. Similarly, one may
or may not agree with the idea but that should not affect one’s
appreciation of the poem.
In the above paragraph, the word ‘good’ has been used
as if there were a general agreement as to what it means. But
good and bad refer to values which differ from age to age and
from society to society. Thus, we cannot condemn or approve
action and attitudes if they are different from our unless they
are against the few basic human values which do not change.

Teaching practice:
Take one poem from the course and one from anywhere
else and try to find out the theme of each. If you have a class,
you can play a game by exchanging poems.

Classroom practice:
It is not easy to teach young people how to find out the
theme of a poem. It would be helpful to start with simple
ballads and narrative poems. Once they learn to listen
attentively to poems and to appreciate the story, the instructor
should draw their attention to the poet’s idea.
To develop listening skills the ballads of robin hood and
other poems narrating a story are most suited.

Once listening skills have been developed, the following

poem—or other like it—may be distributed to the class for silent
reading:

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 The Black Panther

There is a panther aged within my breast;

But what his name, there is no breast shall know

Save mine, nor what it is that drives him so,

Backward and forward, in relentless quest –

That silent rage, baffled but unsurpassed,

The soft pad of these stealthy feet that go

Over my body’s prison to and fro,
Trying the walls forever without rest.

All day I feed him with by living heart;

But when the night puts forth her dreams and stars
The inexorable frenzy reawakes:
His wrath is hurled upon the trembling bars

The eternal passion stretches me apart

And I lie silent—but my body shakes.

(John Hall Wheelock)

The poet has expressed a general idea through a

particular experience. The idea is that suppressed anger
torments a man. He has made this explicit in the last two lines:
The eternal passion stretches me apart,
And I lie silent—buy my body shakes.
But earlier, he has used the symbol of the panther, caged in
a cell, to denote anger. We conclude from this that the reader
must be aware of certain poetic techniques in order to discover
the theme of complex poems. These techniques may be roughly
classified under the following headings:

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 a. Use of figurative language

b. Diction
c. Imagery

d. Tone

e. Symbolism
The next four sections will be devoted to these techniques.

Self Assessment Exercise No, 2

1. What is the name of the following poems?

My mother groan’d, my father wept,

Into the dangerous world I leapt;

Helpless naked, piping loud,

Like a fiend hid in a cloud,

Struggling in my father’s hands,
Striving against my swaddling—bands,
Bound and weary, I thought best

To sulk upon my mother’s breast.

(William Blake)
Section 3
The use of figurative language:

Words may have more than one meaning. The specific,

literal meaning of the word dog, for instance, is an animal
belonging to the canine family. Scientifically speaking, the
animal is a living being and is neither good nor bad. The literal
meaning, or denotative meaning as it is called, has no moral or
cultural meaning in addition to precise one. However, dogs are
considered servile, low and faithful. Thus human societies have

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seen certain qualities in the animal and have come to look down
upon it or like it. These human values have given a connotative
meaning of the word. You are comparing his negative qualities
to those associated with dogs.
The literal language, we can conclude, is a language used
precisely or denotatively. The figurative language, in the other
hand, is language used in the connotative sense. The figurative
therefore, uses comparison and contrast to help the reader to
understand what is meant. The figurative language includes
metaphors, similes, synecdoche, hyperbole, etc. it is not
necessary to define all of them nor should they made into
bogeys, like rules of grammar, and imposed on the learners.
They are meant to be comprehended by the teacher and
gradually introduced to the students among reading of poetry.
Simile: At the simplest level, a simile is a figure of
speech in which the poet compares one thing with another one.
For instance, if the poet says, ‘he was as brave as a tiger’, this
is a simile someone (he) is being compared in bravery to a
tiger.
Metaphor: In a metaphor there is comparison between
two things, but it is not linked by terms such as ‘as’ or ‘like’. For
instance, in the above example, if the poet had said, ‘he was a
tiger’ this would have been a metaphor. The man would have
been compared with a tiger but not directly. Instead, he would
have been called a tiger. Now, obviously this would not have
meant that the man was actually a four footed animal. All it
would have meant was that his bravery was like that of tiger.
This implied comparison is the method of metaphor.
In the poem “The Black Panther”, the emotion of anger
has been compared to a panther. Thus the technique used is
that of a metaphor and once the reader understands that, it is
easy to understand the theme.

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Teaching practice:

Take any poem from the course and find out how many
words and phrases have been used figuratively.

Other examples
Let us now take another poem in which a simile has been
used to create the poetic effect. It is called “country night” and
reads as follows:
She lived in terror of the country night;
As soon as afternoon began to fade
She went about the house, lit every light,
Bolted the doors, and drew every window-shade.
The house was like a ship that slowly listed,
The night was water, and it seemed to her
It rose relentlessly and unresisted,
Invitable, black and sinister.
The little liquid noises that she heard
Were friendly and familiar things by day:
Tree and insects, flower and grass and bird,
Nothing at all to frighten her this way—
But still the night rose higher, till it found
Her tense and quivering and almost drowned
(Selma Robinson)
A critic has the following comment to offer on the use of
the simile in this poem:

In the second stanza of “country night”, Selma robin

states;
“The house was like a ship that slowly listed.” Through
this comparison the reader can share the women’s fear-caused
sensation. The house takes on the qualities of a ship on a rolling
sea. The woman is mentally and physically so upset that the

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house seems to rock beneath he just as a ship at sea rises and
falls with each swell.
Now that you have understood figurative speech, test
yourself by doing the following exercises:

Self Assessment Exercise No. 3

Determine whether the following statements are true or

false:
a. The denotative meaning of lion is brave. True False

b. The connotative meaning of donkey is stupid True False

c. Shelley has used a simile in the following

lines:
That orbed maiden with white fire laden,
whom mortals call the moon. True False

d. Coleridge has used a metaphor in the last

two lines of the following quotation:
Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath, nor motion; True False
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
e. Here is a metaphor about a face:
her pale face was the lantern True False
by which they read in life’s dark book
(R.S. Thomas)

Wheel, house, sea, boy, horse, wind and car are concrete
nouns which refer to tangible objects. We cannot see or touch
fear, anger, love and hatred which are, therefore, abstractions.
Concrete nouns, because they do refer to objects, evoke the
picture (images) of these objects in our minds. This brings us to
the most important aspects of poetry—that it contains images

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which can help us to understand its meaning. The study of these
images can be called the imagery of the poem.
Diction: The poetry is a form of art which uses words
instead of colours and other material. But poets do not simply
communicate simple thoughts, they want to communicate
complex experiences. This is a very difficult task and requires
genius. If we want to enjoy poetry, we must learn to understand
the various ways in which words are used to recreate an
experience. It has already been said that words have denotative
and connotative meanings. It should also be clear that all nouns
may be classified either as abstract noun—things which cannot
be touched, smelled, tasted, heard and seen—or as concrete
nouns words that label things observable through the senses.

Imagery: Robin Skelton gives images lists such as this

one:
Brown wood

Sharp corners
Head bump

Soft carpet
Warm
Very still

Big shoes

He says that this refers to a small child’s memory of

standing under a table and seeing his father pass by. Some
images appeal to the vision, this imagery is called visual
imagery: imagery appealing to the touch is tactile imagery, to
the ear, aural imagery; to the nose, Olfactory and so on. Take
the following example:

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 The Five

‘We’re sorry, you’ll have to get out of here’

The five figures came closer

And he felt terribly alone,

Not sun nor warm vinyl comforted him.

There was nowhere else to go.

Their empty shoes scuffed the new pile.

He heard the rustle and stifling chafe
Of five conservative grey suits

With quiet ties knocking white-ulcered chests

With each step……a dull tatco.

He let go of the moist arm. A paper, his own
Threaded between his chair and the table

It scraped his ankle…..knife sharp,

He pressed his elbow to his ribs
To stop the cold drops from reaching his belt
They took their seats,

They knew their place,

He saw that they were done with him.
Complete dismissal, concave cheeks.
And one that chewed his nails.
A swiss cigar, and eyes like guillotines.

The tobacco: air numbed his sense,

Black vinyl almost bubbled in a sun

Made not by winter. The smell of warm and then,

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 One of them spat…the sound of nail on tin……

And his fear was lost in the stench.

Here the imagery in the first stanza is mostly visual: one

can see the five figures, the sun and the vinyl. In the second
stanza the imagery is auditory: we can hear the shoes scuffing’
the new pile’, the rustle and other sounds. In the third stanza
the images relate to the sense of touch—passed, scraped,
stop—and is an example of tactile imagery. In the last stanza,
once again, the imagery is predominantly olfactory: one can
smell the tobacco, the spit, etc.

Classroom practice:
Images are the concrete details which express the
meaning of the poem. In teaching young people how to
appreciate poetry, the teacher should begin with a simple list of
concrete words such as skelton has given. He should then
impress upon the learners that each word calls the image of
something to their minds. Once they have grasped this fact, he
can tell them that poems contains a series of images and their
meaning can be understood if we pay attention to the imagery.
There is no need, at this stage at least, to introduce terms like
visual, tactile or auditory imagery. This can be done later.

Teaching practice:

Teach the poem “Ibadan” on your own without reading the

given explanation. Ask anyone else to see how much you have
understood.

Example:
The following poem is a good example of the importance
of imagery in understanding poetry:

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 Ibadan, ibadan

Running splash of rust

And gold—flung and scattered

Among seven hills like broken

China in the sun

(J.P. Clark)

Here the poet wants to give us the sense of movement

combined with decay in a new town. He has not done it through
words but through imagery. Let us consider these images as
they occur in the poem.

‘Running splash’: both words give us the sense of speed,

suddenness and refer to the fast tempo of a rising city. Then we
get the images of ‘rust’ and ‘gold’. Both are colours, but
whereas rust is the colour of decay, gold is attractive and
lustrous. Symbolically, rust refers to decay, death and
corruption whereas gold stands for wealth. The images,
therefore, make us aware of there being decay cheek by jowl
with wealth in this great city. Then we find that the town is
scattered on seven hills like broken china. Now china is beautiful
and shining but if it is not broken, the image reinforces the idea
of decay and corruption which we had formed earlier. The image
of the seven hills is an allusion to some great cities of the of the
past which we are built on seven hills. This is a new city and has
been created by wealth, by man’s greed and exploitation of
labour. This being so it cantains people whose way of life has
been destroyed, who have been brought from their lamds as
labourers in order to work as wage-slaves and who are, so to
speak, decaying. Since there is much wealth, there is also greed
and corruption. Along with beauty, there is ugliness in the city.
All this and the theme (that great cities built by modern capital

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also contains the seeds of their decay) are conveyed through
the imagery.
Sometimes, a poem has a central, organizing image. The
image used in the following poem is of this kind:

SNOWDROP

Now is the globe shrunk tight

Round the mouse’s dulled wintering heart
Weasel and crow, as if moulded in brass

Move through an outer darkness

Not in their right minds

With the other deaths. She, too, pursues her ends,

Breetal as the stars of this month,

Her pale lead heavy as metal.

(Ted Hughes)

The poet transforms the snow drop into something hard

and heavy. The snowdrop is a flower, but Hughes uses the
imagery associated with metals and heavy things. Thus, instead
of the conventional idea of the flower as dainty and beautiful,
we get a new idea: that of the flower as an assertion of plant
life amidst animal life.

The “snowdrop” is a difficult poem and may not be suited

for beginners. The teacher should read out poems with which
the students are familiar with special emphasis on imagery. One
good example would be keats’s “Ode to Autumn” in which the
images of ripe crops, making cider out of ripe apples and other
images of mellowness are of significance.
Sometimes the poet makes images express emotions or
ideas he does not want to put in words. In the following poem

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the poet, Daud Kamal, has expressed the helplessness of human
beings through the image of buffaloes helplessly whirling in the
water in a flood.

Floods
How does one forgive
The treachery of
blind rivers and
Water-buffaloes
Dissolving in the mud?
Their hut was
forty years old
They had
three wooden
boxes of dowry
And a sackful
Of expensive rice
At the army relief-camp
The bride-to-be
Covers her head
While her parents
Look the other way.
(From Recognitions).

Self Assessment Exercise No, 4

Tick the concrete nouns and encircle the abstract ones

given below:

a. Grass; Bravery; Love; cheese; brick; wisdom; score;

cleverness.
b. How many kinds of imagery is used in poems?

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 c. What is an image?

d. Make a drawing of the picture presented by the

following lines of browning:

The grey sea and the long black land;

And the yellow half-moon large and low
And the startled little waves that leap
In fiery singlet from their sleep,…
e. Take any poem in the secondary school course (ix-x)
and write a note on its imagery.

Symbolism: Symbolism is the technique of using

symbols in order to express meaning. Unfortunately the term
has been used rather loosely and somewhat protentiously by
many critics. A symbol is simply some object, event or character
which means more than it does in the literal sense. In
wheelock’s poem “The black panther” the panther is not really
there. It is a metaphor. A symbol, on the other hand, is actually
there but, like the metaphor, it means something else. Take
Blake’s poem “the tiger” for instance:

Tiger Tiger burning bright

In the forests of the night

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame the fearful symmetry?
In this poem the tiger stands for brute force. The
concrete flesh and blood of the animal is, therefore, made to
symbolize an abstract force. The tiger is a symbol.

Good poets use symbols to express meaning which are

not adequately expressed in words. Symbols should not be used
to make poems deliberately difficult. Such a use is pretentious.
They may, however, be legitimately used to make poems (and
other works of literature) richer and more meaningful.

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 Tone: when someone speaks to us we can find out
whether he is angry, pleased, loving, hating or proud. His
emotional attitude is revealed in the way he speaks. This is the
tone. In poems, too, the speaker has a certain tone. This can be
discovered by paying attention to the rhythm, rhyme, imagery
and symbolism. If the narrator is sad, the rhythm may be slow;
if happy, it may be triping and fast and so on. The tone in the
following poem is nostalgic and regretful:
Sunday too my father got up early
And put his clothes on in the blue black cold,
Then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
Banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.
I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he’d call,
And slowly I would rise and dress,
Fearing the chronic angers of that house,
Speaking indifferently to him,
Who had driven out the cold
And polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
Of love’s austere and lonely offices?
(Robert Hayden)
So words are gentle in sound, other are harsh; some are
mellifluous, other are grating; some are sharp, other flat. And
tone is dependent, among other things, on the kind of words
used in the poems. For instance, the words used in Tennyson’s
“the Lotus Eaters” are gentle, mellifluous and smooth:
The lotus blooms below the barren peak:

The lotus blows by every winding creak:

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 All day the wind breathes low with mellower tone:

Through every hollow cave and alley lone

Round and round the spicy downs the yellow lotus dust is
blown.

The gentle, indolent, flowing tone of these lines is not the

product of words alone. The rhyme, the rhythm, alliteration,
assonance and onomatopoeia have all contributes to creating
this effect. As a classroom exercise, the teacher can give a
detailed analysis of a poem in ix-x class course with reference to
all these factors in relation to the tone.

The nature of student assignment in poetry.

What type of assignment can a teacher set on poetry?
This is a difficult area. However, we have said that poetry
should be read for enjoyment as well for learning about
language and the content of a poem.

For the purposes of enjoyment and familiarization with

the poetic works, we suggest you ask the willing students to
read it aloud in the classroom. They may also bring a poem of
their choice and in their mother tongue. If they read a poem in
English about a village scene, they may be asked to bring a
poem on a similar topic in their own language. Such
presentation in the class give confidence to the students,
lessening their fear of literature and it makes them look at their
mother tongue literature with a new respect.

For more languages work on poems lets take an example.

The vanishing village

Scarcely a street, too few houses

To merit the title, just a way between

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 The one tavern and the one shop

That leads nowhere and fails at the top

Of the short hill, eaten away

By long erosion of the green tide

Of grass creeping perpetually nearer

This last outpost of time past.

 The teacher can ask to underline the similar sounds at the

end of each line. In doing so the students will become
conscious of the sound alliteration about which they have
already studied.

 Next the teacher may ask them to draw a picture of this

village. It will be transfer of information and will help the
teacher judge the student’s comprehension.
 Ask them which senses are used by the poet in this poem.
For example, the reader uses the sense of sight. We notice
the green colour of the grass.

 The teacher can ask them what feelings are expressed in

the poem. The students can be asked to look at the words
and pick out any words which suggest any kind of
emotions. For example ‘erosion’ is eating away in other
words, finishing away. So it is not a happy feeling. Then
too few houses also suggest loneliness.
 The most common poetic devices used by the poets is
imagery. So is there any imagery? Out post of time; ‘out-
posts’ in American history of colonizing the Amaricas. Out
posts being the last settlement of either the gold diggers or
the new settlers or the cantonments. So this dying village
is also compared to one such settlement which may or may
not survive in future.

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 Section 5
CONCLUSION
Anyone who intends to teach poetry to beginners must
never forget that his principles tasks is to make his students
learn to enjoy good poetry. This is an extremely difficult thing to
do since most people have been brought up to associate the
learning of a poem with pain rather than pleasure. The teachers
make their students memorize poems and analyse them in the
class. These are harmful activities if the student does not enjoy
them. If, however, the teacher gradually teaches his students to
take pleasure in reading poetry he can make them read a lot
with out harming them. For this the teacher will have to read a
lot of poetry himself and also learn to understand it. This unit
has been written with a view to introducing poetry to the
teacher of young people. It must be supplemented by more
reading some of which is being suggested here. If this unit
increases the teachers appreciation of English poetry in
particular and literature in general, it will have been successful.

Section 6
SUMMARY
In the foregoing pages you have been given some
knowledge of the concepts without which poetry cannot be fully
appreciated. You have been told that good poems have a
meaning which is conveyed through words, rhyme, rhythm,
tone, imagery and symbolism. All these concepts have been
defined and examples have been given so that you know how
they function in poetry. Poems have been analysed so that you
know how critical analysis is done and how your appreciation of
the artistic excellence of good poetry can be increased. The text
progresses from the easy to the difficult and the emphasis has
always been on how you will teach poetry to your students.
After the end of important sections, you have been given self-
assessment exercises. The answers have been provided in the

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end, but you must not see them till you have first assessed
yourself. In the end, a glossary has also been provided so that
you may have ready definitions of concepts which will be of use
to you when reading poetry. It is hoped that you will be
encouraged to read further, with this in mind, the names of
some very useful books have been suggested in the
bibliography.

Answers to Self-Assessment Questions

Self-Assessment Questions — 1
a) False b) False c) False d) True e) False

Self-Assessment Questions — 2
Pleas do your self

Self-Assessment Questions — 3
a) False b) True c) False d) False e) True

Self-Assessment Questions — 4
(a) Pleas do your self
(b) Visual, Tactile, olfactory and auditory

(c) Words which either being a picture before a mind or

appeal to the other senses.

(d) Make a picture

(e) The answer will depend on the poem chosen.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brooks, C. & Robert (1960) Understanding Poetry. New York:

Holt, Rhinehart and winsten.

Davie, D. (1952) Purity of Diction in English Verse London:

Chatto & Windus.

Drew, E. (1933) Discovering Poetry New York: W.W. Norton &

Company
Fraser, G.S. (1970) Metre, Rhyme and Free Verse London:
Methuen & Co., Ltd,

Gill, R. (1985) Mastering English Literature London: Macmillan

Master Series; Macmillan Education Ltd.
Grahm, P. (1968) Introduction to poetry. London: Oxford
university Press,
Leach, (1969) A linguistic Guide to English. London: Longmans
Ltd.
Reeves, (1965) Understanding Poetry. London: Pan Books Ltd.

Scannel (1983) How to Enjoy Poetry. Loughton, Essex: Judy

Piathus

Scintsbury (1914) Historical Manual of English Prosody.

London: Macimillan & Co Ltd.
Scott, A.F (1968) Close Readings: A Course in the Critical
Appreciation of Poetry London : Heinemann
Skelton (1971) The Practice of Poetry. London: Heinemann

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Unit – 8

TEACHING COMPOSTION

Written By:
Mian Muhammad Afzal

Reviewed By:
Mrs. Shagufta Siraj

323
324
 INTRODUCTION
Writing composition is a skill which comes with training
and practice. Due to excess of subjects being taught in our
schools, the time devoted to composition work is quite
negligible. The result is that our students can neither express
themselves in written English nor in spoken language.
This unit has particularly been written keeping in view the
needs of Pakistani English Teachers with respect to the teaching
of composition.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you should be able to:

1. Enumerate some basic rules and principles for

writing correct English;
2. Tell the qualities of a good piece of English writing;
3. Describe different stages of writing composition;
4. Mention some of the problems encountered in
teaching English composition;
5. Guide your students to write summaries and also
compose paragraphs and essays;
6. Demonstrate the skill of correcting composition;

325
326
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Towards Good Composition Some Difficulties 329

2. Problems of English Composition in Pakistan 330

3. Qualities of a Good Piece of Writing 333

4. Basic Principles and Rules 336

5. Writing Skill 342
6. Composition Correction 360

7. Correction Methods 362

8. Letter Writing 365

9. Story Writing 371

10. Paragraph Writing 372

11. Essay Writing 373

12. Summary 374
13. Answers to Self Assessment Questions 381
14. Bibliography 384

327
328
 TOWARDS GOOD COMPOSITION: SOME
SUGGESTIONS
The earliest verses revealed to the Holy Prophet (May
peace and blessing of Allah be upon him”!) contain the verse
“He has taught you through the pen”! It points to the fact that
for the preservation and acquisition of knowledge, writing has
great importance. It in our context assumes all the more
importance as the only test of the amount of knowledge accrued
is through writing. A well worded answer in the examination,
even if containing little related material, may fetch good marks.
However, despite the importance that this system gives to
writing, it remains a comparatively neglected field.

1.1 The fully packed classroom, making the composition

correction a difficult task for the teacher, restrain him from
taking it up seriously, with the result that despite the fact that
great efforts are needed to be put in, the work remains
neglected. With little guidance and almost no correction by the
teacher, the students have little practice of writing. The
uncorrected mistakes have a negative effect which generally
worsens the situation.

1.2 The first essential in this regard is that the teachers must
be congnisant of the problems and be familiar with the types of
difficulties they are likely to face and aware of the methods of
tackling these problems. The teacher must know the mistakes
that the students usually commit and having mastered the
relevant rules, be in a position to deal with them effectively.
1.3 The large classes, presenting an almost impossible task of
composition correction, is no doubt a problem but solution is not
hard to find, composition has to be taught systematically
beginning with the first stage of copying leading the students on
to reproduction, controlled and guided writing and finally free
composition. Simple exercises in the beginning, involving very
little correction work, if taken up seriously, will help to over

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come the mistakes from the very beginning, helping the
students to write correctly. Thus, a planned programme from
these earlier classes, minimizing students’ error will not involve
so much correction work in the later classes and will free the
students’ writing of numerous errors which due to uncorrected
compostion, the students are likely to commit. Similarly suitable
methods for the correction of written work, if followed
systematically, may ensure correction of composition and at the
same time eliminate students’ errors. Self-correction, peer
correction, mass correction etc. are some of the methods which
might help in easing the teacher’s work and making his task not
so formidable as apprehended.
1.4 The most essential thing, however, is that the teacher
trainees themselves should be well versed the basic rules of
grammar, the art of hand writing improvement and the ins and
outs of writing skill. A teacher who is deficient in these, is likely
to aggravate the problem of his students. Secondly, the teacher
must have a plan, chalked out for each class at each stage.
Systematically tackling correction work will ensure better
writing, eliminating the blunders that the students usually
commit thus resulting in error-free composition.

2. PROBLEMS IN TEACHING ENGLISH COMPOSITION

IN PAKISTAN
Acquisition of any foreign language is a task not easy to
accomplish, writing, which aims at exactness, requires greater
accuracy, while in speaking one might mumble and so pass
unnoticed. The mistakes in writing cannot go unnoticed. Hence
writing requires greater efforts to eliminate them.

2.1 Faults and failures in composition are due both to the

teacher and the student, the students have too little exposure to
English to attain the mastery and hence they err or commit
blunders. But the teachers too may be efficient in knowledge.

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Moreover they may not be trained at all or if trained it may be
only superficially. It is because the teacher training programme
does not place due emphasis on the writing skills or the
techniques of composition correction. Classroom conditions
further augment the problem. The teachers are either
themselves not fully conversant with the rules of English
grammar or else do not make well-directed efforts to drive
these home to the students, especially in the earlier classes i.e.
VI to X. The foundation, being weak, the students continue to
stumble (commit mistakes) in the later classes.

2.2 Composition has not been given due importance because

of the following two major reasons:
(a) The teacher takes it lightly and does not spare
sufficient time for guidance of students and
correction of written work.
(b) The large classes pose a problem and the teacher
confronted with more than 200 exercise books, to
be corrected daily, considers the task too difficult
to be tackled. So he just gives it up. In fact
correction of written work is the biggest problem of
a teacher of English. This, no doubt is mainly due
to large classes but also results from the fact that
the teacher does not employ proper methods
(which will be mentioned).
2.3 In the addition, students also are alergic to written work.
They may read five pages but are reluctant to write five
sentences and when there is little practice, the errors persist
and are perpetuated. The situation further worsens when the
composition is not corrected, uncorrected writing consolidates
students’ habits, which are difficult to eradicate at a later stage.
2.4 The poorhand writing also increases the problem. The
students sometimes try to hide their mistakes (specially of
spelling) by writing in an illegible manner, thus making the

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detection of the errors difficult and at the same time ruling out
the possibility of correction, thereby staring the vicious circle
hiding the faults, rating out the possibility of correction and thus
encouraging the commission of similar faults.

2.5 SUMMARY

The problems obstacles in teaching a good English

Composition are.
a) Poor teaching of grammatical rules in the earlier
classas.

b) Inadequacy of time devoted by the teacher for this

purpose.
c) Incompetence of the teacher to teach, the lack of
proper training of teacher.
d) Uncorrected written work due to large classes.
e) Indifference of students to composition work.
f) Poor Hand writing.

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 3. QUALITIES OF A GOOD PIECE OF WRITING

Let us begin with the ABC of writing:

3.1 A Stands for accuracy. Thus an essential characteristics

of good writing is correctness which means:
a) The tense used should be correct. We cannot say “Did
he went yesterday” or “He is to Lahore tomorrow.”
Similarly it will be incorrect if following Urdu
construction both the clauses contain future tense in a
sentence such as. “If he will work
hard, he will succeed in the examination.” In English
we have simple present in the first part and future in
the second part of the sentence.
b) The preposition use should be correct. The sentence
“He put in his clothes, put out his work and went
away”, will not make any sense. It should be, “He put
on his clothes, put off his work and went away.”

c) The idiom used should be correct. To weep over spilt

milk would be wrong as the correct idiom is to cry over
spilt milk. Similarly literal translation of Urdu idiom
has to be avoided e.g. cannot be translated
as, “His heart became garden and garden.”

d) The word used should be apt (proper). Sometimes

with a view to impressing others or parading our
scholarship we use big, bombastic words even though
they may not fit in to the context and may render the
whole passage meaningless. Here is an example:

“The colloquial gentleman, parading as a

policeman, jumbled into the room which
horrified those present and he himself was be-
fuddled”. What an impressive sentence, one
might say! But is it? It is merely a jumble of

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 words, collected thoughtlessly and
indiscriminately, some brought in because of
slight similarity in sound or form with the
correct words e.g. ‘colloquial, is mistaken for
loquacious’, ‘parading’ could be ‘masquerading’
and ‘jumbled’ should be ‘stumbled’ and so on.
Aptness also means right choice of words which
convey the exact meaning e.g., ‘He seriously
apologized’ and ‘He sincerely apologized’ are
fairly close in meaning but there is a shade of
difference between the two. Therefore, the word
which exactly describes the sentiment would be
considered apt.

3.2 ‘B’ of writing means brevity. It is more difficult to be

brief and concise than write at length. A compressed but
worded passage would be beautiful as well as expressive.
Let us look at this:

(a) “Reading is very important in education. For proper

teaching of reading, sensory motor training is
essential. Moreever provision of proper reading
material is necessary. The books should be written
systematically and contain properly structured
sentences. Study of these books and proper training,
as mentioned, may help in making the students read
fluently and this should be our main aim.”

(b) The four-sentence paragraph can be compressed in

just one sentence, which, if framed properly, will be
more expressive than the original. The ideas may be
expressed as under:

“Reading, being of great importance in

educational process, requires sensory-motor
training and access to such reading material
as having well structured sentences and this

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 may ensure fluent reading, which should be
aimed at!”
3.3 ‘C’ stands for clarity. A good piece of prose should
make the meaning clear and not add to confusion e.g.
“The seminar could not be attended by Mr. A, for not
being granted permission by the principal, the sickness
being the reason.” It appears to be a good sentence but
does not clarify the point whether the sick person was the
principal of Mr. A. Hence it is a vague sentence and the
like of it should be avoided.

3.4 A goodpiece of composition should have proper

beginning and proper ending. Abruptly plunging into
the topic and leaving it as abruptly does not make it a
good piece.
3.5 There should be proper sequencing and logical
development of thought. Each idea has to be put into a
separte paragraph.

3.6 Good handwriting beautifies a composition., makes it

worth reading and enhances its charm. Hence due
attention need to be paid to this as well.
3.7 To sum up Eassay will be written poorly if there is a lack
of relevant material, poverty of thought, and scarcity of
proper arrangement of ideas. Composition can improve if
these defects are avoided.

Qualities of good piece of writing are:

(a) It is accurate using appropriate and correct words.
(b) It is brief.
(c) It is clear.
(d) It begins and ends properly.
(e) It is logical.
(f) It is written in good hand writing.

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 4. BASIC PRINCIPLES AND RULES

While writing students commit serious mistakes as they

are not fully aware of conversant with the rules. Hence the
knowledge of these is the first pre-requisite for good writing and
this also means that the teacher, too, have mastery over these
so that he can impart this knowledge to his students. The
writing of correct English requires familiarity with grammatical
rules, but in this brief section it would not be possible to take up
all the rules and only some of these can be discussed.

4.1 Use of ‘An’

An is used before a word beginning with a vowel (or

having vowel sound) e.g. apple, elephant, idea, orange,
umpire, exception: But we say a University, a European,
because u, e have ‘Y’ sound. Similarly it is ‘an hour’, ‘an
heir’ for here ‘h’ is not sounded.

4.2 Use of ‘The’

(a) ‘The’ is used to particularize a thing as The book
which was presented to me.
(b) It is also used when we are referring not to a
particular (say animal) but to the whole class such
as: The dog is a faithful animal.
(c) It is used before proper nouns of rivers, mountains,
ships, such as: The Indus, The Himalayas, The
Babar.
(d) It is also used with superlatives e.g. the most
popular teacher.
(e) It is used before the name of important books,
such as The Holy Quran, The Bible.

336
 (f) It is not used before proper nouns (Lahore, Allama
Iqbal), plural nouns (scientists mathematicians)
and material nouns (gold, silver).

4.3 Tenses:
Rules regarding present, past and future tenses are so
elementary that these need not be repeated here. But some of
the errors generally committed may be taken up.
a) The past tense in the principal clause is always
followed by past tense in the subordinate clause
e.g.:

I failed in the examination because I did not work

(had not worked) hard.
b) The present tense can be used in the subordinate
clause when it contains a universal truth.
“The teacher said that the sun sets in the West.”
c) The present or future tense in the principal clause
may be followed by any tense in the subordinate
clause:

“He works hard so that he may succeed” or “He

works hard and he will succeed.”
d) A common mistake originating from literal
translation of Urdu sentence pattern occurs in such
future tense:

Imitating Urdu construction of the sentence it is

generally translated as:

“He will succeed if he will work hard.” Such a

construction is not permissible in English. The

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 correct is “He will succeed if he works hard.”
(Simple present in one and future in other clause).

4.4 Verb in the plural is required when two nouns (in

singular) refer to two different things or persons and are
joined by 'and’ such as:

The superintendent and the principal were present

in the hall. (When the superintendent and the principal
are two different persons). But when the principal is also
performing the duties of the superintendent the verb will
be singular.

(a) If ‘each’ or ‘every’ is added to singular nouns, they

take singular verbs. e.g:

(i) Every one of the guilty students was

punished.
(ii) Each boy was given a book.
(b) Words which are plural in form but singular in
meaning take on singular verb:
The sad news of my friend’s death was a shock to
me.

(c) When two singular words are joined by ‘nor’ or ‘or’

they take a singular verb:

(i) Neither he nor I am to be blamed.

(ii) Either the Managing Director or the
Secretary is at fault.

4.5 Incorrect rendering of active voice into passive voice is

also commonly committed mistake:
Rahim did the work in two days.

The work had been done by Rahim in two days.

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4.6 Direct and indirect narration also create problems for
some students. The first is that they mix up the two i.e.
sentences in indirect narration are followed by those in
direct e.g. “They Principal said that many boys were
absent and so they are fined.” Some other mistakes will
be illustrated.

He said: “I will try to complete the task in two days.”

While rendering this and other sentences it may be
seen that the verb in the reported speech should agree
with the reporting verb.

The other difficulty is in interrogative sentences

e.g. He said “Are you leaving for Lahore?” In rendering
such a sentence into indirect form a number of changes
have to be effected and it is here that the student err.
This sentence would be: He asked me whether I was
leaving for Lahore.

4.7 Summary
(a) Use ‘An’ before words beginning with a vowel or
giving vowel sounds.
(b) Use ‘The’ to particularize before proper nouns, with
superlatives and before important books.

(c) Always put past-tense in the subordinate clause

when it is in the principal clause.
(d) Bring plural verb when two nouns refer to two
different things.

(e) Use singular verb for words which are plural in

form but singular in meaning.
(f) Do not mix up direct and indirect narrations.

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4.8 ACTIVITY – I

Send receipt of Umbrella, inkpot, pen and pencil sent to

you by your friend. Tell him that you were in need of these and
that you would make use of these properly.

4.9 ACTIVITY – II

A B

From where did you I bought it from the market

buy this bicycle? for Rs. 800/-. Isn’t it cheap
Yes, I think so. The usual Are you also interested in
rate is Rs. 1000/- buying one?
No, I think of buying Certainly, but is more costly
a motor cycle. Isn’t and every body can’t afford
that better than a bicycle it.
Now tell what A and B said in indirect narration.

4.10. Self Assessment Questions-I

(Fill in the blanks, where necessary).

1. _________________ apple a day keeps the doctor away.

2. ______ honest officer is considered a coward these days.

3. He behaved with _________ generosity, I did not expect.

4. He is ______ M.A. from _________Punjab University.

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5. In ________ desert it is difficult to find ________ water.

6. ____________gold is _______ heaviest of _____metals.

7. He took up civics in Inter as he (considers______ed) it

easy subject.

8. Mathematics _______ interesting subject.

9. My sister as well as her son _____________ injured.

10. Neither you nor I _____________ guilty.

11. My friend and helper ___________ dead.

12. If he (works, will work), he will ____________ earn good

amount of money.

13. Every one of the students _____________ fined.

14. Neither Azhar nor Hamid __________ any claim on this

property.

15. The cabinet ___________ unanimous in this decision.

16. The police (has, have) rounded up the criminals.

17. The news of his success (was, were) given wide publicity.

18. He said _______________ he (is, was) painting a picture.

19. The teacher said that virtue (is, was) its own reward.

20. He will work hard that he ______________ pass.

21. He ___________ his mother give him ten rupees.

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22. The holy man said, “May God bless you.” (change into
indirect.

23. He said, “Why are you anygry with me.” (change into
indirect).

24. When I (get, got) off the lift, I (fall, fell) and (break,
broke) my ankle:

25. I would gladly do it if I _______________ asked to do so.

5. WRITING SKILL

Of four skills i.e., listening, reading, speaking and writing,

the last assumes greater importance, especially when our
speaking and writing system is made entirely dependent on
written answers to the questions set in the paper. What is said,
is important but more so is ‘how it is said’. In other words good
or poor expression considerably affects evaluation which
therefore is determined by the quality of writing. Hence greater
attention needs to be paid to this important communication skill
but unfortunately this is not being done because of a number of
resasons.

Reading through students’ written work is a laborious

task, which the teacher, usually prone to lethargy, avoids. The
student, too, does, not readily accept the written assignments
as these are time consuming and more demanding. Then there
are over crowded classrooms which offer an esxcuse to the lazy
teacher to avoid correction work, considering it an impossible
task. But solution to the problems of large classes is not hard to
find, as will be stated in the later part of this chapter. However,
before jumping on to the solution let us discuss what writing is
and how this skill can be developed systematically.

342
 “Writing is not simply orthographic (in spelling form)
symbolization of sound but something more than this. It is
purposeful selection and organisation of experience …… Good
writing is not merely piecing together of language elements in
some artificial patch work but is accurate, idiomatic, and
graceful. “There are four major areas involved in the writing
process. These areas are as under.

I. Prewriting
A. This is the name given to the first step in a writing
situation.
B. It includes all preliminary work to be done by the teacher
and student.

1. audio-visual presentations (movie; filmstrip; tv/

radio/CDs)
2. list-making, diary or journal writing (vocabulary,
sentence structure)

3. random outlines
4. oral exchange of ideas

5. field trips
6. reading of literary examples, samples
C It is useful to clarify assignments, provide needed
vocabulary, stimulate students.

II. Writing the First Draft

A. This is the name given to the second step in the writing
situation.

B. It includes the first formal composing activity.

1. sentence format
2. paragraph format

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C. It is useful to provide an opportunity for students to get
material down on paper in a preliminary format.
D. It is characterized by a variety of errors.

1. sentence, structure, punctuation, usage

2. spelling, extraneous details
3. unimportant ideas
4. lack of uniform point of view
5. lack of style
6. inadequate audience appeal
7. incomplete development
III. Revising

A. This is the name given to the third step in a writing

situation.

B. It includes the activities during which the first draft is

changed.
1. rearranging words, phrases, sentences, order of
paragraphs

2. selecting most appropriate vocabulary

3. striving for style and audience appeal

4. adding or eliminating details or ideas

C. It is useful to provide an opportunity for correction of the
preliminary manuscript and for interaction between the
writer and “an audience”,
1. Correcting may be done by different people.
a. by the student/writer
b. by the teacher

c. by other students in "peer response groups" or

in “peer pairs”

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2. Correcting may be done using a variety of
techniques.
a. reading the manuscript silently

b. reading the manuscript aloud

c. using a checklist, handbook, guide sheet,

outline

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IV. Editing

A. This is the name given to the fourth step in a writing

situation.

B. It includes the “polishing” activities designed to prepare

the manuscript for the final typing/writing process.
1. correcting mechanical errors missed in revising steps

2. preparing the final copy according to specifications.

C. It is useful to provide an opportunity to eliminate all
errors from the final product

A Good Piece of Writing Involves the Following

It isn't enough to make sure that you have an

introduction at the start, a conclusion at the end, and the other
stuff in between. So what do you need?
1. You do need a solid introduction. It will probably
contain something about how you have interpreted the
question, and it is often a good idea to state a thesis (an
argument) which you are going to illustrate or explore in
the body of the essay -although you may prefer to save
the ‘findings’ of your exploration to the end, in which case
you have to introduce the question carefully at the start.
2. And you need a tight, powerful conclusion which is
the logical consequence of everything that has gone
before. The good essay has developed a number of
related strands which the conclusion ties together. It may
also contain an extra, surprising thing which you saved to
throw in at the end with a flourish.

3. So what happens in between? Well...

You need to organise your material so that it
flows from one area, sub-section or argument
to the next in a logical order. Each part should

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 build upon, or at least reasonably follow on
from, the previous parts, and the whole thing
should be pulling the reader, clearly and
inescapably, to your triumphant conclusion.

The box on the right shows unimaginative kinds of essay

structure, which are likely to get low marks. But what can
you do instead?
One good approach is to look through your notes and
identify a handful of themes within the discussion, and to
structure your essay around consideration of those. You should
order the analysis of each theme so that the essay builds up
towards the conclusion.

Don't Know how to Start?

If you’ve got some notes but you don't know how to start
the next stage, get a nice big clean sheet of paper and write
down phrases which summarise all of your thoughts about the
subject, the different questions and ideas you've had in your
mind, and the areas and problems that have been covered in
your reading. Then look for similarities, and related concerns,
and group them together in whatever way makes sense to you.
After that, see if you can number these areas into an order the
order in which you will weave your way through the material.
And voila! You've accidentally created an essay structure. Now
just check it, tweak it a bit to make it more coherent, and you're
ready to go.
More analysis = more marks

You will often need to describe something before you give

an analysis of it. Only include as much description as is needed
for the analysis to make sense. The analysis is what you will get
the marks for. Of course, a muddled, illogical and
unsubstantiated analysis can still leave you with no marks. We'll

347
be looking for a clear, coherent and consistent analysis,
supported by evidence.
Don't just repeat what some books (or your lecture notes)
say -we want your analysis. However, you should also show
your awareness of other people's analyses! Don’t wander off the
subject. Answer the question, and only the question. And keep
checking that you are remaining on track throughout the essay.
If there’s something interesting that you want to include, but
which is of dubious relevance to the main argument or theme of
the essay, put it in a footnote. Don’t rush. You might remember
that you 'did all right' last time you stayed up all night on
caffeine, the day before the deadline, to research and write an
essay. But this most likely means that you would have done
much better if you had started reading and researching, and
then writing, days or weeks before that. It is always obvious to
your tutors when an essay is rushed. Don't cheat. Plagiarism -
using other people's works and ideas without acknowledging
where you got them from – is regarded as an enormous sin, the
penalties for which are actually worse than just getting zero for
the essay. Just say no. Or more specifically, make sure that you
have got perfect references:
Proper planning and systematic work is required for
writing skill. It many require the students to go through the
following stages:
(a) Copying or transcription

This stage starting with the sixth class may continue upto
seventh class. At this stage the student merely copies
from the printed page even without understanding.
Though a very mechanical stage, it still aims at teaching
certain aspects of the language. It teaches spelling,
reinforces sentence structure and acts as an aid to
retention. Thus it is a meaningful activity.

348
(b) Dictation

Dictation serves triple purpose. It is a useful exercise

which reinforces the relationship between sound and
symbol and at the sametime it is a good test of the
student’s memory. But most of all it tests and teaches
spelling and punctuation. Hence it is a good preliminary
exercise. Dictation can also take the form of spot
dictation in which the teacher reads out complete
sentences but repeals a word or a few words, which the
students are expected to write. Thus he will be
concentrating on the spelling of difficult words, which he
wants his students to memorize.
(c) Exercise
Which words would you repeat/emphasize in the following
passage for spot dictation:
“Dictation is a language activity which differs from other
activities because it involves listening and the ability to
transform what is heard into the written form. However,
such a dictation should be based on language with which
the students are already familiar. It is best regarded as a
reinforcement activity which may from time to time be
used as an alternation to some other activity.”

5.3 In short, though even at this stage no originality is

involved it still is one stage higher than mere copying, where
the text was in front of him and he was just pulling it down as it
was. Here at this stage he is writing from memory which means
that his spellings are being tested and if he has not mastered
them he is likely to commit mistakes. Similarly whatever little
bit he learnt about punctuation at the first stage is also being
tested and reinforced. Does he put a full stop after completion
of a sentence and began the next sentence with a capital letter?
It, however, is too early stage to test the use of commas. Thus
though no originality is expected and no manipulative skills are

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involved the student has taken a step forward -he is improving
his spellings and is learning about sentence structure.

5.4 Controlled Writing

By the time the student reaches the second half of VII

class or VIII class he should be considered fit to take up
manipulative exercises where the student will be required to
demonstrate his familiarity with sentence construction but he
still will be operating within a fixed frame work. He may effect
changes in the given sentences, make some additions in it or
put these into a different forms. Various exercises can be
prescribed, beginning with simple exercises, such as combining
sentences with appropriate conjunctions, filling in the blanks,
making substitutions or re-arranging jumbled sentences:

(a) Sentence combition

He went on a journey.
He went early in the morning
He went to Karachi
He went ____________ to ___________.

(b) Filling in the blanks

Ahmad came ______ school early ________the morning.
He will study _________ 3 O’ clock and then go back ________
his home, where his father would be waiting –him.
(c) Re-arranging jumbled sentences:

He had very little time. He put off his clothes. Then he got
on to his bicycle and started for the office. He got up late.

He hurriedly took a bath. So he wanted to get ready

soon.

Properly arranged sentences would be:

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 He get up late. He had very little time so he wanted to
get ready soon. He put off his clothes. He hurriedly took a
bath. Then he got on to his bicycle and started for the
office.

5.5 A slightly different form of such an exercise but more

interesting is writing a strip story. In such exercise a story (say
of ten sentences) is written down but each sentence is written
on a separate strip of paper. These ten strips are distributed to
ten students who are asked to work together and put these
sentences in order so that it makes a readable story.

Story:

Here are ten sentences which may be shuffled and

distributed among the students:
1. The husband, who was a poor clerk, wanted to
please his wife.
2. He managed to get an invitation to dinner.
3. The wife instead of being pleased, got upset.
4. She did not have any jewellery, so borrowed it from
a friend.
5. She enjoyed the feast but lost the borrowed
necklace.
6. A new necklace was purchased by borrowing money
from friend.
7. Both the husband and wife worked hard to repay.
8. She now was an old women with wrinkles on the
face.
9. By chance she met the friend from whom she had
got the necklace.
10. The friend, listening to her story, said. “But mine
was imitation.”

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5.6 Substitution

Good substitution tables can present interesting

exercises. Begin with simple labels where the substitution are
almost mechanical and then go on to tables where thinking and
knowledge of grammatical rules is required: Here is a table
which can generate 450 sentences:

be has been made Manager

Mr. Ahmad appointed Chief Clerk
if
your uncle chosen as Deputy

that man Manager

would done the

have
job well, improved
the business,

changed a
he lot of things,
got a big
salary, been
successful.

5.7 Here is another table, to be tackled at a slightly advanced

stage.

Two of our old students went to Logas last year

England last week,

Islamabad two days ago,

three months
ago,

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 the
He Went Inspect a new
Ministry
She there to factory, study at
of Foreign
They the University
Who Work Affairs a
See Mr. Mahmood big office
which in
See their friend
Yousif visit her
sister-in-law

Teaches

makes
Many different subjects

produces Many kinds of tyres

clothes
He
electrical
She
equipment
They
batteries.

travelled by sea did not have a

he
train car, could not
because she
air afford an air
they
on lorry ticket. could not
bus go there by
train. knew the
ships were all
full. wanted to
get there
quickly. did not
want to pay too
much.

353
Their friends took her to the house.
him his factory.
Here brothers
a hotel
them
His sister their
office
The manager airport her
A bus docks
met them at the
An taxi
Bus station
old friend her and
rail way
station

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5.8 Cloze Test
It is a kind of test and also an exercise in correct writing.
Take any paragraph and delete every seventh or eighth word
which may be a verb, noun, article, etc. Substitution may not be
very easy and will depend on comprehending the sense of the
passage. For example take the following paragraph:
A cloze test is a simple __________ to produce.
You merely take a _________ any paragraph, and
_______ start counting words ________ seventh word
should be removed and _________ technique required
the testee to replace ____________ original words or
provide acceptable equivalents _________ is no magic
number and you may strike out every __________ sixth
or ninth word as __________ see fit, remembering that
the smaller the number, the harder the test. The _______
of course, must establish the identity _________ the
necessary word by a variety __________ contextual
clues. Usually placement indicates whether _________
missing word is a noun, verb, ___________ adverb,
preposition, or article, and the __________ agreement
will show whether it’s singular __________ plural. A word
is deemed correct ___________ it makes sense even if it
_____________ not a synonym for the missing.

Missing words: test, age, every, this, the, mine, seventh,

you, testee, of, of, the, adjective, or, it, is, word.

5.9 Sentence adoption

This may include such exercises as expanding the
sentences to include new information, rearranging or
contracting them, taking up jumbled sentences, changing into
active/passive voice or into direct/indirect narration. Similarly
sentences may be recombind effecting some changes in the
vocabulary.

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 (a) We went very late to school (add the reaction for
being late).
(b) He was happy to know because ……………………

(c) Now he was a rich man. Even his enemies were at

the airport. He was a poor man so he wanted to try
his luck elsewhere. He was received by all the
mohallah people. He was returning from Dubai (re-
arrange).
Correct order would be:

1. He was poor so he wanted to try his luck

elsewhere.

2. But now he was a rich man.

3. He was returning from Dubai.

4. He was received by all the Mohallah people.

5. Even his enemies were at the airport.

5.10 Guided-Writing

The next step, which is an extension of the previous

stage, would be giving the student freedom of selecting words
and also effecting changes in the structural pattern more than in
the previous stage. Various types of exercises can be taken up.
Some of these are mentioned below:

(a) Ouesto–Comp: A number of questions are so

framed that answer to these (if correct and
properly worded) would make a readable
paragraph. For example:

i. When does Ahmad get up in the morning?

ii. Does he take bath?

iii. What else does he do before going to the
school?

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 iv. When does he start from home?

v. How far is the school from his home?

vi. How much time does it take to reach there.

vii. Does he reach the school before the school

bell goes.?
By answering the given questions, the following
paragraph will be composed:
Ahmad gets up at 6 O’ clock in the morning. He
takes a bath. Then he takes his break–fast and
gets ready for the school. He starts for his school
at 7 O’ clock A.M. The school is at a distance of two
miles from his home. It takes about 40 minutes to
reach the school. So he reaches there before the
school bell goes.

(b) Picto–Com
Another form of paragraph writing, but
requiring slightly more on the part of the student,
is picto-comp. Here instead of questions, a picture
is presented after studying which the student is
required to answer a number of questions, which
may require knowledge of vocabulary beyond that
contained in the questions e.g. the question may
be “what is the boy, siting on the bank of the
stream, doing,?” The answer might be, “He is
holding a fishing rod in his hand and hopes to catch
fish from the stream.” Now while the word’ stream’
has been given, the expectation is that the student
knows what a fishing rod or a fishing tackle is. The
answers to all the questions will result in
composing a paragraph. So it will be a useful
exercise. Let us take up an exercise.

357
 The Homecoming:

The Logan family was waiting for susan at the

airport. She finally arrived at 7:00 P.M. and was
greeted with effectonate hugs and kisses. Susan
hugged her sister. Any, while her brother lary,
smiled happily. Her uncle Stephen stood in the
doorway with a wide grin on his face. With pleased
expressions on their faces, Susan’s mother and her
sister, Lucky, stood by watching her hugging Amy.
Hr young cousin Alfred peered couriously from his
postion in front of Larry, wondering what all the
excitement was about. It was truly a happy
occasion.
Exercise–I
Copy the sentences above and change the verbs into
present tense.
Exercise–II

Describe Larry.
5.11 Exercise–III

Which of the following expressions might be heard during

this scene at the airport:
(a) It’s good to be home.

(b) Where have you been?

(c) Did you enjoy the train ride?
(d) How wonderful to see you?
(e) We certainly missed you.

(f) When are you leaving?

(g) Welcome home Its’ been a long time.

(h) How are you?

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 (i) Do you want anything?

(j) How long is it?

5.12 Summary

The following points about writing skill deserve special

attention:

(a) Students should be inducted into this skill in a

systematic manner by making them pass through
five stages of copying, reproduction, controlled
writing, guided writing and free composition.

(b) Copying teaches spelling, introduces to sentence

structure and to punctuation.
(c) Reproduction is writing out what has been learnt or
memorized. Dictation and spot dictation are
included in it.
(d) Controlled writing would require students familiarily
with sentence construction. Some of the forms
would be sentence combination, re-arrangement,
filling in blanks, writing strip stories, substitutions,
cloze procedure and sentence adoption.
(e) Guided writing involves some original composition
and may be in the form of questo-comp, picto-
comp, telegrams, precis writing etc.
(f) Free composition: even at this stage the students
may first be given a model and then compose
freely.

Exercise

1. Develop into a paragraph: Regularity in taking

exercise is essential for young men ………..

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 2. you would like to stop your friend from smoking.
Write a letter to him giving arguments for not
smoking.

3. write the first paragraph of an essay on : “Be it

ever so humble, there is no place like home”.

6. COMPOSITION CORRECTIONS
Erross and Syntactic Growth
Most errors (that is, those that are not repeated and are
not the result of unfocused attention) are signs of syntactic and
linguistic growth. Writers do not intentionally create
constructions that are incorrect. Rather, they are aiming at
correctness but have not yet learned the correct way of
communicating the concept they have in mind.
Most errors in a given piece of writing are repeated
errors. The error is repeated because the writer hasn’t mastered
the appropriate skill or technique. If the repeated error is
identified and then explained to the writer, the writer should be
able to eliminate the error entirely from his or her style of
writing.
One important factor impinging upon the standard of
English is absence or correction of written work. The teacher
shuns composition work and the student, too, either has no
composition work assigned or it goes uncorrected as the teacher
professes the excuse of large classes. Uncorrected mistakes
perpetuate and consolidate students habits, which are very
difficult to eradicate at a later stage.

6.1 In any scheme suggested for correction work the actual

situation existing in the field has to be taken into consideration.
It is customary to accuse the teacher of neglect but the
situation, he is placed in, is that he is surrounded by hundreds
of students, resulting in enormous correction work involved,
visualizing which he takes to the easy path of assigning no

360
written work and therefore no correction work. But this is
tantamount to professional dishonesty and hence the teacher
instead of closing his eyes to the situation, must tackle the
problem by devising proper methods as would be required in the
prevailing situation.
6.2 One of the solution is that instead of thumbing through
hundreds of pages, the teacher may give short assignments of
guided and controlled composition. These will be easy to mark
and will neither be time consuming not involve labourious
correction process. Moreover besides individual correction mass
correction method could also be employed i.e. the teacher may
announce the correct word in the class (say in a fill-in-the blank
type of exercise) and the students on the basis of this may be
asked to evaluate their answers and correct the wrong
responses. Self-correction and peer correction (as will be
explained later) are also possible and these will help in
lightening the burdon of the teacher.

6.3 Berfore proceeding further with the question of correction

work, let us first study why and how errors arise. Errors usually
considered synonymous with mistakes, result from lack of
knowledge, say of rules of grammar, while mistakes stem from
carelessness e.g. a student may carelessly leave out “not” in
such a sentence, “He is – an ungrateful person though he seems
to have forgotten what you did for him”. A little omission will
completely change the sense but if the, student is in the habit of
going over his written work he himself will be able to correct
such a mistake. The same sentence could have been written by
the student in this way.” He is not an ungrateful person though
he seems to have forgot which you did for him”. This is an error
committed due to non familiarity with the rules. These two
sentences illustrate the difference between the mistakes and
errors – the former unintentional and the later resulting from
ignorance. Mistakes arise from slips and omissions but errors
arise because of:

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 (a) Interlingual interference i.e interference of mother
tongue of LI (language I). sometimes students
copy Urdu (LI) construction of sentence, such as.
“He will go to Lahore and will bring a new cycle.
“Will” in both the clauses is the usual construction
in Urdu but is not permissible in English. Similarly
English idiom may be entirely different from the
Urdu idiom and hence litral ‘translation will be
incorrect e.g. Urdu idiom”. “but in English idiom
there is no reference to the snake. It is “To lock the
stable door after the mare has been stolen;. What
an apparent different difference between the two!
But this is how it stands.

(b) Intralingual interference i.e. resulting from the

learners imperfect mastery of the rules and
conventions of English and this is the usual error as
the students neglect the rules, say of past tense, to
be followed by the past tense etc.
(c) Spelling mistakes are very often committed as the
students do not look up the spellings of those
words they are in doubt about in the dictionary.

7. CORRECTION METHODS

7.1 Self-correction: The students should be trained to study

critically their own compositions. Such a process will help in not
only dotting the “I’s” and crossing “T’s” (i.e. finding out
mistakes due to carelessness), but the students on critical
examination may be able to spot out some other errors also say
of spelling or tense and be able to correct them.

7.2 Mass correction: The teacher can anticipate certain

common errors that the students are likely to commit for a
particular type of composition, say of précis or story writing and

362
may take these up with whole class. Such a discussion will
provide guidance and minimize students’ mistakes.
Discussion can also take place after the composition has
been written and this may help students to find out their errors
and so correct them before submitting their compositions to the
teacher thus making his task lighter.

7.3 Peer correction: the errors are some times so deeply

ingrained that these may not be detected by the student
himself, but a friend might be able to point these out. So let a
friend read through the script and underline what he considers
to be wrong and in case of any doubt regarding the errors
pointed out, these can be referred to the teacher. However, this
will simplify the task of the teacher.
7.4 In case of such exercises as filling in the blanks or
selecting one correct word out of the 2/3 given (multiple
choice), the teacher needs not read the exercise books.
He may simply announce the correct answer and ask the
students to evaluate their work and let the teacher know about
it.

7.5 The last method would, of course, be correction by the

teacher, but even here some simplification is possible.
The teacher instead of correcting all the errors with red
ink too much appearance of which is demoralizing for the
students, may follow a system of symbols, some of which are
given below:

Sp for spelling

T Tense
P Punctuation

Prep Preposition

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 A Article

W Missing words
Wo Word order

WW Wrong word

Neg Wrong / negative

⁄⁄ New paragraph

Example
P Tokyo Where those who lost their home
towns.

SP Live is more terrible than strange.

The people led their lives as if they
were sea weed which has lost its
roots.
W They have no place to go back. They
are only hungry but also homeless.
A They are the brave people

Such a procedure will not only reduce the teacher’s work

but will also make the student think about his errors and so
avoid them in future.
7.6 Summary
(a) Correction could be in the form of:

Self correction, peer correction, mass correction.

(b) Self correction would require the student to
critically examine his composition.
(c) Mass correction would require general discussion of
common mistakes.

364
 (d) Peer correction would involve soliciting help of class
fellows.
(e) In the teacher correction the method of symbols
may be followed.

8. LETTER WRITING

The letter writing is a hobby, it is an interesting pastime, it

also is a necessity. Letters bring people closer to each other. They
help in clarification of misunderstanding and are expression of
strongly felt sentiments. They are also necessitated because of
business matters, official concern or for submission of request.

Letter usually are of four types:

(a) Friendly, personal or private letters.
(b) Official letters.
(c) Business letters.
(d) Social letters.

8.1 Personal/Private Letters

Letters addressed to friends and relatives fall into this
category. These usually have five parts:
Heading: The heading is written in the upper right-hand
corner of a friendly letter. It includes your address and the date.
Although you should always include the date in your heading,
You may omit your address if You prefer.
Salutation: This is sometimes called the Greeting. It begins
with the word Dear, followed by the name of the person who will
receive the letter. The salutation in a friendly letter is followed by
a comma. (,) Skip, two lines after the heading and then write the
salutation (or greeting at the left-hand margin of your paper.
Salutation in a business letter is followed by a colon (:)

365
 Body: The body is the main part of your letter. This is the
place where you will share information and ideas with the
person to whom you are writing. Think about the person you are
writing. What interesting, fun, and exciting experiences have
you had, recently. Which would they enjoy hearing about? Be
sure to start your letter with a sentence that really makes your
friend interested in seeing what the rest of your letter has to
say. Remember to answer any questions you may have been
asked when your friend last wrote to you; and show a genuine
interest in them, by asking one or two question about what is
happening in their life.

Remember to start a new paragraph each time you begin

to write about a new idea or subject. Indent the first line of each
new paragraph unless you are using block format. Leave a one
line space between paragraphs. Proofread your letter and make
any corrections or changes you need and then you are ready for
the closing.

Closing: Skip two lines after the body of your letter, and in
the meddle of your paper, begin writing your closing. It will be
written in two lines. In the first line, choose a phrase like: Your
friend, or Sincerely or Lover,. Be sure to capitalize the first
word. On the next line, and again, starting in the middle, add
your signature. In most cases, the person you are writing will
known you well, so you will only write your first name.

For example:

366
 House No. 1456
I–10/1
Islamabad.
My dear Asad,

Thanks you for your nice letter of the 4th March,

B
2006. I was really glad to learn that you have been
O
awarded a scholarship for pursuing higher studies in the
D
states. This is in recognition of your talent. May you
Y
acquit yourself as creditably in the foreign university as
you have done here.
I Insha Allah! Will meet you at the airport on the
th
18 March, when you take off of Michigan.

Closing
Or
Subscription

Yours affectionately,

(Muhammad Imran)

Business letter Introduction

Business letters have five main sections. These sections
are called:
 Heading: The heading is written in the upper right-hand
corner of a business letter, unless you choose the Block-
format, in which case, each section lines up against the
left margin, it includes your address and the date.
 Inside address: The inside address is written against
the left margin, and includes the name of the business,
their street address, and their city, state and zip code. Do

367
 not skip any lines between the heading and the inside
address, unless you are using the Block-format. Skip two
lines after the heading and then write the salutation (or
greeting) at the left-hand margin of your paper.

 Salutation: This is sometimes called the greeting. It

begins with the word Dear, followed by the name of the
person who will receive the letter, or if you do not know
the name you may use Sir or Madam. The salutation in a
business letter is followed by a colon(:)

 Body: The body is the main part of your letter. This is the
place where you will share information and ideas with the
person to whom you are writing. Thin about the person
you are writing. What interesting fun and exciting
experiences have you had, recently which would they
enjoy hearing about? Be sure to start your letter with a
sentence that really makes your friend interested in
seeing what the rest of your letter has to say. Remember
to answer any question you may have been asked when
your friend last wrote to you, and show a genuine interest
in them, by asking one or two questions about what is
happening in their life.
Remember to start a new paragraph each time you begin
to write about a new idea or subject. Each paragraph
should be indented, unless you are using the Block-
format. In the Block-format your paragraphs will not be
indented, but will be against the left margin. Leave one
line space between paragraphs. Proofread your letter and
make any corrections or changes you need and then you
are ready for the

 Closing: Skip two lines after the body of your letter, and
in the middle of your paper, begin writing your closing. It
will be written in two lines. In the first line, choose a
phrase like your friend, or sincerely, or love. Be sure to

368
 capitalize the first word. On the next line, and will know
you well, so you will only write your first name.

Sample Business Letter

707N. 6th street

seward, NE 68434
January 15, 2006
Mr. Donald Brighton
Fulbright College, Dean of students
1962 N. Chase Ave.
Suite 17
Canton, NJ 77234

Dear Mr. Brighton:

I am writing to request an information packet about
enrolling at Fulbright College. I will be graduating in May of
2006. Fulbright is one of the colleges my family and I are
interested in learning more about.

When visiting your website, I noticed that a complete

student enrollment and information packet is available. I am
specifically interested in courses that pertain to education
majors, on-campus dormitory living, and costs. Thank you for
any information you can send, that might help my family and
myself learn more about your fine school.

Sincerely,
(Leave 4 spaces here, for your personal signature.)

Shahid khan

Applications are also official letters. The designation of

the officer addressed is written in the middle of the page. It is
followed by “sir”. The closing sentence may be:

369
 “Hoping that my request will elicit favorable response” or
‘I hope that my request will be sympathetically considered”. The
subscription, as in official letter is “yours obediently”. (it may be
noted that in all these cases there is no apostrophe on yours)

8.5 To sum up salutation for different forms of letters are as

under

Persons salutation Subscriptions

addressed

Relatives:

a) Older My dear father Your affectionately,

My dear brother

b) younger My dear Jehangir Brother, nephew, son

Friend My dear Salem Yours sincerely,

My dear Tariq Yours truly,

c) Acquaintances My dear Mr. Arif Yours truly,

d) Strangers Dear sir

Yours truly,
Dear Arshad

e) Business letters Dear sir Yours Faithfully

Dear sirs Yours truly,

f) Letters to public Sir

servants Yours faithfully,

g) Application Sir Yours Respectfully,

h) Editors etc. Sir Yours truly, yours etc,

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 9. STORY WRITING

The most fascinating piece of literature, which captivates

even a little child and continues to exercise its charm over the
young is the story. The students may be asked to write stories
on some given theme or topic e.g. “Union is Strength”. There
are some popular stories which have been repeated time and
again e.g. “The Greedy Dog”, “The Thirsty Crow”, etc. The
students are familiar with these and may have simply
reproduced these in their own words. Here the student is not
required to do any great mental exercise. The story is already
known to him. All he has to do is put it down in his own words.

9.1 In the next stage of story writing an outline of the story

may be provided and the student is required to develop it into a
story, e.g:
A man out of job knocks at many doors –– hungry and
penniless – intends to commit suicide – on way to the river –
notices flames in house – rings up the fire brigade – the fire is
put out – gets the job.
Here the students has first to do a little mental exercise
i.e. make a plot of the story and then start writing out the story.
9.2 Yet another form of the story writing might be that the
student is given a topic and is asked to make a story. The topic
might be: “The midnight adventure”. In such a case he will do
well to write outline of the story after forming a clear idea of the
plot and of the main characters. The following steps may be
followed:
a) Prepare an outline of the story with a clear idea of
the plot and of the main characters round whom it
is to be spun.

b) Avoid bringing in unnecessary details.

c) Follow the order as fixed in the outline.

371
 d) Connect the points in a smooth and natural way so
that the end product is a readable story.
e) Make the beginning and the end striking and
interesting. An element of surprise in the end may
enhance the interest.

10. PARAGRAPH WRITING

Paragraph is a short piece of composition, complete in
itself but containing one idea only. It usually extends to about
fifteen/twenty lines. This is a first step to writing an essay,
which contains a number of paragraphs and therefore all the
possible ideas that the student may think of.
10.1 The language of the paragraph should be simple and
clear. The sentences, should be simple and short instead of
being complex and complicated. Being a short composition it
cannot afford to contain long illustrations or long elaborations of
views and ideas. Proper beginning, suitable ending, as in the
case of essay, is essential. Cohesion i.e. joining sentences
together to form, grammatical units and coherence i.e.
organizing sentences to form “such units” are essentially
required. Unnecessary details and irrelevant stuff should not be
packed into it. The main idea should be developed logically and
should conclude properly, not giving an impression of putting
the stop abruptly. In fact, proper beginning, logical development
of the idea, without unnecessary details, and a suitable ending,
are the characteristics of good paragraph.
10.2 Exercise: Dictate a paragraph sentence by sentence. After
one sentence ask the students what they think the next
sentence might contain. Then decide it.

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 11. ESSAY WRITING

11.1 Eassy’ literally means an attempt. In the usual sense it is

an attempt at collection and arrangement of material and
expression of ideas about any particular topic in an orderly and
logical manner. In fact it is an extension of paragraph writing
but is a more elaborate exercise and longer. It, according to Dr.
Johnson, is a loose sally of the mind, but this definition applies
more to an essay by a literary scholar than to that of a student,
who is required to tackle it in a more systematic manner for
which the following steps are suggested:

a) Collect (think about) sufficient material about topic.

b) Apply the process of shifting and sorting. Retain

the most relevant, important and interesting
points, and putting the points in a logical order.
c) Think out a good beginning so that the essay can
be made interesting.
d) Develop the ideas into paragraphs, each containing
one idea.
e) The concluding paragraph should either sum up the
whole matter or end the essay in an interesting
manner.
11.2 Essay usually falls into three categories:

a) Descriptive essays: Wherein description of some

place, person, action etc. is given e.g. “Life in a
Village”, “A Pakistani Fair, giving all the details that
he can think of.

b) Narrative essays: This means narrating or telling,

say about an incident, happening etc. e.g. “A
Picnic”, “A House on Fire”. These too are not
difficult to write as these do not require a lot of

373
 thinking. The narration should be made as
interesting as possible.
c) Reflective essay: These consist of reflections
(thinking) on social, political and domestic affairs
e.g. “The Dowry System”, “Drug Trafficking”. These
are not so easy to write and cannot be taken up at
the school stage.

12. SUMMARY

The written work though extremely important in a system

where evaluation hinges on it suffers from neglect, for which
both the teachers and students are responsible. The former
having little related training, being deficient in basic knowledge
and overawed by larger classes, making correction work too
stupendous a task to be tackled. The student allergic to writing
shuns it specially when the overworked teacher, does not make
it obligatory for him. On the other hand poor teaching of
grammatical rules in the earlier classes, little correction by the
teachers, and so the situation goes from bad to worse.

Improvement of written work requires systematically

handling the problem, the aim being producing a good piece of
writing, which should have the qualities of accuracy, brevity and
clarity, correct grammatical structures, proper choice of words –
which are apt and appropriate, avoidance of redundancy,
correctness of idiom, logical sequencing of thoughts, are some
of the characteristics of good piece of writing.
Initiation of students to the basic rules of grammar in the
earlier classes, will help in minimizing the mistakes which in the
absence of such an instruction, they are likely to commit.
Awareness about the usage of definite and indefinite article and
command over the use of tenses will lead to correctness of
writing. Avoiding literal translation and Urdu pattern of
sentences is essential. Rendering of active voice into passive

374
voice and direct narration into indirect narration needs practice
and mastery of the relevant rules.

Writing Skills:

Writing is a purposeful selection of experiences in a

accurate, idiomatic and graceful manner, it can be learnt by
subjecting the students to go through five stages beginning with
copying, which through apparently unchallenging and
mechanical way to teach preliminary rules of punctuation.
Reproduction, which is the next stage is less mechanical
requiring the student to write from memory. This implies testing
spelling and punctuation rules etc.
Controlled writing done through multifarious exercises
including sentence combinations, filling in the blanks,
rearranging jumbled sentences, cloze tests, strip story and
sentence adaptation, will make the student manipulate
grammatical structures within a fixed frame work.

Guided writing, also operative within a framework

gradually becoming less loose, may prescribe such exercises as
quest-com., picto-com, developing a topic sentence into a
paragraph. In these some guidance is provided but the students
originality is also required to be exercised. This will lead on to
the final stage of free composition where the student is
completely on his own and finally plunges into the limitless sea
of free expression.

Errors committed because of lack of knowledge and

inadequate practice usually arise from interlingual and
intralingual interference, i.e. mother tongue influence on the
sentence pattern or imperfect mastery of rules adversely affect
the writing. therefore, for ensuring error free writing guidance in
the form of correction of composition is essential. Systematically
proceeding from simple exercise, requiring generalized or mass
correction, as possible in reproduction and controlled writing

375
stages, will lighten the teacher’s work and also provide guidance
at an early stage, eliminating the possibility of perpetuation the
mistakes.

Correction:
Various methods for correction work could be employed
e.g. self correction, wherein student by going over his own
composition may spot out some omissions or errors. Mass
correction could be done by the teacher by discussing common.
Mistakes could also be identified on scrutining by the class
fellows making peer correction possible. And finally corrections
have to be done by the teachers, who to lighten their work and
also to make the students concentrate on their mistakes, may,
instead of spending a long time on correction of all the
mistakes, follow a system of symbols and thus point these out
to the students, who may then correct them.

Letter writing:
Letters may be friendly, private, official, business or
social, Private letters being with the address of the writer, while
the official and business letters may mention the designation of
the person addressed. The salutation in the case of private
letters may be ‘My dear–‘which in business and official letters
may be ‘Dear sir’ or ‘Sir’. The main body of the letter in case of
all categories will contain the main message/ideas to be
communicated to the addressee. The style of writing is friendly
in case of private letters while in the case of applications and
official letters it is formal and formal and respectful. Business
letters have to be coached in courteous language. The third part
of the letter i.e. the subscription varies in all the categories. In
private letters it is ‘yours affectionately’ or ‘yours sincerely’
while in business letters it will be ‘yours truly’ or ‘yours
faithfully’. Official letters usually end with ‘your obediently’.

376
Story:
The most fascinating piece of literature, relished alike by
the children and the grown up, is the story. Therefore, asking
the students to write stories will be enjoyable experience for
them. Beginning with well known stories we may proceed to
stories with outlines and then to stories with no outlines but to
be written on particular themes. In such a case after mentally
making out the plot and fitting a few characters in it, an outline
may be drawn and the main points may be pointed smoothly,
making the beginning and the ending as striking as possible.

Paragraph:
It is a well knit short piece of composition usually
containing one idea. With proper beginning, logical development
of the idea (without unnecessary details) and a suitable ending,
a good paragraph may be written.

Essay writing:
Defined as a loose sally of mind by Dr. Johnson, it, is in
fact, an orderly composition in which the idea is developmed in
logical sequence and is spread over properly organized
paragraphs, the concluding paragraph usually summing up the
whole. Essays are descriptive, narrative and reflective – the first
two containing description or narrating an incident etc. while the
final category consists of profound ideas collected about topic
after proper deliberation. Orderly arrangement of ideas, putting
these in a clear form and bringing the topic to a logical close,
will be required for a good essay.
The final word for teacher trainees is that they should be
fully conversant with the grammatical rules, be prepared to
provide guidance to the students, willingly and readily take up
correction work, follow a systematic plan for teacing written
work by proceeding from the easy to the difficult, devote proper
time for composition and do it in all seriousness. Then surely
writing skill of the students will improve and will not suffer from
the neglect that is in evidence today.

377
 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS—II

Tick the following as true or false.

(A)

1. The main cause of deterioration in English is that the

students do not write. T. F
2. The problems in written work arising due to overcrowded
classes. T. F
3. Interalingual interference is the interference due to
mother tongue. T. F

4. Subscription means how to address the addressee. T. F.

(B) Answer the following

1) Composition in Pakistan is neglected field because:

(a)
(b)
(c)
2. If there is past tense in the principal cause, there should
be …… tense in the subordinate clause.
3. The hostibilities between the two countries seized after
the intervention of the U.N (correct the wrong word).
4. Complete the idioms:
a) To harp on the same …………….
b) To …………… to one’s heels.
c) To …………… on one’s own legs.
d) To cut the ……………..
5. the ABC of a writing is:
A. ……………………..
B. ……………………..
C. ……………………..

378
6. A book you gave me, has been lost. (correct it)

7. If you ………………… to Lahore you will meet Rahim. (fill in

the blank).

8. Writing is not simply ……………………… symbolization of

sound but something more than this. (fill in the blank)
9. Good writing is ………………… idiomatic and graceful.

10. Notation is noting down the spelling of the word.

11. Transcription means:
a) Translating.

b) Describing.

c) Copying.

12. Calligraphy concern:

a) Geography.

b) Handwriting.
c) Concise writing.
d) Picture composition
13. Reproduction is

a) Just copying.
b) Original writing
c) Rewriting memorised passage.
d) Producing good literature.
14. In spot dictation the teacher reads out complete sentence
but ……………………
15. Controlled writing is the stage of writing:
a) first.
b) Second.
c) Third.

379
16. Strip story is a part of longer story. T. F.

17. Substitution are the last words with which a letter ends.
18. For cloze test take a paragraph and delete every ………
word.

19. In a questo-comp a number of pictures are so arranged

that a readable paragraph can be written. (T/F)

20. You wan to sell your car; prepare a three-line

advertisement giving all the necessary information.
21. Properly comprehending the passage and putting …………
all the main considerations for writing a good précis.

22. Topic sentence is the key sentence in a paragraph. T. F.

23. Errors and mistakes are synonymous. T. F.

24. Interlingual interference results from …………

25. Peer correction means the best correction. T. F.

26. Used for correction of writing:
a) Sp ___
b) pl ----

c) // ___
d) T ___
27. There are four kinds of letters:
a) Private
b) Official

c) Business
d) ………………?
28. Official letters should begin with Sir’, and end with …………
29. Dr. Johnson said that an essay is ………… of the …………

380
30. Essays usually fall into the three categories:

a)
b)

c)

14. Answer to Self-Assessment Questions

4.11. Answers to Self-Assessment Questions-I

1. An 2. An
3. a 4. an, the
5. the, no preposition in 6. 1st and 3rd blanks, no
the second blank. preposition; 2nd blank the
7. Considered (past tense 8. Is, an;
to be followed by past
tense).
9. were (two persons) 10. Am
were injured;
11. is (reference) is to one 12. Works
person;
13. Was 14. Has
15. Was 16. Have
17. Was 18. that was
19. is 20. may
21. requested 22. The holy man prayed
that God might bless
him (the addressee).
23. He asked why I was 24. got, fell, broke
angry with him.
25. were

381
Self Assessment Question — II
A. Correction work.
1. F
2. F
3. F
4. F

B. (1) (a) Teacher’s incompetence.

(b) Overcrowded classes
(c) Student’s allergy to written work.

2. Past

3. Ceased

4. (a) String
(b) Take
(c) Stand
(d) Gordian
5. (a) Accuracy
(b) Brevity
(c) Clarity
6. The book

7. Go
8. Orthographic
9. Accurate

10. F
11. C
12. B
13. C

14. Repeats a word or a few words

382
15. Third

16. F
17. F

18. Seventh

19. Mazda 808. 2003 model, colour brown. New tyres. Engine
overhuled, gas fitted. Excellent condition Ph. 857129

20. The ideas consisely

21. T
22. F

23. Learners imperfect mastery of rules

24. F

25. Sp – spelling
pl – plural

// – New paragraph
T – Tense
26. D – Social
27. F

28. Yours obediently

29. (a) Loose sally, mind.
30. (a) Descriptive
(b) Narrative
(c) Reflective

383
 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Afzal, M.M.: Intermediate English Composition’ Ilmi Kutab Khan,

Urdu Bazar, Lahore.

Afzal, M.M. (1983): ‘Writing Skill and Intermediate Students’.

English Language Teaching, University Grants Commission,
Islamabad.

Asaf M.R.: ‘Grammar and Composition’, Kitabistan Publishing

Company, Lahore.
Asghar, G.J. (1965): ‘Repon College Composition’, Repon
Printing Press, Lahore,.

Dixon, James (1927); Main ‘English Idioms’, Thomas Nelson &

Sons Ltd., London.
Hill, L.A. (1976): ‘A Guide to Correct English’ Oxford University
Press, Oxford.
Rivers, V. M. (1972): Teaching Foreign Language Skills’ The
University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Whol, M. (1969): Techniques for Writing Composition’ New Bury
House Publishers Inc., Massachausets,.
_________ (1977) ‘Write Away’, U.S. Information Agency,
Washington, D.C.

384
Unit – 9

PREPARATION AND USE OF

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL

Written By:
Malik Muhammad Iqbal

Reviesed by:
Dr. Muhammad Arif Zia

Reviesed (sec):
Mrs. Shagufta Siraj
386
 INTRODUCTION
Teaching is both an art and a science. Being an art it
requires skillfulness on the part of the teacher. He should able
to innovate techniques which are interesting enough to attract
the attention of the students for sometime. The students get
usually tired of the monotony of the classroom activities, and
consequently they do not take interest in the classwork.

This unit has specially been written to help the teacher

devise new methods and techniques for attracting students
attention. Many useful as well as innovative ways of using
different audio-visual material have also been given in detail.

OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you are expected to be
able:
 To make the lessons interesting.
 To use black board, bulletin board, flash cards etc
with better understanding.
 To create life in classroom activities by using
different audio-visual material.

 To prepare some low-cost audio-visual material with

the help of students.

387
388
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Preparation and use of Instructional Aids 391

2. The black board 398

3. The Bulletin Board 415

4. The Flannel Board 418

5. The Magnetboard 418
6. Flat Pictures 419

7. Flat Materials 424

8. Dramatization and Role Playing 426

9. Audio Materials and Techniques 430

10. The tape recorder 434

11. Projection of Pictures 441

12. Slides 444
13. Film strip 445
14. The Motion Pictures 448

15. Answer to Self Assessment Question 452

16. Bibliography 453

389
390
 1. PREPARATION AND USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL
AIDS
1.1 Instructional aids may be defined as all the illustrative
material which is used during the teaching-learning process. It
may include visual aids such as pictures, drawings and real
objects, audio aids such as radio, tape-recorder, a linguaphone,
etc. Another term for instructional aids is audio-visual aids
which though more commonly used, is old-fashioned.
Instructional aids are employed to take the place of first-
hand experience which cannot be provided in the classroom due
to many reasons.

1.2 Historical Background

Comenious was the first educator who introduced and
advocated the use of visual aids in teaching during sixteenth
century. He was the exponent of “sense realism” which means,
when all the senses are engaged in learning, learning becomes
more clear and long-lasting. Comenious made rich contribution
to educational theory. Many of his principles and practices are in
common use even to day. In his book “Great Didactic” published
in 1632, he recommends attractive classrooms, maximum
sense-appeal and illustrated textbooks. His principles of ‘sense-
appeal’ and good textbooks led to the production of textbooks
with pictures and diagrams. He introduced and recommended
use of pictures, charts and models in teaching which is quite a
significant contribution.
In his famous book “Orbic Pictus” he presented ideas
which are still effective in teaching of foreign languages. “Orbic
Pictus” was the first illustrated book. Its subject is the teaching
of Latin to foreign learners. The pictures given in this book are
not only interesting but they also employed three other
important principles for effective language learning: (a) The
foreign language should be taught as a living language. (b) The

391
vocabulary should consist of every-day words and expressions
to make the child acquainted with natural phenomena, daily life
and occupations. (c) The text in the foreign language and its
translation in the vernacular were placed side by side.

This old-age method has only recently come into vogue

again.

In his book “Janva Linguarum Resarvata” “The Gate of

Language Unlocked”, Comenious outlined the ideas and theories
about teaching a foreign language. The important key principle
of his procedures is that of environmental vocabulary, which
means the learner must see the objects, persons, and activities
immediately around him. He laid emphasis on the visual
experiences. His theories pertaining to the teaching of foreign
languages were rediscovered by the exponents of the direct
method, nearly three hundred years after his death and were
put into practice.
Some of his ideas that apply to audio-visual techniques
are the following:
1. Education should be adapted to the age and
capacity of the child.
2. A graded series of textbooks and illustrative
material are absolute essentials for effective
teaching.
3. Fatigue should be avoided.
4. Class instruction is preferable to individual
teaching.
5. All subjects should be illustrated pictorially, if
possible.
6. Actual objects and things should be studied first.

7. Examples should come before rule.

392
 8. The minds of the pupils should be prepared for new
subject matter.
9. A pleasant atmosphere should prevail in the
classroom.

1.3 Audio-visual Aids and Learnings:

The use of instructional materials increased the

effectiveness of learning because they help the students to
understand the ideas more clearly and easier to assimilate
them. They make learning meaningful and interesting. Through
the appeal to eye and ear, they provide a systematic
improvement of knowledge and skills, as well as exert
favourable influence on attitudes and appreciations. These
objectives can only be best achieved if the most appropriate
materials for given learning situation are selected and the
students are prepared in advance.
The foreign language learning in a classroom situation is
very much different from learning the same language in a
natural environment. In a classroom situation, a host of factors
in language learning process are absent. We are forced to do
without a good deal of stimuli which operate in the natural
conditions. Therefore, any audio-visual aid is a substitute for a
real experience. Although nothing can replace the first-hand
experience of real objects and situations, the use of instructional
materials is an attempt to reduce the gap between the
verbalism of the classroom and the real life situations.
The effective learning is dependent upon accurate concept
formation. Sensory experiences serve as the basis of all
understandings which the learners acquire in classroom
situations. First-hand sensory experiences form the sound
foundation for all learning. In a foreign language learning
process where the first-hand experiences of many objects and

393
situations are not available, the audio-visual materials are a
contrivance to replace them.
Unless the learner can associate the spoken or written
word with some past or present perceptual experience, the
resulting concept will, probably be vague, meaningless and
transient. When the instructional material is presented in a
manner which enables the learner to associate it with some-
thing already in his experience, more rapid acquisition and
longer retention in learning can be hoped.

The visual sense is very effective and plays an important

role in the learning process. It provides the child with most of
his sensory experiences. “Some psychologists estimate that at
least 90 percent of one’s impressions are derived through the
eye. Meanings gained through other senses also are often
thought of in visual terms”1.
The excessive reliance on verbal explanations in foreign
language teaching results in a superficial learning of a multitude
of vague and meaningless facts. This is a narrow concept of
teaching which is in effective and short lived.

The general objective of audio-visual teaching aids is to

make learning more meaningful. All learning constitutes building
fresh, vital and accurate concepts. The teacher should try to
involve as many sense areas of the child as possible. He should
bring him into complete involvement in the learning process so
that several of his senses are brought to ear on the problem.

1.4 The specific objectives of audio-visual materials

1. Focussing pupil interest and attention: the oral

presentation of a lesson is not sufficient because pupils have
different backgrounds as a result of which new learning fails to
form clear concepts common to all. The use of a picture, a
drawing or a sketch will not only assist in focussing attention or

1. A Synthesis of Teaching Methods. P. 284.

394
the subject but will stimulate the learner for further reading,
discussion and research as it may bring new aspects of the
object or the situation under focus. Hence the use of audio-
visual aids helps building up cohesive concepts and stimulates
for their interest.
2. Relating abstractions to concreteness: The learner’s
imagination is not developed enough to make correct mental
pictures of the concepts which he has been learning about. He
cannot imagine things clearly. Through verbal explanation he
may form blurred vague and sometimes faulty mental images.
Therefore, it is necessary for the teacher to relate the general
concept to actual reality. This is possible through some kind of
visual material. For example, the concept of an English home
will be very vague in the mind of a Pakistani child. If a picture of
an English home and an English family is shown, the concept
would become very clear.
Where word explanations are often inadequate or time-
consuming, a model, a picture or a sketch would make the
concept clear and quickly understandable. Therefore, teachers
must make every effort to relate learning to real-life situations
and to show the pupil that all learning is related to the whole
experience of living. This objectives can be best achieved by
bringing the instructional materials into the classrooms.

3. The use of audio-visual materials in teaching makes the

oral presentation glow with new meanings and more universal
understanding. Modern scientific advancement has placed a
multitude of gadgets at the disposal of the teachers. These
devices can be used as vehicles and methods of teaching. A
good teacher who has the sense of his responsibility, must
always ask himself the question: “How can I make my teaching
more meaningful, interesting and enjoy so that its results are
long-lasting.”

395
1.5 Summary

Audio-visual aids are a substitute for first-hand and actual

experience. With their help, the teacher tries to create an
environment in the classroom which is close to real-life
situations. As the audio-visual aids enliven the learning
atmosphere, they can accomplish most effectively, the
objectives of foreign language learning.
The proper use of audio-visual aids:
1. Reduces the danger of verbalism.

2. Increases better understanding and helps in

building up clearer and richer concepts.

3. Arouses further interest among the learners.

4. Helps to focus attention on the lesson and
stimulates the learners thinking.
5. Encourages pupil participation.
6. Provides for thinking and planning.
7. Trains the learner in efficient work and study
habits.
8. Inculcates favourable attitudes and appreciation of
beauty.

9. Brings about variety in the lessons which may

otherwise turn into dull and dry activity and
become ineffective.

1.6 ACTIVITIES
Prepare a list of objects which can be used as
instructional aids for teaching of English to class nine.

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1.7 Self-Assessment Questions:-1

I. Tick (√) True and False

1. The other name of Instructional aids
is aural-oral aids True False

2. Instructional aids were first introduced

by Comenious. True False

3. Learning becomes clear and long-lasting

when all the senses are engaged in the
process. True False

4. It is estimate that about 75 percent of

one’s impressions are derived through
the eye. True False
5. Audio-visual aids cannot be a substitute
for first hand experiences. True False
II. Give brief history of the use of instructional aids in
classroom.
III. What are the uses of instructional aids in Education?

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 2. THE BLACKBOARD

2.1 The blackboard is the most universal visual aid to all

teachers. It is so common that it is taken for granted and most
often over looked. But it is a visual aid of great importance.
Generally the blackboard is used as a means of writing
questions, new vocabulary and a few notes which the teacher
wants the pupils to copy. It is only because most of the teachers
work on the assumption that blackboard is a space for writing.
In the early stages of teaching English, when the lessons are
mainly oral, many teachers do not use the blackboard because
they want to stick to oral practice. But the blackboard is there to
be used in any way we can, writing is only one way. It is just as
useful a space to draw on. Many points that a teacher wishes to
make clear or wants to reinforce can be illustrated by simple
drawings which can be done both by the teacher and the pupils.
Let us take a few examples.
2.2 Vocabulary: Sometimes it is not possible to bring the
real objects into the classroom e.g. a horse, a motorcar or an
aeroplane. The object can be illustrated on the blackboard. It is
a good practice for the pupils to draw on the blackboard, saying
at the same time “This is a horse/cow/a motor car/an apple etc.
“While one student is drawing an object, the teacher can ask
questions: What is Ali drawing? What is this? The pupils can give
answers as: This is a horse. That is the head, and this is the tail.
It has four legs etc. For drill and practice in oral revision of
vocabulary as well as for asking and answering questions,
drawings on the blackboard provide a ready means and plenty
of materials. For example the following simple drawings provide
material for practice of such questions: What is this? What is
that? What is Ali drawing? What are you doing Ali? How many
chairs/trees/birds/people/houses etc are there?

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 The use of coloured chalks is a good method of teaching
the names of coulours. Draw a green line etc. Draw the sun,
draw an apple, draw a bird. What colour is it? Is it red? Yes it is
No, it isn’t. it is green. It is orange colour etc.
2.3 Preposition: Suppose you have already taught the
meanings of certain prepositions such as in, on under, through
etc., You can reinforce your teaching by means of simple
drawing on the blackboard like the following examples.

2.4 Comparative forms of adjectives: The meanings and

the use of the degrees of adjectives can be taught most
effectively through blackboard drawings. For example, by
drawing lines that are longer and shorter, thicker and thinner,
boxes, books, buckets, cups, that are bigger and smaller, roads,
gates, windows wider and narrower. From among the drawings
the pupils can point out which is the longest, the shortest, the
fattest, the most expensive, the most comfortable, etc.

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2.5 Possessive: Some pupils draw on the blackboard simple
objects such as: a watch, a house, a motor car, a book, etc.
These drawings give the opportunity for practicing such
sentences. This is my watch. That is his house. Is this your car?
Which is your book? Is that Ali’s chair? No, it is Ahmad’s That
one is Ali’s etc.

2.6 Tenses: While teaching a difficult tense as the Present

Perfect, for example, the meaning can be made clear with the
help of drawings, such as these:

What has he done?

He has broken the bottle.

He has robbed the bank

Note: Some teachers may object to the use of drawings.

They would say that they cannot draw, they have never tried
their hand on drawings and if they draw the ridiculous result of
their drawing will make the class burst into laughter that will
spoil the lesson. But this is only a lame excuse.

A little private practice with pencil and paper is all that is

needed. Once you have learnt this usefull skill you can draw
many objects for oral practice and you can hold the attention

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and interest of your pupils. They will take delight in copying you
daring out of school hours. Here are some useful drawings for
you to learn.

Watch children in various positions in order to get the arms and

legs right:

Practise these useful items:

A box:

A tent: A wheel:

A bird:

Another bird:

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A line of boxes, or ‘houses’ or a ‘train’:

A book:

A line of men:

Brids:

2.7 Other use of Blackboard: The main use of blackboard is

for the production of written or graphics materials that can be
seen by the entire class. The blackboard has the following
advantages over any other visual device:
1. It is always available.
2. It is visible to the whole class.
3. New material can be presented immediately with
the help of the blackboard.

4. The written material can be erased and new

material can be written.
5. There is nothing to go wrong with it. It is always in
proper order only it has to be polished again when
the paint has become thin.

6. It can be used both by the teacher and the pupils.

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2.8 The teacher uses the blackboard for three main
purposes:
1. Teaching

2. Testing

3. Assigning work
1. Some more activities that can be practised on the
blackboard.

Time lines representing past simple and past continuous

2.

Diagram showing use of some prepositions of place

3. The fact that writing on the board can quickly be removed

or changed is a great asset when teaching grammar. By rubbing
out part of a word or sentence, you can demonstrate how he is
becomes he’s, that is becomes that’s and how complete words
may be omitted (see figure-A)

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 Figure-A
Rubbing out letters and words (the x indicates parts to be
erased)

4. Coloured chalks or pens can highlight significant aspects

of grammar and may help students remember them, e.g. the
use of a and an, sentence patterns etc. (figure B)

Figure B
If your board is magnetic, you can demonstrate features
of word order by moving the words on the board. However, if
your board is not magnetic, it is possible to use the board ledge
for this. Write the words on flashcards and they can be moved
first by you and then by the students (see figures C & D)

Use of coloured chalks/pens (differences in type indicate

different colours)

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5. PRESENTING AND PRACTISING VOCABULARY

Explaining New Words

The most obvious use of the board in explaining new
vocabulary is for quick sketches of object nouns, e.g. animals,
flowers, vegetables etc. Your sketches should be simple, clear
and unambiguous. Usually you can predict which words will be
unfamiliar to most of the class. Then you can select those you
wish to present by sketches on the board. With experience, this
technique can also be used for unexpected problems with
vocabulary.

If one student in the class knows the meaning of a word

and the others do not, you can give this student the opportunity
to draw the (Word order in questions, using a magnetized
board. The first two examples have already been done) object
on the board (if it is relatively straightforward to draw) or to
explain it to the class.

Figure C (word order in questions, using a magnetized board)

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6. REPRESENTING AREAS OF VOCABULARY

The board can be used to help the students remember

families of words rather than odd, isolated words.

a) You may divided the board so that important words

to be remembered (active vocabulary) are in one section and
less important words (passive vocabulary) are in another
section.(see Figure C)

Figure D Adverb word order, using cards placed on the

board ledge
Make sure the students copy down the active vocabulary
list and try to include these words in future lessons. Remember,
though, that the division into active and passive lists is your
decision. There is no guarantee that the students will find the
words in the active vocabulary section the most relevant to
them–their individual interests and motivation will probably
determine which words they remember. However, the technique
of presenting active and passive vocabulary sections on the
board is helpful if the tests you set later in the course include
only the active vocabulary. At last the students know which
words they will be tested on.

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Figure (E) Vocabulary connected with occupations–‘active’ and
‘passive’ lists
7. Sometimes vocabulary can be presented on the board in
series or sequences, e.g. days of the week, months of the
year, names of festivals and national holidays etc. A tidy,
logical presentation on the board should encourage
students to copy a similar arrangement into their books.
After initial practice, you can erase all but the first letters
of the words and check if the students can remember
them by pointing at random to the list (see Figure F)

Figure (F) Checking the name of the months

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8. A sketch can be used to group vocabulary items and so
aid memory, e.g. a picture of a room (for furniture
vocabulary), a drawing of a person (for parts of the
body), a drawing of a person bicycle (for parts of a bike).
With the drawing of person, you can teach words like leg,
head, arm etc. at elementary level and, with the same
drawing, teach words like elbow, wrist, nostril etc. at an
advanced level. In Figure G the teacher is checking

(Figure G) students draw and label parts of the body

on the board)
learning by asking students to come out to the board and
draw a body, labeling the parts as they go along.
With advanced classes, a more abstract representation of
an area of vocabulary is often helpful, and can bring to
light important differences in meaning and use of certain
words in the sudent’s mother tongue and English. Using a
tree diagram the class can build up an area of vocabulary
in as much detail as they wish. Figure H shows an area of
vocabulary connected with transport. Other areas which
lend themselves to this kind of presentation include
occupations, housing, types of communication, agriculture
and industry.

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Figure (H) Diagram of an area of vocabulary connected with
transport (being completed in class)
9.

Figure (I) Sketches drawn by students to build up a picture

composition

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10. Other discussions can be problem-solving activities.
Figure J sets the scene for this situation:
Three people are lost in the jungle and one is hurt. They
decide that one of them should go and try to get help. He
can carry only four things with him. Decide which of the
following he should take: a gun, a plastic bag, a tent, a
compass, a piece of string, biscuits, chocolate, fresh
water, matches, rope, a sleeping bag, a torch, a knife.

(Figure J) Stimulus for problem –solving discussion

2.8.1 Teaching

1. Reproduction of original materials and exercises

not found in the textbook or which the teacher
cannot get in printed form. Such materials can be
written on the blackboard from where the pupils
can copy or can read and do the required exercise.
Care must be taken not to duplicate the material
by writing on the blackboard which is available to
the students in printed form.
2. Writing of new vocabulary, a phrase or a sentence
for explaining. This is important for teaching
correct spellings, meanings and grammatical forms.

410
 3. Meanings of new words and phrases form an
important part of comprehension lesson. The
blackboard is the most effective device for
concentrating attention on the new vocabulary.

Each new word that occurs in the text given for

comprehension and intensive reading should be written down by
the teacher or by the pupils on the blackboard and then
explained and illustrated. Each new word is pronounced after
the teacher by the class and the individual pupils. After its
meaning and correct pronunciation have been ensured, it is
used in sentences.

2.8.2. Testing: In order to save time, the teacher can write

the test questions on the blackboard, before the pupils enter the
classroom.
2.8.3. Assigning work: Exercise for home work can be
written on the blackboard. Then it will be read aloud and
explained by the teacher. New items will be rapidly checked and
it will be ensured whether the class has understood what is
required.

2.8.4. Involvement of pupils in the lesson: The blackboard

is a good means for the teacher to involve the class in the
lesson by asking them for several types of writing activities such
as: new vocabulary, questions, answers, sentences and
drawings, etc. Care should be taken that each student in the
class gets the chance for blackboard writing.

2.9 Summary:

Summing up we may say that blackboard can be used

effectively for:

1. Pictorial representation such as drawings, sketches,

diagrams, etc.

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 2. Drawings of objects for pupils to lable them in
English.
3. Vocabulary–new words, phrases, idioms, spellings
and illustrative sentences.

4. Explanation of a point in grammar.

5. Home work assignments.

6. Exercises.
7. Outlines of maps.
8. Test questions.

2.10 Optimum Use of the Blackboard

As already pointed out, since the blackboard is taken for

granted, its potentialities are not fully exploited as a visual aid.
The importance of eye in learning has already been stated. To
ensure the most effective use of blackboard, the following points
should be taken care of:
1. The blackboard should never be over crowded.
Important points should be written neatly and in
proper arrangement. It should be made interesting
and attractive, not dull and confusing.

2. Blackboard writing should be clear, neat and

orderly. The Teacher should set an example for
clear writing. Illegible writing, crude observations,
inconsistencies in style should be avoided and
spellings should be written very carefully.
3. Blackboard equipment, like chalk and duster,
should be in their proper places before the class is
started.

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 4. The use of coloured chalk is effective for stressing
key words, unusual spelling and points of
grammar.

5. No errors should be left uncorrected on the

blackboard as the visual impressions are very
strong.

6. The blackboard should be fixed at the most suitable

place so that it is visible to each student. It should
receive proper light but no sunglare.

7. The material on the board should be visible to all

the pupils in the class. This requires not only neat
and clear writing but bold script as well.
8. Pupils with weak eye-sight should be seated at a
proper distance so that they are not hindered from
seeing the blackboard written.
9. Professional ethics demands that you should rub off
the blackboard writing before leaving the classroom
so that your colleague may find it clean for his use.

2.11 Psychological Value of the Blackboard

2.11.1 Besides its usefulness as a teaching aid, the use of
blackboard also satisfies some psychological needs of the pupils.
It offers several pleasure aspects to them. Among other things:
1. It provides a place where pupils can do written work
which is seen by their classmates hence a spirit of
healthy competition is generated.
2. It provides the students an opportunity to show their
skills in erective activities such as drawing, writing
original sentences or pieces of composition.
3. It affords the physical activity of going up to the
blackboard and writing in front of the class which

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 cures shyness and encourages the individual pupils to
face the group. More over, going to the blackboard
provides a moment of relaxation and recreation.
4. The class evaluates the written work of individual
students. Thus it affords the class training in critical
judgment.

2.11.2 Summary: The blackboard is one of the most effective

visual aids. It must be used skillfully to obtain maximum
benefits. Its importance is mainly due to the fact that the sense
of vision is stronger than other senses in most children. It is
universally available to the teachers.

2.11.3 Activity: Try to explain the following concepts by

making simple drawings on the blackboard:
1. Sitting at the table
2. Besides
3. Flying over the tree

2.11.4 Self-Assessment Questions-II

I. Tick true and false statements:
1. The teacher uses the blackboard
for two main reasons. True False
2. The main use of the blackboard
is for displaying picture. True False
3. Blackboard is the most universal
visual aid available to all
teachers. True False
II. Explain the use of blackboard for teaching
vocabulary, tenses and prepositions.
III. What are the main uses of the blackboard for a
teacher.

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 3. THE BULLETIN BOARD

3.1 A bulletin board is a space like the blackboard provided in

the classroom. Most bulletin boards are built near the black
board. The teacher and the pupils put up pictures, drawings,
charts, newspaper and magazine clippings (cuttings) etc. on the
bulletin board. Current events board is a good example of a
bulletin board.
Unfortunately in our schools, we don’t have the tradition
of having the bulletin boards in the classrooms which may be
specifically used for teaching of English. As a matter of fact,
they are a wonderful device for motivation, for teaching and for
maintaining interest. If you don’t have the bulletin boards in
your classrooms, you must try to have by convincing your
headmaster of its pedagogic value.
3.2 The bulletin board can be used for the display of a
number of items related to the teaching of English. For Example,
the following items can be put on display:

3.2.1 The announcements which you want to make to your

class. For example, the dates of tests, reports to be presented
by certain members of the class, etc.; booklets giving
information and showing pictures about U.K. and the British
people; travel brochures charts prepared by the pupils and the
teachers: diagrams, maps, news cuttings, pictures, notices,
photographs, pieces of compositions and reports written by the
pupils and a host of other instructional materials can be
exhibited on the bulletin board. News items covering important
material and world news can also be included. Some items
would be changed daily while others may remain there for a
suitable period of time.

The space of the bulletin board should be used in a neat

and orderly manner so that the material put on display should
prove to be real teaching device. Everything should be arranged
properly. It should not consist of a disconnected jumble of

415
pictures, cuttings, news items, etc. The material displayed
should be related to the day-to-day classwork, and should aim
at specific purpose.

3.2.2 The news items, in more advanced classes, should deal

with important political and economic developments in the
native country, and in the world. Cuttings from the newspapers
and magazines can be contributed by the pupils. English
magazines like, The Newsweek, Time, National Geographic, etc.
furnish a good source for clippings of pictures of mountains,
rivers, seas, scenes of natural beauty, ancient and modern
buildings and big industrial plants as well as of wild life. The
arrangement of material is very important, pictures and
clippings should be placed neatly. Proper spacing should be
done between different items. Every item should be properly
spaced and should not be confused with other items. If one
theme is being treated, for example, Christmas in England’, or
‘Winter in Azad Kashmir’, a neatly lettered caption should be
placed at the top of each theme.
3.3 Planning of bulletin board is a useful activity and a
teaching technique of immense value. It requires a careful
thinking. The following points should be taken care of:
1. The collection of material will consist of many items
including newspaper and magazine cuttings from
Friday and Sunday editions of Weeklies and
Monthlies, both national and foreign.

2. Each item should be neatly trimmed. If it is a picture

it should be mounted on a piece of card board or a
thick paper.
3. Neatly lettered titles and brief descriptions should be
given where necessary.
4. If in clipping the captions are missing, they should
be supplied.

416
5. Colour should be used to make the bulletin board
look attractive.
6. All the material should be arranged in a neat, orderly
and attractive manner and the general tone of the
bulletin board should be dignified.
7. The students should be encouraged to look at the
bulletin board. This can be done by relating the
material to classwork.
8. Display should be changed at regular intervals.

9. A committee of students should be formed which be

the incharge of the bulletin board. This committee
should be changed each month so that in turn other
students may get the chance of this responsibility.

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 4. THE FLANNEL BOARD

The flannel board consists of a piece of flannel or velvet

stretched over a piece of heavy card board or plywood. The
advantage of the flannel material is that any picture, clipping,
cut-out or light flat object will adhere to the surface with a slight
pressure of the hand. The illustrative materials are as easily
removed as they are attached.
The flannel is especially useful in elementary classes for
teaching alphabet-reading, word-recognition, spellings,
vocabulary, etc.

Cut-outs can be used to represent animals, articles of

clothing, pieces of furniture, household articles and such like
things. These objects can be attached and detached by the pupil
who names the object and manipulates it.
The flannel board enables the teacher to illustrate a story
from the reader by putting up pictures as the story develops.
The magic of this visual aid enlivens interests and the
children are soon able to illustrate their own stories in a unique
way.

Flannel board has been found useful for the teaching of a

foreign language on television because the idea is very similar
to the metal boards with magnetized objects commonly used in
TV teaching. You should prepare a flannel board and use it in
your classes.

THE MAGNET BOARD

It is a new device which works on the same principles as
the flannel board. It consists of a smooth metal-like plastic
rectangle which can be suspended on the wall or stood up on a
table. Flat figures and cut-outs representing various objects can
be stepped in the board. The objects stick to the board as it has
magnetic properties. As the surface is quite smooth the cut-outs

418
can be moved around easily. The cut-outs may be of animals, of
different types of vehicles, buildings, etc. This device is very
useful for teaching alphabet, vocabulary and spelling at the
early stage of foreign language teaching.

FLAT PICTURES

The term ‘picture’ includes every type of pictorial

representation. The simple kind consists of illustrations clipped
from magazines and newspapers or made by the teacher and
the students. Then there are photographs, colour prints, line
drawings, picture cards, etc. Pictures are a very good teaching
device, moreover they provide an interesting activity for the
students. They enjoy cutting from the newspapers and
magazines and arranging them for displays in the classroom.

The posters may also be included in pictures. They are

usually larger in size and more colorful. Because of its large
size, a poster is difficult to handle. However, it can be pinned on
the wall or on the blackboard. If it occupies a permanent place
on the wall it can be referred to whenever the occasion arises.

In this connection we are only dealing with still pictures.

Another kind of pictures is the motion pictures which are
displayed with the help of film projector. The still pictures are
most effective to concentrate on the scene such as natural
scenery, buildings, landscapes, objects, etc.
During display, the size of the picture should be large
enough for the whole class to see all the points clearly. If a
picture is small in size, it may be mounted and passed round the
class. If the picture is to be displayed on the wall or on the
bulletin board it should be labelled in capital letters written
neatly.

419
6.2 How to use pictures:

For the most effective use of pictures, the following points

should be kept in mind:

1. Pictures used in the classroom should be limited in

number, well-selected and pertinent. They should be
related to the lessons and be prepared or selected
with specific teaching aims in view.
2. Preparation: The class should be motivated for
seeing the picture, the students should be put in a
receptive mood before the picture is displayed, and it
should have a clear cut aim. The mere presentation
of a picture will not arouse any interest, the
student’s attention should be invited to observe the
picture carefully and they must be told what to
observe and what to remember.
3. Presentation: Very few pictures are self-
explanatory. It is the teacher’s duty to point out the
important features of the picture. He should clarify,
stress, emphasise and explain the points that he
wants to bring home to the students. This is
important because children’s experiences are in
adequate and they are likely to interpret the picture
in the light of their past experiences.
4. Application: The information obtained from the
picture should be applied. If the picture is used for a
comprehension lesson, the new words and phrases
should be used in original sentences, in dictation and
in short composition.
5. Size of the picture: A picture shown to the class
must be large enough so that it can be seen large
enough so that it can be seen by everyone. Smaller
pictures, illustrations, clippings and view cards

420
 should be used for individual inspection. Such
material should not be passed around the class while
the teacher is talking because the students will miss
important points of the teachers talk. This may be
done when there is silence and students have no
other engagement.

6.3 Textbook Illustrations:

The textbooks and supplementary reading materials
contain illustrations. They serve a useful purpose and help the
students in understanding and appreciating the topic. The
teacher should direct the attention of the pupils to the meanings
of these pictures and relate them to the text. Unless the teacher
directs the attention of the learners to these pictures, the
students fail to understand their full significance.
The illustrations in the textbook are generally small in
size. They can be enlarged on a big piece of paper and can be
displayed to the class. As a matter of fact the textbook
illustrations can be used as a motivating device and before
reading the text, the subject matter can be discussed by
focusing on the picture.

6.4 Summary

The flat pictures are inexpensive and easily available.

They can be obtained from magazines, newspapers and many
other sources. They may be either in colour or in black and
white. Their unique value lies in the possibility for detailed
analysis and discussion. They train the observation ability of the
students. Their effectiveness depends on their wise selection,
i.e. their relevance to the lesson and skillful teaching
procedures.

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6.5 The value of wall-pictures:

The wall-pictures are distinct from pictures in the book,

view-cards, newspaper or magazine clippings which the teacher
uses in his day-to-day lessons. The wall-pictures consist of
pictures, painting, drawings, enlarged photographs of important
persons, scenes of natural beauty, historical buildings etc. which
remain unchanged on the wall of the classroom.
A wall-picture is intended to give the pupils a detailed
view of a scene or scenes different from that or his immediate
environment. Typical subject of wall-pictures may be an English
house or a home, a street, a village, a farm, the seaside, a bus
stop or a market place. Just as in the natural process of learning
his mother tongue, the child fixes sound symbols in his mind
through association with objects, actions and qualities, and so
by looking at the picture he is enabled to associate the new
words with the objects in the pictures. If the pictures are life-
like and in bright colours, it would be easier for the child to get
long-lasting associative impressions.
The wall-pictures should represent the background of the
country whose language the children are learning. In your case,
as you are teaching English, you must select pictures which
represent scenes from English social life for instance a street in
London, an English railway station, historical buildings in
England, and English literary figures, etc. Pictures representing
scenes of life in Pakistan or spots of scenic beauty may also be
put up on the walls but the labels should be written in English.
One important point is the size and clarity of the wall-
pictures. They should be large enough so that the students can
clearly see all the points, moreover they should be hung at a
reasonable height within the eyesight of the students.
The wall-picture brings a new environment into the
classroom which the teacher should utilise for the purpose of
providing linguistic experience. The wall-pictures, like other

422
pictures and as a matter of fact like all other contrived
materials, are limited because of their absence of appeal to any
other sense except that of sight. Therefore, imagination must be
called into play and it is the teacher’s duty to draw attention to
all those points which should be comprehended from the
picture.

By employing all well-selected wall-pictures in teaching

English in your classes, you will have access to a number of
activities. The main aim is to supply essential linguistic material
and to make the language learning environment look like the
real environment. Once this has been achieved. English may be
learnt as children learn their native tongue. The picture must
deal with the usual, everyday, familiar experiences.
The good wall-picture, in the hands of a skilful teacher
who knows how to exploit the potentialities of this useful
teaching aid, can provide more variety, rich experience and
interest. The wall-pictures are considered as classroom
equipment and provide a congenial background for learning
English. They provide opportunity for the absorption of language
which is the only true means of learning a language native of
foreign.

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 7. FLAT MATERIALS

7.1 There are a number of very simple and inexpensive but

effective visual materials which you can prepare yourself and
use in your every day lessons. These include flash cards,
spelling charts and a clock dial.
7.2 Flash Cards: The flash card is a piece of cardboard,
about 18 x 6 inches, on which you may write a word, a
sentence, a phrase or a simple outline drawing. These should be
written in bold capital letters in neat and clear hand so that the
students sitting at the back of the class may also see it clearly.
The script writing style should not be used as it is difficult to
read; only capital letters should be used.
When you are teaching vocabulary, you can use both the
sides of the flash card. The foreign word on one side and its
meaning in the local language on the other. First the mother
tongue word is displayed and its English equivalent is elicited
from the students then the foreign word is shown. The
grammatical structures can also be treated in the same manner.
7.3 Flash Card Exercises: A variety of exercises can be
given by means of flash cards. For example:
1. Vocabulary. As has been explained above the Urdu
word on one side and the English word on the
other.
2. Verb forms. Completion of sentences (I am going
to ______________)

3. Teaching prepositions. (We believe _________ one

God).

4. Adjectives (Ali is ____________ than Ahmad.)

5. Adverbs. He was walking ______________.

Brevity is the essence of flash cards. A sentence of five

words should be the limit. Pictures, with very simple outline

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sketches can be used. Some of the suggested subjects are the
following.
1. Animals; 2. Fruits;

3. Pieces of furniture; 4. Articles of clothing;

5. Means of transportation;
The flash cards can be displayed by the teacher, but it is
preferable to ask the students to display for the sake of pupil
participation.
7.4 The spelling charts: These can be displayed by the
teacher or by the students. Here also the significance of clarity
and neatness is to be kept in mind. The spellings should be
written in bold capital letters. The charts can be put on the
bulletin board. If it is a daily exercise, they can be flashed or put
on the blackboard.
7.5 A clock dial is a useful device for teaching time. It is not
difficult to make.

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 8. DRAMATIZATION AND ROLE PLAYING

8.1 Dramatization is the most effective activity for practising

a foreign language. As we know, the language is mostly a social
affair. It is a social tool and an important binding element in
society; it can hardly exist in solitude.
Dramatization a scene or a story makes language learning
a group activity. The learners see language in social action.
They listen sentences, phrases, and words use in their proper
context hence the meanings are best understood. This method
is psychologically sound for it connects action with the word and
there is no intermediate stage of translation. The students who
participate in dramatization, think in the foreign language hence
their speaking becomes automatic.
Besides being a useful teaching device, dramatization is
an interesting and entertaining activity. It brings liveliness and
pleasure to the classroom. It provides for much pupil
participation which has a high educational value. It affords an
opportunity to the students for spontaneous self expression
which is one of the accepted aims of foreign language learning.

By dramatization we mean enacting simple actions, words

and sentences accompanied by proper actions. The other term
which is very close to dramatization in content––is ‘Role
playing’. For example, one student pretends to be a doctor and
the other a parient. The simple dialogue which takes place
between them is an example of dramatization or role playing.
The two students are playing different roles. A scene for daily
life is being dramatized.

8.2 Simple dramatization can be started from the first day of

foreign language teaching. “Good morning, how are you?” “I’m
quite well, thank you” can be taught and then pairs of students
can practise the phrases. By dramatizing, you can create a life–
like situation in the classroom.

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 In the beginning, memorized dialogues will be
dramatized, and as soon as the learners advance, spontaneous
conversation can be tried. In the beginning, the conversation
may be guided by the teacher. Words and expressions would be
supplied orally or written on the blackboard. The themes of
conversations should be limited to the range of the vocabulary
and the grammatical structures which the class has learned.
The essential factors which make the dramatization a life-
like activity, are the expressive gestures of the actors and the
use of props. This would make the conversation look natural.
Simple objects like a wrist watch, a pair of sun-glasses, a pen or
articles of clothing can be made the topic of dramatization.
Each conversation should have a definite purpose and
specific linguistic aims. It should not be too long. It should
provide for the participation of as many pupils as possible. Since
in most daily activities a limited number of persons is involved,
this means that there will have to be repetition. This is no
disadvantage. It will produce a spirit of healthy competition and
the dramatic ability of the performers will be brought out.

8.3 Subjects for dramatization: The subjects for

dramatization should be related to the stories, scenes and
subjects covered in the textbooks. However, some general
subjects which lend them selves particularly well to
dramatization, may be listed as follows:
1. The Family at the dining table:

The mother serves the food. The father and two or three
children are engaged in conversation while eating. The
teacher’s desk can be covered with a table cloth and
made into a dining table. Conversation can be something
like the following:
A Father: Can I have some more curry please?

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 Mother Yes you may, but you have already
taken enough curry. Leave some
appetite for the sweet dish.

B Father: Would you please pass me the salt?

Mother: Yes, here it is.

Mother: Fatima dear, you are not eating!
What’s the matter?
Fatima: Mummy! You have put too much
chillies in the curry. It is too hot for
me.

Mother: O’ dear have some fried potatoes,

they have no chillies in them.
Fatima: No, mother! I don’t like potatoes, etc.

2. Visit to a doctor or a dentist.

3. Shopping: Shopkeeper, Customers, in succession.
Conversation provides for many variations in names of
material, process, colours, weights, etc.

4. At a green–grocer’s shop.
5. At a fruit seller’s shop.

6. At a tea-shop some friends engage in simple conversation

over a cup of tea, etc.
8.4 Activity: Prepare a list of ‘roles’ which can be useful for
teaching English to class–seven.
8.5 Self–Assessment Questions–III
1. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words:
1. Planning of bulletin board is a teaching
__________ of immense value.

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 2. The __________ board is a new device and
works on the same principles as the flannel
board.

3. When a child looks at a picture he ______ it

in his own way.
4. Dramatization is an interesting and _______
activity.
5. The essential features of dramatization are
the _______________

2. Compare the flannel board and the magnet board as

instructional devices.

3. Write a note on the uses of flat pictures for teaching

English.

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 9. AUDIO MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

9.1 Importance of listening: According to the fourfold aims of

teaching English as a foreign language, the various phases are
listening, speaking, reading and writing. In learning a foreign
language, the importance of listening is very great because first
of all every language is made of sounds. Listening may seem on
the surface, to be a very simple, passive an receptive process
but actually it is not so. Listening is an important skill. It
requires attention, concentration and application if it is to be
effective. Hearing a language spoken every day does not
necessarily lead to correct pronunciation and accurate speech.
The students must be trained to listen carefully. Listening is a
skill which must be developed by the teacher.
9.2 The following are some ways of doing so:
1. The atmosphere in the classroom should be
conducive to listening. When the class is doing a
listening comprehension exercise, there should be
calm and quiet in the class.
2. The specific aim of listening should be set up and
the students should be told about it. Whether it is
the pronunciation of certain words or the tones of
the sentences, etc.

3. Encourage the students to ask questions about

anything they do not understand.
4. Before doing a listening exercise, prepare the class
for this activity by recalling familiar facts and
drawing their attention to what they are going to
hear and what is to be particularly noted.
5. The material selected for listening exercise should
be suited to the age, interests and mental level of

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 the students. It should be within the range of their
comprehension.
6. Point out the importance of stress, gestures, facial
expressions, inflection and emotion, as well as the
rising or falling tones and how the meanings may
be effected by these features.

7. Ask the students to summarise and reproduce what

they have heard.
8. Train the pupils to listen critically. The spoken word
conveys more meanings than the printed word.

9.3 Audio-visual techniques are based on the generally

accepted fact that the senses reinforce each other in the process
of learning. As language is primarily sound, the audial appeal
should be used first. When the child has grasped a fairly correct
pronunciation, only then he may be exposed to the written
word.
Starting with listening is also justified on the grounds that
the child learns his mother tongue through listening. The child
learns his native language by hearing the same words again and
again and repeating them until he masters them. One important
factor about the childs learning his mother tongue is the time.
During his talking hours he is surrounded by the linguistic
environment of his mother tongue. Putting briefly we can
summarise that learning the native language is characterised
by:

1. Audial appeal for a plenty of time.

2. Unlimited daily practice in practical situation.

3. Intensive motivation.
4. The natural order of learning the language listening
speaking, reading and writing.

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9.4 Limitations of the classroom: The constant flow of speech
which surrounds the child from infancy onward cannot be
initiated in the artificial atmosphere of teaching of a second
language in a classroom situation. The two important factors
lacking in the artificial situation are time and context. However,
this lack can be made up by the skillful teacher by using the
childs’ mother tongue for reference and comparison and by
arranging the learning experiences in a manner that the learner
has many opportunities in listening.

Now we should deal with some audial devices which

provide listening experience.

9.5 The Phonograph Records: More commonly they are called

gramophone records. They may be used for different purpose of
listening:
1. Listening to the music of the foreign country.
2. New vocabulary for the sake of pronunciation.
3. A dialogue to be memorized.
4. Apprectiation of literary selections in the foreign
language.
5. Listening comprehension: A prose selection is
played and then questions are asked to see if the
pupil have understood what was spoken.
6. Dictation: The selected prose is played three times.
a) to give general idea of the content,
b) the actual dictation at a slower speed, and
c) the normal speed for checking the written
exercise.

9.6 Advantages of Records: Records possess a number of

distinct advantages.

1. A record can be stopped at any point for questions,

comments, clarification and discussion.

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 2. It can be replayed any number of times.

3. It can be played at any time desired, thus it can be

introduced when it is most effective.

4. The teacher can prehear it and evaluate it. It is

very important for the teacher in planning his
lessons.

5. The gramophone record serves the ear as the

picture serves the eyes.
While selecting gramophone records, they should be
judged on the following criteria:

1. Spoken language should be clear and distinct.

2. It should be suitable to the class in which you are

going to play it. Its level of vocabulary and the
meanings of its content should be within the range
of understanding of the class.
3. The speed of the spoken language should be
normal.

4. Correctness and authenticity of the language used

is important. It should be standard English.

5. It should be appropriate to the linguistic aims

which the teacher has in mind.
Now a days it is fashionable to teach English through
songs and a great variety of records are available from various
sources. Their instructional value cannot be denied, however, on
moral ground, such a practice may not be desirable in our
schools.

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 10. THE TAPE RECORDER

10.1 The tape recorder is a valuable aid for the oral and
listening comprehension of the foreign language class. The tape
recorder supports the oral memory as a book supports visual
memory. By recording the materials which he teaches, the
teacher provides the student with a permanent reference to
refresh his memory as needed.
The taped word gives correct pronunciation of the sounds,
the sentence, rhythm, and of intonation by living example. It
repeats the native speaker’s way of using the language.
Speaking English with near–native fluency is a highly desireable
aim of teaching English. But there are many situations in which
the English teacher, though very competent, lack oral fluency.
This lack can be removed by using the taped material in the
class.
10.2 Providing a lot of listening experience to the children is
necessary in view of the fact that now-a-days there is much
stress on spoken English and correct pronunciation is considered
to be of paramount importance.

The teacher who lacks fluency in English can obtain tapes

which have been prepared by experts and can present a good
model of pronunciation.

10.3 The specific advantages of the tape recorder are the

following:
1. The tape can be used again and again. Thus it
saves the teacher’s time and energy.
2. Voices other than the voice of the teacher can be
brought into the classroom. The student can thus
hear male and female voices, young old, voices of
the native and Pakistani speakers of English. He
hears a varity of pronunciations.

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 3. The tape provides a permanent reference for
English sounds. It is like the standard test or
reference work in its relation to the visual aspect of
English.

4. It makes listening available to the student in the

absence of the teacher.

The tape recorder is one of the most valuable

devices that can be used in achieving the listening
and speaking aim of language learning.

10.4 Technical Advantages of the Tape:

1. Recording is permanent.

2. Recording can be erased and the tape can be used

again and again.

3. Tapes are economical.

4. Tapes occupy less space.
5. It is easy to identify sequences.
Mere listening is not enough. Its activity can be of various
kinds. For instance:
 Listening to music for pleasure and entertainment.

 Listening to a play where the attention is riveted on

the story and the listener would not be able to
reproduce the entire action.

 Half attentive listening one gives to long-winded

talk on radio or television.
The listening required from a student of English language
is quite different from the above kinds of listening. The student
must listen to the recorded material to remember, to recognize
and to be able to reproduce. You as a teacher must associate
some type of activity with students listening. For instance:

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 1. The student must repeat the material he hears.

2. Do silent reading from the printed-page as he

listens to the same recorded text.

3. Give answers orally to the questions asked from

him on the tape.
4. Write answers to the questions asked.

5. Look at the picture, the diagram or the map which

the tape describes. He should locate objects in the
picture and identify them as the tape mentions
them.

By using the above techniques, the listening

activity can be made purposeful. It would prove
effective and achieve the aims of listening. If no
such activities are associated, idle listening would
not produce the desired results.
10.5 What material should be tape-recorded? The materials to
be taped must be related to the course of study. The recording
on the tape should relate to the contents of the textbook which
is the basis of the daily lessons.

The taped material should be compared to the photo

copied material like the exercises which the teacher prepares to
supplement the material of the textbook. The photocopy makes
a visual appeal, the tape makes an audial appeal.
10.6 Dialogues: Conversational practice in a foreign language
course for beginners is very important. The teacher points to or
touches the objects, names them, dramatizes situations and
describes them, gives directions to follow. The students listen
and watch the teacher. Then they repeat, answer and follow the
teacher’s instructions.

This type of aural-oral approach is live, interesting and

stimulating. Such dialogues can be recorded so that the

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students can take them home and listen to them. Thus the tape
performs the usual function of permanent record.
10.7 Reading: The tape can be utilized for reading. It is used in
comprehension lessons that the teacher gives a model reading
of a paragraph which is repeated by individual students and
followed by silent-reading.

If the reading passage is taped, the model is available to

remind the students of correct pronunciation and intonation. The
silent reading without first listening to a model reading is liable
to result in poor reading habits. The reader may dawdle,
stumble over the pronunciation of new vocabulary and may not
be able to group words for making sense. Hence a model
reading is necessary and the tape makes the model reading
available for repeated contacts.
10.8 Listening Comprehension: The listening comprehension
skill is very important. Its aim is to prepare the student to grasp
the meaning of the spoken English as he listens to it. The
listening comprehension exercise is also used as a testing
device. Usually the student hears the spoken or taped text
twice. Then he hears questions based on the text which he is to
answer in writing. This exercise lends itself very well to tape
recording. The advantages of the use of tape for this exercise
are quite obvious.
The ultimate objective of training in listening
comprehension is to develop this skill so that the learners can
use it outside the classroom. In the beginning the student may
find it difficult to understand what he hears. But gradually as he
has more and more practice in listening, he would be able to
grasp the meaning of the audially–presented material.

Speed is important in listening with understanding.

Complete comprehension means grasping meaning at a normal
speed. Over-articulation and showing down should be avoided
while recording a selection for listening comprehension.

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10.9 Tape Preparation: Ready-made tapes may be available at
places like the British Council or the American Cultural Centres,
but the teacher can prepare tapes specially designed to meet his
specific needs. The following points should be kept in mind:

1. Content:
a) Clear directions should be given on the tape
regarding the exercises. The name of the
book, the relevant page, the exercise etc.
should be mentioned clearly. If the tape
gives practice in sentence structure, the type
of practice should be announced. The
student should be told what he is to do.
b) English should be used exclusively.
Grammatical or linguistic explanations
should be given in English.
c) Tapes for the beginners should closely relate
to the text book or the content of the course.

d) Special tapes may be prepared to give

added practice of remedial drill as needed.

2. Timing of the Spoken Material:

a) In the classroom the teachers speak slowly
so that the student may understand. Difficult
words and foreign sounds are over-
articulated. This tendency is undesireable in
general and should be avoidead particularly
in taped material since it is available for
numerous repetitions. The teacher should
speak at normal conversational speed.
Repeated listening will automatically result in
complete comprehension.

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 b) Phrase grouping is necessary for
comprehension. Each phrase group should
be pronounced at normal speed and followed
by a pause of enough length to allow the
students to repeat it. As the competence of
the students increases the space between
pauses can be reduced.
c) In a question answer exercise on the tape,
enough space should be allowed for the
students answers.

As the primary aim of the tape is to develop

fluency and accuracy, the tape should also
give the correct answer after the students
response. This will enable the student to
verify his answer on the spot.
10.10 Activity: Prepare a list of radio programmes on Teaching
of English broadcast by B. B. C. and Voice of America.

10.11 Self-Assessment Questions–IV

1. Complete the following sentences with suitable
words:
1. Before using any audio-material specific
_______ of listening should be set up.

2. Material should be suitable to the ________

interests and mental level of the students.
3. Records possess a number of __________
advantages.

4. The taped word gives correct ________ of

sounds.
5. The taped material must be related to the
__________ .

439
II. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of audio-
Material as instructional devices.
III. Discuss the use of a tape-recorder.

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 11. PROJECTION OF PICTURES

11.1 For ordinary purposes and to save time, it is better to use

large pictures or line drawings needed on card board or hard
paper. However, a lot of material is in colour which cannot be
reproduced. For example, photographs of important persons,
coloured reproductions of famous paintings and maps, etc. The
best way to show material of this nature is to project it on
screen by an opaque projector.
The opaque projector is a simple but very effective
machine for the above mentioned purpose. If you have this
machine in your school, you would be well-advised to use it in
your lessons. In case you have not been provided with one by
the school authorities, you must convince the headmaster of its
effectiveness as a teaching tool who should make arrangements
to supply one for the school.
The opaque projector can project on to the screen or a
wall with clean and smooth surface. It will project photographs,
halftones, line drawings illustrations, hand written notes, charts,
sketches and maps. Any material in a book or a magazine can
be inserted in the projector which the class can see projected on
to the screen or on any other smooth surface. You can even
show postal stamps of the country whose language you are
teaching coins, medals or any other opaque objects.
Handling the opaque projector is a very simple matter.
The only important point about it is that the room must be
darkened and the light used for the lamp of the projector has to
be stronger.

11.2 Other Uses of Opaque Projector: One special use of this

machine is the correction of compositions and other written
work of the class. You can take an uncorrected piece of
composition or a home work exercise and insert it in the
machine. It is thus made visible to the entire class for group
correction, directed reading or critical evaluation. In this way

441
you can save much time and labour of copying on the
blackboard. The clarity is also greater.
If the teacher has already corrected pieces of written
work and feels that the corrections made are of common
interest to the whole class, the corrected composition can be
flashed on to the screen and the attention of the class can be
directed to important points. Reading of material printed abroad
(in the country whose language you are teaching) is valuable.
But the foreign language texts are not available in sufficient
quantity and sometimes it is not easy to duplicate them. By
using the opaque projector a single copy of a newspaper or a
page from a foreign magazine or a book becomes available for
group study. In this way you are saved from the trouble of
mimeographing. Moreover, the mimeographed sheet does not
reproduce the exact appearance of the foreign publication and
thus a significant cultural characteristic is missed. For example,
the front page of the Sunday Times or the Daily Mail is very
much different from the front page of the News. The differences
in appearance account for cultural differences between the
United Kingdom and Pakistan. A lesson with a newspaper will
then become more than a mere exercise in reading
comprehension. It will involve appreciation of journalistic style,
newspaper arrangement and differences in treatment of news,
etc. In other words, cultural as well as linguistic aims will be
achieved.

Since the opaque projector works best only in a room

completely darkened, the lesson must be so planned that during
the projection only oral activities are involved as writing
requires light.

11.3 Teaching Procedure: You may show the picture of a scene

in the foreign country which should remain on the screen for a
short while for the class to look at it carefully. During this you
would point out what is to be noted. Then you would ask

442
questions and the pupils would reply and make comments. A
series of pictures may be used. Then the normal light in the
room may be restored and the discussion can be continued.
After this, reading – material will follow and finally exercises,
based on the pictures, would end the lesson.
11.4 Advantages the Opaque Projector: It is a very useful
teaching advice. What a pity matters schools do not provide
such a simple and inexpensive machine to the teachers. If the
teachers are lucky to have been provided with one, they should
know about the following advantages of this teaching tool and
use it in their classes:

1. It is portable. The teacher can easily carry it to the

class where he wants to use it.
2. It is inexpensive.
3. Once bought it can be used for a long time as it
contains no moveable parts which may get out of
order.

4. It is equally useful at all educational levels. It can

be used as effectively in a high school as at a
primary school level.
5. It covers the widest possible range and can project
any non transparent material.

6. Small objects and pictures, which would, in the

absence of this machine, have to be passed round
the class, can be shown for group instructions.
11.5 Examples of material that can be taught by the Opaque
Projector

The range of materials which can be taught with the help

of this device is practically unlimited. Here are some examples:

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 1. Coloured reproductions of famous paintings clipped
from books or magazines, or mounted on
cardboards.

2. Post cards, picture-cards of a foreign country.

3. Postal stamps, coins, railway tickets, etc.

4. Small maps in books.

5. Photographs of famous people in books and

magazines.
6. Pages from newspapers printed in U.K.

7. Questions papers of the previous examinations.

8. Flags of various countries, etc. etc.

12. SLIDES

The slides are a very good teaching device used for

various purposes, but they are more suitable for teaching
cultural matters, that is for showing the students what is life like
in a foreign country whose language they are learning.

The slides come in different sizes, the most common size

is 2 x 2 inches. The teacher can make his own slides but it is not
necessary because excellent material is available in the market
or it can be obtained from the cultural mission of the country
concerned. British Council can help English teachers in this
regard.
When you are showing the slides, you may give the talk
in English. New and difficult expressions should be translated
into Urdu. A useful procedure is to have the students prepared a
lecture. Each one gets a slide or a number of slides to study.
Then a short description about each slide is written. The teacher
checks the notes making necessary corrections and hears the
pupil give his talk. When the students are prepared to give their
talks, the teacher begins the lesson by projecting the slides on

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the screen. Each student proceeds to speak as his particular
slide appears on the screen.

13. FILM STRIPS

The film strip is a projected still picture in a sequence. It

consists of a series of illustrations printed on 35mm film. The
pictures may be in single frames or in double frames. The single
frame strip is most commonly used. If the film strip is
accompanied by sound it is called slide film. The film strip has
the following advantages over the ordinary film or even over the
motion pictures:

1. It retains unity.
2. It is enriched and clarified by accompanying
comments and discussion in the class.
3. It can be moved forward or back ward with ease.
4. It is very simple to operate.
5. It is inexpensive and easy to handle.

13.1 The film strip is a very useful teaching device. In order to

get the maximum benefit from it, you should observe the
following suggestions:
1. See the film before showing it to the class and
judge its suitability from teaching point or view and
its relevance to the lesson.
2. Before starting the film, you should give an
introduction for motivating the students for what to
expect and what to look for.

3. Don’t confine yourself to captions or to the manual

of the film. Let the presentation of the material be
free and spontaneous.

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 4. Encourage your pupils to comment on the film
freely.
5. The strip should be shown at the beginning of the
lesson so that at the end you are left with enough
time for question-answer session.
6. You should have guiding questions ready before the
show and oral or written exercises at the end of the
show.
13.2 In selecting the film strips the following points Should be
kept in view:

1. Is the subject matter appropriate to the lesson?

2. Are the pictures in proper sequence?

3. Is the vocabulary used in the strip according to the
level of the class?
4. Are the pictures clear and interesting?
5. Do they lend themselves to expanded oral
discussion?

The film strip projector, which is needed to show strips, is

a simple machine which can be handled even by a student and it
is not expensive.

13.3 Before ending the subject of still pictures and moving on

to the motion pictures, let us state briefly what subjects can be
taught with the help of still pictures.
Any subject that involves concrete objects, animals, or
human beings can readily be enlivened and verified by the use
of pictures whether they are still pictures in the form of slides,
film strips, or a motion picture. In the elementary grades still
pictures are most effective. In advanced classes, film strips and
motion pictures will be found more useful.

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 The following topics can be best taught in beginner’s
classes with pictures:
1. Animals: dog, cat, cow, horse, donkey, sheep,
jackal, fox, lion, elephant, etc. Alongwith the
names of the domestic and wild animals, you can
teach colour and qualities of the animals such as:
Dog: It is a, clever animal. Cat: This cat is black.
Cow: Cow gives milk. Lion: It is a strong animal.
2. Flowers: names of the well-known flowers and their
colours. Rose: It's, colour is red or pink, etc.
Sunflower, Jasamine, etc.

3. Fruits: names of common fruits known to the

children such as: Apple: It is sweet. Orange: It’s
colour is yellow. Mango grapes, guava, pears and
banana, etc.
4. Parts of human body. Head: This is my head.
Hands I have two hands. This is my hand. Ears: I
have two ears, etc.
5. Seasons and weather; pictures of rain; snow in
winter, sun in summer, blowing wind, etc.
6. Nature: mountains, valleys, rivers, sea, forest,
plains, growing crops, etc.

7. Members of family: father, mother, son, daughter,

brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, etc.
Their ages, activities etc., can also be taught
through pictures. For example: He is Ali's father.
He is a doctor. He is 40 years old.

8. Family at dining table: dishes, foods, spoons, and

forks, salt, sugar, tea. Conversation at a dining
table such as: “Please pass the salt to me.” “Can I

447
 have some more curry please.” “Thank you
Mummy", etc.
9. Family at home: In the evening father reading the
newspaper. Saeed doing homework; baby playing
with toys, mother preparing dinner in the kitchen.
10. Rooms of the house: Sitting-room, bed-room, the
bath, the kitchen, drawing-room. Articles of
furniture: table, chairs, carpet, etc.
11. Household articles with more details.

12. Articles of clothing: a shirt, trousers, jacket, a rain

coat, cap, a pair of shoes, a sweater.

13. Vocations: a policeman, a bus driver, a dentist, a

shopkeeper, a greengrocer.

14. Means of transportation: train, railway line, a bus,

a taxi, a motor car, an aeroplane, a tonga and a
ricksha.
15. Sports: football, volleyball, hockey, cricket.

16. Travel: buying ticket on the bus, baggage, etc.

THE MOTION PICTURE

14.1 The motion pictures are a popular device for teaching

many subjects including the foreign languages. In foreign
language teaching the film serves the double purpose: it is used
as cultural material as well as for linguistic purposes.
14.2 Advantages of the motion pictures: The first and the
foremost fact is that every body likes to see the movies. They
are interesting and eminently effective. They can be used for
entertainment, for education, for information, for instruction and
for influencing thinking.

448
 From the point of view of foreign language teaching, the
motion pictures have the following advantages:
1. They hold the attention of the students. Sitting in
the darkened room looking at the bright light on
the screen, each student is compelled to pay full
attention to the movements and quick succession
of pictures on the screen. There is the double
impact of sight and sound.
2. Movement, sound and colour heighten the reality.
Especially in presenting life in a foreign country
nothing can be more effective and interesting than
a good film.
3. The motion picture widely extends the mental
horizon of the student. No book or article however
fascinatingly written can portray the scenes of life
in a foreign country with the vivacity of a film.
4. The motion picture provides the opportunity to
listen to the native speakers in the context of
situation. The pupils see the language being used
in the real life situation words and sentences
spoken with gestures and facial expressions. They
see the language as a social reality, a practical
social tool being used in the social interaction.
5. It provides a common experience for all the
students, bright as well as the dullest can see the
picture and get something out of it.

14.3 Disadvantages of the motion picture: Like other audio-

visual devices, the motion picture too has its drawbacks:

1. All films are not equally instructional. A film must

be chosen in terms of its effectiveness in a given
situation. Whether you have cultural background in

449
 mind or you want to show the landscape, the
industries, the historical remains etc. you must
choose the film with a view to your specific
objectives.

2. The film can be helpful in certain aspects of

language teaching but you can never depend on it
for the bulk of linguistic training.
3. The films must be graded. For beginners, only
those should be shown in which the language is
simple, clear and slowly spoken. The extent of the
vocabulary will have to be considered.

4. Motion pictures are expensive and there are

administrative and technical difficulties.
14.4 To get the optimum results you should keep the following
points in mind:
1. You should know about the films which are
available and at what places.

2. When you are showing a film best physical

conditions should prevail. Seating arrangement
should be satisfactory so that every student may
be able to see the pictures and to hear the
dialogues.

3. The class should be prepared for the show. This

involves motivating the pupils, discussing the
background, anticipating vocabulary difficulties,
indicating what is to be looked for and preparing
questions for discussion.

4. There should be a follow-up of the show. Group

discussion, oral or written summaries and testing
are the follow-up experiences which contribute
towards the instructional goals.

450
 The foreign language film: A variety of instructional; films
aiming to teach English as a foreign language are available at
the offices of British Council and American cultural centres and
libraries. These films can be borrowed and used in your classes.

14.5 Activity: Prepare lists of motion pictures on education and

select pictures which can be used for teaching English.

14.6 Self-Assessment Questions–V

I. Tick (√) true and false statements:
1. The opaque projector can project
any written material. True False

2. The most common size of slides

is 3 x 3 inches. True False
3. Before showing a film, the student
should not be told about the
content. True False
4. The motion picture helps in
extending the mental horizon
of the students. True False
II. What is an opaque projector? How can it be used
for teaching English effectively?

III. Compare the use of film strips and motion pictures

as devices of instruction.

451
 15. Answer to Self Assessment Questions

Self Assessment Questions — I

1. F 2. T 3. T 4. F 5. F

Self Assessment Questions — II

1. F 2. F 3. T

Self Assessment Questions — III

1. Technique 2. Magnet 3. Interprets

4. Entertaining 5. Expressive gestures

Self Assessment Questions — IV

1. Aim 2. Age 3. Technical

4. Pronunciation 5. Course of

Self Assessment Questions — V

1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T

452
 16. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Billows, F.L (1967) The Techniques of Language Teching.

Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd., London.

Brumfit. C.J., and Roberts J.T. (1983) An Introduction to

Language and Language Teaching. Batsford Academic and
Educational Ltd. London.

Crystal, D. (1977) Linguistics: A Pelican Original.

French, F.G. (1963) Teaching English as an International
Language, Oxford University Press. London:

Frisly, A.W. (1970) Teaching English: Longman Group Ltd.,

London.

Howatt, A.P.R. (1984) A History of English Language Teaching:

Oxford University Press. London:

Krashen, D. & Terrell, D. (1983) The Natural Approach:

Language Acquistion in the classroom. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
London:
Lee, W.R. (1970) E.L.T: Selection 2: Oxford University Press.
London:
Mackey, W.F. (1969) Language Teaching Analysis: Longmans.

Palmer, H.E. (1974) The Principles of Language Study: O.U.P.

Vorughton, Geoffery, et al: (1980) Teaching English as a
Foreign Language. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.

453
Brumfit. C.J., and Roberts J.T. (1983) An Introduction to
Language and Language Teaching. Batsford Academic and
Educational Ltd. London.

Vorughton, Geoffery, et al: (1980) Teaching English as a

Foreign Language. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.

Billows, F.L (1967) The Techniques of Language Teching.

Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd., London.
Crystal, D. (1977) Linguistics: A Pelican Original.

French, F.G. (1963) Teaching English as an International

Language, Oxford University Press. London:

Frisly, A.W. (1970) Teaching English: Longman Group Ltd.,

London.

Howatt, A.P.R. (1984) A History of English Language Teaching:

Oxford University Press. London:
Lee, W.R. (1970) E.L.T: Selection 2: Oxford University Press.
London:

Mackey, W.F. (1969) Language Teaching Analysis: Longmans.

Palmer, H.E. (1974) The Principles of Language Study: O.U.P.

Krashen, D. & Terrell, D. (1983) The Natural Approach:

Language Acquistion in the classroom. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
London:

454
Unit – 10

LESSON PLANNING

Written By:
Dr. Mrs. Mussarat Anwar Sheikh

Revised By:
Prof. Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (Sec) By:

Mr. Umar Farooq
456
 INTRODUCTION
Everyday we prepare lessons which are to be delivered in
the class, but most of us give very little thought to the process
and procedure adopted for this purpose. Apparently our aim
always pertains to effective teaching. Just communicating
information is not enough for being effective. It needs planning
both for collecting information and conceiving the ways and
means for delivering it.
It helps us in overcoming the instructional problems of
both the teacher and the taught. This unit has been written for
teaching our students how to plan a language lesson. We hope
that it will prove useful for them and motivate them to plan their
daily lessons.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
- Explain the various steps involved in planning a
lesson.
- Plan various language skill lesson, in such a way that
there is maximum language learning, and active
communication among your students.

- Use a wider range of teaching techniques.

- Adopt better evaluation process for motivating
students.

- Cope with problems of large classes, and lack of

equipment.

457
458
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Background Information before Lesson Planning 461

2. Steps in Lesson Planning 462

3. Classroom Skills useful for Lesson Planning 467

4. Variety in Learning Activities 471

5. Opportunities for Students Participation 473
6. Lesson Plan for Reading Text 477

7. Lesson Plan for Grammar (tenses) 482

8. Lesson Plan for Paragraph Writing 489

9. Lesson Plan for Composition 493

10. Lesson Plan for Letter Writing 497

11. Lesson Plan for Teaching Poetry 503

12. Bibliography 505
13. Appendix 506

459
460
1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION BEFORE LESSON
PLANNING
Before you plan your lesson there is some essential
background information which you should have about your
students. The information is:

- Who are your students?

- How old are they?

- What is their level of proficiency in English?

- What is the syllabus?
- Which is the textbook used?

This background information helps you select teaching

materials and teaching strategy. You should prepare a cover sheet
as given below to accompany the lesson plan (s).

1.1 cover sheet

The lesson plan should be evaluated in terms of the following

information:

Teacher: ________________________________
Regular class teacher: _____________________

Supervisor: _____________________________
School: _______________ class:____________
Section: ________________________________
Age level of class: ________________________

Size of the class: _________________________

Composition of the class: ___________________

Other relevant factors: _____________________

461
 2. STEPS IN LESSON PLANNING
Here are the steps you may follow in the preparation of a
lesson plan. The first step for you is to provide certain
information at the top of every lesson, i.e., the teacher’s name,
the intended date of presentation, the estimated time of the
lesson and the teaching point. You should state the teaching
point briefly and should specify the general topic of the lesson,
for example, the use of present perfect tense.

2.1 Justification
In this section of the lesson plan you deal with the
justification and elaboration of the teaching unit. Where
appropriate, relate the teaching point to any relevant preceding
lesson and to the unit of instructions in which it occurs. You
should also provide precise information on the following:
i. Pre-assessment activity: What activity or activities you
will carry out to determine that the class really needs a
lesson on this particular teaching point? The activity
might involve common errors frequently made.
ii. Relationship to the current unit: How have you picked
this unit? How does it fit in the plan and the unit of
instruction you wish to present to the students. Why have
you decided to teach it at this point?

iii. Pre-entry performance: What, if anything, was covered

in previous lesson (s) that you want to review or apply in
the course of this lesson.
iv. Performance objectives: State very precisely the
behaviors you except the students to be able to perform
as a result of this lesson. For example if you want the
student to discriminate between /i/ and/i:/ sounds, your
performance objectives for this teaching point will be
something like this:

462
 - The student will be able to discriminate aurally and
orally between /i/ and /i:/ sounds.
The students will be able to discriminate that above two
sounds in the following pairs (minimal pairs) of words:

/i:/ /i/
meet mitt
heat hit
seat sit
seed sid
read rid
lead lid
leave live
beat bit
wheel will

The students will be able to discriminate the /i/ and /i:/ in

the following:
o Do you think he will live/leave?

o He beat/bit his sister.

o Do not sit in the heat.
o He hid the kit under the seat.

o He got rid of the book he did not want to read.

v. Criterion level: You as teacher can decide in advance
that the lesson will be considered successfully completed,
if x percent of the students can perform the objectives in
x percent of the time. You should aim for 80-100%. You
may set the criterion for the whole class, groups of
students or individuals.

vi. Materials: This includes the textbook, if any, handouts,

the use of blackboard, audio-visual aids, etc.

463
2.2 Procedures

The section of procedures is the core of the lesson plan.

In this section you specify the procedures or activities, that the
students will engage in order to accomplish the objectives of the
lesson. There are no hard and fast rules for numbers of steps for
the procedures. The actual number of steps depends on the
teacher and the objectives you have set in developing student’s
activities. You should be very careful in the sequencing so that
all exercises are relevant and meaningful to the fullest extent.

The first step of the procedure should be an introductory

activity and the final step should be a concluding activity. The
concluding activity should at least be in the form of informal
testing of the criterion level established earlier.
This is the general framework within which you should
plan activities that will be interesting and profitable for your
students.
The final items on the lesson plan should specify the
following:
o The assignment related to the lesson.

o What alternate activity or activities have been

prepared if a change of plan is felt necessary?
o Comments or self-evaluation; in this activity you
should note whether or not the lesson was
successful. What you would do to improve if you
have to reteach it.
The above steps outlined for the lesson plan may seem to
you to be time-consuming and lengthy. This process can be
facilitated by using copies of lesson plan forms. You will be able
to save time by filling in the columns specific to each lesson
plan.

464
 Here is an example of how this form looks like. A sample
lesson plan following this format is also provided for your
guidance at the beginning of sample lesson section:

The lesson plan

Teacher’s name:________________________________
Date of presentation:____________________________

Estimated time of lesson:_________________________

Teaching point:_________________________________
Pre-assessment activity:__________________________

Relationship to current unit:_______________________

Pre-entry performance:___________________________

Performance objectives:__________________________
Criterion level:__________________________________

Materials:______________________________________

Procedures (student’s activities)

Step-I:
Introduction
(Time: )

Step n. (concluding activity that permits informal testing

of criterion level established above.)
(Time: )

Assignment (optional):
Alternate plans:
Comments/self-evaluation: (fill out after lesson is
taught.)

465
 However, you should bear in mind that the lesson plan
should not be considered a fixed style and guide. Instead, you
should view it as flexible and subject to change if circumstances
call for such decision.

o The lesson plan should be flexible.

o If circumstances need change, changes should be made.

2.3 Self assessment questions

i. Why is cover sheet information necessary for a

teacher?
ii. What are the advantages of using a set format of
lesson plan?

iii. Write the specific information you would need for the
justification of a teaching point in a lesson plan.

2.4 Activity
Using the lesson plan format given in the unit write a
lesson plan for teaching simple present tense.

466
 3. CLASSROOM SKILLS USEFUL FOR LESSON
PLANNING
In this section of the unit we shall consider the four
significant areas of classroom interaction that should be aware
of in planning your lessons and analyzing your teaching. The
four areas are the social climate, the variety in learning
activities, the opportunity of students participation, and the
need for feedback and correction. Finally, based on the four
areas we will suggest self-evaluation.

3.1 Social climate

Social climate (which refers to the social backgrounds of

the students, their intimacy or relationship with one another and
with the teacher in the classroom environment) of the classroom
promotes communication among the students and between the
teacher and the students. This fact has been widely accepted in
the language teaching. You will be interested to learn that in a
research conducted at the university of California at Los Angles
(UCLA) the English language teacher chose social climate as the
most important among eleven factors related to teaching
(Bailey, 1976).
As a teacher what you say is so significant that it
outweighs the effects of materials, methods and education
facilities.

3.2 How can you promote social climate in the

classroom

Here are some of the things you can do for a good social
climate:
i. Learn students name, no matter how large the
class is.

467
ii. Students profiles, learning the student’s names can
be facilitated by knowing something about each
student in the class. You may find it useful to get
this information in the form of an information
sheet. The data from this sheet can be used to
make class profile.

Student profile

Full name: ________________________________

Father’s name: ____________________________

Father’s profession: ________________________

Subjects taken: ____________________________
Favourite subject at school: __________________
Favourite game: ___________________________
Favourite hobby: ___________________________
Favourite food: ____________________________

iii. Class introductory activity: The information

about students names can be made an introductory
activity during the first class meeting at the
beginning of school year. This will help getting the
students acquainted with each other as well as with
the teacher.
For conducting this activity, you will need cards
which you can easily get by cutting the backs of
used greeting cards. As a language teacher you
should try to have a scrap box. Many language
practice exercise can be done by using odds and
evens from the scrap box. Give a card to each
student and ask him/her to print his/her name on

468
 the card. Collect the cards from he students and
redistribute them to different students. Tell the
students that they have to locate the persons
whose card they have. In the process of locating
the persons, they have to talk to more than one
person. When the student have had time to identify
and interview one another, call one student to the
front of the class to introduce the student whose
card he/she has finished. The student introduced
introduces another and the process continues, until
all have been introduced. This activity not only
helps the teacher and the students to match the
names with the faces, but also gives the teacher a
chance to hear each student speaking during the
first class period. It is observed that normally
students find it easier to speak about someone else
for a few minutes than to talk about themselves.

iv. Language activity: The social climate of a class

can also be enhanced by a language activity in
which the whole class is involved. For example,
choose an interesting story and divide it into as
many sentences as there are students in the class.
Let each student in the class write his sentences on
a card and distribute them randomly. Give each
student two or three minutes to memorise his/her
card. Collect the cards and tell the students to
arrange themselves into a logical story.
v. Physical arrangement of class: The physical
arrangement of the class greatly influences the
social climate of a class. You may not be in a
position to do much. Where possible, have the
desks arranged in such a way that at least small
group interaction can take place. Ensure that the
classroom is clean, airy, and well lighted.

469
3.3 Teacher’s behavior:
Finally to have your students interested in your teaching,
you should project an enthusiastic
and positive image. You should
smile and provide chances for
laughter in the class. Remember
that teacher’s behavior also helps
create a pleasant learning
environment. So smile and do not look grim.

3.4 Self assessment question

1. Why is social climate more important than textbook,
syllabus or method used.

3.5 Activity

Plan a question answer game using “why” and “because”.

Have two teams. One team has a question on a card and the
other team has the answer. Give a time limit for pairing of the
right question answer. Question answer should be called out a
loud. If the pairs are not made within time, they do not score
any point.

470
 4. VARIETY IN LEARNING ACTIVITIES
It may be interesting to know that research show that
good language teachers use a variety of activities in language
lesson. A well selected variety of activities help you in the
following way:

o Prevent boredom
o Minimize class control problems

o Encourage student achievement

Planning of a lesson, places a great responsibility on you
as a teacher. You have to be very careful in considering what
type of activities to do. The choice of activities should be such
that it enables your students to understand, practice, and
internalize the teaching point.

Let us lists the varieties that can be introduced in the

language learning activities.

4.1 Learning activities

a. Listening: Listen to other people speaking, tape
recording, radio broadcast, video recordings of lectures,
television programmes, guest speaker. Student generated
listening materials, recording of students oral reports,
dialogues, stories, poems etc.
b. Speaking: Reading a passage aloud, dialogue,
introduction, interviews, excuse and apologies. Role
playing, praise, telephone, picture discussion, identify
hidden items from their description, book reports of
stories, book-sale (students tells about the book he/she
read, any one who wants to buy it puts up his/her hand
to have the book for reading. Student succeeds in selling
his book. Through his ‘book talk’ he persuades others to
buy the book, so this is book-sale).

471
c. Reading: textbooks, newspapers, magazines, travel
brochures, catalogues, letters, comic, reading one
another’s composition to find any error, silent reading,
loud reading, following directions.

d. Writing: Controlled writing, guided writing, letter

writing, pen friends, writing own biography
(autobiography in paragraphs), poems, radio-dramas,
letters to editors, jokes, keeping a journal, class
newspaper, class projects, e.g. Pakistan, Rawal Dam,
Quaid-i-Azam.

4.2 Audio-visual (AV) aids

Now-a-days a great deal of variety of topics can be
introduced through the use of audio-visual aids like video-tapes,
audio-recording, film-strips, motion-films, overhead projectors,
sound and slide programmes. All these audio-visual aids make
the teacher’s job easier, but at the same time it is very
complicated and challenging because as a teacher, you have to
learn to coordinate and operate the machines alongwith the
teaching of your lesson. However, with a little practice and
careful planning the use of such aids add variety and interest to
your lesson. You should also make sure that AV aids work with
the lesson and not against it. You may not have all these AV
aids. You should utilize easily available equipment to help your
students learn the material.

4.3 Blackboard drawings

Even if you do not have audio-visual aids or pictures, you

can very successfully use the blackboard to draw simple clear
pictures to carry your message.
For example, ‘stick figures’ are a very easy means of
illustrating a teaching point or building up an action story. The
proportion of stick figure should be as follows:

472
Body-----twice as long as the head
Legs-----three times as long as the head

When drawing bent figures shorten the parts accordingly.

In planning your lesson remember to:
o Consider several ways of making the lesson
interesting and stimulating.

o Carefully sequence activities from easy to difficult.

4.4 Activity
Keeping in mind your learning situation, suggest some
activities for encouraging variety in the skills of speaking and
reading.

473
 5. OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENT
PARTICIPATION
As language teachers you are aware of the fact that
active use of the language is crucial to good language learning.
But some of you are often faced with large classes. In such
classes how can you involve all the students in the use of
language? Traditionally chorus repetition has been used for
getting all the students speak at once. Repetition does not really
give chance for use of the language.
An answer to large classes is to involve maximum
students and reduce the “teacher talk” in the lesson. Careful
planning on your part as a teacher can change the pattern of
teacher dominated activities to teacher/student communication.

5.1 How can we plan opportunities for student

participation?
A simple way is:

o Get the students involved in classroom

o In a large class you should have students’ names

written on cards. Flip through the cards and call
names. This will help in fair distribution of turns for
students.
o Chain drill to cut down “teacher talk”.

474
Example:

Teacher: Kamal, what time did you get up?

Kamal : I got up at six o’ clock in the morning.

Teacher: Very good! Find out what time does Jamal

get up?

This arrangement will be followed by Kamal asking

another student. This activity involves the use of language,
rising intonation, rephrasing the other students response (using
the correct pronoun, singular/plural and reporting of the
information).

The chain drill format can be applied to grammar lesson

for increasing students participation.

o Turning students questions back to the class.

Example:
That’s a good question. Who can answer it?

The answer may be given orally or a student may be

called to write the answer on the board.

a. Pair work: Future tense can be practiced by asking what

the partner plans to do that evening or
weekend. Past tense can be used by writing
story using the verbs already learnt. A story
may be read to the whole class and they may
be asked to write it in their own words.
b. Small group: The role of the teacher for small group is to
assist when help is needed, to keep the
students working on the task by offering
encouragements, settling disputes and to
observe the students use of the language.
Normally, in groups, teachers do not interfere.

475
 Therefore, give clean directions at the
beginning of the task. If there is a follow-up,
let the group choose a spokesman.

c. Competitions: Team competitions can be used for a number

of lesson plans, from basic spelling games to
questions answers. As teacher you should
define the rules of the game for maximum
participation.
All of the teaching strategies discussed above are ways of
increasing the opportunities for student participation.

Remember:

o Students need practice in using the language as well

as the formal instruction.
o For students who do not speak English at home, the
English class is the only opportunity to use the
language.

5.2 Self-assessment questions

1. How can you minimize the teacher’s talk time?

2. How can you increase student participation through
games?
5.3 Activity
Prepare a list of activities which can be used for
maximizing student’s participation in language learning.

476
 6. LESSON PLAN FOR READING TEXT
Teaching point: To teach text lesson

Back nestling: (Sample and reading passage is given in

appendix).

Pre-entry Students will be asked to analyse the

assessment: word “Nestling”.
Relationship to Students understand bird nestling. They
current unit: can relate it to baby nestling which is
the topic of present lesson.
Criterion level: Students will be able to do 80% of the
exercises in class.
Materials: Picture of an African woman carrying a
baby on her back. Pictures of other rural
woman with babies.
Performance a. Students will be able to understand
objectives: the meaning of nestling.
b. Students will be able to generate a
discussion on how babies are cared
in villages and cities of Pakistan.
c. Students will be able to do the
following:
- Comprehension of the passage
- Pronunciation exercises of silent
sounds (Nestling).
- Spelling game in groups
- Writing a paragraph on how babies
are taken care of in Pakistan.

477
6.1 Procedures

Step-I:
Show the picture of an African mother carrying a baby
and ask the class:

a. Look at the picture.

What do you think it is about?
Which part of the world do you think this
woman is from?
Allright, you now know that the woman is
from Africa and she is carrying a baby on
her back.
You know a bit about the picture.
b. Before we start reading, let’s see how
babies are carried in our country, in villages
and in cities?
c. Before we open our books can any one tell
me what nestling means?

Step-II:

Tell the class to read the passage silently for five minutes
and in pairs to find out difficult words and list only those
words which they cannot understand. (Good students to
help others.) The passage is given in Appendix.

Step-III:
Ask the students to give difficult words and explain the
meanings.

Step-IV:

Talking about the text in details ask the following

questions:

478
 In line four what does the author mean by:

“Meanwhile the baby stays in close contact”.

The line ten from the top, what can be meant by:

“Need freedom and the chance to use their limbs”

The 2nd line in second paragraph, what does the writer

mean by?

“Be able to observe and explore the environment”.

Near the bottom of the 2nd part, why does he use the
word “moreover”?

The sentence beginning, “many women”, what does the

word ‘however’ tell us?

Step-V:

Ask one student from each group to read aloud one

paragraph. When the students have read the first
paragraph, do the following exercises:
1. Listen to the paragraph and pick out a word that
means that it is a practice of the people.
“The custom has advantage for both mother and
child”.

2. Listen to this short piece and pick out a phrase

which shows that security is broken.

“Meanwhile, the baby stays in close contact with

his mother and feels warm and safe. This sense of
security may suddenly be broken, when the child
can no longer be carried.”

3. Listen to this short piece and pick out a word that

shows that the child liked the sounds, a word that
the child made the place untidy.

479
 “Immediately the child started examining them
one-by-one. Then he started banging the pots and
boxes with the spoons. The different sounds
fascinate him. But mammananee did not like the
noise or the mess.”

Step-VI:
Can anyone tell in your own words what the passage
about?

6.2 Pronunciation Exercises

Step-VII:
Let’s look at these two words and their spellings:
Nestle, Nestling
Now let’s say them ‘T’ is not stressed. ‘T’ is silent. Let’s
see other words with silent ‘T’.
Nestle Listen Fasten
Hustle Listening Fastening
Bustle Listened Fastener
Let us practice saying words which start with ‘T’ or end
with ‘T’ and the ‘T’ is not silent.
Write words with ‘T’ in the beginning/end on the
blackboard:
Trap Trot Transmit Different
Trade Float
Tremendous Boat Event
Travel Difficult Consistent
Now let’s say word with Th. ‘Th’ sound is different from ‘T’
sound above. It is ‘Th’. Demonstrate how to make the sound:

This Mother
The Father
That Weather

480
 Their Feather
These Leather
Those Gather
There Together
Then
Than
Divide the class into three groups and let each group say
the different ‘T’ sounds as you point to these words on the
blackboard.
Give practice in “Th’ sound in pairs. Go round and check.
6.3 Assignments
Write answers to questions in step ‘I-B’.
6.4 Alternate plan
Write a paragraph on how babies are carried in Pakistan.

481
 7. LESSON PLAN FOR GRAMMAR (TENSES)
Teaching point: Review of tenses.
Pre-entry Analysis of verb forms.
assessment:
Relationship to The verb forms knowledge is used to review
current unit: the various tenses.
Pre-entry Students can narrate events taking place at
performance: different times.
Criterion level: Students will be able to do 90% of the work
in class, 10% can be done as homework.
Materials: Blackboard, charts showing actions of daily
life activities. Chart of Quaid-i-Azam’s life.
Performance Students will be able to demonstrate the
objectives: use of different tenses from daily activity
chart. Students will be able to tell about
their activities. Students will be able to tell
about the events in Quaid-i-Azam’s life.

7.1 Procedures
Introduction: Before we start today’s work, I want you
to watch me and then tell me what I am doing?
Step-I:
(Cleaning the blackboard)
What am I doing? You are cleaning the
blackboard.
What did I do? You cleaned the blackboard.
(Reading a book)
What am I doing? You are reading a book.

What have I done? You have read a book.

What have I been doing? You have been reading a book.

482
(Writing on the blackboard)

What did I do? You wrote on the blackboard.

What have I done now? You have written on the blackboard.
Step-II:
Split the class into three groups. Give to the group leader of
group-I: Jan’s daily activities chart.

Group-II: Stick figure pictorial chart.

Group-III: Quaid-Azam’s life chart/or scroll of Quaid’s life.

Step-III:
Tell the group spokesman to work in their groups and
write the answers to the questions card of the activity assigned
to their group. The answers should be written on paper by each
member.
Step-IV:
Give answers card to each group leader and tell him to
check the response in his/her group. One correct answer scores
1 point. Count the score of the whole group.
Step-V:
Call the group leaders exchange the group activity cards
and proceed in the same way as first activity. A group should
work through the all answer cards.
Step-VI:

Call the group leaders to the front and let them tell their
scores. The group with the highest score is the winner.

483
7.2 Assignments

Let the students complete a table.

1. Showing contrast between

Time Specification A habitual action

Present I am writing a I write my parents once

letter now. a week.
Past I wrote a letter I used to write my
yesterday. grandmother every
weekend.
2. Show the chart of Jan’s activities. These are the activities
Jan does. Write a paragraph about them.

Jan’s activities
3. These are the things Jan did yesterday. Write a narrative
about them.

Jan’s daily activities

Chart-I

6.30 am Gets up

7.00 am Eats breakfast

7.45 am Goes to university
9.00 am Attends math class

Chart-II

12.15 pm Talks to friends

12.30 pm Eats lunch

02.30 pm Studies in library

04.30 pm Goes to work

484
Questions for the charts:
a. Present: What does Jan do everyday at 7 o’ clock?

Ans. (Jan eats breakfast at 7 o’ clock.)

b. Present It is 6.30 a.m. What is Jan doing now?
Progressive
(Jan is getting up).
c. Past: What did Jan do yesterday at 7.45 a.m?

(Jan went to the university).

485
d. Present It is 6.35 a.m. What has Jan just done?
Perfect:
(Jan has just got up).
It is 2.30 p.m. What has Jan already done?
(Jan has gone to study at the library). What
hadn’t he done yet? (He has not gone to
work).

e. Future What will Jan be doing at 2.30 pm tomorrow?

progressive: (Jan will be going to the library).

4. QUAID-I-AZAM

Quaid-i-azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah

(The group leader should unroll the scroll slowly to create

suspense).

Questions:
a. Present perfect It is 1892: For how long has Quaid-i-Azam
progressive: live in karachi?
b. Past perfect 1. In 1894: For how long had Quaid-i-Azam
progressive: been attending the Lincoln’s Inn?
2. In 1896: For how long had Quaid-i-Azam
been living in London before he came to
Bombay?
3. In 1930: For how long had Quaid-i-Azam
been living in Bombay before he returned to
London?
4. In 1948: For how long had Quaid-i-Azam
been in Ziarat before he passed away?

486
7.3 Alternate plan

To understand the distinction between present and simple

past give the following sentences to the students and tell them
to complete by using the appropriate tense:

Time Situation

8 am I haven’t eaten breakfast this morning

9 am (It is still morning)

10 am

11 am

487
01 pm I did not eat breakfast

02 pm (It is no longer morning)

February 01 Have you paid your income tax?

February 15 (There is still time)

March 01
March 15

April 01
April 15 Income tax returns to be paid
April 16 Did you pay your income tax?

May 01

May 15

488
 8. LESSON PLAN FOR PARAGRAPH WRITING
Time 90 minutes: (45 minutes discussion + 45 minutes
writing)
Teaching point: How to write paragraphs—writing to be
done through different forms.

pre-assessment Analysis of daily journal notes.

writings:

Relationship to The daily journal notes or diaries are a good

current unit: source for paragraph writing.
Pre-entry Students write the account of daily activities
performance: in the daily journal.
Performance a. To help students to be able to write
objectives: good English.

b. To link sentences, using connecting

words.
c. To organise information logically and
clearly.
d. To help them write paragraphs with
model passage.
e. To help them write paragraphs with
the help of topic sentences given.
Criterion level: Most students will be able to write one
paragraph each.

Materials: Blackboard, cyclostyled papers with model

paragraph and topic sentences given.

489
Procedures

Step-I:
a. Show students examples of the following:

One sentence
Two sentences
One paragraph
One composition with 3-4 paras.
Ask the students questions about what they see on the
blackboard. Through the response develop the “paragraph” and
announce that the lesson will be dealing with different ways of
developing paragraphs.

Step-II:
a. Read the following five sentences. Write them in proper
order in the form of a paragraph. Let the students guide
in arranging the sentences in a paragraph.
1. I was given some cotton for my ears.
2. We were told to fasten our seat belts
3. First I was directed to my seat by the air hostess.
4. We were given instructions on what to do in case of
emergency.
5. We were welcomed by the pilot and his crew
through a message on microphone.

b. The paragraph development by the students will look like

this:

First I was directed to my seat by the air hostess. We were

welcomed by the pilot and his crew through a message on
microphone. I was given some cotton for my ears. We were
given instructions on what to do in case of emergency.

490
 Write this passage on the blackboard and tell the students
the nature of the assignment.
c. Here is another exercise for developing paragraphs.

Directions:

Add three more sentences that develop the topic sentence:

1. once I visited a village which was located____________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
2. The people of the village had their own distinct customs.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________

d. Discuss the above two examples used for developing the

paragraph. Ask the following questions:

o Which is the opening sentence of the para?

o Which sentences support the first sentence?
o Which is the concluding sentence?
o What title can be given to this para?

Review the process of paragraph development. Let the

students form pairs. Ask them to tell each other about someone
whom they know. They should speak about the person and then
write the para. After having written the para, they should review
it again and make corrections.

Are your students poor at writing? Try the following:

o Plan lesson carefully––students should speak, read
and then write.
o Grade each step––give shorter, simpler tasks until
they improve.

o Give practice in planning, organising and expressing

information.

491
 o Give model paragraph and compositions.

o Practice relevant structures before they write them.

o Keep a record of common mistakes. Focus on one in a
lesson.

o Insist on correction. Test them later.

o Make them write in class. Vary the topics.

o Do writing as group work. (The good students help the

poor).
8.2 Assignments

1. Write a short paragraph about someone you know.

2. You think you have seen a man who is wanted by the

police. Write for the police a short description of the man
saying when and where you saw the man.

Begin: The man I saw was coming out of etc. place, time,
date, description of clothes, brief case, etc. Appearance,
manner, possible intentions.

8.3 Alternate plan

1. Study this paragraph:

Hussain’s new house is off Jinnah street. He moved there

because it is quieter. It is next door to a hospital and has
a large garden at the back. His wife likes it because it has
a modern kitchen.
2. Now write about your friend’s house using the similar
sentences.
Sadiq/flat/park/road/moved/cheaper/cinema/small/garden
/front/friends/near/town.

492
 9. LESSON PLAN FOR COMPOSITION
Time 90 45 minutes for discussion,
minutes:
(45 minutes for writing).
Teaching point: Writing a composition on “My country”.

Pre-assessment Analysis of paragraph writing.

writing:
Relationship to Paragraph will help in the writing of
current unit: composition.
Pre-entry Students home written paragraphs.
performance:
- To be able to plan an outline for
composition.
- To discuss the composition in the light of
the outline.

- To give students an opportunity to

communicate ideas and facts from their
experience.
- To help students develop an understanding
of paragraphing as each point on the
outline represents a potential subject for a
new paragraph.
Criterion level: The students will be able to write a few
paragraphs.
Material: Map of country, blackboard, and tourist
brochures.

493
9.1 Procedures

Step-I:
The outline discussion: Write the outline on the
blackboard.
My Country
- Location on the continent map, bordering areas,
geographical set up and weather.
- Historical background.
- Our people, culture and religion.

- Our products and our crops.

1. Call on the students to repeat information on the above

points. Call even on those who usually remain silent.
2. Encourage the class to participate and correct the
information given by their classmates.
3. Write on the blackboard, grammar structures and
vocabulary that students may need.
4. Make the students use the correct form and invite class to
correct any mistakes.
5. Illustrate kinds of language items that require guidance
from geographical aspect. Make use of the map.

Point-I: Location on the continent, and geographical set

up:

Name of the continent: Asia

Bordering Countries: East-India
North-Afghanistan
West-Afghanistan
North-China
East-China
West-Iran
South-Arabian sea

494
 Map of Pakistan

Point-2: Historical background:

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah – Founder
Muslim league, Allama Iqbal
First Governor General.
Provinces –Punjab, Baluchistan, Sindh, NWFP,
Towns/cities
Capitals: Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta, Lahore, Peshawar.
Point-3: Our people, culture and religion:
People Muslim majority

Four provinces

Punjab Sindh Baluchistan NWFP

Punjabi Sindhi Balochi Pathan

70% rural population farmers

Folk dresses, folk dances, folk songs

495
 Religion: Islam.
Mosques (Badshahi Mosque, Faisal Mosque)

Point-4: Our corps, products and industry:

Agriculture –main crops: wheat, maize, cotton, rice
Products –regional handicrafts
Industry –cotton, sports, leather, textile, cement,
fertilizers, electronics, heavy industry, etc.

Step-II:
a. Tell the students to write the composition.
b. Emphasize on legible, organised paragraphs.
c. Tell students that paragraph I and II can be
combined, but would be best if taken separately.
d. Emphasize on margins, bolds, paragraphs, etc.

9.2 Assignments

1. Tell students to write the composition on “My Country”.

2. Prepare a class project on "Pakistan" in groups. Let each
group write separately on the following:
Geographical location of Pakistan
People of Pakistan
Culture of Pakistan
Products of Pakistan

9.3 Alternate plan

Write on “Islamabad”.

496
 10. LESSON PLAN FOR LETTER WRITING

Teaching Point: Writing a letter both formal and friendly.

Pre-assessment Analysis of a note written by students to the
activity: parents for attending “Parents Day”.

Relationship to Invitation letter is a good starting point to

current unit: introduce the different types of Letters, the
levels of formality, that is of adapting one's
Language according to the relationship
between the addresser and addressee.
Pre-entry Students have written a formal note for
performance: parents day
a. To distinguish between a formal letter
Performance
and a letter which is halfway between
Objectives:
the friendly and the formal in style.
b. To compare the formats of the two
letters.
c. To compare the vocabulary of the two
letters.
d. To discuss the body of a letter.
e. To write a letter to your principal to give
you a letter of reference.
Criterion level: All the students will be able to write a
formal letter.

Materials: Blackboard, two types of letters (on

blackboard or cyclostyled copy), envelope
with a clear and correct address/code, etc.,
envelope with incomplete address.

497
10.1 Procedures

Step-I:
Show the two types of letters

Formal letter Friendly letter

This is to inform you that I thought I’d better let you

Minister of education will be know that I am bringing the
visiting your school on Monday Minister along to your place
20th may, at 2.00 pm (1) next month, Monday, 20th to
Would you therefore make be exact. (1) it’s just the usual
arrangements for him to see sort of thing. He wants to see
all the classes at work, and a few classes and then give a
after wards for him to address pep talk to one and all. (2) The
the staff and students official letter is following, but I
separately. (2) thought I’d warn you in
Please confirm receipt of advance. (3).
this letter, giving an outline
plan of your suggested
arrangements. (3).

Formal reply Friendly reply

This is to confirm that we Thanks for yours lines

have received your letter of about the Minister’s visit. (1) I
10th April, informing us of the expect you’ve already seen our
Minister of education’s official reply. (2). If not, we’ve
proposed visit to this school. arranged for him to make a
(1). We will be happy to quick round of afternoon
receive the Minister and show classes. He’s seen so many
him the work we are doing before that he won’t be all that
here. (2) interested and the last hour’s
I suggest that he may reserved for his talk, which I
visit classes between 2.00 pm guess is the real reason for his
and 2.45 pm following by a visit anyways.

498
short informal tea-break with (3) It’ll be nice to see you
staff members. (3) He could again, even though the
address pupils and staff occasion will be rather formal.
between 3.00 pm and 4.00 (4)
pm. (4)
I trust that these
arrangements will meet with
the minister’s approval. (5)

b. Let the students study the two letters.

c. Ask students questions to elicit contrasts in the form of

vocabulary, subject matter, etc. for both formal and
informal letter.

d. Write down two headings on the blackboard: under formal

place words that are formal in nature and informal ones
under informal:

Formal Informal
inform you to bring along
address your place
meet with to be exact
approval usual sort of thing
confirm

e. Build up lists of formal and informal words and phrases.

f. Ask the students to pick contracted verb forms from the

informal letter, e.g. I'd, it's, you've, it'll. Do some
grammatical work of contracted verb forms.
g. Discuss some grammatical structures of formal writing
and write the structures on the blackboard:

Impersonal subjects:
'This' is to inform you ……

499
 'This' is to confirm that ……
I trust that these arrangements will meet with the
Minister's approval.

Conditional verb tenses:

"Would" you therefore make arrangements ……
I suggest that he 'should' visit classes ……
He 'could' then address pupils ……

Nominalisations:
You suggested arrangements' (the arrangements you
suggest)
The Minister's proposed visit' (the visit the Minister
proposes)
These arrangements will meet with the Minister's
approval.
(The Minister will approve what we have arranged)

h. Discuss the subject matter of the letter.

Subject matter: In the formal models only necessary
information may be given, whereas in the informal models
personal. Comments are also permissible (for example, he’s
seen so many before that he won't be all that interested' and
which I guess is the real reason for his visit anyway’).

Step-II:
a. Discuss the body of the letter, i.e.
 Sender's address
 Date
 Salutation
 Closing (signature) or (subscription)
 Address on the envelope. Address of the addressee
(may be omitted in informal letters). Use examples
to show a good address and a bad address.

500
 Format of a letter
House No. 96,
Street No. 42,
Sector F-6/1,
Islamabad, 1988.
Dear___________
______________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.

Yours sincerely

____________

Good address Bad address

Mr. Ghulam Rasul Mr. Ghulam Rasul
House No 96, st. 69 Sector G-6
Sector G-6/4 Islamabad.
Islamabad.

b. There are two types of letters i.e. the formal letter and
informal (friendly/personal). There is another type of letter
which can be included in the formal letters. Can you guess?
Business letter.
Review the formal/informal letter writing process using two
examples.

Step-III:
Use the situation illustrated below to practice writing
three different types of letters.
a. Letter to a bus company (formal)
b. Letter to a student’s room-mate (friendly)
c. Letter to a stranger who found a briefcase (friendly)

501
Formal Friendly

Business Friendly letter to Letters to peer group

strangers

Letter ordering Letters to older Letters to intimate

goods or services relations friends and relations

More formal Less formal

10.2 Assignments

Complete the three letters.

10.3 A1ternate plan

Write a letter to the principal to give you a reference

letter for admission into a college. Include in the letter
guidelines for the exact information you would like him to put in.

502
 11. LESSON PLAN FOR TEACHING POETRY

Teaching Teaching a poem from poetry book.

point:
Pre-entry Students have read poems in the textbook.
assessment:

Relationship to Teaching poems from poetry book is backed up

current unit: by poems in the textbook.

pre-entry The students have read poems in the textbook.

performance:
Criterion level: It is hoped that 90% of the children will
develop appreciation of the poem and feel no
fear of the poetic language.
Performance a. To let the students recite the poem.
objectives:
b. To enjoy the poem by paying attention to
rhyme.
c. To be able to tell the story about the poem.
Materials: Blackboard, some biographical notes on the
poet, related visual aids.

11.1 Procedures

Step-I:

Introduce name of poem.

Introduce name of poet.
Tell some biographical information about the poet. Go
through the poem and list words and structures which are
poetic and which you would not like your students to use
in ordinary conversational English. Explain these items
when you first introduce them to your class.

503
Step-II:

1. Present visual aids wherever you decide to use them.

Mark your copy of the poem to remind you where they
are to appear.

2. If the poem is a narrative poem (e.g. Yussouf), tell the

story in simple words accompanying tune by a little move
and gesture. If the poem is not a narrative one make sure
you can tell it simply and quickly.

Step-III:
After the story is told and before the poem is read, ask
questions. Prepare questions beforehand. The questions
should be about the events in the poem and the things
the poet says.

Step-IV:
Read the poem. Remember when to put the stress, where
to change your speed and tone. Read the poem more
quietly and signal to the students to join in. Let the
students take over and your voice remains as one of
them. If you hear they are breaking the rhythm, raise
your voice just enough to bring them back.

Step-V:
Call on individual students to read. Keep your voice in a
whisper tone. If you notice the student making a mistake
raise your voice and join in. Do not stop the student, do
not go back and do not make him go back.

504
11.2 Assignments

1. Write a description of one character of the poem.

2. Find out the background of the poem and the poet.

3. Let students write a short dialogue taken from the poem

for acting in class.

11.3 Alternate plan:

Select some poems which can be recited.
1. Let the students recite the poem.

2. Let them enjoy the poem by paying attention to rhyme.

3. Ask them to tell the story of the poem.

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bonchard, D.L., Spaventa, L. J, (1980). A TEFL Anthology:
Selected articles from the English Teaching Forum, International
Communication Agency, Washington D.C.
Hill, L. A., Dobbyn M., (1983). A Teacher Training Course:
Trainees' Book. Cassel Limited, East Sussex.
Hobbs, J. (1977). Teaching Observed, BBC. London:
Murcia M. C., McIntosh, L. (1979). Teaching English as Second
or Foreign Language, Newbury House Publishers, Inc. Rowley,
Massachusetts:
Paulston, C. B., Bruder M. N., (1979). Teaching English as a
Second Language: Techniques and Procedures, Little Brown &
Co. Toronto:
Wills, J., (1983). Teaching English Through English, Longmans
Group Limited, England:

505
 13. APPENDIX
Back-nestling

Many African mothers carry, or nestle, their babies on

their backs. This custom has advantages for both mother and
child. A working mother who has nobody to look after the baby,
knows he is safe on her back, while her hands are free for her
work. Meanwhile, the baby stays in close contact with his
mother and feels warm and safe. This sense of security may be
suddenly broken, however, when the child can no longer be
carried, he may be put down and expected to behave like a
grown up child. But as he has been over-protected for so long
through nestling that he now feels very insecure and may
behave like a baby.

Children need freedom and the chance to use their limbs.

They need to be able to observe and explore their environment.
They also need to learn how to make and do things on their
own. Therefore, even when mothers must carry their babies
everywhere, they should try to set them free whenever possible.
Many women, whoever, prefer to carry their children all
day long, they feel the children are safe, sleep longer, keep
quieter and do not make a mess: I once visited a friend's home
where the mam-nurse was nestling my friend's eleven months
old child. Seeing he was restless, I asked the mam-nurse to put
him down. At first she did not want to, because she thought the
child would make the room untidy. When she finally agreed, I
asked for some kitchen pots, spoons, unopened tins and boxes
since there were no toys to play with. Immediately the child
started examining them one by one. Then he started banging
the pots and boxes with the spoons. The different sounds
fascinated him. But mam-nurse didn't like the noise nor the
mess.

506
Unit – 11

EVALUATING THE
INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOME

Written By:
Dr. A. R. Saghir

Revised By:
Prof. Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (second) By:

Mr. Ajmal Malik
508
 INTRODUCTION
Evaluation is as old process as the history of mankind
itself. What ever we perform or accomplish, we evaluate it in
the light of the standards set by the society. Education is no
exception. Here we evaluate our own performance as teachers,
and also evaluate the achievement of students in comparison to
set objectives of the programme.

In this unit effort has been made to describe the different

kinds of evaluation useful for the teaching of English language.

OBJECTIVES

After an intensive study of this unit, you are expected to

be able to:

- Describe the meaning of evaluation and its

relationship with some other terms.
- Enlist and explain the purposes served by evaluation.
- Make valid decisions about using a uniform or
different criteria for evaluating students’
performance in English.
- Describe and make use of evaluation techniques for
assessing students performance in oral as well as
written English.
- Prepare and use check list for readily identifying
students weaknesses in different aspects of learning
English as a foreign language in Pakistan.
- Adopt remedial steps for the improvement of student
learning in English as a foreign language.

509
510
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Evaluation 511

2. Techniques of evaluation in language teaching 520

3. How to use evaluation for students’ improvement 527

4. Answers to the Self–Assessment Questions 534

5. Bibliography 535

511
512
 1. EVALUATION
1.1 Nature and definition
As you must be aware, the present day literature on
education is replete with terms like assessment, evaluation,
measurement and testing, etc. Though there is a noticeable
difference in the meaning of these terms, yet they are
occasionally used interchangeably. Nevertheless, before we
plunge into further discussion about the term “evaluation”, it
seems desirable to have a cursory look at the subtle difference
in them.
The term ‘evaluation’ is a fairly comprehensive one and
includes the other terms in its overall umbrella. In this way,
terms like measurement, assessment, etc. are a part and parcel
of evaluation. According to Ahmann and Glock, educational
measurement is the process that attempts to obtain quantified
representation of the degree to which a student reflects a trait.
The use of a paper and pencil test to discover the scholastic
aptitude or achievement of a student is an illustration of
educational measurement. It is a descriptive term which
concentrates on a particular trait. On the other hand, evaluation
is a more inclusive term than measurement. It is a process in
which a teacher commonly uses information derived from many
sources to arrive at a value judgement. Such information might
be obtained by using measuring instrument as well as other
techniques that do not necessarily yield quantitative results such
as general information questionnaires, direct observations and
teacher pupil interview.
Further, it may also be noted that an evaluation may or
may not be based on measurement data, though appropriate
measurements are often used if they are available. Data from
good measuring instruments can provide a sound basis for good
evaluation.

513
 It is further maintained by some writers that educational
measurement includes educational testing. The term test is
fairly simple and widely used. According to Cronbach, it can be
defined as any systematic procedure for observing a person's
behaviour and describing it by means of numerical scale.
Having said a few words about the technical defference
between the terms, let us now concentrate upon the word
“evaluation”. As we have already described, it is quite an
inclusive term as compared to others having more or less
similar meaning. Firstly have a look at the following definitions
of the term evaluation:

i. Evaluation is the systematic process of collecting

and analysing data in order to make decision. (L.
R. Gay)
ii. Educational evaluation is the systematic process of
determining the effectiveness of educational
endeavours in the light of evidence. (Ahmann and
Glock)
iii. Evaluation is the assessment of whether teaching
achieves its objectives. (H. H. Stern)
iv. Evaluation may be defined as the complete process
of identifying the objectives of an aspect of
education and appraising the extent to which those
objectives have been achieved. ...(Thorndike and
Hagen)

A close analysis of the foregoing definitions of evaluation

indicates that it is a highly essential activity on the part of a
teacher which enables him to judge as to what extent the
predetermined objectives of an educational programme have
been achieved. In case the objectives have not been achieved,
what are the major obstacles or hurdles which have blocked
their way, etc. In addition to that, the process of evaluation

514
yields so many other important information to the teachers and
others involved in the instructional process.

1.2 Significance of evaluation

Since evaluation tells, all concerned, as to what extent

the educational objectives have been achieved, the process
obviously carries much significance. Before we take up the
purposes served by evaluation specifically in the teaching of
English language, let us have a cursory look at the purposes
served by evaluation in general. According to Klausemier and
Goodwin, these purposes include the following:

a. To facilitate student progress.

b. To assess student progress.
c. To understand the individual student.
d. To facilitate self-understanding by the student.
e. To evaluate instructional programmes.
f. To assist in administrative judgements.

g. To contribute to knowledge of abilities and

instruction.

As a matter of fact, the number and types of purposes

served by evaluation, may be much larger in actual practice but
in a nutshell, the above list seems to be quite comprehensive as
far as the overall and general purposes of evaluation are
concerned.

1.3 Purposes of evaluation

Let us now discuss in brief the purposes evaluation serves

in the context of teaching English as a foreign language in
Pakistan. The purposes evaluation serves may be too many in
number and too complex in nature, but the following description

515
would help you appreciate the major points in this connection.
David P. Harris, identifies these purposes as under:
1. To determine readiness for instructional
programme: It is a recognised fact that some sort
of screening test help in separating those who are
prepared for an educational programme from those
who are not. You as a teacher of English language
are also surely interested in undertaking similar
useful exercise in your class.

2. TO classify to place individuals in appropriate

language classes: Occasionaly, on the basis of
the degree of proficiency in English language, you
may like to place certain students in certain
sections or groups.
3. To diagnose the individual’s specific strengths
and weekness: Diagnostic screening tests generally
consist of several short but reliable tests measuring
different language skills or components of a broad
skill. This helps us in identifying the relative
strengths and weeknesses of the student in a
particular skill.
4. To ensure aptitude for learning: You may also
use a test with the objective of identifying as to
what extent a student has got aptitude for
language learning. This helps in predicting his
future performance in that language.
5. To measure the extent of students’
achievement of instructional goals: Our final
written examinations/tests help in knowing as to
how far the student has achieved the instructional
goals in learning English as a foreign language in
Pakistan.

516
 6. To evaluate the effectiveness of instructions:
Sometimes tests are used exclusively to assess the
degree of success not of individuals but of
instructional programme itself.

1.4 Activity

You just identify as to what purposes are being served by

the tests administered or the evaluation undertaken by you
during the last few months in your class:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

1.5 Characteristics of good evaluation

Some of the characteristics of good evaluation may be

briefly mentioned as under:
i. Validity: Good evaluation procedure must have
validity. By validity we mean that it must serve the
purpose it is meant to serve. Put in other words, we
should question, ourselves: Is our test appropriate to
measure the essay writing capacity, if we are going
to measure that very talent in our students? For that
purpose, a test would not be valid if it tests any
other thing but the essay writing ability.
ii. Reliability: An evaluation should have reliability. By
reliability we mean the degree to which the results
yielded by a test are consistent or stable. For
example, a test is reliable if within reasonable time,
a student every time gets almost the same marks. If
in a translation test, a student gets 25/50 marks

517
 now and soon after gets. 10/50 or 40/50 marks, the
test is not said to be reliable.
iii. Useability: The test or evaluation instrument should
be useable. In other words, it should be practicable
or administerable. An evaluation instrument may be
highly “good” but if it is not possible to test the
student with that it is good for nothing. For example,
it is not possible to administer a test to assess
students performance which takes eight hours. So
the test designed on these lines is not useable.
iv. Suitability: A test should be suitable to the mental
maturity level and physical readiness of the
students. For example, it is not suitable to ask a
beginner of English to write an essay on ‘Journey to
the Moon’ in this language. Similarly, an advanced
level student may not be asked to tell spellings of
simple words like ‘boy’, ‘girl’ etc.
v. Motivationality: The evaluation tool, test, etc.
designed for the purpose should motivate the
students, teachers and others involved in the
process to accelerate their efforts in achieving the
predetermined objectives of teaching. Any test or
evaluation tool that leaves a negative impact upon
them or frustrates them, is not a good test.
vi. Objectivity: The, evaluation should be designed in
such a way that it comes out to be an objective
instrument for measuring the intended
characteristics. In other words, it should not be
prone to any subjective element or personal baised
opinion of anyone.
vii. Scoreability: A test should be easy to be scored so
that the scorer does not feel exhausted or bored. A
test which is difficult to be scored makes the
evaluator lose his interest in the whole process which
is likely to affect the objectivity of the same.

518
1.6 Self-assessment questions-I
1. What do you understand by evaluation? Differentiate it
from other terms like measurement, research, testing.
2. What are the major purposes served by evaluation? Give
examples in support of your answer.
3. Elaborate the significance of evaluation in education.
4. Encircle; the most appropriate answer:
i. A test is valid if:
a. It can be scored easily.
b. It measures what it should.
c. It can be administered easily.
d. All of the above.
ii. Mr. Ali got 20/50 marks in a test of English
language. The teacher administered the same test
to him just after half an hour. This time Mr. Ali got
40/50 marks. What is the most appropriate
characteristic of the test:
a. The test is not objective.
b. The test is not scoreable.
c. The test is not reliable.
d. The test is not administerable.
iii. Which one of these is the quality of a good test?
a. Validity
b. Reliability
c. Scoreability
d. All of the above
5. Complete the following sentences/statements by filling
the gaps with the most appropriate Words/phrases:
i. _________ is broader than measurement.
ii. Measurement is the _________ aspect of evaluation.
iii. Evaluation tells as to how far we have achieved the
____________ of education.

519
 2. TECHNIQUES OF EVALUATION IN LANGUAGE
TEACHING
As has generally been accepted, the main aims of
language teaching are very commonly defined in terms of four
skills, i.e. speaking, understanding speech (or listening), reading
and writing. According to H. G. Widdowson, speaking and
listening are said to relate to language expressed through the
aural medium and reading and writing are said to relate to
language expressed through visual medium.
D. P. Harris has recommended the following techniques
for evaluating different aspects of language learning.

i. Translation: Translation has been and is still a very

popular technique of evaluating proficiency in a
language. Even today in our schools, questions are
invariably set on translating into English/Urdu. This,
however, does not tell much about intonation and
accent, etc. unless the student verbally utters or
reads what he has translated from or into English.
ii. Dictation: It is a useful testing technique in the case
of beginners and low-level learners of a foreign
language.
iii. Composition: It may consist of some paragraphs on
a certain topic set by the teacher/examiner. It tells a
lot about the use of grammatical structures, lexicon
of the language and also the expression and
organization of ideas.
iv. Multiple-choice items: In this technique, the
student is required to select the best or the most
appropriate answer from amongst the given ones.
v. Short-answer items: It is a sort of combination of
the good points of both multible-choice and

520
 composition tests. The learner is required to write
very brief in a highly structured way.

2.1 Assessment of performance in oral English

Since skill of oral expression occupies a very significant

place in language learning, so does its evaluation. It is,
however, much distressing to state here that no standardised
evaluative instruments and techniques are available in Pakistan
to evaluate the oral/spoken part of learning English.
Nevertheless, a skilful teacher can manage to evaluate the
expression of students informally and even by comparing the
oral expression with some generally acceptable standard of
expression.
Since the oral aspect of language learning teaching is
closely associated with the listening of the same, the teacher of
English cannot offord to remain unconcerned with the listening
habits of his students. The situation in Pakistani schools is no
exception, of course. The English teacher should, therefore,
ensure that the students develop good listening habits and, if
necessary, refer the case to medical specialist.

2.2 Assessment of performance in written English

Writing of correct English is an important aspect of

teaching English as a foreign language in Pakistani schools. As a
matter of fact, in our system of education where formal
examination is arranged at the end of the academic semester or
year, written English carries considerable weightage. Broadly
speaking, it tends to include aspects like content, form,
grammar, style and, if it is also relevant, the use of graphic
conventions of the language.

521
2.3 Use of essay type versus objective type tests

The most frequently used technique in evaluating

student’s performance in written English has been the
composition or essay type tests which have their own strengths
as well as weaknesses. Whereas essay type questions help in
assessing students ability to express ideas, organise the matter
and argue for or against a certain thing, but on the other hand,
they are said to be unreliable. This has led the evaluator to
develop what is known as objective type tests. In objective tests
we have specific and clear cut answers which are easy to be
scored.

According to David P., Harris, well-constructed objective

tests of the language skills have been found to correlate quite
highly with general writing ability, as determined by the rating
of actual samples of free writing. Thus, in situations where the
scoring of composition would be unfeasible (as in some large-
scale testing operations) objective tests can be used as fairly
good predictors of general writing skill.
At the same time, however, in certain cases it is also
possible to administer and score composition tests so that they,
too, may be used by themselves as reliable instruments. Put
briefly, high reliability can, be obtained by taking several
samples of writing from each student and having each sample
read by several trained teachers. Thus, the classroom teacher
who lacks the experience and/or the time to construct objective
tests of writing activity, can use composition with a reasonable
degree of confidence.

A reasonable combination of essay/composition tests and

objective tests, can be used to have reliable results. Everyone of
you is fully aware of essay type test. In the following pages we
would discuss the use of objective type tests in the evaluation of
written English.

522
2.4 Assigning grades

Special mention needs to be made of evaluating papers

and awarding grades. In this regard, the teacher has to adopt
following procedures:

1. Avoid making too many indications of errors on the

paper because that wouldn’t have the desired
effect. It is better to point out the major errors and
ensure a follow up of the same.
2. Try to capitalise upon the good points in writing so
that the students feel encouraged and motivated to
further develop and strengthen his good qualities.

3. Try to reinforce the better grades like A and B or C,

etc. with certain verbal, words of praise and
encouragement.
4. Establish rapport with the student through frequent
talks with him and take him into confidence about
your appreciation or concern of his writing, etc.

Though the English teacher in Pakistan may be already

overloaded, yet this is not a valid reason to justify as to why
most of us usually avoid assessing the work of their students.
Too often we may tend to restrict such an activity merely to the
marking of written work or scripts at the end of the academic
year and that is all. As a matter of fact, it is much more than
that. That evaluation of writing should invariably include in its
ambit the whole series of such activities and also the general
quality of writing as well as the quality of each student’s efforts
and the assessment of his growth over-time and from one
writing activity to another.
As a matter the aspects of written English that may be
evaluated by a teacher, are so varied in number and so complex
in nature that the process requires a highly active and a vigilant
teacher fully equipped with the skills of evaluation. To make the

523
task of the teacher easier, we may suggest a sort of a checklist
as given below. By having a glance at this chart you can
instantly come to know the aspects of learning English in which
some of the students need your special attention.

Written work checklist

Student's name Commas Full Use of Narra

Spellings Tenses. Voice
stop capitals tion
Mr. Iqbal
Mr. Bashir
Mr. Sohail
Mr. Imtiaz
Mr. Shahid
Mr. Karamat
Mr. Faiz
Mr. Nasir

As you go on accumulating your experiences with your

students, you may modify or change the checklist in the light of
progress made by your students.

2.5 Conclusion
The above list of techniques of evaluating students'
performance in oral and written English is not exhaustive. Since
the process of evaluating and assessing students performance in
spoken as well as written English has vide spectrum, so should
be the number and variety of techniques for assessment
purposes. As understood in this way and also keeping in view
the multifarious limitations in our educational institutions, the
English teacher may also make, conceive and design certain
other techniques for evaluating students' performance in spoken
as well as written English. Though these techniques and
procedures are not that formal and structured as the ones you
have just gone through, yet their significance cannot be
questioned. They do provide very valuable information to the

524
teacher on the basis of which he can come to appreciate the
students' performance. These techniques include the following:
1. Statement of standards

2. Models

3. Score cards
4. Questionnaires

5. Attitude scales
6. Progress charts
7. Meetings with students

8. Puplis' folders

9. Teachers logs

10. Pupils diaries

11. Autobiographies

12. Samples of work

13. Observations of classroom work

2.6 Activity

Think of some more techniques as the above ones and jot

down in the space provided below:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

525
2.7 Self-assessment questions-2

1. What do you mean by productive and receptive skills?

How are they related to active and passive skills in
learning English language?

2. Briefly mention the major techniques of evaluation

generally used for evaluating the teaching of English in
Pakistan.
3. Discuss the different techniques you would like to make
use of in evaluating the performance of your students in
oral English.

4. How would you proceed with the following?

Assessment of performance in written English.

5. Encircle the must appropriate answer to the following:

i. Visual medium refers to which aspect of learning

English:
a. Speaking
b. Listening

c. Writing
d. Both (a) and (b)

ii. Which one of the following techniques can be

helpful in knowing the students weaknesses in
pronunciation:

a. Written translation
b. Dictation
c. Multiple-choice items.
d. Loud reading

iii. Reordering the jumbled sentences refers to:

a. Organisation of material

526
 b. Creative writing

c. Mechanics of writing
d. All of the above

iv. Checklist of written work helps:

a. The teacher in knowing the weaknesses of

different aspects of language learning.

b. The students in developing the ability of

expression.
c. The students in developing confidence to
make announcements.

3. HOW TO USE EVALUATION FOR STUDENTS'

IMPROVEMENT
In view of the crucial significance of evaluation in the
educational process, it is highly pertinent to have brief
discussion on the ways and means of making evaluation a really
useful process. As a matter 'of fact, evaluation being an
exteremly technical job, requires a lot of insight and
resourcefulness on the part of teacher so as to make it really a
useful activity. Following are some of the points which a teacher
must keep in mind to ensure improvement of students learning.

3.1 Encouraging self-evaluation

The teacher must encourage self-evaluation of different
aspects of teaching English language. The self-evaluation refers
not only to the evaluation of teaching methods and techniques
by the teacher himself, but also to the evaluation of students'
own performance by themselves. Self-evaluation helps both the
teacher and the students in knowing their strengths and
weaknesses and thus provides them valid basis for adopting
suitable strategies of language learning.

527
 Petty and Jensen have rightly pointed that self-evaluation
based on standards that children set themselves, should be an
important part of the evaluation. For example, a class might
adopt a list of “rules” for giving; an oral report similar to the
following one and use it as the basis for judging the
effectiveness of their reports:

a. Have an interesting topic.

b. Start with a good opening sentences.
c. Look at the audience.

d. Make your voice loud enought to be heard.

e. Organise your report carefully.

f. Stick to the topic.

g. Use good sentences.

h. Have a good closing.

The teacher should also practice self-evaluation questions
such as the following will help a teacher appraise the oral
language programme:

a. Do I recognize the need for students to practise

oral expression?

b. Do I consistently provide opportunities for students

to communicate orally?
c. Am I willing to work with students?

d. How can I improve my own skills in oral

expression? Do I set a good example in my speech
enunciating clearly, speaking comfortably and
easily, organising my thoughts logically?

e. Do I listen to students? Do I give them my

complete attention? Do I respond fully to their
questions and comments?

528
 Finally, teachers can check students' self-evaluation by
using a checklist that may correspond to the one we have
already given in one of the previous sections of this unit.

3.2 Undertaking diagnostic evaluation

By diagnostic evaluation, the teacher can identify the
specific needs, interests, errors, bad habits and weaknesses of
the students and make suitable modifications in his teaching
methods and techniques.

According to Petty and Jenson, the precision of the

diagnosis depends to a large degree on the nature and
refinement of the evaluation instrument and procedures. In
some language arts areas, including most oral expression and
written composition, evaluation is largely subjective and hence
teachers and students may refer to standards, models and
checklist, etc. to arrive at objective findings and use the same
for the improvement of student learning.

3.3 To be regular in grading and reporting

Grades need to be given to the students in order to give a
sort of more or less concrete rating to students’ performance.
Though not quite an adequate system, yet it provides some
indication about the students relative position. A teacher who is
quite regular and particular in awarding grades and sending
reports about students’ performance can push the students,
parents, school authorities and other concerned, towards
ensuring better learning on the part of the students. This would
also entail the maintenance of an upto date record of progress
of the students in different aspects of learning English language
or any other subject. With the help of the previous and the
present record of performance, the teacher can determine the
trend of students’ pace in learning and communicate to all
concerned and ensure suitable action from them for accelerating
students' learning.

529
3.4 To make the objectives of evaluation clear to the
students
We have repeatedly mentioned in this unit the fact that
evaluation has, always to be based on the pre-determined
objectives of language teaching. So in order to ensure a
purposeful- evaluation and improvement in students learning, it
is highly essential to make the students clear about objectives
against which they are going to be tested and evaluated. This
would put the students in a situation they would ask themselves
the questions like the following:

1. Do I know the correct use of idioms?

2. Do I know how to make nouns from verbs?

3. Do I know answers to all the questions given
towards the end of each lesson?
4. Do I know the summaries of all the poems?

3.5 To ensure participatory planning of evaluation

procedure to motivate the students
You as a teacher of English language must ensure
participatory planning of evaluation procedure. Imposition of
your own schedule of evaluation upon students would make
them feel isolated from it and hence they may be disgusted
from the same. So in order to motivate the students, it is
proposed that you should:
a. make clear to the students of which they are to be
evaluated;
b. encourage them to propose the possible dates and
time at which they wish to be evaluated;
c. immediately communicate to the students any
change in the schedule which should most

530
 preferably come later and not earlier than the
announced dates.

3.6 Never lose sight of individual differences

As has already been mentioned in this unit, students
happen to belong to different strata of society and hence have
quite visible differences in their socio-cultural backgrounds,
attitudes, intelligence, and resultingly different understanding,
etc. of what is taught to them. With this hard fact in the
background, you should not expect equal level of performance
from all the students in a particular test of evaluation.
To make the best use of results of evaluation, you should
interpret the same with reference to the intellectual level and
physical limitations, if any, in the case of each of the student.
This would help you adopt a suitable teaching strategy for each
student. In other words, you need to adopt a policy of
individualised instruction in the light of performance of
individual student.

3.7 Important points

We can sum up the following discussion in the form of the
following points:
1. Objectives, against which is to be judged the
students’ performance, should be made clear to
them.

2. Plan beforehand about the scedule of administering

tests or holding any other sort of activity of
evaluation.
3. Motivate the students by ensuring their
participation in finalizing any programme of
evaluation.

531
 4. Try to arrange the evaluation experiences/activities
in such a manner that they lead to the feelings of
maximum success on the part of the students.

5. Never lose sight of the hard fact that the students

differ in their levels of intelligence and learning
capabilities.

3.8 Activity
Since evaluation occupies a significant place in the
instructional process, make sure that your evaluation of
students’ performance in oral and written English takes care of
different aspects of the evaluation process as well as the
content. Follow the example given in the checklist and complete
the rest of it to the extent you can.
S.No. Points Yes No

Example:
1. Is the test objective?
2. Is it administerable?
3. Does it motivate the students?
 Is it suitable for evaluating
students' intonation?







3.9 Se1f-assessment questions-3

1. What are the major types of expected instructional
outcomes of teaching English in your class? Discuss each
one of them in detail.

532
2. Why is it essential to relate instructional outcomes with
the objectives of teaching English? Give examples in
support of your answer.
3. Discuss with examples the major considerations that may
be taken into account for improving students learning
through the use of evaluation.
4. Encircle TRUE or FALSE with reference to each of the
statements given below:
i. Cognitive domain of objectives refer to
attitudes and values. True/False

ii. Psychomotor objectives pertain to

movements and skills. True/False

iii. Affective objectives pertain to knowledge. True/False

iv. Relating instructional outcomes with
objectives of teaching is not of much use. True/False

v. Diagnosis means that the test should be

reliable. True/False

vi. Self-evaluation helps the students and the

teachers in knowing their own weaknesses
and strengths. True/False

vii. Grades do help students in improvement

they are not reported to them. True/False

viii Participation of students in chalking out the

schedule of evaluation disturbs the
instructional process. True/False

ix. Diagnostic evaluation is closely associated

with formative and summative evaluations. True/False

x. A teacher must take in to account the

individual differences in students' abilities
while interpreting results. True/False

533
4. ANSWERS TO THE SELF–ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

Exercise–1
Saq: 1–3, Please compare your answers with the relevant
sections of the unit

Q: 4. i. B ii. c iii. d
Q: 5. i. Evaluation ii. Quantitative iii. Objectives

Exercise–2
Q: 1–4. Please compare your answers with the relevant
section of the unit
Q: 5. i. c ii. b iii. a iv. a

Exercise–3
Q: 1–3. Please compare your answers with the relevant
sections of the unit.
Q: 4. i. F ii. T iii. F iv. F
v. F vi. T vii. F viii. F
ix. T x. T

534
 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ahmann, J. S. and Glock, M. D: Evaluating student progress:
Principles of Tests and Measurements, Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
Boston: (1981)

Bennett, W. A (1968): Aspects of Language and Language

Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
Broughton, G. et al (1978): Teaching English as a Foreign
Language, Routledge London,
Cook, W. W: (1975) Evaluation Language Arts Programme, in
Teaching Language at the Elementary level, edited by M. R.
Traube, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1944 P. 195,
quoted by Petty, Walter T and Jensen, Julie in Developing
Children's Language, Allyne and Bacon, Inc; Boston,.

Crow and Crow (1979): Educational Psychology, Eurasia

Publishing House (P) Limited, Ram Nagar, New Delhi:
Ebel, R. L (1965): Measuring Educational Achievement, Prentic-
Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Harris, D. P (1969): Teaching English as Second Language,
McGraw- Hill Book Company, New York:
Klausmeier and Goodwin (1966): Learning and Human Abilities,
Harper and Row, Publishers, New York:

Lindvall, C. M. and Nitko, A. J (1975): Measuring Pupil

Achievement and Aptitude, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. New
York:

Rivers and Temperley (1978): A Practical Guide to Teaching of

English as Second Language, Oxford University Press, New York:
Stephens, M. D. and Roderick, G. W. (1971) Teaching
Techniques in Adult Education, David and Charles, Newcorn
Aboot,

535
Stern, H. H (1984): Fundamental Concepts of Language
Teaching, Oxford University Press, Oxford:
Thorndike R L. and Hagen, E. (1969): Measurement and
Evaluation in Psychology and Education, John Wily & Sons, Inc.
New York:
Widdowson, H. G (1979): Teaching Language as
Communication, Oxford University Press, London:

536
Unit – 12

THE PARTS OF SPEECH

Written By:
Abdul Hafeez

Revised By:
Professor Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (second) By:

Mr. Abdul Hafeez
538
 INTRODUCTION
For understanding the basic structure of a language, the
study of parts of speech is of vital importance. In this unit, an
effort, though brief, has been made to explain the functions and
uses of different parts of speech of English language, i.e. nouns,
pronouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions.
Sufficient number of examples have been given for
making the concepts clear and understandable.

OBJECTIVES
Through the perusal of this unit, you should be able to:

- identify different types of nouns

- Explain difference between various pronouns.

- Identify an adjective.
- Recognize different types and forms of verbs.
- Define a preposition and explain its use

539
540
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. The parts of speech 543

2. Pronouns 550
3. Adjectives 556

4. Verbs 562
5. Adverbs 568
6. Prepositions 568

7. Answers to self-assessment questions 571

8. Bibliography 575

541
542
 1. THE PARTS OF SPEECH
When we speak or write, we express our thoughts in
words. Some times only one word may be used to convey the
message or express a thought such as STOP, HELLO. Both of
them in their situation give complete meaning. But usually we
use group of words which make statement, ask questions, give
instructions or directions. Every word we use has got a definite
importance in expressing a thought or idea. The way the word is
used determines what part of speech that word is. There are
eight parts of speech:
Nouns, pronouns, verbs, conjunctions, adverbs,
interjections, adjectives, preposition.
In this unit, we will try to discuss these parts one-by-one.

1.1 The noun

The words, most frequently used, are those by which we
identify someone or something. A noun names a person, a
place, thing, an idea
Persons: Asim, shopkeeper, man, Afghan, etc.
Places: Quetta, Asia, Ayub Park, etc.
Things: Books, Pens, Tables, etc.

Idea: Grief, Happiness, Courage, etc.

1.2 Classes of nouns

There are two classes of nouns:

a. Proper nouns: A proper noun names a particular
person, place or thing and is always capitalized.
b. Common nouns: A common noun names any one of
a group of persons, places or things and is not
capitalized.

543
Common nouns Proper nouns

Man Mr. Shahid, Dr. Ali

City Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi
University Allama Iqbal Open Universty
School Government Muslim High School
River Jehlum river

1.3 singular nouns and plural nouns

a. Singular nouns: if a noun names only one thing,
person or place, it is singular noun.

b. Plural nouns: If a noun names more than one

person, thing or place it is called plural noun:

Singular nouns Plural nouns

Person Persons
Lamp Lamps
Chair Chairs

1.4 Plural of singular nouns

a. Most singular nouns form their plurals by adding ‘s’.

Singular nouns ending in ‘s’ ‘x’ ‘ch’ ‘sh’ or ‘z’ usually
form the plural by adding “es” to the singular:

Singular nouns Plural nouns

Pass Passes
Ox Oxes
Watch Watches
Brush Brushes

b. If a singular noun ends in a consonant followed by ‘y’

it forms its plural this way:

544
 Singular nouns Plural nouns

Fly Flies
Spy Spies

1.5 Irregular nouns

Some nouns form their plural in irregular way. They form

the plural in a special way or do not change at all:

Singular Plural

Deer Deer
Woman Women
Goose Geese
Mouse Mice

1.6 How different nouns form their plurals

a. Nouns ending with ‘f’ and ‘fe’ are dropped and
letters ‘ves’ are added to make them plural look at
the following example.

Singular Plural

Wolf Wolves
Loaf Loaves
Wife Wives
Scarf Scarves

b. There are some nouns ending with ‘f’ or ‘fe’ they

either take ‘s’ or ‘ves’ in the plural:

Singular Plural

Scarf Scarfs/scarves
Wharf Wharfs/wharves
Hoof Hoofs/hooves

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 c. Some nouns ending in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ take ‘s’ in the
plural:
Singular Plural

Cliff Cliffs
Handkerchief Handkerchiefs
Safe Safes

d. There are nouns that form their plural by a vowel

change, like:

Singular Plural

Man Men
Louse Lice
Foot Feet

e. Certain nouns are always singular:

Advice Knowledge Baggage

Furniture Information News
Luggage Rubbish
Note: To know more about plurals of nouns a good dictionary
should be consulted. It must be noticed that all the nouns like
‘man’ don’t change their vowels. For example: ‘fan’ is not ‘fen’
but fans.

1.7 Compound nouns

you must have seen that two or more words may be used
as a single nouns. Postman, Ayub Park, these are called
compound nouns. The parts of a compound noun may be
written as one word, two or more words or may be hyphenated.
Compound nouns
Housekeeper basketball commander-in-chief Father-in-law
Baby-sister

If you are in doubt as to how to write a compound noun,

you should consult your dictionary. Some dictionaries may give

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two correct forms for a word; for example: you may find vice-
president written also with the hyphen, and without hyphen, but
both are correct.

1.8 plural of compound nouns

a. Normally the last word is made plural:

Singular Plural

Armchair Armchairs
Bookcase Bookcases

b. Compound nouns formed with prepositions and make

only the first word plural

Sister-in-law Sisters-in-law
Looker-on Lookers-on

c. Words usually ending in ‘full’ make their plural in the

ordinary way
Handful Handfuls
d. Initials can be made plural:
VIP VIPs (small’s)very
important persons
MP MPs (Members of
parliament)
1.9 possessive nouns

a. A noun can show possession or ownership. A noun that

shows possession or ownership is in the possessive case.
Most singular nouns form their possessive case by adding
an apostrophe (‘) and ‘s’:

Example: The mouse’s tail, Ali’s books.

b. Plural nouns that end in ’s’ add only an apostrophe (‘) to

form the possessive case:

Example: Butterflies’ wing, welders, torch.

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 c. Irregular plural nouns such as “women” which don’t
end in ’s’, form the plural possessive by adding the
apostrophe (‘) and s”:

Example: men’s umbrellas, children’s books.

d. If two or more people own something the possessive

ending is added only to the last person’s name.

Example: Ali and Aslam’s house.

1.10 Concrete and abstract nouns

a. Concrete nouns: A concrete noun is a word for a

physical object that can be perceived by the senses----we
can see, touch, smell the object:
Example: Table, Tree

b. Abstract nouns: It is a word for a concept, it is an idea

that exists in our mind only.
Example: Beauty, grief, happiness.
1.11 countable and non-countable nouns

a. countable nouns: They can be counted as: one book,

two books. They can be usually made plural by adding ‘s’
or ‘es’ as:

Girl Girls
b. Non-countable nouns: they are started in individual
quantity and are not counted.
Coffee Iron
Mango Mangoes

1.12 Collective nouns

A collective noun is a word for a group of people, animals
or objects considered as a single unit.
Example: Audience, Committee, Class, Crew, Crowd

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1.13 Activities

1. Give 15 countable nouns and 15 non-countable nouns.

2. Write five compound nouns and give their plurals.

1.14 Self assessment questions-1

I. Pick out the common nouns and the proper nouns out of
the following list and write them in separate columns.
Also capitalize the proper nouns: table, doctor, octopus,
Atlantic ocean, storm, india, book, envelop, oakwood
primary school.

II. Give the plurals of the following nouns:

state, fox, switch, goose, attorney general, fly, monkey,

mouse, bush, loaf.

III. pick out the collective nouns of the following:

dogs, committee, tables, crowd, family, flock, books,
herd, group, government, public, pens, women, lice,
team, army.

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 2. PRONOUNS
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. If we are
talking about something we use the noun that means it. Once
we have made it clear that we are talking about a person or a
thing, etc. and we talk about that again, we don’t have to name
it again, we can make other references without giving the name
each time. This saves our time and makes sentences sound
better.
Example: Where is Aslam? He says he is going home.
“Aslam” is noun. The pronoun ‘he’ has been used twice, it takes
the place of “Aslam” (noun) in the second sentence.

2.1 Types of pronouns

a. Personal pronouns:

i. First person (the speaker) (always write capital)

singular: I
plural: we
ii. Second person (the person spoken to)
singular: You

Plural: You
iii. Third person (the person’s/things, etc. spoken
about)
singular: he (for male),

she (for female).

It (for things, also for the living beings
whose sex in unknown or unimportant
e.g. ant).

550
 Plural: they, those, these (for the living
beings and other things).
b. Impersonal pronouns:

It is generalized for all persons e.g. one should try to be

kind to others.

2.2. Cases of pronouns

Some personal pronouns change form depending upon
their use in a sentence. The form a pronoun takes is called its
case.

a. Subjective case: If a pronoun is the actor or

performer who perform an action (subject) in a
sentence, it is in the subjective case. “He broke the
pen”. (“He” is the actor/subject.)
b. Objective case: If a pronoun shows possession or
ownership, it is in the possessive case.
Raazia brought her own car.

Imtiaz likes his own pen.

The pronoun ‘her’ shows that “Raazia” owns a car;
the pronoun ‘his’ shows that “Imtiaz” owns a pen.

Here are the subjective, objective and possessive case

forms of personal pronouns:
Singular

Subjective case Objective case Possessive case

I Me My, mine
You You Your, yours
He Him His
She Her Her, hers
It It Its

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 Plural

Subjective case Objective case Possessive case

We Us Our, Ours
You You Your, Yours
They Them Their, Theirs

2.3. Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns are used to begin group of words that
tell someone or something mentioned earlier. It relates the
word group to what it talks about. Some relative pronouns are:
which, who, whom and whose.
Aslam who sells books, hit his car that came from UK. In
the first case ‘who’ is relative pronoun which relates ‘sells books’
to “Aslam”. (It is telling about “Aslam” who sells books). May be
there is some other “Aslam” or may be the listener does not
know him by his name and the speaker is telling him about his
job/work etc. in the second case the relative pronoun is ‘that’
which relates “came from UK” to ‘car’.

2.4. Demonstrative pronouns

a. Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out particular
persons or things. Some common demonstrative
pronouns are:
This, these, those etc.
This: generally refers to what is near or at hand.

That: refers to what is further away.

Example:

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 This book (over here) is more valuable than that (over
there) one.
b. Demonstrative pronouns may also point to something
that has been said. He told his father that he had been
promoted. This pleased him very much.
c. Some times a demonstrative pronoun points to a part of a
conversation that follows:
I must tell you this; I can no longer live here.
d. “Such” or “so” may function as demonstrative pronouns.

i. His officer was very pleased with the work and she
told him so.

ii. They would like to buy Honda Accord, Mercedes,

but such cars are very expensive.

Note: The bold words are demonstrative pronouns.

2.5. Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used to refer back to nouns of
pronouns or we can say reflexive pronoun is a combination of
‘self’ with one of the personal pronoun or with the impersonal
pronoun ‘one’. These pronouns generally refer to an animate
being, usually a person. The most common use of reflexive
pronoun is an object that reflects back to the subject; in other
words it has the same identity as the subject. Thus in the
sentence, the child hurt himself, ‘child’ and ‘himself’ are
identical.

2.6. Interrogative pronouns

1. These pronouns are used to ask questions as:
a. Who (for person): Who gave this pen to you?

b. What (for thing): What is this? (pen etc).

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 c. Which (for persons/things):

i. which is your pen?

ii. Which one of them is your brother?

2. These interrogative pronouns have generalizing forms as

follows:

a. Whoever: Whoever he is I will not see him.

b. Whichever: Whichever of the pens you buy you will
pay Rs.31 for that.

3. The pronoun ‘what’ also introduces exclamations:

a. What beautiful flowers those are!

b. What a beautiful flower this is!

2.7. Reciprocal pronouns

a. This shows that the individual member of a plural subject
mutually reacts on each other. Reciprocal pronouns are
‘each other’ and ‘one-another’.

Example:
They amused each other by telling stories. (each one told
stories to the other one.)
b. For more than two nouns the use of ‘one another’ would
be preferred.

1. The four children are fond of one another.

2. He put all the books beside one another.

2.8. Indefinite pronouns

Such pronouns refer to indefinite (usually unknown)

persons or things or to indefinite quantities.

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 Someone stole my pen. (Who stole, is not known)

Some common indefinite pronouns are:

All Each More One
Another Either Most Others
Any Everybody Much Several
Anybody Everyone Neither Some

2.9. Self-assessment questions-2

Activities

I. Write down the following pronouns in the columns given

below:

He, I, Me, Them, His, Her, Him, Their, Her, Ours, You,
Your.
Subjective case objective case possessive case
II. Write down five sentences using relative pronouns.
III. Write down five sentences using interrogative pronouns.

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 3. ADJECTIVES

An adjective is used to modify or describe a noun or

pronoun. It gives information by answering one of these
questions:

1. What kind
2. Which one

3. How many
For example:
A white car went on this road three minutes ago.

In this sentence, white, this, three, are adjectives.

”white” gives information about car (what kind); “this” give
information about road (which one) and “three” gives
information about minutes (how many).

Nouns used as adjectives

Sometimes nouns are used as adjectives:

Nouns Used as adjectives

Table Table leg

Dinner Dinner table
Sunday Sunday dinner

Leg, table and dinner, are qualified by table, dinner and

Sunday respectively. If somebody asks which “table”, the
answer is “dinner table”. The table which is used for dinner
(dining table).
It gives information about the table.

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 Articles

The most frequently used adjectives are:

A An The
These little words are called “articles”.

a. A and an are indefinite articles. These are used with the

common nouns.

Example:
i. A teacher arrived.
ii. An automobile went by.

iii. we waited an hour.

A is used before nouns beginning with a consonant

sound: a pen, a book etc.
If we look at example III, given above, “an” is used
before “hour” which begins with consonant “h”. It is used
because it does not give ‘h’ sound. It gives a vowel sound
(like our). It must be remembered that it is the sound of
a noun and not the spelling that counts for using an
article. Let us see another example:
He is a university student.

See that an has not been used here because the ‘u’ of
university does not give vowel sound, (it sounds like
“you”).

b. The is a definite article. It indicates that the noun refers

to someone or something in particular. It helps to
distinguish the known from the unknown.
i. This is the way to do it. (This is the only way, it is
being particularized.)

ii. There was a lion. He was sleeping under a tree. A

mouse came and started playing on the lion’s body.

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 The lion woke up. The lion was very angry. He took
the mouse in his paw. The mouse said: “Forgive
me”:

As the story starts a is used before ‘lion’ and ‘mouse’ but

this is done only once. After that, as you see ‘the’ has been
used. If we use “a” instead of “the” that may create confusion, it
would mean another lion or mouse and not the same mentioned
before. Here “the” is used to particularize the lion/mouse
mentioned earlier.

Let us see how it distinguishes the known from the

unknown. The film was not interesting. (which film, the listener
knows about that.)

Adjective in sentences
a. You might have noticed that the adjectives come before
the noun modified. The noun about which the adjective is
giving information. Ahmed gave each student hot tea and
apple pie.
The underlined are adjectives

b. Two or more adjectives can be used before a noun but

are not usually separated by; ‘and’ except that the last
two are adjectives of colour.
Example:
A big black bird.
A small fat man.
…… but, a black and white shirt.
A yellow, blue and black flag.

c. sometimes adjectives can come right after the noun as:

the patient, weak and pale, was lying on the bed. ‘Weak
and pale’ are placed directly after the noun ‘patient’. They
are set off by commas from the rest of the sentence.

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d. Adjectives also come later in the sentence and completed
the description of a noun or pronoun. These are called
adjective completers. For example:

The napkin is red and white. It looks new.

The adjectives ‘red’ and ‘white’ describe the noun

‘napkin’. The adjective ‘new’ modifies the pronoun ‘it’.

Comparison of adjectives
An adjective may change form to show how one thing
compares with another. Most adjectives add ’er’ and ‘est’
showing comparison. These endings are added to the positive
form of adjective. If two things are compared, ‘er’ is added to
make comparative form.
If more than two things are compared ‘est’ is added.
Example:
I want a strong rope. Which one is the stronger of these
two.

I want a strong rope. Which one is the strongest of all

these.

(There are more than two ropes).

a. The degree of comparison:

Positive Dark Tall

Comparative Darker Taller
Superlative The darkest The tallest

i. ‘er’ ‘est’ are added to the positive form of an adjective of

one syllable to have comparative and superlative degrees.
Bright Brighter Brightest
New Newer Newest

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ii. Adjectives of three or more syllables make their
comparative and superlative by placing ‘more’ and “the
most” before the positive.

Interesting More interesting The most interesting

Beautiful More beautiful The most beautiful
iii. Adjectives of two syllables follow one or the other of the
above rules. It must be noticed that ‘er’ or ‘est’ are not
added to the adjectives of two syllables if they make word
sound awakward.

Example:

Simple Simpler Simplest

More simple The most simple
Prettier Prettiest
More pretty The most pretty

Foolish More foolish The most foolish

(Not foolisher) (not the foolishest)

Gracious More gracious The most gracious

(Not graciouser) (Not the graciousest)

iv. When the positive form ends in ‘y’ with a consonant

before it, the ‘y’ changes to ‘ie’.
Example:
Happy Happier The happiest
Pretty Prettier The prettiest
v. the adjectives ending with ‘ful’ or ‘re’ usually take more
and the most.
Example:
Doubtful More doubtful The most doubtful
Careful More careful The most careful
Obscure More obscure The most obscure

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vi. Adjectives ending with ‘ly’ take more or the most.

Slowly More slowly The most slowly

Quickly More quickly The most quickly

b. Irregular adjectives:

Some adjectives form their comparative and superlative

forms in special ways. These are called irregular adjectives.
Here is a list of forms of the most common irregular
adjectives:
Bad Worse Worst
Good Better Best
Much More Most

3.5. Self-assessment questions-3

I. Pick out the adjectives used in the following sentences:

1. I found a beautiful pen in the way.
2. The black bird took away the small piece from the
little boys’ hand.

3. The fat man shot the cruel murderer.

4. He bought a black suit for his younger brother.

II. Insert suitable articles:

1. He is________honest man.
2. Shahid is ______university student.

3. I offered my services as ______humble man.

4. Samina is ________ M.A.
5. He came late by _______ hour.
6. ____ man you saw in the market is my friend.

III. Make a list of ten three syllable adjectives.

IV. Write ten two syllable adjectives.

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 4. VERBS

A noun or pronoun, no matter how many adjectives it

may have can not make a sentence. The noun or pronoun must
act in some way or something must be said about it. The part of
speech that performs this function is the ‘verb’.
a. A ‘verb’ is a word that expresses action or otherwise helps
to make a statement.
Example:
The green van ___________ down the steep hill. (crept,
rattled, slid)

To complete the sentence a verb is needed. An

appropriate verb adds power and vigour to your sentence.
c. Verbs make statements, ask questions or give
commands.
Statement: The star is the most popular symbol on the
flags of the countries of the world.
Question: Do stars appear on more than 40 nations’
flags?
Command: Explain the arrangements of the stars on
the United States’ flag.

4.1 Action verbs

An ‘action verb’ tells what someone or something does.

(Action verbs’ as their name shows tell of action.) In a sentence
the ‘action verbs’ helps tell what happens.
Example:

Aslam plucked flowers. (“Plucked” tells what Aslam did.)

Sometimes action verbs express an action that can not be
seen.

As believe, know, think, remember, understand.

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4.2 Two kinds of action verbs
a. Transitive verbs: A verb is transitive when the action it
expresses is directed towards a person or thing etc. or,
we can say that a verb takes direct object, or, object
comes directly after the verb.
Example:

Shahid opened the book. (The action of the verb “opened”

is directed towards the book or the verb ‘opened’ has
taken direct object, the book.) Such verbs are transitive
verbs.

b. Intransitive verbs: A verb is an intransitive when it

expresses a simple action without reference to an object.
Example:

He talked.
The train arrived.
Shahid laughed.
In these sentences no objects of the verbs are found.

c. Some verbs may be transitive in one sentence and

intransitive in another.

Example:

Shahid speaks Urdu. (Transitive)

Shahid speaks. (Intransitive)

The speaker answered many questions. (Transitive)

The speaker answered. (Intransitive)

4.3 Linking verbs

Some verbs help to make a statement not by expressing

an action but by serving as a link between two words. Usually
linking verbs cannot complete the thought of a sentence all by

563
itself. It needs to be followed by another word or words which
are called subject completer. Completers may be nouns,
pronouns, adjectives or adverbs.

Example:

The room is full of chairs.

‘Is’ is the linking verb. “full” is an adjective that tells
something about the condition of the room.
The most common linking verbs are the forms of the verb
‘to be’.
Some of these verbs are:

Am, are, is, was, were.

Other linking verbs are forms of “appear’, ‘become”,

‘look’, ‘seem’ “sound, smell”.

Example:
It tastes sour.
He seemed aware of all this situation.
It looked bad.

It sounds bad.
The food smells good.

(The underlined verbs are used as linking verbs.)

4.4. Auxiliary verbs

An auxiliary verb helps the main verbs tell what happens.

Example:
He will come out of the room.
(The auxiliary verbs, ‘will’ helps the main verb ‘come’.)

we can eat it. (“can” is auxiliary.)

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 The most common auxiliary verbs are listed here:
Am Have Can Might
Are Has May Must
Is Had Should Do
Was Shall Would Does
Were Will Could Did

The main verbs and its auxiliary verb or verbs make the
verb phrase.
Example:

Shahid should know the answer.

He has been studying them all night.

4.5 The principal parts of verbs

The four basic forms of a verb are called the principal
parts of the verb. They are:
Infinitive
The present participle
The past
The past participle
The four principal parts of the verbs “do” are:
Do (infinitive)
Doing (present participle)
Did (past)
Done (past participle)

I do my homework.
I am doing my homework now.
I did homework this morning.
I have done my homework.

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 4.6 Regular verbs
A verb that forms its past and past participle forms by
adding ‘d or ed’ to the first principal part (infinitive) is a regular
verb.

Example:
Use Used Used
Ask Asked Asked
Talk Talked Talked

4.7 Irregular verbs

A verb that forms its past or past participle in some other

way (not-like regular verbs) is an irregular verb. Irregular verbs
form their past and past participle in various ways:
Begin Began Begun
Speak Spoke Spoken
Bring Brought Brought
Put Put Put

4.8 Self-Assessment Questions-4

I. Read the following sentences and then write the action

verbs and linking verbs in separate columns:
1. Shahid broke the pen.

2. The file is on the table.

3. The bottle is full of water.
4. It tastes bad.
5. Aslam has borrowed the book.

6. He will repair the watch.

Action verbs Linking verbs

566
II. Write five sentences using transitive verbs and five
sentences using intransitive verbs.
III. Give a list of ten irregular verbs.

567
 5. ADVERBS

An adverb is a word that qualifies a verb, an adjective or

another adverb. It tells when, where, how, how much or how
often an action occurs. For details please study unit 13 of the
book.

6. Preposition
“Preposition” are the spice of good conversation and
correct idiomatic writing. (John O’ London.) What is preposition?
It is a word that shows relation between two or more than two
words.
It is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show in
what relation the person or a thing shown by it stands in
relation to something else. For example, in the hall, on the
table, under the carpet, etc. are phrases with preposition. Let us
take this sentence: I put my hand on the table. Now take the
word ‘on’ out of this sentence and it will mean nothing. It is, in
fact, the use of preposition ‘on’ which establishes a relationship
between ‘hand’ and ‘table’.
Most commonly used prepositions are as follows:
After About, below, near By
Before Above, beside, on
During Across, between, over For
Since Against, beyond, through Like
Until Around, down, toward Of
At, into, under, behind, With
In side, up.

6.1 Compound preposition

Compound preposition is made up of a group of words
used as a preposition.
Example:
In front of
On top of

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 6.2 Prepositional Phrase: A preposition and its object form
prepositional phase i.e, after the party, during the night.

6.3 Object of Preposition: A preposition usually takes an

object. The object is usually a following noun or pronoun.
The preposition relates its object to some other word in
the sentence.
a. Ahmed left after the party. “Party’ is the object of
the preposition “after’.
b. She left with a friend. “Friend” is the object of the
preposition ‘with’.
Note: A preposition may have more than one object.
He works at an office and his home.

6.4 Function of Prepositional Phrases

They can functions as:
– Adjective: – A girl with red hair
– The cupboard under the stairs

– Adverbial: – I like sitting by the window.

– Meet me at 6o’ clock.
– He was killed with a blunt
instrument.

6.5 Self-assessment questions-5

I. Read the following sentences carefully and then write the
prepositions given in each of the sentences in the blank
space against them:
1. He went out of the class._______
2. My office is near supermarket._______
3. The birds fly over the trees._______
4. The pen is under the chair._______
5. He went down the street.________
6. I can’t drive beyond the speed limit._____

569
 7. He kept the bag behind the table._______
8. You will have to wait in your room.______
9. He has been working since morning.______
10. He went across the street._______
II. Give a list of ten prepositional phrases.
III. Write ten sentences using prepositions having more than
one object.

570
 7. ANSWERS TO SELF-ASSESSMENT
QUESTIONS/ACTIVITIES
1. Countable nouns:
1. Pencil 2. Chair 3. Book 4. Man
5. Dog 6. Tree 7. Animal 8. Room
9. Store 10. Shoe 11. Stick 12. Ground
13. Arm 14. Eye 15. Packet
Non-countable nouns:
1. Sugar 2. Water 3. Heat 4. Rice
5. Wheat 6. Ink 7. Steel 8. Grass
9. Tea 10. Milk 11. Wood 12. Tension
13. Maize 14. Honey 15. Work
2. Compound nouns:

Singular Plural
Shopkeeper Shopkeepers
Cricket-ground Cricket-grounds
Fruit-seller Fruit seller
Wicket-keeper Wicket-keepers
Pen-holder Pen-holders
SAQ-1: (Self-assessment questions)
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
table Atlantic ocean
doctor India
octopus Oakwood primary school
storm Book
envelop

II. States, foxes, switches, geese, attorney generals, files,

monkeys, mice, bushes, loaves.

III. Collective nouns.

Committee, crowd, family, flock, herd, group, government,
public, team, army.

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SAQ-2:
I. Subjective case Objective case Possessive case
He Me Your
I Them His
You Her Her
Him Their
You Ours

II. 1. Shahid who is my friend has recently returned from UK.

2. The man to whom you have given the pen is not a reliable
person.
3. The table that has three legs cannot be used for this
purpose.
4. The man whose books have been stolen is my teacher.
5. The book which is under the table is not mine.
III.1. Who has given you this book?
2. What have you brought for lunch today?
3. Which one of them is your brother?
4. Whose car is this?
5. Whom did you see in the market?
SAQ-3:
I. 1. Beautiful 2. Black, small, little
3. Fat, cruel 4. Black, younger

II. 1. An 2. A
3. A 4. An
5. An 6. The

III. 1. Disgusting 2. Obdurate

3. Pervasive 4. Qualified
5. Vivacious 6. Negative
7. Neurotic 8. Expensive
9. Perceptive 10. Indolent

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 IV. 1. Naughty 2. Happy
3. Clumsy 4. Dirty
5. Tricky 6. Clever
7. Lofty 8. Jolly
9. Silly 10. Nervous

SAQ–4:
I. Actions verbs Linking verbs
1. Broke 2. Is
3. Is 4. Tastes
5. Appeared 6. Has borrowed
7. Will repair

II. Sentences using transitive verbs:

1. He spoke English.
2. He brought a knife with him.
3. He showed the picture.
4. I wrote a letter to him.
5. She made tea.

Sentences using intransitive verbs

1. Saleem laughed
2. You walked
3. I smiled
4. He slept
5. He shouted
III. 1. Teach 2. Steal 3. Hide
4. Rise 5. Fight 6. Bear
7. Drink 8. Swim 9. Go
10. Sit

573
SAQ–5:
I. 1. Out of 2. Near 3. Over
4. Under 5. Down 6. Beyond
7. Behind 8. In 9. Since
10. Across

II.
1. Out of the ground
2. Inside the room
3. Under the table
4. Over the tree
5. Across the road
6. Above the picture
7. Below the map
8. Behind the wall
9. During the day
10. Near the college

III.
1. He lives with his father and brother.
2. He spoke to me and the chairman.
3. My house is near the road and the police–station.

4. My boss is out of the office and the university.

5. Shahid went across the road and the railway–line.
6. He talked about politics and the politicians of
Pakistan.
7. He works during day and night.

8. You talked against me and Shahid.

9. Akram stole money from me and my friend.

10. He was hiding behind the table and chair.

574
 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adrian B. S. (1977): Using English Grammar and Writing Skills,

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Henry I. C. (1982): Modern English in action, Heath.

John W, Marry E. W, Francis (1969): English Grammar and

Composition (revised edition), Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Marcella F. (1972): Modern English: A Practical Reference

Guide, Prentice Hall.
Randolph Q, Sidney G. (1982): A University Grammar of
English, Longman.

575
Unit – 13

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Written By:
Nisar Zafar

Revised By:
Professor Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (second) By:

Mrs. Shagufta Siraj
578
 INTRODUCTION
The topic in hand in this unit is ‘sentence structure’.
Obviously it will deal with the formation of sentence. Our
learning point will be a ‘letter’ and thence we shall proceed to
the structure of complex sentence. There are different aspects
of a sentence. Some of these aspects are inevitable, i.e. without
them we cannot even think of a sentence. But we shall fix the
priority and discuss all the aspects. During this discussion, we
shall go into the details of each aspect, discuss it and determine
its due place in the mutual arrangement of all of them. At the
end of every section and sub-section, you will find a self-
assessment exercise’. If you can answer the questions properly,
it will come out that you have been able to understand the
material in hand: The limit of answering those questions will
determine the very limit to which you have to learn and then
guage your standard of learning. For a true assessment, please
do not look at the solutions to those questions before time so
that you have a very clear idea of what you have learnt and
what you have not.
As the unit is a part of a vast distant learning programe,
efforts have been made to make it very simple and to the point.
The idea is to let the student learn on his own without any
external help. The examples have been given from every day
life so that the student can learn it with reference to the real
surroundings, in which he is living. Try to make a couple of
examples of your own.
There is a personal suggestion. As said before, the
examples have no doubt, been taken from daily life. You can
make them more fruitful if you try to supplement them from the
text you have to teach to your students. This will improve your
understanding of the matter and also make the concepts clear in
your mind. These techniques will improve your teaching as well.
This proposal on the whole aims at one thing and that is

579
originality in your teaching technique and we all know that
originality is the spirit of all first rate great work.

OBJECTIVES

When you have studied this unit, you are expected to be able:
- To explain the foundation of a sentence.

- To know the relationship of one part with another part of

the sentence.
- To break a sentence into different parts.

- To apply different rules governing the construction of a

sentence.

580
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Introduction to the word “sentence” 583

2. Parts of speech 585

3. Pronoun 586

4. Verbs 588
5. Past tense 594
6. Use of verb (passive voice) 596

7. Adjectives 598

8. Adverb 601

9. Conjunction 607
10. Interjection 610

11. Analysis 613

12. Answers to the Self-assessment questions 620
13. Bibliography 622

581
582
 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE WORD ‘SENTENCE’

1.1 What is meant by sentence structure?

The phrase sentence structure has two words, sentence
and structure. Let us take these two words separately,
understand them, join them and understand them again. A
sentence is a combination of different words as a word is a
combination of different letters. For example, when we say ‘we
take tea’, it is a sentence made of three words: ‘we’, ‘take’ and
‘tea’. Each of these three words is made of different letters. ‘We’
is made of w, e, ‘take’ is made of t a k e, and ‘tea’ made of
three letters t e a. In short, when letters join, they make words
and when words join, they make a sentence and thus the
process goes on.
The word “structure”, literally means “formation”,
arrangement of composition. The phrase, sentence structure,
demands that we should try to understand the arrangement of
different words in their grammatical sense in a sentence. For
example, we say ‘we take tea’. Now this very simple sentence
has a structure and we cannot say ‘tea we take’.

1.2 Basics of sentence (Elements of Sentence

Construction)

After this introduction, let us start from the idea that a

sentence has two parts. There is an agent doing something and
then there, is an action. The agent is called actor or, to be more
grammatical ‘subject’ and his action is called ‘verb’. Subjects are
usually people like ‘Azhar’, ‘Nasim’, ‘Salma’, ‘boy’, ‘my friend’,
etc. Sometimes, they are not people. For example, ‘train’,
‘mosque’, ‘door’, ‘book’, etc. Action tells what the subject is
doing. For example, an intelligent man works while the others
sleep. The verb or “action word”, shows that the actor or

583
‘subject “an intelligent man”, is doing something while the other
actors sleep.

1.3 Self-Assessment Questions-1

Answer the following questions:

1. What two parts does every sentence have?

2. Pick up the “subject” and “verb” and write them

separately under two headings: “Subject” and “verb”.
Also point out whether the subjects are persons or not:

a. The player plays.

b. I run

c. We study
d. The school closes

e. The passengers come out when the plane lands

f. The actor performs
g. The class protested.
Sometime the sentence is something more than that, for
example: “I run on the grass”, “we study French twice a week”,
“the school closes at O’ clock’. In these sentences, on the grass
“French Time a week”, at 1 O’ Clock etc. complete the sentence,
they are called complements.
In the above examples, the Verbs are action verbs. Some
verbs are vers “to be” which do not show action. They are called
“non–action” Verbs. For example, in the Sentence ‘I am late’,
‘am’ is a non-action Verb.

1.4 Self-assessment Questions–2

Separate the following sentences into different parts like

Subject (write separately Whether the Subject is a person or

584
not) Verb (write separately Whether the verb is an action verb
or a non–action Verb), and a complement:
1. He is a Photographer.

2. The plane crashed while it Was landing.

3. The old man Works in a garden.

4. The heater burns surplus gas.

5. She is a very good singer.

6. Saga is an excellent dancer.
Note: Make at least ten more sentences for further

2. PARTS OF SPEECH
We have already studied that there are three parts of a
sentence. We use different kinds of words in a sentence. These
words (all of them) are called, parts of speech’. ‘Nouns’,
‘pronouns’, ‘Subject’, ‘object’ have already been dealt in Unit 12.
A few exercises have been give below:
1. Here, are some sentences With Subject being pronouns.
Take the Subject pronouns and verbs out of each
sentence and write them separately under two different
headings ‘subject pronouns’ and verbs.

a. She rides on a bicycle.

b. They play chess every morning.
c. The old gardener waters the Plants everyday.
d. You need more attention to your studies:
e. It is my watch. It gives excellent time.
2. Replace all the Subject nouns with
a. Nasima
b. Azhar and Najam
c. Zafar
d. Roamer

585
 3. PRONOUN
Pronouns were exp1ained in the previous unit but let us
know something more about these.

3.1 Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are those words which are used in

place of possessive nouns. Some examples of possessive
pronouns are ‘my, our, your (singular), your (plural), his, her,
its, their’, etc. In the sentence, “Shelley’s poetry is excellent”,
Shelley’s is a possessive noun and when we say, “his poetry is
excellent:, the word ‘his’ has been used in place of possessive
noun, Shelley’s. So it will be called ‘possessive pronoun’. In
“Mrs. Rizvi’s car is out of order”, Mrs. Razvi’s is a possessive
noun. When we say, “her car is out of order”, the word ‘her’ has
been used in place of the possessive noun, “Mrs. Rizvi’s”, it will
be called possessive pronoun.

3.2 Self-assessment questions-3

I. Change the possessive nouns in the following sentences
into possessive pronouns:
1. The old man's watch was lost by me.
2. Shakespeare’s “King Lear” was staged by the
London Shakespeare Group,

3. The student’s books were thrown out of the

window.
4. Lord sandwich’s problem was solved by his cook.
5. Stradeverie’s voilin was bought by a violinist.

586
3.3 The -S form possessive pronouns

Unnecessary repetition of a word in a sentence is always

considered to be a breach of good style. The -S form possessive
pronouns ‘mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs’, etc. are
used when we do not want to, as we should always do, repeat a
word in a sentence. (Let us remember that ‘mine’ is an
exception. It does not end in ‘s’.) For example, to say; This pen
is your pen’ sounds very odd. Instead we use –s form
possessive pronoun and say, ‘This pen is yours’. Let us take
some more examples. It is always better to say “This house is
ours, that ‘This house is our house’. “The samsonite suitcase is
her suitcase” sounds very odd as compared to, “The samsonite
suitcase is hers”.

3.4 Self-Assessment Questions-4

I. Change the underline words in the following sentences
into an –S form possessive pronoun:

1. This script is your script.

2. That building is State Life building.

3. Is this vacancy his vacancy.

4. This proposal is his proposal.
Now let us revise different kinds of pronouns discussed in
the previous pages:
1. Subject pronouns: I, we, you (singular), you
(plural), he, she, It and they, etc.
2. Object pronouns: as me, us, you (singular), you
(plural), he, she, it and they, them, etc.

3. Possessive pronouns: as my, our, your (singular),

your, (plural), his, her, its, and their, etc.

587
 4. S form pronouns (without nouns) as mine, ours,
yours (singular), yours (plural), his, her and theirs,
etc.

II. Review test (parts of speech)

We have studied three parts of speech i.e. (1) Nouns; (2)

Pronouns (3) Verb.

3.5 Self-Assessment Questions-5

Separate the above mentioned parts in the following
sentences:

1. I brought up his children.

2. They painted my house last year.

3. Beware of your enemies.

4. Mustafa Kamal is their national hero.

5. He did his work very well.

4. VERB
Verbs have been discussed in the previous unit but some
more information about these is given below:

4.1 Five parts of action verbs

As we have already seen, action verbs are the verbs

which show action. Verbs ‘to be’ will not show an action. Some
examples of action verbs are: To play’, To go’, etc.

Now let us learn that there are five parts of action verbs
and each part has its own name:
a Root form as ‘to run’, ‘to come’, ‘to swim’.
b. -S form: ‘Runs’, ‘comes’, swims’
c. Past form: ‘Ran’, ‘came’, ‘swam’.
d. Present participle: ‘Running’, ‘coming’, ‘swimming’.
e. Past participle: ‘Run’, ‘come’, ‘swum’.

588
4.2 Regular and irregular verbs

Regular verbs: Regular verbs are the verbs which

always end in “-ed” in the past form and past participle (please
refer here to action verbs). For example, ‘to play’ played
‘played’, ‘to look, looked, looked’, ‘to visit’ visited, visited, etc.
Irregular verbs: These verbs do not end in “-ed” in the
past form and past participle. They usually change spellings, for
example, ‘to break broke, broken’, ‘To buy, bought, bought’, ‘To
drink, drank, drunk’, etc.

4.3 Habitual present tense

Previously we have seen five parts of action verbs. Here

we shall use the first two parts, i.e. the root form, and the -S
form. To write sentences in the ‘habitual present tense’ -S form
is used with subjects ‘he, she, it, third person (singular noun)’;
with the rest root form is used. What is habitual present tense?
It is a tense which shows an action as a custom, a routine work
or a habit. For example, ‘I usually take rest after the Zohar
prayers’, you always come late’, we, some times, have our
dinner at a hotel’ she never neglects her duties as a nurse’,
‘Raheela always takes pride in her intelligence’, etc.
Habitual Present Tense (time -words): Time -words
like ‘often, sometimes, never, always, usually and normally’ are
used before the verb to show a custom or habit etc. Refer to
examples give above.

Let us note that time -words like 'every morning',

‘every–week’, ‘everyday’, ‘every–year’, ‘every–month’, etc. are
used at the end of a sentence. For example, ‘I go to college
every–morning’, ‘he writes a letter to his family every–week’,
etc.

589
 Special point: The -S form spelling rules. Some words
have special rules to make the -S form. There are three -S form
spelling rules:

Rule No.1: The consonant Y rules: We change ‘y’ to ‘i’ and

add –es to make the -S form when a verb ends in a
consonant letter ‘y’. For example, ‘copy’ will be
changed into ‘copies’, ‘try’ will be changed into
‘tries’ etc.
Rule No.2: -Es rules: We add -es to make the -S form when a
verb ends in ch, sh, x, o, ‘etc. For example, ‘catch’
will be changed into ‘catches’, ‘push’ will be
changed into ‘pushes’, ‘miss’, will be changed into
‘misses’, ‘go’ will be changed into ‘goes’, ‘do’ will be
changed into ‘does’ etc.
Rule No.3: Special -`S for rule: It is used in case of the
‘have’ which becomes ‘has’.

4.4 Habitual Present Tense (Question Sentences)

Helping verbs like ‘do’ or ‘does’ are used to make
questions in the habitual present tense (question sentences).
With it we use the root form of the verb. The helping verbs are
used before the subject. It is to be noted that time – words are
also used before the verbs. A question mark is put at the end in
such cases. For example, ‘do I always speak wrong French’?
‘Does he usually visit you?’ ‘Do we often write letters to each
other, etc.

4.5 Habitual Present Tense (Negative Sentences)

Helping verbs ‘do not’ or ‘does not’ are used to make
negative sentences in the habitual present tense. It is always
the root form of the verb which is used in negative sentences.
The principle verb always follows the helping verb, but the ‘time
words’ always ‘usually’, ‘often’ will come in between the two, i.e.

590
the helping verb and the principle verb. For example, ‘you do
not always take interest in your work’, ‘I do not usually batter
early in the morning’, ‘he does not often send money to his
children’, etc. Time words like ‘every–night’, ‘every–year’ etc.
will come at the end, of a sentence. Let us not forget that time
words like ‘some times’, ‘seldom’ or never’ are not used in
negative sentences

4.6 Special Point (Negative Contraction)

To make negative contractions in the habitual present

tense we combine ‘do not’ as ‘don’t and ‘does not’ as ‘doesn’t.
what we actually do is that we take out the ‘o’ in ‘not’ and mark
the place with an apostrophe. For example, ‘you do not work
hard’ will become ‘you don’t work hard’. ‘He does not visit us’
will become ‘he doesn’t visit us’.

4.7 Continuous Present Tense

Here we shall discuss one of the five parts of action
verbs. It is called present participle (–ing form). This form of
verb is used in the continuous present tense, a tense which
shows an action that is happening now. Time – words such as
‘now’, ‘right now’ and ‘today’, etc. are often used in it. For
example, ‘the school bell is ringing now’, ‘Imran Khan is giving a
beautiful shot right now’, etc.

4.8 Continuous Present Tense (Affirmative Sentences)

In continuous present tense we used the verb ‘to be’ (is,
am, are) and the present participle (–ing form) as in the above
sentence.

4.9 Special point (the –ing form spelling rules)

There are some special rules to make the –ing form for a
few verbs:

591
Rule No1: The ‘e’ rule: When a verb ends in ‘e’ we take it off
and add ‘–ing’ to it. For example, ‘make’ will
become ‘making’ and ‘write’ will become ‘writing’
etc.

Rule No.2: The doubling rule: When a verb ends in one short
vowel and one consonant, we double the consonant
and add ‘ing’. For example, ‘hit’ will be changed
into ‘hitting’, ‘swim’ will be changed into
‘swimming’ and ‘set’ will be changed into ‘setting’,
etc. REMEMBER that verbs like ‘to travel’, ‘to visit’,
‘to open’, ‘to listen’, ‘to fix’, do not follow the
doubling rule.

4.10 Contractions

We combine the subject pronoun and verb ‘to be’ to make

contractions in the continuous present tense. For this purpose,
we take out the first letter of the verb ’to be’ and mark the place
with an apostrophe, ‘they are running’ and ‘they’re running’,
‘she is swimming’ and ‘she’s swimming, etc.

4.11 Continuous Present Tense (Question Sentences)

When we want to make a question in the continuous
present tense, we bring the verb 'to be' in the beginning of the
sentence and put a question mark at the end. For example, ‘the
students are studying English right now’ will be changed into
‘are the students studying English right now.

4.12 Continuous present tense (negative sentences)

When we want to make a negative sentence in the
continuous present tense, we use ‘not’ after the verb ‘to be’. For
example, ‘she is washing clothes today’ and 'she is not washing
clothes today’, ‘the children are playing with the toys’ and “the
children are not playing with the toys”.

592
4.13 Negative Contractions

Negative contractions in the continuous present tense are

made in two ways:
Negative short form No.1: We drop the first letter of
the; verb ‘to be’ and fill the place with an apostrophe. For
example, ‘I am not playing’ and ‘I’m not playing’, ‘you are
not studying and ‘you’re not studying’.
Negative short form No. 2: We combine the verb ‘to
be’ and ‘not’. Then we take out the ‘o’ in ‘not’ and mark
the place with an apostrophe. For example, ‘she is not
knitting my sweater’, ‘she isn’t knitting my sweater’.
‘They are working very hard’ and ‘they aren’t working
very hard’.

4.14 Habitual Present Tense and Continuous Present

Tense (Contrast)
As we have already seen, we use the root form and the -s
form in the habitual present tense. It shows an action which is a
custom or habit. In it the time – words are ‘sometimes’, ‘never’
‘everyday’ ‘always’ ‘seldom’ ‘often’, ‘usually’, etc.
In continuous present tense, we use the verb 'to be' and
the –ing form. It shows an action that is happening just now.
The time – words used in it are ‘now’, ‘right now’, ‘today’, etc.
Mark the following sentences carefully to note the
difference:
a. Sarah and Salman visit their granny every year.
(Habitual present)
b. Sarah and Salman are visiting their granny now.
(Continuous present tense)
c. I do my work regularly. (Habitual present)
d. I am doing my work right now. (Continuous
present tense)

593
 5. PAST TENSE
This tense shows an action that happened in the past. We
use the past form of the verb. The time -words often used to
show the past time are ‘a week ago’, ‘last night’, ‘yesterday’,
‘the previous year’, etc.

5.1 Past Tense (Affirmative Sentences)

We use the simple past form of the verb in this tense. For
example, “I called on him yesterday’, ‘the guests reached last
night’, etc.

5.2 Regular Verbs (Past Tense)

Verbs that end in ‘-ed’ in the past form are called regular
verbs. ‘-ed’ makes three sounds as:
a. Granted/id/
b. Talked/t/
c. Sprayed/d/

5.3 Three -ed Pronunciation Rules

Rule No.1: When the root form of a verb ends in a ‘t’ or ‘d’
sound, the ‘-ed’ makes separate syllable i.e. ‘id’, as
‘want’ – ‘wanted’, and ‘succeed’–‘succeeded’, etc.
Rule No.2: When the root form of the verb ends in the sound
‘p’, ‘k’, ‘f’, ‘x’. ‘ss’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’, etc. ‘ed’ gives ‘t’
sound. Its examples are “help–helped’ /t/, ‘walk–
walked’/t/, ‘Puff-puffed’/t/, ‘fix-fixed’/t/, ‘kiss–
kissed’/t/, ‘finish–finished’/t’/, 'reach–reached’/t/,
etc.
Rule No. 3: ‘–ed’ gives the sound of /d/ in all the other regular
verbs, for example, ‘call–called’/d/, ‘gain–
gained’/d/ ‘close–closed’/d/, etc.

594
 The ‘–ed’ form consonant ‘y’ spelling rule:
Please not that when a regular verb ends in ‘e’, we add
only ‘d’ When a regular verb ends in a consonant letter ‘y’ we
chage the ‘y’ into ‘i’ and add ‘–ed, for example, ‘try–ried’,
‘carry–carried’, etc.

5.4 Past Tense (Question Sentences)

We use the helping verb ‘did’ in the beginning of the
sentence and the root form of the verb to make question
sentences. For example, ‘you wrote a letter to your parents
everyweek’ will be changed into ‘did you write a letter to your
parents everyweek?’. The guests went to bed very early’, will be
changed into ‘did the guests go to bed very early?’.

5.5 Past Tense (Negative Sentences)

To make negative sentences, we use ‘did not’ and the
root form of verb. For example, ‘I wrote a letter to him’ will be
changed into ‘I did not write a letter to him’, ‘we won the
match’, will be changed into ‘we did not win the match’.

Negative contractions: To make negative contractions

in the past tense, we combine ‘did not’ and it is changed into
‘didn’t’. In fact we take out the ‘o’ in not’ and mark the place
with an apostrophe. For example, ‘they did not play well’ will
become ‘they didn’t play well’. ‘It did not rain’ will become ‘it
didn’t rain’, etc.

5.6 Habitual Present Tense and Past Tense (Contrast)

We already know as to what habitual present tense is.

Time – words used are ‘usually’ ‘often’ ‘always’ ‘sometimes’
‘seldom’ ‘everyday’ and ‘never’, etc. now let us mark the
difference between habitual present tense and past tense.
1. We use the root form and’-S form’ in the habitual present
tense as ‘play–plays’, etc.

595
2. We use the past form in the past tense; ‘To play–played’.
Now notice the difference between the two at a stretch.
‘The school never works four days a week’. (Habitual
present)

‘The school worked four days a week a year ago. (Past

tense)

6. USE OF VERB (PASSIVE VOICE)

6.1 Introduction
Previously we have seen that the arrangement in a
sentence is ‘subject’ ‘verb’ ‘complement’. If there is an object in
a Sentence, it comes in the complement. For example, 'the
surgeon examines the patients on Tuesday’. In this, Sentence,
‘the surgeon is the subject’, ‘examines’ is the, ‘verb’ and ‘the
patients on Tuesday’ is the ‘complement’. The object ‘patients’
has been used as ‘a part of the’ complement. It is an “active
voice sentence” because the sentence will have its meanings
even if we take object out of it. For example, ‘the surgeon
examines on Tuesday’ is a complete sentence as far as its
meanings are concerned. The sentence will become meaningless
if and when we try to take ‘subject’ out of it. For example, the
sentence (if it is a sentence) ‘examines the patients on Tuesday’
will mean nothing. When we make a passive voice of the same
sentence, it becomes 'the patients are examined by the surgeon
on Tuesday’. Now the object of the active voice ‘the patients’
used in, Passive voice, becomes very active and important and
rather inevitable in a passive voice sentence and it does not
matter much if We drop the word surgeon Which has been used
as one of the basics in an active voice sentence.

It means that it is the object of the active voice with

which the passive voice sentence starts and it is inevitable for it.

596
So, when we say, ‘the patients are examined’ and drop the rest
of the words, it does not matter much. Has the subject of active
voice not become passive? So We conclude that it is in fact the
position of the Subject which makes a sentence an active voice
sentence or a passive voice sentence. If the sentence cannot ,be
made without subject: (subject being active here), it is an active
voice sentence. If it can be made without a subject (subject
being passive here), it is a passive voice sentence.

6.2 Basics

1. Subject--object order is reversed. In orther words,

subject takes the place of object and object takes the
place of subject. Since subject takes the place of object,
as; an object it would be used in the objective case. For
example ‘he reads a book’ becomes ‘a book is read by
him’. Similarly, an object when it takes the Place of
subject, it will be used in nominative case. For example, ‘I
called him’ becomes ‘he was called by me’.
2. All the perfect continuous tenses have no passive form.
For example, it is correct to say, ‘I have been doing my
homework’, but We cannot change it into passive voice
and say, ‘my homework have been being done by me’.

3. When subject is used as an object, it is preceded by the

preposition ‘by’ when it is desired to be mentioned
clearly. For example, ‘he teaches poetry to BA class’, can
be changed into ‘BA classes are taught poetry by him’. It
will be equally correct when there is no subject which has
been object here, to say ‘BA classes are taught poetry’.
4. It is always the past participle of the principal verb which
is used in passive voice. For example, ‘these boys are
always punished. ‘They are being examined very
carefully’. ‘The work will be finished by me in time’, etc.

597
 7. ADJECTIVES

7.1 The use of adjective

The following points are to be kept in mind about the use
of adjectives in a sentence:

1. Adjective before nouns: Adjectives are usually used

before the nouns which they describe. For example, ‘hot
water’, ‘black ink’, ‘clever man’, ‘wide space’, ‘lazy boy’,
‘narrow street’, etc. Please note that to make plural we
never add ‘s’ to an adjective. ‘S’ is always added to the
noun. For example, ‘news camera’ is wrong. The correct
shape will be new ‘cameras’.
2. Latinized adjectives: Some adjectives as ‘worth seeing’
and ‘concerned’, etc. are used after the noun. For
example, 'it is a sight worth seeing’. ‘The case has been
sent to the officer concerned’. In Latin grammar,
adjectives are always used after the noun. So the above
mentioned two adjectives which are used according to the
Latin pattern are called Latinized adjectives.
3. The successive use of more than one adjectives:
When more than one adjectives are used with a noun,
they will come after it. For example, it is a night, long,
dark, horrible and restless’. ‘You are a man simple,
innocent, inexperienced and you are trapped by people
selfish, cruel and cunning’.
4. Adjective when it follows the verb: For example, ‘he
is foolish’, you are selfish’, he is sincere’, etc.

5. The use of ‘-ing’ to make adjective: Sometimes ‘–ing’

is added to a verb to make an adjective which is used
before a noun. For example, ‘to bloom’ is a verb. When
we say 'she is a blooming girl’ the word blooming has
become an adjective. ‘This juice has a refreshing effect’.

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 The addition of ‘-ing’ with the verb ‘refresh’ has made it
an adjective.
6. The use of article before an adjective: When a noun
follows an adjective, an article is used before the same
adjective in a singular case for example, ‘he is an
intel1igent boy’. To say ‘he is intelligent boy’ is as wrong
as it is wrong to say ‘he is an intelligent.

7.2 Self-Assessment Questions–6

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the
adjectives in parenthesis:

a. Our hostel is ___________ your. (clean)

b. Lahore is _______ of all the cities in Pakistan. (big)
c. You are ________ of all the brothers. (sincere)
d. This spot is _______ of the whole campus. (quiet)
e. Shakespeare was ____________ Marlowe. (great)

7.3 Spelling Rules

Some adjectives have special rules for adding ‘–er’ and –
‘est’. Let us learn the two adjective spelling rules.
a. The Y rule: When an adjective ends in ‘y’ we change ‘y’
to ‘i’ and add ‘–er’ or ‘–est’. For example, ‘crazy’ – ‘crazier
than’. ‘He is lazier than his brother’, ‘he is the laziest of
all the brothers’. ‘This unit is the easiest of all the units in
the book’.
b. The doubling rule: When there is one short vowel and
one consonant at the end of an adjective, the consonant
is doubled and we add ‘–er’ or ‘–est’ to, it. For example,
‘fat–fatter’, ‘red–redder–reddest’, etc.

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7.4 Self-Assessment Questions–7

Use the Y rule or the doubling rule and change the simple
degree into comparative degree and superlative degree in the
following adjectives: Sad, friendly, noisy, quiet, thin, thick,
early, ugly.

7.5 The Exceptional Use

Two adjectives ‘good’ and ‘bad’ have their exceptional
use. They change spelling to form the comparative and
superlative degree. For example, ‘good’ (simple degree) is
changed into ‘better’ (comparative degree) and the ‘best’
(superlative degree). In the same way ‘bad’ (simple degree) is
changed into ‘worse’ (comparative degree) and the ‘worst’
(superlative degree).

7.6 Long Adjectives

Long adjectives are adjectives like ‘merciful’ ‘extensive’,
etc. which we need to compare persons, places and things. For
a comparison between two persons, places or things, we use
more–than with long adjectives. For example, we say ‘he is
intelligent’. When we want to make a comparison with another
person, we say, ‘he is more intelligent than you’. For a
comparison among three or more persons, places or things, we
use ‘the most’. For example, we say ‘he is intelligent’. When we
want to make a comparison with an other person, we say, ‘he is
more intelligent than you’. When we want to make a comparison
of the same with three, or more persons, we say ‘he is the most
intelligent of all the students in my class’. Let us revise that the
degree of the adjective which compares two things, persons or
places is called comparative degree and the one which compares
three or more, is called ‘superlative degree’.

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7.7 Self-Assessment Questions–8

Make two more sentences using comparative and

superlative degrees of the following sentences having simple
degree:

1. Einstein is a famous scientist.

2. The Taj Mahal is a graceful monument of love.

3. He is very considerate.
4. Your ideas are no doubt valuable.
5. Russell is logical in his approach.

8. ADVERB

8.1 Introduction

An adverb is a word that tells us something about a verb,

an adjective, a preposition, a conjunction and also an adverb.
When it is used to qualify a verb, it tells us how, why, when or
where the action takes place. Sometimes an adverb modifies a
phrase. For example, ‘I was just’ (adverb). ‘I am quite (adverb)
in the dark(phrase)’.
Sometimes an adverb modifies the entire sentence. For
example, ‘unfortunately (adverb) he lost his job’. ‘Certainly
(adverb) you are in the right’.

8.2 Kinds of Adverb

Adverbs are of nine kinds:

1. Adverbs of time: For example, now, then, before, since,
ago, today, yesterday, tomorrow, already, late, recently,
presently, immediately, instantly, gradually, afterwards,
etc.

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2. Adverbs of place: Here, there, hither, thither, hence,
thence, above, below, outside, in, out, up, down. far,
near, within, without, forward, backward, inside, etc.

3. Adverbs of number: Once, twice, thrice, again, never,

always, sometimes, often, firstly, secondly, thirdly,
frequently, etc.

4. Adverbs of manner: Qualify or state: thus, ill, well,

slowly, quickly, conveniently, gladly, rightly, etc.
5. Adverbs of quality/degree: Very, much, far, quite,
little, a little, rather, somewhat, half, partly, wholely, etc.

6. Interrogative adverbs: These adverbs are used for

asking questions. They show ‘time, place, manner,
quality, cause’, etc. For example, ‘when did you come?’
(time) ‘How often did you visit the Badshahi Masjid’'
(number)
How did you reach? (manner)
Why did he fail to attend the class. (cause)

He failed to attend the class due to/because of rain.

(cause)

He failed to attend the class since/in that it was raining.

(cause)
7. Adverbs of affirmative or negative: Yes, no, not, nay,
aye, etc.
Please note that we should never use ‘yes’, with a
negative sentence. ‘Yes, I was not there’ is a wrong
sentence.

8. Adverbs of conditions: Its examples are ‘had’ ‘would

have’, ‘if’ ‘in case’, etc.
9. Adverbs of effect: Its examples are ‘so that’, ‘to’. For
example, ‘he works hard so that he may succeed’.

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8.3 Position of adverbs

The following points may prove to be helpful in

understanding the position of adverbs in a sentence.

i. One of the ways to avoid confusion about the position of

adverbs in a sentence is to place the adverb, as near the
word it modifies as possible. A study of the following
sentences will be interesting as well as thought
provoking. Just see how the use of an adverb can change
the very meanings in a sentence:

a. Only I went there (nobody else did).

b. I went there only (and no where else).

ii. Use the modifying adverbs before the adjectives or the

adverbs as ‘you are a very good teacher’ or Salahuddin
ran very quickly to hold the ball’.
Please note that ‘enough’ is used after the word it
qualifies. For example, ‘he is intelligent enough to get
through the examination' or 'she is clever enough to
befool you’.
iii. When an adverb modifies an intransitive verb (a verb
without an object), it is generally placed after the verb.
For example, ‘he walks slowly’ or ‘she can speak French
fluently’.

Exceptions: Adverbs of time are used before the verb

they qualify. For example, “often go to consult a
specialist” ‘you seldom visit us” ‘the teacher never comes
in time’ ‘always do good to others’, etc.
Please note that adverbs of manner or description
follow the ‘very they qualify, and if there is a direct
object, they must follow that too. For example, ‘the
people ran quickly after the thief’, or ‘he played the role

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 very naturally’. But they precede an adjective. For
example, ‘your eyes are beautifully greenish’.
iv. When an auxilliary (helping) verb precedes the modified
verb, the adverb is used between the helping verb and
the principal verb. For example, ‘the Israeli steps was
strongly condemned by us’ ‘the shall certainly help us’, ‘I
have always been neglected’ ‘the guests will certainly
have gone by morning’, etc.
Please note that placing the adverb between the
verb and the direct object is highly objectionable. For
example, we should avoid sentences such as ‘I like very
much outing’, ‘the correct use will be '’I like outing very
much’.
v. When a sentence has a verb of movement, the adverb of
place comes immediately after the verb. For example,
'she went to Karachi by air yesterday’.
Generally the arrangement of adverbs in a sentence is:

a. Manner b. Place c. Time d. MPT

8.4 Common Use of Some Adverbs

1. Much:
a. ‘Much’ qualifies adjectives or adverbs in the
comparative degree. For example, ‘this college is
much better than the other one’.
b. ‘Much’ is used with the past participle. For
example, ‘he was much shocked at the death of his
only son’.

Exceptions:
A few past participles as 'pleased' delighted, tired, pained,
experienced, annoyed, contented’, etc. ordinarily take ‘very’.

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 c. ‘Much’ is used with an adjective in the superlative
degree to intensify the meaning. For example, ‘he
is much the best boy in the class’ or ‘he is much
most foolish boy in the class’.

d. ‘Much’ is used to modify a verb and the adverb too.

For example, ‘he talks much’ or ‘the lesson is much
too simple’
e. ‘Much’ is also used as an adjective. For example,
‘honesty gives us much pleasure in our heart’.

2. Very:

a. ‘Very’ is used with the adjectives and adverbs of

the positive degree. For example, ‘she was very
rich’, or ‘they travelled comfortably but not very
happy.
b. ‘Very’ is used with present participles. For example,
‘his success is very encouraging for me’ or ‘this
food is very nourishing’.
c. ‘Very’ is used to emphasize adjectives in the
superlative degree. For example, ‘Sadaquain was
the very best painter we ever had’.
d. ‘Very’ as an adverb is often used to qualify the
adverb ‘much’. For example, ‘your house is very
much better than ours’ or ‘you should be very
much obliged to the old lady’.

e. ‘Very’ is sometimes used in the sense of ‘true’,

‘actual’ or for the purpose of stress. For example,
‘this is the very boy who is punished by the
principal’ or ‘we shall all meet at that very place.

Please note ‘very’ never modifies a verb.

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3. Too:

a. It means more than enough. It should not be used

to replace ‘very’ or ‘much’. If you do it, you can see
the result in the following sentences:

The tea is too hot. (incorrect)

The tea is very hot. (correct)
I am too glad to know that you have succeeded.

But the following sentences are correct:

Do not work too much. (more than is proper)
His speech is too long. (so long that it has become
boring)
You are too kind to your friend. (to the extent of
being foolish)

b. ‘Much too’ is used before an adjective. For

example, ‘this room is much too large for a small
class like this’, etc.

4. Enough:
Its meaning is the opposite to that of ‘too’. It
shows the proper desired and required limit of a thing.
Whenever ‘enough’ is used as an adverb, it is used after
the word it qualifies. ‘She was kind enough to help a
widow’. Your salary is high enough for you to live
properly’, etc.

5. Before/ago/since:
a. ‘Before’ is an adverb that means ‘formerly’. For
example, ‘I have been to Thailand before’, ‘I never
before met such a foolish like him’, ‘the doctor has
reached an hour earlier than before’, etc.

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 b. ‘Ago’ shows a period of time from the present
dating backwards. For example, ‘long ago, Shah
Jehan got the Taj made’.

Please note that as an adjective, it always

follows its noun. For example, 'this even took place
a week ago’.

c. ‘Since’ it is used in three capacities as:

an adverb of time
a conjunction of time
a preposition of time

As an adverb, it represents the time nearer to the

speaker than another mentioned. For example, ‘since I ate that
cake, I have been feeling sick.
Please note that we cannot use the present tense with
since to show continuity. Avoid sentences like ‘I am in the
University since 1972’. The correct use is ‘I have been in the
University since i972. It means that the action, beginning in the
past has continued till present without any break. When there is
a break, it becomes past perfect continuous tense as ‘I had
been in the University since 1972’. It means that the speaker is
not there now and the action has broken before coming right
down to the present moment.

9. CONJUNCTION
9.1 Introduction
What is a conjunction? It is a word that joins two or more
than two words. In other words it is used to join single words or
groups of words to one another. (Do you remember that there
are railway junctions and how do different trains join there.) It
is just the same. For example, ‘I wanted to come but would
not’. There is the first part’ I wanted to come’, and there is the
second part 'could not'. It is the word ‘but’ which joins the two

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groups of words to convey the meanings. Let us take another
example. The thief could not jump over the wdll though he tried
time and again'. The first part of the sentence is, ‘the thief could
not jump over the wall’. The second sentence is, ‘he tried time
and again’. It is the word 'though' that joins the two parts and
establishes a relationship between the two.

9.2 Kinds of conjunctions

There are two kinds of conjunctions: Coordinate and sub-
ordinate:

a. Coordinate conjunctions: Coordinate conjunctions

are those conjunctions which either unite, coordinate
(i.e. of equal value) parts of a sentence or words that
stand in the same relation to some other word in the
sentence. Some examples of major coordinating
conjunctions are ‘either–or, neither–nor, but both,
otherwise, as well as, consequently, still, therefore,
yet, for, moreover, nevertheless’, etc.
Coordinating Conjunction Rules

1. AND – use it to join sentences that are alike

 The dog was sick, and it couldn’t sleep.
2. But – use it to join sentences that are
opposite or show contrast.
 I was sick, but I still went to school.
3. SO – use it to join a reason sentence to a
result sentence..

 Mariam didn’t study, so she failed the

English exam.
4. OR – use it to join sentences that give
choices or alternatives.

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  Saeed will go to the store, or he will
take a nap.
Note: Do Not confuse a compound sentence with a simple
sentence that has a compound verb. A compound
sentence has TWO or more subject/verb
COMBINATIONS.

b. Sub–ordinate conjunctions:
Sub–ordinate conjuctions are those conjunctions which
link a principal clause to a sub–ordinate clause. For example,
‘that, because, since, after, till, though, if, except, unless,
where, whether, etc.

Please not: That many people make mistakes in the use

of proper correlative. The following correlatives may be studied
carefully.
a. Both-and: Zaman is both a poet and a journalist.
b. No sooner than: He had no sooner left than his
children began to weep
c. Such-as: He is such a foolish man as I can hardly
talk to him.
d So-that: He is so foolish that I can not talk to
him.
e. Indeed-but: He was indeed found to be a criminal
but no body could punish.
f. Either-or: He is either a fool or a simpleton.
g. Neither-nor: Neither my brother nor my sister
came help to me.
h. Not only-but also: Not only did they fine him but
turned him out of the class also
i. Scarely/hardly-when: He had scarcely seen me
when he slipped away.

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 j. Thought-yet: Though he is greedy, yet he is very
good physician.
k. Other-than: I have no other claim to love than
my life partnership with you.

10. INTERJECTION
10.1 Introduction

An interjection is a word which is used to express some

sudden rush of feeling of excitement. In other words, it is a
word that expresses a state of emotion. Mark the following
sentences with interjections:

Hurrah! We have won the match. (Interjection–Hurrah

shows happiness.)

Aha/Ah! You are the man I was interested in.

(Interjection/Aha/Ah shows satisfaction.)
Alas! My business has been completely shattered.
(Interjection. Alas shows sorrow.)
Please note that words always perform different
functions in a sentence. When one word is performing one
function, it is one part of speech. when it is doing
another, it is another part of speech.

10.2 Clauses
Words and phrases can be put together to make clauses.
A clause is a group of related words that contain a subject
and predicate.
Note the difference between phrases and cluses in the
following example:
Only one of the clauses is a sentence.
Clause #1 gives a thought or an idea that is complete,
that can stand by it self, independent of other words.

610
 However, clause #2 gives an incomplete thought or idea,
one that cannot stand by itself, one that needs some more
words to make it whole. The word after changes the meaning,
making the thought incomplete. After reading this clause, we
are left hanging.
These two clauses illustrate the two kinds of clauses:

independent clauses and dependent clauses.

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a
subject, a predicate, and a complete thought.

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a

subject and a predicate, but does not express a complete
thought.

Avoiding Fragments
A complete sentence needs only two elements:
a subject – predicate unit and a complete thought
In other words, a simple sentence is actually the same
thing as an independent clause. Dependent clauses or phrases
are called fragments because they are missing one or more
parts needed to make a sentence. Therefore they are only
pieces or fragments of complete sentences. Look at these
examples:

Kinds of Sentences and Their Punctuation

A sentence may be one of four kinds, depending upon the

number and type(s) of clauses it contains.

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1. A SIMPLE SENTENCE has one independent clause.
Punctuation note: No commas separate compound
elements (subject, verb, direct object, indirect object,
subjective complement, etc.) in a simple sentence.

2. Compound Sentence has to independent clauses joined

by

A) a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or,

yet, so).
B) a conjunctive adverb (e.g. however, therefore) or

C) a semicolon alone.

it composed of two simple sentences joined together by a

comma and coordinating conjunction.

SIMPLE SENTENCE COORDINATING SIMPLE SENTENCE

CONJUNCTION

For example:

 My family goes camping every summer, and we

usually have fun.
 Last year we went camping at Lake Mead, but we
had a terrible time.
 Next year we will take a cruise, or we may just
stay at home.

 We want to go to Hawaii soon, so we need to save

money.

(3). A COMPLEX SCENTENCE has one dependent clause

(headed by a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun)
joined to an independent clause.

Punctuation Patterns (to match A, B, C and D above):

612
A. Dependent clause, independent clause
B. Independent clause dependent clause
C. Independent, nonessential dependent clause.
D. Independent essential dependent clause.

4. A COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE has two independent

clauses joined to one or more dependent clauses.

11. ANALYSIS
11.1 Introduction
The word ‘analysis’ is noun from the verb ‘to analyse,
which means to break something into smaller parts.
Let us make an analysis of different kinds of sentences.

11.2 Analysis of simple sentences

For example, ‘the hungry tiger ate the poor little calf in
the jungle’, ‘my friend soon became a busy man’.

Subject Predicate

Object or
Subject Enlargement Verb Enlargement Extension
complement

a. Tiger The Hungry Ate Calf The poor

In the
(object) little
jungle
b. Friend My Became Man A very busy soon
(complement)

Exercise:

Analyse the following sentences:

a. The old lady forgot a large sum of money.

b. She saw a very old friend this morning.

c. Bring me a glass of water here.

d. The police ran quickly to the spot.

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 e. One day a young frog saw an ox in a meadow.

11.3 Analysis of compound sentences

When we analyse a compound sentence, we have to:

a. Find out the number of clauses.

b. Write out such clauses in full by supplying the
omissions.
c. Find out the connective word.

Take the following examples:

He came to see me but I was not at home.

They start in the morning and work on till dark.

Clauses Connective Kind Function

1. He came to see me – principal -

2. But I was not at home but coordinate adversative to (1)

1. They start in the – principal -

morning

2. And work on till dark and coordinate cummulative to (1)

1. Either you have done – principal -

it.

2. Or he has done it. or coordinate alternate (1)

Exercise:

Give the clause analysis, of these compound sentences:

a. Money is a good servant but bad master.
b. We drove at great speed; otherwise we should
have missed the train.
c. Either he or I must go.

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 d. Houses are built to live in and not to look on.
e. I am not angry but I am hungry.
11.4 Analysis of complex sentences

In complex sentences there are three kinds of clauses: A

noun clause, an adjective clause and an adverb clause.
Noun clause: As the noun clause does the work of a
noun, it can be:
a. The subject of a verb. For example:
________ What he did was wrong.

________ Whoever resisted was killed.

b. The object of a verb:

________ I do not know when I shall return.

________ Tell me why you went there?

________ He promised that he would come back

very soon.
c. The object of a preposition or a participle:
________ There is no sense in what you say.

________ Your success depends on what you do.

________ Hearing that he was ill, I went to see
him at his home
d. In opposition to a noun or pronoun:
________ The reason as to why he is so sad is
unknown to me.
________ It is hoped that he will come.
________ The news that he had succeeded gave
us much pleasure.

Exercise:

615
 Pick up the noun clauses in these sentences and state the
function of each clause.
1. He can not rely on what he says.

2. How this happended is not known to me.

3. What he said was true.

4. I know what I want.

5. It is very clear that rain will fall today.

Adjective clauses: The adjective clause qualifies some
noun or pronoun in a sentence. It is introduced by relative
pronouns and relative adverbs.

a. Relative pronouns:

________ The boy who met me has gone.

________ This is the man whom we all love.

________ The house in which I live does not

belong to me.
b. Relative adverbs:
________ I do not know the place where he was
born.
________ I do not know the reason as to why he
went there.
________ The time when the attack was made was
never known.

Please note the following points with care:

1. The relative pronouns in the objective case are
often left out. For example:
________ I gave him the books (which) I was
carrying in my hand.

616
 ________ Do you know the man (whom) we met
last night?

2. Sometimes the relative adverbs are also not

expressed.
________ On the day (when) you pass the
examination, I shall visit you.
________ The reason (why) I have come to ask for
money

3. Sometimes ‘as’ and ‘but’ are used as relative

pronouns.

________ His behaviour was not such as we

expected.

________ There was not a woman present but

wept to hear such a news.
4. If a relative pronoun is used in a continuative sense
and can be replaced by ‘and’ it introduces a
coordinate’ clause and not an adjective clause.
________ I met him who gave me your letter.
________ I met him and he gave me your
message.
________ He released the bird which at once flew
away.
________ He released the bird and it at once flew
away.
Exercise:
Pick out the adjective clauses and the nouns and
pronouns they qualify:
1. The boys who work hard usually succeed.

2. “That is why I sojourn here” (Keats).

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 3. We love them who love us.

4. Friends who are honest are trusted.

Adverb clause:

Please refer here to section-V of this unit.

Special point:
The following points regarding the analysis of various
kinds of sentences should be carefully noted:

i. In SIMPLE SENTENCES, interrogative sentences should be

treated as assertive.

ii. COMPOUND SENTENCES often appear in a contracted

form and should be written in full before analysing them.
For example, ‘I met your servant who gave me your
message’ means ‘I met your servant and he gave me
your message’.
iii. a. In COMPLEX SENTENCES the principal clause may
be distinguished from the subordinate clause by
the fact that a subordinate clause always begins
with a conjunction. For example:
‘He will succeed, because he has worked very hard’.
‘When the cat is away, the mice will play’.

b. The kind of clause should never be judged from the

‘conjunction’ that introduces it, but from the
‘function’ it performs. For example:
‘I do not know who broke the window’. (Noun clause)
‘I do not know the boy who broke the window’.
(Adjective clause)
‘He worked so hard that he fell ill’. (Adverb clause)

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11.5 Mixed sentences
Mixed sentences are partly compound and partly
complex. A mixed sentence, in this sense, contains two or more
independent clauses which have subordinate clauses. Let us
take a sentence for example and analyse it for our purpose.
He told me, his name was Saleem and that he had
followed the sea since he was nine, but could not say how old he
was, as he had lost his reckoning.
Now this sentence has two parts, A and B. Let us analyse
separately.
A

1. He told me ___________ (Principal)

2. His name was saleem __________ (Noun clause, object
of told in (1)
3. And that he had followed the sea ___________ (Noun
clause, object of told and coordinate to (2)
4. Since he was nine __________ (Adverb clause showing
time)
B

1. But he could not say _________ Principal clause,

coordinate to (A)
2. How old he was ________ Noun clause object of say in
(B) 1.
3. As he had lost reckoning ___________ Adverb clause
showing reason.

619
 12. ANSWERS TO SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS.

Answers
Sentence has a subject and a verb.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS-I
Subject Verb Person or no person
The player Plays Person
I Run Person
We Study Person
The School Closes Not a person
The passengers Come out Person
The actor Performs Person
The Class Protested Not a person

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS — II

Subject Verb Complement
He (person) Is (not-action) A photographer
The plane (not a Crashed (action) While it was landing
person)
The old man Works (action) In a garden
(person)
The heater (not a Burns (action) Surplus gas
person)
She (person) Is (non-action) A very good singer
Saga Is (non-action) An excellent dancer

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS — III

a. His watch was lost by me.
b. His ‘King Lear’ was staged by the London Shakespeare
Group.
c. His books were thrown out of the window.
d. His problem was solved by this cooks.
e. His violin was bought by a violinist.

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SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS — IV
a. This script is yours.
b. That building is State Life’s
c. Is this vacancy his?
d. This Proposal is his.

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS — V

a. I — noun b. They — pronoun
Brought — verb Painted — verb
His — pronoun My — pronoun
c. Beware — verb d. Mustafa Kamal — noun
Your — pronoun Is — verb
Enemies — noun Their — pronoun
e. He — noun
Did — verb
His — pronoun

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS — VI

a. Cleaner than b. The biggest
c. The sincerest d. The quietest
e. Greater than

SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS — VII

Sadder Saddest
Friendlier Friendliest
Noisier Noisiest
Quieter Quietest
Thinner Thinnest
Thicker Thickest
Earlier Earliest
Uglier Ugliest

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SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS — VIII

Comparative Degree:
a. Einstein is a more famous scientist than he.
b. The Taj Mahal is a more graceful monument of love than it.
c. He is more considerate than his brothers.
d. Your ideas are more valuable than theirs.
e. Russell is more logical in his approach than he.

Superlative Degree:
a. Einstein is the most famous of all the scientists.
b. The Taj Mahal is the most graceful monument of love.
c. He is the most considerate of all of his brothers.
d. Your ideas are the most valuable.
e. Reussell is the most logical of all the thinkers in his
approach.

13. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Eastwood, J.; Mackin, R.: A Basic English Grammar.

Hornby, A. S. The Teaching of Structural Words and Sentences’

Pattern.

John, M. Building Better English.

Jones, E. S; Parctice Handbook in English.

MeClell, Lorsine; H, and Patricia A, English Grammar Through

Guided Writings (parts of speech).

________, English Grammar Through Guided Writing (verbs).

Thomson and Martinent, A Practical English Grammar.

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Unit – 14

TENSES

Written By:
Abid Hussain Abid

Revised By:
Professor Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (second) By:

Mr. Abdul Hafeez
624
 INTRODUCTION
If we trace out the history of English language we will find
that in the earliest form of old English there were only two
simple tenses, i.e. tense forms that consisted of one word. They
are simple present tense e.g. I walk, read, and simple past
tense, e.g. he walked/read etc. These two forms alone had to
serve for the expression of all the various ideas of present, past
and future. However, with the passage of time an elaborate
system of tenses had evolved of which we are quite familiar and
which is universally accepted and used in the teaching of English
today. Thus the statement that English language had only two
tenses can be read only as a historical fact and with academic
interest.

In this unit we will explain the system of tenses now in

vogue. This will be in the simplest form because we do not want
the student of secondary school level to be involved in the
intricacies of grammatical maze. This unit is specially written for
those teachers who wish to get a bachelor of education degree.
In order to help you with your teaching, the simplest methods of
imparting instruction regarding tenses will be dealt with.
Particular reference will be made to our social milieu. We can
safely ignore the historical fact referred to above as it has no
significance or relevance for the modern reader.

625
 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you should be able to:

- Differentiate between time and tense and use the

following tenses in different situations as needed

i. present perfect tense

ii. present continuous tense

- Identify the two simple forms of tenses—simple present
tense and simple past and their usage.
- Identify and use the future time and the different forms
of future tense.

- Prepare exercises for application of the methods learnt.

- Teach the different forms of tenses.
- Understand conditional tenses.

- Identify pitfalls in the tenses.

626
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Definitions 629

2. Present tense 631

3. Past tense 638

4. Future tense 642

5. Conditional tenses 647
6. Answers to the exercises 655

7. Bibliography 659

627
628
 1. DEFINITIONS
In this unit certain terms have been used. Although
commonly known, they are defined for the convenience of the
student.

1.1 Persons
There are three classes of personal pronouns viz; first
person, second person and third person.
Person Singular Plural

First person I We
Second person You (thou)* You (thee)*
Third person He, she, it They, their
(All other pronouns
except I, we, you)
* Archaic: Used mainly in the holy books of poetry.

1.2 Negative sentences

Opposite of positive or affirmative, indicating no or not.

1.3 Affirmative or positive

A positive sentence in which the sense of yes’ is conveyed.

1.4 Interrogative sentences

A sentence in which a question is asked. It ends with a
question mark (?).

1.5 Time and tense

The word time and tense must not be confused. The notion
of time present time, past time and future time is universal and is
independent of language. Tense on the other hand is a linguistic
device-a verb form or series of verb forms used to express time

629
relation. The concept of time and tense is dealt with at length in
the next pages. In board term we can classify all the three times
as three tenses although there is clear distinction between tense
and time which will be elucidated at the proper place.

1. Present tense
2. past tense
3. future tense
Each tense is further divided in four tenses, i.e. simple
continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. Thus for a beginner in
learning English language there are twelve tenses which if
understood in the simplest form can give an idea of different
moods of time and action.
The twelve forms of tense are listed here for your
information:
1. Present indefinite tense (simple present tense)
2. Present continuous tense
3. Present perfect tense
4. Present perfect continuous tense
5. Past indefinite tense (simple past tense)
6. Past continuous tense
7. Past perfect tense
8. Past perfect continuous tense
9. Future indefinite tense
10. Future continuous tense
11. Future perfect tense
12. Future perfect continuous tense

630
 2. PRESENT TENSE
Now we shall take each tense separately:

2.1 Simple present or present indefinite

In this tense first form of the verb is used with addition of

‘s’ or ‘es’ with third person singular. Here are some examples for
you to see how the tense is used.

i. For describing a habitual, permanent or repeated action:

I live in a small town
He always sleeps with his windows open (addition of ‘s’
with sleep).

ii. General, universal or true statement or proverbs:

The earth moves round the sun. (True statement)
Most of us probably eat too much meat. (General)
Shakespeare says, “neither a barrower nor a lender be”.
iii. For describing an event which depends on a fixed time
table or schedule or to express a future action about a
decision has already been taken:
The next train leaves at 11.00 am (fixed time, future
action).
My course starts on Monday.
He sets sail for Bombay tomorrow.
iv. Describing a demonstration, giving the summary of a
story or event in a play:
First I fill the beaker with acid. Then I add the crystals.
I heat the beaker and it turns yellow. (Demonstration)
At this moment the ghost of Banquo enters and sits in the
chair of Macbeth.
Antonio needs money, shylock offers to lend him 3000
ducats.

v. In subordinate clauses of time or condition expressing a

future action:

631
 When you see Aslam tomorrow, remember me to him.
Don’t come until I write to you.
If you go to the party you will meet old friends.

vi. In exclamatory sentences:

Here comes the great hero of the war!
There goes the ball in the nets!

2.2 Activity
Prepare a diagram indicating all the tenses and all the
three persons (singular and plural, positive and negative as well
as interrogative). Please use the verbs sleep.

2.3 Exercise-1
1. Write five sentences in which the simple present
tense is used but which do not denote the present
time.
2. Make sentences against the words given in the
table:

SPT (Verb) I person III person

(simple past tense) Singular Plural
Go
Write
Read
Sleep
Sing
4. Correct the following sentence where necessary:
a. I am go to school.
b. He go to play everyday.
c. They writes their lesson.
d. We does not watch television programmes.
e. You do not kill the bird.

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 f. Newspapers sell like hot cakes.
g. Ali and Wali takes tea.
h. She is write a letter.
i. This radio belongs to me.
j. Cigarettes causes danger to health.

2.4 Present continuous tense

This tense is formed by using the first form of the verb ‘to
be’ a present participle (write + ing –writing), e.g. I am writing,
you are writing, etc. let us consider some other examples of the
present continuous tense:

i. For an action which began in the past and will terminate

in the future, but which at the moment of speaking is
incomplete and is still continuing, e.g.
What are you doing?
The moon is shining.
I am drinking a cup of milk.

ii. To express futurity specially with verbs of movement like

go, come, leave, etc. e.g.
We are going to Lahore on Saturday.
What are you doing next Friday?
We are leaving by air.

2.5. Exercise-2 (Present continuous tense)

Complete the sentences with the present continuous form
of the verbs in bracket:
1. I _____ my best to bring him here. (Do)

2. They are ______ building a home. (Try)

3. What game you ______ today. (Play)

4. There is no room in this house. Therefore, you

______ next door. (Sleep)

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 5. Where we ______ this evening. (Go)

6. What she _______ now? (Do)

7. The boys ______ cricket in the ground. (Play)

8. Bushra ______ a new novel. (Write)

9. My father _______ to see me tomorrow. (Come)

10. We ______ as hard as possible to win the contract.
(Try)
2.6 Present perfect tense
The present perfect tense is made by using have/has and
a past participle of the verb which is commonly called the third
form of a verb.

Has is used if the subject is third person singular ie, he,

she, it, and in the all other person have is used:

i. For an action just concluded when the resulting state is

still present: e.g.
I have lost my pen; I am unable to do the exercise.
(“Have lost the pen” concluded action; and “unable to do
the exercise”, resulting state still present.)
He has unlocked the door; you can go out.
This watch was working all right a moment ago but now it
has stopped.
ii. To denote an action which took place at an unspecified
time before now.
Somebody has drunk all my soup.
The government has increased the price of cigarettes.
Who has eaten the apples?

iii. For duration of an action began in the past and continuing

in the present (and possibly in the future).
I have not visited him for ten years.
I have taught this class for ten years (and am still
teaching it).

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iv. Perfect tense is used in phrases which almost always
have ‘since’ in them:
He has been here since 1952.

v. It is used with ‘already’:

I have already explained that ……
vi It may be used with adverbs of frequency e.g. often,
never, always, etc:
He has often/never/always done this.
Have you ever heard of such a thing?

2.7 Exercise-3 (Present perfect tense)

1. Rewrite the following sentences using the present perfect

tense of the verbs omitting or changing words rendered
incorrect or unnecessary by the change of the tense.
1. Did you write a letter to your father this week?
2. Do you play cards often?
3. I killed a lion several times.
4. He began to pay attention to his studies.
5. He first lived in this house.
6. My friend tells me that he is a liar.
7. I saw this advertisement in today’s newspaper.
8. Did you sleep well?
9. I bought this car from Karachi.
10. Did you meet him after marriage?

2.8 Present perfect continuous tense

This tense is formed by have/has + been + first form of
verb. It shows an action that started in past is in progress at
present and likely to continue in future time and may be
mentioned when started.
i. I have been teaching this class for two years.

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 The rate of inflation has been falling slowly since the
beginning of the year.
I have been working on this problem since nine o’ clock
this morning and I still haven’t solved it.
This tense and other perfect continuous tenses are
usually associated with ‘since’ and ‘for’ the use of since
and for is very simple.
ii. ‘For’ is used when the duration of time is measured i.e.
we can state the exact period spent, e.g.
He has been living here for ten years.
I have been writing for two hours.
‘Since’ is however used when a starting point in time is
given.
He has been living in England since 1949.
He has been teaching in the school since April last.

2.9 Exercise-4 (Present perfect continuous tense)

Insert ‘for’ or ‘since’ in the following sentences:

1. I have been reading this newspaper _____ 1948.
2. Have you been studying in this college____ six
years?
3. The government has been trying hard to arrest the
saboteurs _______ two years.
4. Perhaps you have been reading this novel ______
morning.
5. We have been canvassing for him ______ February
last.
6. _____ Wednesday last, I have been searching for
him.
7. The West Indies cricket team has been playing in
Pakistan _____ October.

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 8. Imran Khan has been leading the Pakistan Cricket
team___________ 1981.
9. I have been calling on you daily ______ one week.
10. Jahangir khan has been winning the championship
_______ three years.

2.10 Activity
Write two sentences each to illustrate use of ‘for’ or
‘since’. Make sure that the examples given in (a) and (b) above
are covered.

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 3. PAST TENSE

3.1 Past indefinite tense (simple past tense)

This tense is used for a time before now, earlier than
now. It describes something which began and ended before the
present, i.e. it describes a completed act. For example:
I went to cinema last night.
The French revolution broke out in 1914.
I was born in a small village.
For making negative we write did not and use the first
form of the verb and in interrogative we start the
sentence with ‘Did’ and use first form of the verb

Example: He did not go to college.

Did he go to College?

3.2 Exercise-5: (Past indefinite tense)

Make negative and interrogative sentences of the
following:
1. The First World War broke in 1914.
2. The BBC gave this news.

3. He loved him like his brother.

4. The book contained objectionable material.

5. He watered the plants every morning.

3.3 Past continuous tense

This tense describes something which was in progress in
the past i.e. it describes an unfinished action. This is formed by
using was (were) and the present participle:

638
 As I was running to the school, I met Aslam who was
coming back. He was waiting for a hot cup of tea.
This tense is often used to give a descriptive background
to a story (a narrative) in the past tense. In such sentences the
new action is expressed by the simple past tense whereas
continuous tense is used for the other action. For example:

As I was looking at the picture, the thief stole my purse.

It was raining when we left for Lahore.

3.4 Exercise-6

Make five sentences giving two actions---the more

important in the past indefinite and the other in the past
continuous:

As I was going to the hall, my teacher stopped me on the

way.

3.5 Past perfect tense

This tense is used to speak of an action concluded before

a certain time in the past or before the occurrence of another
action (denoted by the simple past tense). In other words, we
want to make it clear that action (a) took place in a time before
and is separate from the time when another action (b) took
place. This tense is formed by ‘had’ + a past participle.
i. Ali had learned English before he came to England.
I gave my wife the present which I had purchased the
day before. When I arrived at the station, the train had
already left.

ii. To express duration upto a certain time limit in the past.

For example:
By the time Ali passed the examination, he had studied in
the class for five years.

639
 By the time Bangladesh came into existence, Biharis had
lived there for 24 years.
iii. In indirect speech and direct speech To express an idea
that had been in the past or present perfect tense.
Direct: He said, “I have written her a letter”.
Indirect: He said that he had written her a letter.
Direct: Razia said, “I have just completed the job”.
Indirect: Razia said that she had just completed the job.

3.6 Exercise-7

Make indirect sentences of the following:

1. He said, “I have already warned him of the

consequences”.
2. Saleem said, “We have given many sacrifices”.
3. She said, “I killed the cat that drank the milk daily”.
4. Ali said, “I have not lent him any money”.
5. The US President said, “We have never forsaken our
friends.”

3.7 Past perfect continuous tense

This tense is formed by had been’ + present participle:
i. To express the duration of some action upto a certain
time in the past. For example:
When I reached the meeting hall, the speaker had already
been speaking for half an hour.
The telephone had been ringing for three minutes before
it was answered.

ii. For the use of a past continuous tense and present

perfect continuous in reported speech:
Direct: I said, “What were you doing this morning”?

640
 Indirect: I asked her what she had been doing that
morning?
Direct: He said, “I have been waiting for you since
morning”.
Indirect: He said that he had been waiting for you since
morning.

3.7 Exercise-8
1. She said, “Women in Pakistan have been fighting for their
rights for 52 years”.
2. The minister said. “We have been trying to give maximum
freedom to the press for 3 years”.
3. Ali said, “I have been teaching him for then years”.
4. Saleem said, “What game were you playing this
morning”?

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 4. FUTURE TENSE
This tense is formed by using the auxiliaries ‘will’ and
‘shall’.

4.1 Future indefinite or futurity

The simple form of the future tense is the normal usage

of ‘shall’ for the first person singular and plural and ‘will’ for all
other persons. This form is used to make a simple statement of
fact about something which will definitely happen or not happen
in a moment or period later that now.

Person Singular Plural

I I shall We shall
II You will You will
III He, she, it will They will

Examples:
(i) I shall be twenty-one on Thursday.
(ii) I think it will rain tomorrow.
(iii) We shall see who is faster.
(iv) If it rains we shall go by car.
(v) You will get wet if you go out without an umbrella.
(vi) There will be a time for questions after the
meeting.
(vii) They will not be able to come tomorrow.
It often happens that in addition to future aspect, some
other feelings such as willingness, determination, promise,
command etc. also colour the futurism. The following will
explain the different meanings.

Will
With the first person ‘will’ is used to express willingness,
promise or determination.

642
a. Willingness or unwillingness:

Who will do the washing-up? I will (I will not).

I need some bread. All right, I will (will not) go and get
some for you.

b. Determination:

I will repair the television set even if I have to stay up all

the night.
I will get the ticket even if I have to stand all the day.

c. Promise:

I won’t forget your birthday. I will send you a present.

We will spend next weekend with you. Please don’t be
angry.

Shall
a. Conversely, ‘shall’ denotes determination, promise,
permission, prohibition, threat etc. with the second and
third person. For example:
If you work hard you shall have a holiday on Saturday.
(Promise)
You shall have the money as soon as get it. (Promise)
He shall have every thing he needs. (Permission)
He shall not come here again. (Threat, Prohibition)
The enemy shall not pass.
This school shall be the best school in the country.
(Determination)
b. Shall is also used for oratorical or prophetic utterance.
The speaker wants to express things that he believes are
bound to happen; God, Destiny, Fate has so willed it.
Such examples are found in literature and the Bible:
They shall beat their swords into plough shares.
Nations shall not lift up sword against nation.

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 Blood and destruction shall be so in use.

4.2 Exercise-9

Fill in the blanks to express determination:

1. He _____ never get what he wants.

2. I _____ lend you the book if you need it.
3. They _____ do what I tell them to do.
4. He has made up his mind that he ____ succeed this time.
5. Tell him that I _____ never let him do this thing.
4.3 Future continuous tense

The future continuous tense is formed by using will/shall

be + present participle.
i. It is used to express future activity beginning before and
finishing after some given time in the future. For
example:
What will you be doing this time tomorrow?
This time tomorrow I shall flying to Lahore.
My friend will be waiting for me at the airport.
ii. It is also used to indicate future plans that have already
been decided on. For example:
They will be staying with us again this year.
iii. To denote an action which may be going on now and we
think of it continuing in the future:
I wonder if it will still be raining in the afternoon.
iv. It is also used when we project ourselves into a future
time and see something happening. For example:
In a few minutes we shall be landing at Lahore airport.
I will be seeing Sakina this evening.

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4.4 Exercise-10

Turn the verbs underlined in the sentences into the future

continuous tense.

1. He will work hard next time.

2. Let us hope that it will rain tomorrow.

3. Saleem will do his military service next year.

4. I shall play cricket this afternoon.

4.5 Future perfect tense

This tense is formed by will/shall have’ + a past

participle.

i. This tense indicates a completed period of time in the

future. It is often associated with the preposition ‘by’ or
‘by the time’. Example:
by the time you receive this letter, I will have left
Pakistan.
It is now 7pm I shall have finished my work by 10pm.
In another year or so you will have forgotten all about
her.

ii. This tense indicates duration upto a time in the future,

e.g:
When I leave the school next week, I shall have taught
this class for ten years.
On 4th march we shall have been married for nine years.
iii. To denote a possibility or presumption. Examples:
You will have heard that Seema is going to be married.
It is 6 pm; they will have arrived home by now.

4.6 Exercise-11

Complete the sentences using the verbs given in the

bracket to make future perfect tense:

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1. I _______ complete my job within two days. (Complete)

2. The police _____ the smugglers after this operation.

(Arrest)

3. My examination _____ after 20 days. (End)

4. The patient _____ after continuous treatment of one

week. (Recover)

5. The voters _____ votes by 4 pm which is the closing time

for polling. (Cast)

4.7 Future perfect continuous tense

This tense is formed by will/shall ‘have’ + ‘been’ + a

present participle and is used to express the duration of an
action upto a certain time in future..

This tense is used very sparingly. It is often not needed.

It is only the tense system which allows you to say some thing.
See the following examples:
It is 6 o’ clock, I am reading the novel “war and peace”.

At 8 o’ clock, I will have been reading it for two hours.

On April 26, 1993 we shall have been living in this house
for exactly thirty years.

In another month’s time Aslam will have been working in

this office for five years.

4.8 Activity
Using the information in 4.1 to 4.6 make sentences of
your own to show the different uses of will and shall. At the end
of each sentence identify the type of use within brackets.

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 5. CONDITIONAL TENSES

5.1 Introduction
Conditional tenses are used to show how one action or
event depends on another. They can show whether we are
certain (it will happen) or whether we are only expressing (the
probability it may happen, it could happen etc).

Conditional clauses are of two kinds, distinguished by the

form and meaning of the principal clause. The difference
between them is important. There are two basic types of
conditional tenses, one which has an open condition and in the
other, the condition is hypothetical (supposition). In both the
conditions sentences can be made with ‘if’. They may be called
‘if sentences’. These ‘if sentences’ can be used in the present
tense, in the past tense and in the past perfect tense. In ‘if
clause’ the future tense cannot be used even if the meaning is in
the future. The following table will illustrate the conditional
clauses:

If clause:
A. Present tense in the if clause Tense in the main clause
1. If you are right I am wrong. (Present )
2. If you help me I will help you (Future)
3. If I get this right I shall have (Future perfect)
answered all the questions
correctly.
4. If what you say is right then (Past)
what I said was wrong.
5. If the train should be late (Future)
what will you do?

B. Past tense in ‘if clause

1. If I said that, I apologize. (Present)

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 2. If I said that, I was mistaken. (Past)
3. If I made a mistake, I will try (Future)
to remedy it.

C. Present perfect tense in ‘if clause’

1. If I have made a mistake, I will (Future )
try to remedy it.
2. If you have done work, you (Present)
may go to the cinema.

5.2 Hypothetical conditions

If khalid were here he would know the answer.

If I had the money I would buy a new car.
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
If I were king, you should be queen.
Such sentences make a hypothesis which may be
contrary to fact or just something not thought to be a fact or
something which is considered impossible. In such hypothetical
conditions the simple past tense is used in the ‘if clause’ and
‘would or should’ + the infinitive are used in the main clauses.
Sentences of this kind may refer to the present time, past time,
or future time as explained here:

a. Present time:
1. If I had the money, I should buy a Mercedes.
2. If I needed a haircut, I would go to the barber.
3. If the suit fitted me, I would buy it.

Here although ‘had’ ‘needed’, ‘fitted’ are in the past tense these
sentences express a present condition. They mean ‘if I had the
money now’. ‘if I need a haircut now’, or if the suit fits me now’,
etc.

648
b. Past time:

1. If Aslam had worked hard (in the past) he would

have passed the examination.
2. If you had asked me (in the past), I would have
helped you.
3. If I had the money (some years ago) I would have
bought a bigger house.
4. if you had not told me about it, I might never have
gone to see it.

c. Future time:

1. If Khalid worked hard next term, he would pass the

examination.
2. If you went there you would see what I mean.
3. If our train were to arrive punctually, we should
have time to attend the funeral.

5.3 General notes on conditional tenses

Present tense, past tense, and past perfect tense can be
used to indicate a conditional sentence. However, the future
tense cannot be used even if the meaning is future, e.g:
I shall go for a walk if the rain will stop. (Wrong)
I shall go for a walk if the rain stops. (Right)
In addition to this ‘if conditional sentences can be formed
with the help of inversion or by using words such as supposing,
provided, had, were, should, in case, unless, etc. Examples:
1. Supposing you had married a foreigner, do you
think you would have been happy?
2. Here is a hundred rupee note. Don’t spend it unless
you have to.
3. I will give you some money in case you need to
buy food.

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 4. You can go out tonight, provided you have finished
your homework.
5. He said we could have a day off on condition that
we completed the job.
6. Had I known you were coming I would have waited for
you.
7. Were I to be invited I would love to go there.
8. Should you see him, tell him that his result has
arrived?

5.4 Pitfalls in tenses

i. Time and tense.

ii. The use of shall and will.

iii. Two continuous are never used.

iv. Verbs of perception and those referring to state
rather than to process are generally not used in the
present continuous tense, exceptions are:

a. Newspaper headlines.
b. Used to (for indefinite period).

c. Since and for.

In the use of tenses there are certain points which should

be remembered and understood clearly for correct use. There
are instances where one is tempted to use a tense which,
strictly speaking, may be correct according to rules laid-down,
but in fact is not received as correct. There are always
exceptions to a rule which are considered to be correct. Thus
there may be certain pitfalls which ought to be avoided. Some
of them are enlisted here:

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Time and tense

As clear distinction should be made between 'tense and

time'. The notion of time of present time, past time, future time
is universal and is independent of any particular language, or of
language at all.
Tense on the other hand is a linguistic device varying
from language to language. It means the verb form or forms
used to express certain time relations.
A present tense does not necessarily express an action
taking place in the present time. For example:

The rose smells sweet.

The verb 'smell' is in the present tense. But that sentence

does not mean that the action of smelling takes place only in
the present. Rose has smelt sweet in the past, and shall smell
sweet in future too. Thus the present tense can express action
taking place in the present, the past or the future.
Here are two other sentences:
If I trusted him I would lend him money.
It is time I went home.
In both these sentences, the verbs have a past tense
forms, but 'if I trusted him' implies 'if I trusted him now' i.e. it
expresses a present time. And though 'went' is a past tense
form, the time of going home cannot be the past; it must surely
be the future. Here are some more examples:
If Aslam worked, he would pass the examination.
If I were in your place I should accept this offer.
He acts as if he wanted to make trouble.
I wish I had a garden like yours.
It would be better if you went there yourself.
In all these sentences the past tense form indicates both
present time and future time.

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5.5 Verbs of perception
There are certain verbs which are not used in the
Continuous tense. Instead the present indefinite tense is used.
These verbs are:
i. Verbs of perception, See, hear, feel, taste, smell.
ii. Verbs which refer to a state of mind, feelings, emotions,
etc. rather than action, for example:
Assume, believe, feel, consider, suppose, think, expect,
forget, imagine, know, mean, understand, remember,
notice, fear, love, hate, hope, like, prefer, regret, want,
wish.
These verbs even if denoting the continuous are used in
the present indefinite tense, e.g:
I don't see anything here. (Correct)
I am not seeing anything here. (Incorrect)
I am smelling something burning. (Incorrect)
I smell something burning. (Correct)
I consider him my best friend. (Correct)
I am considering him my best friend. (Incorrect)
This house belongs to me. (Correct)
This house is belonging to me. (Incorrect)
I hope to pass the examination. (Correct)
I am hoping to pass the examination. (Incorrect)
However, this is not a rule of the thumb. Some of these
verbs canbe used in the continuous forms. Examples:
i. I have had too much wine. I am seeing double.
ii. The verb is used in a different meaning:
I am seeing Sheila tonight.
iii. I am not hearing as well as I used to.
iv. Hameed was feeling his way in the dark.

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5.6 Use of 'used to' and 'would' in the past continuous tense
When we want to emphasise or draw attention to any
activity in the past which no longer happens, we usually use the
pattern 'used to' + main verb e.g:
When I was young I used to go to the football match
every Saturday.
I used to go village of Gujrat when I was young.
Two things should be remembered in the use of 'used to':
i. It is never used in the present tense as there is no
form uses to’.
ii. ‘Used to’ is used with an expression of an indefinite
period of time. We can say, I used to go to school
in Gujrat when I was a boy.
But we say:
I went to school in Gujrat for eight years.
The alternative to 'used to' is 'would' which is mainly used
in stories. Every Saturday evening father would take out his old
guitar and start to play old songs. We had to listen politely and
pretend to enjoy his playing. Mother used to look at us severely
if we laughed or made noise. Sometimes father would go on for
hours.

5.8. Newspaper headlines

In order to say as much as possible in a few words,
newspaper headlines have developed what is almost a special
language. They use short words instead of long ones even when
those short words are never or rarely used anywhere else. For
example:

‘Government railway inquiry row’ which probably means

that there is an argument (row) about the inquiry which the
government has set up to find out the cause of the rail crash.

653
 ‘PM ANNOUNCES NEW PLAN’, which although in the
present indefinite tense means the Prime-Minister, has recently
announced a new plan.

‘GM MOVING – TO NEW PREMISES’, which although

probably in the present continuous tense, indicates a future
action, i.e. general motors are going to move soon to new
premises.
‘CHAIRMAN TO RESIGN’, the ‘to’ infinitive is used to
describe a planned future event.

5.9. Activity

1. Write three headlines for a newspaper concerning the

following:
i. A National News.
ii. An International News.
iii. Sports News.
2. Prepare a chart giving each of the twelve tenses for verb
‘walk’ given in 1.3 for each tense. Make 28 sentences for
each tense.

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 6. ANSWERS TO THE EXERCISES

Exercise-I:
1. Five sentences in the simple present tense which denote
the present tense.

i. This year Eid-ul-Fitr falls on Sunday.

ii. My plane takes off at 7 pm.

iii. The headmaster announces the result tomorrow.

iv. The president leaves for tour of Jordan on
Wednesday.

v. We play a match with England next Friday.

Simple present tense III Person III Person
Verb Singular Plural
Go I go He goes They go
Write I write He writes They write
Read I read He reads They read
Sleep I sleep He sleeps They sleep
Sing I sing He sings They sing

4. Correct sentences:
a. I go to school
b. He goes to school everyday.
c. They write their lesson.
d. We do not watch television programme.
e. Correct.
f. Correct.
g. Ali and Wali take tea.
Q. She writes a letter. .
i. Correct.
j. cigarettes danger to health.

655
Exercise-2:

1. I am doing my best to bring him here.

2. What game are you playing today?
3. There is no room in this house. Therefore you are
sleeping next door.
4. Where are we going this evening?
5. What is she doing now?
6. The boys are playing cricket in the ground.
7. Bushra is writing a new novel.
8. My father is coming to see me tomorrow.
9. We are trying as hard as possible to win the contract.

Exercise-3:
1. Have you written a letter to your father this week?
2. Have you played cards often?
3. I have killed a lion several times.
4. He has begun to pay attention to his studies.
5. He has first lived in this house
6. My friend has told me that he is a liar.
7. I have seen this advertisement in today's newspaper.
8. Have you slept well?
9. I have bought this car from Karachi.
10. Have you met after marriage?

Exercise-4:

1.Since 2.For 3.For 4. Since 5.Since

6.Since 7.Since 8.Since 9.For 10.For

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Exercise-5:

1. The First World War did not breakout in 1914. (Negative)

Did the First World War breakout in 1914? (Interrogative)

2. The BBC did not give this news. (Negative)

Did the BBC give this news? (Interrogative)
3. He did not love him like his brother. (Negative)
Did he love him like his brother? (Interrogative)
4. The book did not contain objectionable material. (Negative)
Did the book contain objectionable material? (Interrogative)

5. He did not water the plants every morning. (Negative)

Did he water the plants every morning? (Interrogative)

Exercise-6:

1. As the war between India and Pakistan was going on, the
Secretary General of UN visited both the countries.
2. As I was batting, he watched me.
3. As he was fighting alone, his friend looked silently.
4. As the dacoits were shooting in the bank, the gunman hid
himself.
5. As the demonstrators attacked the police station, the
policemen looked helplessly.

Exercise-7:
1. He said that he had already warned him of the
consequences.
2. Saleem said that they had given many sacrifices.
3. She said that she had killed the cat that drank the milk
daily.
4. Ali told that he had not lent him any money.
5. The US President said that they had never forsaken their
friends.

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Exercise-8:

1. She said that women in Pakistan had been fighting for

their right for 52 years.
2. The minister said that he had been trying to give
maximum freedom to the press for 3 years
3. Ali said that he had been teaching him for ten years.
4. Saleem asked as to what game he had been playing that
morning.

Exercise-9:
1. Shall 2. Will
3. Shall 4. Will 5. Will

Exercise-1O:
1. He will be working hard next time.
2. Let us hope that it will be raining tomorrow.
3. Saleem will be doing his military service next year.
4. I shall be playing cricket this afternoon.

Exercise-11:
1. I will have completed my job within two days.
2. The police will have arrested the smugglers after this
operation.
3. My examination will have ended after 20 days.
4. The patient will have recovered after continuous
treatment of one week.
5. The voters will have cast their votes by 4 pm which is the
closing time for polling.

658
 7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Eckerslay and Eckersley: A Comprehensive English Grammar,
Longman Publishing Company.
Hornby A. S: Guide to Patterns and Usages in English. Oxford
University Press.

Mekay, Sandra: Verbs for a Specific Purpose, Prentice Hall.

659
Unit – 15

VOICE AND NARRATION

Written By:
Bashir Mahmud Akhtar

Revised By:
Sh. Muhammad Iqbal Naeem
662
 INTRODUCTION
In previous unit you have studied different parts of
speech and different ways of their use in English language. This
unit is about the change of voice and change of narration.

‘Active Voice’ and ‘Passive Voice and similarly ‘Direct

Speech’ and ‘Indirect speech’ are different modes of expression.
The native people use these modes without much deliberation
as their response of different situations is spontaneous-without
thinking for the language adequacies.
Since we study English as a foreign language, we need to
learn the rules governing different aspects of this language. In
this unit effort has been made to explain the rules governing the
patterns of voice and narration.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this Unit carefully, you will be able to:
1. Change the Active Voice sentences into Passive Voice.
2. Change the Direct Form sentences into Indirect Form.
3. Use idioms and phrases in sentences of your own.
4. Use Punctuation Marks to make the given sentences or
a passage readable/understandable.

663
664
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Active and Passive Voice 667

2. Direct and Indirect Speech 678

3. Idioms 685

4. Phrases 692
5. Punctuation 695
6. Bibliography 705

665
666
 1. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

1.1 Introduction
Voice is a mode of expression. Grammatically speaking,
as the dictionary tells us, voice is set of forms of a verb showing
relation of the subject to the action, as active or passive voice.
Look at the following sentences carefully:

1. He reads the book.

2. I am eating a mango.
3. They are playing football.
4. The book is being read by him.
5. A mango is being eaten by me.
6. Football is being played by them.

In the first three sentences, we see that the subjects.

(He, I, They) are acting. They are performing the action stated
by the verbs (reads, eating, playing.) They are Active Voice
sentences. Other three sentences show that the subjects (The
book, A mango, Football) are not acting. They do not perform
the action stated by the verbs. Rather, they are receiving the
action stated by the verbs. They are Passive Voice sentences.

Active Voice
The active voice comprises all forms of
intransitive verbs and those forms of transitive
verbs that attribute the verbal action to the
person or thing whence it proceeds (the logical
subject), as:
We punished him

not like the forms of the passive voice to the

person or thing to whom it is directed (the
logical object) as:

667
 He was punished by us.

(The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current

English, London, Book Club Association, 1972).
Passive Voice

Passive Voice (comprising those forms of

transitive verbs that attribute the verbal action
to the person etc. to whom it is directed).
(The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current
English).

Why the passive voice is necessary in English? There are

two main reasons for using the Passive Voice. We use the
passive voice because:

1. The agent (or performer of the action) is unknown.

2. In English, the topic or theme of a sentence usually
comes in the front of the sentences.

Here are some examples of the first reason

This book was written 1000 years ago.

(I do not know exactly who wrote it.)

The carpet was made in Afghanistan.

(I do not know exactly who made it.)

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1.2 Model Sentences for Study:

Active Voice Passive Voice

1. He eats an apple every An apple is eaten by him
day. every day.
2. He is reading a book. A book is being read by him.
3. She wrote a letter today. A letter was written by her today.
4. Affaq was playing hockey. Hockey was being played by Affaq.
5. I shall draw a picture. A picture will be drawn by me.
6. I have finished the book. The book has been finished by me.
7. We had won the race. The race had been won by us.
8. Read the newspaper. The newspaper be read by you.
9. Do you like this ice-cream? Is this ice-cream liked by you?
10. Where has she thrown Where has the ball been
the ball? thrown by her?
11. Who gave me the match? By whom was I given the match?
By studying thoroughly these sentences, we arrive at the
following conclusions:

1. While changing the Active into the Passive Voice, the

object becomes the subject and the verb should be used
in accordance with the subject.
2. In all the tenses in the Passive Voice, the third form of
the verb is used.

3. ‘ing’ used in the Active Voice is changed into ‘being’ in the

Passive Voice (sentences 2 and 4)
4. When ‘has’, ‘have’ or ‘had’ is used in the Passive Voice,
‘been’ must also be used (sentences 6,7 and 10).
5. ‘Have’ may changed into ‘has’ and ‘has’ may change into
‘have’ in accordance with the subject of the sentence
(sentence 6).

6. When ‘will’, ‘shall’, ‘would’ or ‘should’ is used in the

Passive, there must also be ‘be’ with it (sentence 5,8).

669
7. As in the Active a question in the Passive Voice must have
a question mark in the end (sentence 9, 10 and 11).
8. When we change a question into the Passive Voice, we
must keep the question order (sentence 10, 11 or the
examples given below):
a. Who wrote this? = By whom was this written?

b. Why did she break the glass? = Why was the glass
broken by her?

1.3 Turning into Passive Voice:

Generally, we have a subject in a sentence performing

some activity. Such sentences have their verb in the active
voice. When a sentence shows that an action is done to a
person or thing denoted by the subject, the verb is said to be in
the passive voice.
For example:
1. The toys are bought.

2. Apples are eaten.

3. His shoes have been stolen.

4. The thief has been caught.

5. She was fined.

A) Indefinite Tenses:
You should always keep in mind the following points while
using Indefinite Tenses in the Passive Voice:
1. Only the transitive verb are used in the Passive
Voice.

2. If a verb in a sentence is in Present Indefinite

Tense, it can be turned into passive voice verb by
using ‘is’ or ‘are’ before the third form of the verb.

670
 3. If a verb in a sentence is in Past Indefinite Tense, it
can be turned into Passive verb by using was or
were before the third form of the verb.

4. If a verb in a sentence is in Future Indefinite

Tense, it can be turned into Passive Voice verb by
using ‘shall be’ or ‘will be’ before the third form of
the verb.
Study the following sentences to see how the rules have
been applied:

1. The story is told.

2. The story is not told.
3. Is the story told?
4. We are taught Arabic everyday.
5. They will be punished.
6. She will be given a prize.
7. Will this egg be boiled?
8. These books will not be sold.
9. Was your pen stolen?
10. The servant has not been dismissed.

B) Continuous Tenses:
Now, using the Passive Voice in the Continuous Tenses,
following points are to be kept in mind:
1. If the verb of a sentence is in the Present
Continuous Tense, it can be turned into Passive
Voice using ‘am being’ ‘is being’ or ‘are being’
before the third form of the verb. For example:
The horse is being fed.
The thieves are being punished.
I am not being transferred.

671
 2. If the verb of a sentence is in the Past Continuous
Tense, it can be turned into Passive Voice verb by
using 'was being' or were being' before third form
of the verb. For example:

The books were being bought.

Was the house being sold?

3. You should remember that sentences in the Future

Continuous Tense cannot be turned into the
Passive Voice.
To revise these rules, have a look on the following
sentences:

1. The floor is being washed.

2. The mangoes are being eaten.

3. The letter was being written.

4. The flowers were not being plucked.
5. Were late comers being punished?
6. Was the new book being sold like hot cakes?

C) Perfect Tenses:
While using The Passive Voice in the Perfect Tenses, you
should follow these rules:
1. lf The verb of a sentence is in the Present Perfect
Tense, it can be turned into Passive Voice verb by
using ‘has been’ or ‘have been’ before the third
form of the verb:
The work has been completed.
We have not been asked about it.

2. If the verb of a sentence is in the Past Perfect

Tense, it can be turned into Passive Voice verb by
using ‘had been’ before the third form of the verb:

672
 This chapter had already been taught.
The walls had not been painted before the
guests arrived.

3. If the verb of a sentence is in the Future Perfect

Tense, it can be turned into passive Voice verb by
using shall have been’ or ‘will have been’ before
the third form of the verb:
The matter will have been decided before
you reached.
I shall have taken my meals before they
knocked at the door.

4. You should remember that the Prefect Continuous

Tense cannot be changed into the Passive Voice.
Have a look on the following sentences carefully:
1. This house has been sold.
2. These apples have been bought
3. The work had already been finished.
4. A taxi will have been hired for the day.
5. Will he have been escaped before police
arrived?
6. I shall have not finished the work before he
called.

WARNING. In all Passive Voice exercises the use of “by”

with an agent must be rigorously suppressed, except in those
examples where our interest in the Predicate has led us to use
the Passive Voice. But nevertheless the active subject has some
interest of its own and is necessary for complete sense, e.g.

This poem was written by keats;

shows greater interest in the poem (the speaker is
presumably discussing it or reading it), but the poet is
necessary to complete the sense. Such active subjects as I, we,

673
you, they, one, someone, nobody, people, a man, a boy, the
servant, etc. scarcely ever warrant their inclusion in the Passive
construction.

Exercise No1 study these sentences carefully:

Active Voice Passive Voice

1. He writes a letter A letter is written by him
He does not write a letter A letter is not written by him
Does he write a letter? Is a letter written by him

2. Liaba is writing a letter A letter is being written by liba

Liaba is not writing a letter A letter is not being written by liba.
Is liaba writing a letter Is a letter being written by liba?

3. She has written a letter A letter has been written by her

She has not writen a letter A letter has not been written by her
Has she written a letter? Has a latter been written by her?

4. Ihtizaz wrote a letter A letter was written by Ihtizaz

Ihtzaz did not write a letter A letter was not written by Ihtizaz
Did Ihtzaz write a letter Was a letter written by Ihtizaz

5. Aroosa was writing a letter A letter was not being written by Aroosa
Aroosa was not writing a letter A letter was not being written by Aroosa
Was Aroosa writing a letter Was a letter being written by Aroosa

6. Kinza had written a letter A letter had been written by Kinza

Kinza had not written a letter A letter had not been written by Kinza
Had Kinza written a letter? Had a letter been written by Kinza

7. Ifra will write a letter A letter will be written by Ifra

Ifra will not write a letter A letter will not be written by Ifra.
Will Ifra write a letter? Will a letter be written by Ifra?

8. He will have written a letter A letter will have been written by him
He will not have written a letter A letter will not have been written by him
Will he have written a letter? Will a letter have been written by him?

9. Open the door Let the door be opened

No body can do it It cannot be done by anybody.
Someone has open the door The door has been opened.

674
 Revision:

You may go through the rules of turning the Active Voice

sentences into Passive Voice once again.

Exercise No. 2:
Choose the correct Passive Voice sentences:

Active Voice Passive Voice

1. He paints a picture a. A picture paints by him

b. A picture is painted by him.
c. A picture will be painted by him

2. She was teaching the a. The students were being

students in the class. taught by her in the class.
b. The students being taught
by her in the class.
c. The students were taught
by her in the class.
3. We shall catch him. a. He will catch by us.
b. He will be caught by us.
c. He shall be caught by us.

4. They will not buy this a. This house will not buy by
house. them.
b. This house will not bought
by them.
c. This house will not bought
by them.
5. He has collected many a. Many books has collected
books by him.
b. Many books have collected
by him.
c. Many books have been
collected by him.

675
6. She had already written a. The letter had already
the letter. written by her.
b. The letter had already
been written by her.
c. The letter was already
been written by her.

7. Why have you selected a. Why have this piece of

this piece of land? land been selected by you.
b. Why has this piece of land
been selected by you.
c. Why this piece of land has
been selected by you.
8. The servant will bring a. Food will be brought for us
food for us. by the servant.
b. Food shall be brought for
us by the servant.
c. Food shall be bring for us
by the servant.
9. The boys in the street a. The dog was beaten by the
had beaten the dog. boys in the street.
b. The dog had been beaten
by the boys in the street.
c. The dog was beat by the
boys in the street.
a. Was he forgave by his
10.Did his father forgive
father?
him?
b. Was he forgiven by his
father?
c. Did he forgiven by his
father?
Answer
1. b. 2. a. 3. b. 4. b. 5. c
6. b. 7. c. 8. b. 9. b. 10. b.

676
Exercise No. 3
Change the following into Active Voice:

1. His brother was not seen by me.

2. Good pictures are enjoyed by everyone.
3. A cup of cold milk is being drunk by her.
4. The thief has been arrested by the police.
5. His brother will be met by me.
6. After the function a speech is made by the
Headmaster of the school.
7. My room has been painted.
8. Was the patient well looked after by the nurse?
9. Lies should not be told by them.
10. By whom was this letter written?
11. They will be welcomed by us joyfully.
12. The school-gate has been closed by the watchman.
13. Books for you are being purchased by him.
14. The chain was pulled by him to stop the train.
15. The fruit vendor will not have been stopped by the children.

Answers
1. I saw his brother
2. Everyone enjoys good pictures.
3. She is drinking a cup of cold milk.
4. The police has arrested the thief.
5. I shall meet his brother.
6. The headmaster of the school makes a speech after
the function.
7. (He has) painted my room.
8. Did the nurse look after the patient well?
9. They should not tell lies.
10. Who has written this letter?
11. We shall welcome them joyfully?
12. The watchman has closed the school-gate.
13. He is purchasing books for you.
14. He pulled the chain to stop the train.
15. The children will not have stopped the fruit vendor.

677
 2. DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
2.1 Introduction
There are two ways of relating what a person has said:
Direct and Indirect:
In Direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact
words:
Ifra said, ‘I have lost my book.
In Indirect speech we give the exact-meaning of a remark
or a speech without necessarily using the speaker’s exact-
words:
Ifra said that she had lost her book.

Remember: The part of a Direct Speech sentence

enclosed within inverted commas is called the Reported
Speech and the part out side the inverted commas is
called the Reporting Speech. The verb used in the
Reporting is named as the Reporting Verb.
While changing the Direct into Indirect Speech, the
inverted commas are not used. The comma between the
Reporting and Reported Speech disappears and ‘that’ is
used instead

General Rules for Change of Tenses

Present Indefinite Tense Past Indefinite Tense

Present Continuous Tense Past Continuous Tense

Present Perfect Tense Past Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Indefinite Tense Past Perfect Tense

Past Continuous Tense Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Perfect Tense No Change of Tense

Past Perfect Continuous Tense No Change of Tense

Shall/Will Would

678
 General Rules of the following Changes

This That
These Those
Here There
Now Then
Sir/Madam Respectfully
Today That day
Tomorrow The next day
The following day
Yesterday The Previous day
The last day
Tonight That night
All right, well, yes, no, hello Deleted from sentence
Good morning, Good evening,
Good noon, Good day ] Greeted
Good afternoon
Good bye, Farewell,
Good night
] Same

2.2 General Sentences, Statements

Direct Speech Indirect Speech
1. He says, “I read this book He says that he reads this
every morning. book every morning.
2. He said, “I read this book He said that he read that
every morning. book every morning.
3. She said, “I must take my She said that she must
purse with me.” take her purse with her.
4. They said to me “You may They told me that I might
bring your bag with you”. bring my bag with me.
By studying these sentences carefully, you may frame the
following general rules to follow while turning the Direct Speech
sentences into Indirect:

679
 1. You should not change the tense of the Reporting
Verb.
2. If the Reporting Verb is in the Present Tense, you
should not change the tenses when turning the
Direct into Indirect Speech.
3. If the Reporting Verb is in the Past Tense, you
should change all the verbs into past.
4. You should use “said” in the Indirect Speech when
no person is spoken to. But use “told” when the
person spoken to is mentioned.

5. You should change the pronouns of the first

person, I, Me, My, Mine, We, Us, Our, Ours, into
the same person as the speaker.

6. Similarly, you should change the pronouns of the

second person, you, your, yours, into the same
person as the person spoken to.

2.3 Universal Truths:

Study the following sentences:

1. He says, “God is one.”

2. She said to me, “The sun rises in the east”.
3. They said, “The earth is round”.

The statements given in these sentences are truths. They

are true always and everywhere. We call them universal truths.
The verb used in the reported speech in case of a universal truth
does not change. It may remain in the simple present. The
sentences in the Indirect Speech will be as follows:

1. He says that God is one.

2. She told me that the sun rises in the east.

3. They said that the earth is round.

680
2.4 Questions:

For changing the Direct Speech sentences into the

Indirect Speech, you have to take care of certain more things.
Study these sentences:

Direct Indirect
1. He said to me, “Can He asked me if I could drive?
you drive”?
2. I replied, “Yes”. I replied in the positive/ affirmative
3. She said to me, “What She asked me what I was
are you studying”? studying.

4. I said to him, “What do I asked him what he wrote.

you write”?
From these examples, we come to the following
conclusions:
1. For question sentences in the Indirect Speech, you
should always use ‘asked’ instead of ‘said’.
2. You should never use ‘that’.

3. If you observe that the answer to the questions can

be ‘yes’ or ‘no’, you should use ‘if’ or ‘whether’.

4. You should take care that the order of the words

must be like a statement and not like a direct
question.

5. In the interrogative sentences beginning with

interrogative pronouns (who, what, where, when,
how, etc.) if or ‘whether’ is not used.
6. You should not put note of interrogation/a question
mark.

681
2.5 Command and Requests:

Study these model sentences:

1. The teacher said to the The teacher told the
student, :Write down the students to write down the
names of the seasons: names of the seasons.
2. The policeman said to the The policeman ordered the
crowd, “Don’t move a crowd not to move a step.
step”.
3. She said to me, “Please She requested me to show
show me the way to the her the way to the garden.
garden.

4. He said to them, “Please He requested them not to

do not waste my time”. waste his time.

5. My elder brother said, “Do My elder brother commanded

not leave this place unless (warned) me not to leave
I give you permission”. that place unless he gave me
permission

After studying these sentences, you come to the following

conclusions:

1. When turning the command or request sentences

into the Indirect form, you must mention the
person spoken to.

2. You should use ‘to’ with the first form of verb.

3. You should use ‘asked’, ‘begged’, ‘requested’,
‘ordered’, ‘advised’, etc. instead of ‘said to’.

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2.6 Exclamations:

Now study these sentences in which expressions of

emotions or feelings (from anger pain or surprise ) are made:
Direct Indirect
1. He said, “How glad I He exclaimed that he was
am”! very glad.
2. I said to him, “What a He exclaimed to him that
fool you are.” he was a fool.
3. The headmaster said to The headmaster exclaimed
the boys, “What a serious to the boys that they had
mistake you have made”? made a serious mistake.
4. He said, “How hot it is He exclaimed that it was
today”! very hot that day.

You should always remember that:

1. You should use “exclamation” (“exclaimed with joy
or sorrow”).

2. You should make use of ‘that’.

3. You should not use ‘what’ or ‘how’.

4. You should avoid any interjection (Oh! Alas! Ah!, etc.)

5. You should not use mark of exclamation in the
Indirect Speech, Rather use “full stop”.

2.7 Optative:
Optative sentences are used for expressing wish or
prayer.
Study the following sentences:
Direct Indirect
1. She said, “May I get She prayed that she might
through the examination”! get through the examination.
2. He said, “Would that I had He wished that he had not

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 not written that letter”. written that letter.”
3. His mother said, “May His mother prayed that he
you live long”! might live long.

You should notice that:

1. While changing the optative sentences into Indirect
Speech “said” is changed into “wished that” or
“prayed that”.
2. Mark of exclamation is replaced by full stop.

2.8 Exercises — 4

Question No. 1:
Change the following into Direct Speech

1. You say that you bought it of your own accord.

2. We said that we played a match everyday.
3. Liaba Iqbal said that her father was going with her.
4. They said that they had bought a bungalow in
Sargodha.
5. The Doctor said that he had already seen many
patients.

6. Ihtizaz said that he would leave for Rawalpindi

early next month.

7. He said that man is mortal.

8. She greeted Mrs. Sara.
9. Mother forbade me to tell a lie.
10. He asked me to lend him my bicycle for that day.

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Question No. 2:

Change the following into Indirect Speech:

1. My friend said to me, “I shall visit you tomorrow”.
2. He said to us, I am returning his book today”
3. She said to him, “I missed the school bus this
morning”.
4. The poet says, “Life is not a bed of roses”.
5. The students said to the teacher, “We shall write
the essay tomorrow, Sir”.
6. The merchant said, “Alas! I have lost the cheque.”
7. He said to her, “Where did you leave my
handkerchief?”
8. She said, “How beautiful the scene is.”
9. They said, “Hurrah! “Our team has won the
match”.
10. The mother said to her son, “May you always
succeed in your life!”

3 – IDIOMS

3.1 Introduction:
Idiom means form of expression peculiar to a language or
the usual way in which words of a language are joined together
to express some idea.
Idiom denotes construction of words of expression
contrary to the usual pattern of the language or having a
meaning different from the literal, for example:

a. “At large” means ‘free’, ‘at liberty’.

b. “In the long run” means ‘at last’.

c. “To look sharp” means “to lose no time”.

An idiom is a combination of two or more words which
function as a unit of meaning, such as:

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 Go on = continue
Go back from one’s word = fail to keep it
Go through with = complete
Come into notice = attract attention
Put off = postpone.

3.2 Idiomatic use of verbs:

1. Break down = fail
He is working so hard that his health has broken
down.
Has your car broken down again?

2. Break into = intrude forcibly

Aslam told me that someone broke into his house
last night.

3. Break out = begin, spread

Cholera has broken out in the village.
Fire broke out in the market last night.

4. Break up = dismiss, close

The college breaks up today for the winter vacation

5. Break the news = disclose

I was the first person to break the news to him.
6. Bring about = to cause to happen
The teacher has brought about a lot of change in
his students.
7. Bring to light = reveal, expose
This letter has brought many facts to light.
8. Bring to the notice of = inform
Why don’t you bring this fact to the notice of the
officer concerned.

9. Bring up = train someone in manners and habits

This boy has been brought up his elder brother.

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10. Call off = cancel
The workers have called off their strike.
11. Call the roll = take attendance
The teacher called the roll and started the lesson.

12. Carry out = put orders, instructions into practice

You should carry out the orders of your elders.

13. Carry on = go on, continue

Please carry on with your work while I am away for
an hour.

14. Come about = happen

I am surprised how all this came about.

15. Come to hand = receive

Your letter has just come to hand.

16. Come round = accept others’ views

If you try, I hope he will come round.
17. Fall out = quarrel
Why have you fallen out with your friend?

18. Fall to the ground = fail

All his plans fell to the ground.

19. Get on = make progress

How are you getting on with your studies?
20. Get off = alight from vehicle
You have to get off the bus at the next stop.
21. Get through = succeed in an examination
He got through the examination with good marks.
22. Get up = rise
He gets up early in the morning everyday.

23. Get by heart = memorise

I have got this poem by heart.

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24. Give away = distribute
The Principal gave away the prizes today.
25. Give up = cease from effort or doing
He is so poor that he has given up further studies.

26. Go through = study

Please go through this article today.

27. Go through with = complete, finish

Let us try to go through with this work before 2 0'
clock.

28. Keep word = stand by the promise or appointment

Every gentleman should keep his word.

29. Keep in mind = remember

I will always keep your words in my mind.

30. Keep an eye = watch

Why don’t you keep an eye on your son? He has a
bad company.
31. Keep up = maintain
We are trying to keep our family traditions up.
32. Look after = take care of
Please look after these guests carefully.

33. Look around = watch, search

Whom you are looking around here?

34. Look sharp = hurry up, lose no time

Look sharp, boys, the time is over.
35. Look into = examine, investigate
I will have to look into matter carefully.

36. Make out = understand

I could not make out what he actually wants.
37. Make up one’s mind = determine
You should make up your mind to top the list.

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38. Make the best of = drive maximum advantage
You should make the best use of your stay in
England.

39. Put off= postpone

Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
40. Put out = extinguish (fire, light)
Please put out the lamp before you go to bed.
41. Put in black and white = put in writing
Could you please put this agreement in black and
white.

42. Run away with = carry off

The servant ran away with the money-box.
43. Run down = (of watch, clock) stop for want of
winding, (of person, health), become weak from
overwork
This clock has run down.
His health seems to have much run down.

44. Run out = come to an end

The stock of sugar has run out.

45. Set out = begin journey

This party is setting out for the top of this hill
tomorrow morning.

46. Set sail = begin voyage

Columbus set sail to discover the way to India.
47. Set eyes on = catch sight of
He could not set eyes on the new moon.

48. Set the pace = determine it by leading

The teacher should set the pace for the students.
49. Set up = establish
His father set his son up as a businessman.

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 50. Set aside = reserve
We have set ample money aside for the business.

Some more Idioms:

Some more idioms with the meaning are being given

below. Try to grasp the meaning and try to use them in
sentences of your own:
1. Set one’s hand to = sign
2. Set one’s heart on’ long for, desire
3. Set free = release, liberate
4. Set forth = make known, declare
5. Take down = write down
6. Take off = remove (hat, coat) from the body
7. Take over = succeed, assume control
8. Take after = resemble
9. Take against = oppose
10. Take to one’s heels = run away
11. Take care of = look after
12. Take in hand = start
13. Turn off = stop flow of water or working of radio
14. Look down upon = hate
15. Hold off = to delay
16. Hold on = keep one’s grasp on something
17. Hold out = maintain resistance.
18. Hold over = postpone
19. Hold up = stop and rob by threat

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3.4 Exercise No 5:

Question No.1

Use the following idioms in your own sentences:

1. At large 6. Come round

2. Put off 7. Give up
3. Break out 8. Keep word
4. Bring to the notice of 9 Make out
5. Bring up 10. Set eyes on

Question No.2:
Match the meanings of the following idioms:

1. Get on i) Examine, investigation

2. Get up ii) Make progress
3. Give up iii) Rise
4. Look into iv) Cease from effort or doing
5. Run out v) Establish
6. Set up vi) Resemble
7. Set forth vii) Make known, declare
8. Take after viii) Come to an end
9. Hold out ix) Postpone
10. Hold over x) Maintain resistance

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 4 - PHRASES

4.1 Introduction:
The word phrase is derived from the Greek word Phrazien
which means ‘to speak’.

Literally the word phrase denotes a manner or style of

speech or an expression which is short, colourful and forceful.

In grammar, “phrase” means a sequence of a few words

conveying a single thought or forming a separate part of a
sentence but without a subject and a predicate. It is a group of
two or more words that can function as a grammatical structure,
such as “a house on a hill”, “a bunch of keys”, “sense of
proportion”, “sense of humour”, etc. Phrases are often used as
idiomatic expressions.

4.2 Some Idiomatic Phrases:

A list of idiomatic phrases is being given along with the
meanings. Study them carefully:
1. All and one = everyone
2. All in all = of utmost importance
3. All round = in all respects
4. All the same = in spite of this
5. On account of = for sake of, because of
6. On no account = on no condition
7. By all accounts = in everybody’s opinion
8. To all appearances = so far as can be seen
9. Keep up appearances = outward show of prosperity
10. Back and forth = to and fro
11. Bag and baggage = with all belongings
12. Bag of bones = very weak and lean
13. In the balance = remaining uncertain
14. Keep eye on the ball = be alert

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15. Bank on = base one’s hopes on
16. Beat the air = try in vain
17. Beat about the bush = talk about irrelevant things
18. Bed of roses = easy position
19. Bed and board = lodging and food
20. To begin with = as the first thing
21. Believe one’s eyes = accept that what one sees is
true
22. Round the corner = very near
23. In due course = in the natural order
24. Matter of course = natural or expected thing
25. At hand = very near, about to happen soon
26. Man of his hands = a practical man
27. Hard nut to crack = difficult problem or person.
28. Hard and fast = strict
29. Call into question = doubt
30. Few and far between = less, small
31. In the dark = not informed
32. Kith and kin = near relations
33. Off and on = now and again
34. Out and out =thoroughly
35. Go to sea = become sailor
36. All at sea = confused
37. As sharp as a needle = very intelligent
38. Like a shot = willingly
39. Show one round = take one to all points of interest
40. Put things straight = put the record straight

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4.3 Exercises No 6:

Question No.1

Study the following phrases along with their meaning and

try to use them in sentences of your own:
1. By and by = gradually
2. For good = for ever
3. By leaps and bounds = rapidly
4. Ins and outs = all the details
5. Burning question = most important
6. Call in question = to doubt
7. Fall to the ground = prove useless
8. Go with out saying = quite clear
9. Make headway = make progress
10. Take part in = participate

Question No.2
Find out the meaning of the following phrases:
1. At arm’s length

2. Before long
3. Once for all
4. With one voice

5. Under lock and key

6. Safe and sound
7. In no time
8. Bring to light

9. Get rid of

10. Make up one’s mind

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 5 – PUNCTUATION

5.1 Introduction:
Putting in marks of question, exclamation, full stop,
comma, etc. in writing to assist in making the sense clear is
called Punctuation.

5.2 The Full Stop:

1. A full stop (.) is used at the end of a sentence.
He went to Sargodha.
2. We use full stop after abbreviations:
Ph.D. for Doctor of Philosophy
M.B.A. for Master of Business Administration
P.B.C. for Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation
3. Full stop is also used after initials:
M.A.Jinnah for Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Q.U.Shahab for Qudrutullah Shahab
K.M.Hussain for Khawaja Manzoor Hussain

5.3 The Comma:

1) A comma (,) is used to separate the name of the
second person from the rest of the sentence:
Salim, I asked you to keep quiet.
I asked you to keep quiet, Salim.
2) A comma is used to separate a phrase of clause
from the rest of the sentence. This phrase or clause
is usually added in the sentence to qualify or
explain something:
Mr. Khan, grandfather of my friend, has left for
Haj.
Dr. Abdullah, the author of this book, has died.
Naseem, having locked the door, went away.

695
3) In a sentence where more than two nouns or
phrases of equal value have been used, a comma is
used to separate each noun or phrase from the
other one before the last two nouns or phrases
where ‘or’ or ‘and’ are used for this purpose. For
example:
Ahmed, Salim, Khan and Raza are all class-fellows.
4) A comma is also used after words like yes, no, well,
now, oh, etc. when a sentence starts with one of
them:
Yes, I already told you that.
Now, the matter ends here.
5) A comma is also placed to separate the word
“please” at the end of sentence:
May I ask your name, please?
Could you show me the picture, please?
Just listen to me, please.

6) We also place comma before a reported speech or

direct quotation:
Ali said, “I am pleased to see you”.
Emerson wrote, “Not gold, but only men can
make”.

7) We also use comma to mark off phrases, clauses or

expressions inserted into a sentence:
The condition of the patient, to tell you the truth, is
serious.
My friend is hardworking, intelligent and above all,
honest.
8) A comma is used to indicate an omission of a word
or words necessary to the construction of the
sentence:
To err is human, to forgive, divine.
I talk of chalk and you, of cheese.

696
5.4 The Semi-Colon:

A semi-colon (;) is used where a pause longer than that

of a comma is required. It is placed as the chief stop of
intermediate value between comma and full stop.

“The Pak English Grammar and Composition” tells us that

the Semi-Colon is used:

1) To separate closely connected clauses from one

another, as,
Honesty of purpose has many advantages over
deceit; it is the safer way of dealing with men; it is
an easier way of dispatching business; it inspires
men with greater confidence.
2) To separate the clauses of a compound sentence,
when they contain commas, as,
He was a brave, young man; and we respected
him.

5.5 The Colon:

A colon (:) ranks between period (full stop) and semi-
colon. It indicates a longer pause than the semi-colon.
“A Guide to the Study of English” tells us that the colon is
used:

1) After a statement, complete in it self, when it is

followed by another statement or series of
statements, connected with it (without a
conjunction) by way of enumeration, example,
consequence, cause or antithesis:-
The subject generally precedes the verb as:
“John reads this book”
No man should be too positive: the wisest often
err.

697
 2) Before quotations, when not immediately
dependent on the verbs that introduce them:
The inscription ran as follows: “This is the tomb of
Cyrus”
When thus used, the colon is often followed by a
dash (:-).

Note the following points:

The following members of the club have been invited:

5.6 Exercise No 7:

Question No.1
Insert full-stops where necessary:
1. Dr. Khan is a famous surgeon
2. His father is MA, PhD ,
3. The University has started the B Ed programme
this year
4. I joined the govt service in 1982
5. The BBC means the British Broadcasting Corporation
6. CID stands for Criminal Investigation Department
7. He is Lt Gen

Question No.2:
Insert commas at proper places:
1. I am leaving for Lahore on May 19 1987.
2. No I did not see him there.
3. Aslam Saeed and Salim came to see Sadiq their
friend.
4. “Get out” she said “and do not come again”.
5. Come in boys and sit down.
6. Always speak the truth friends.

698
 7. Could you include my name please.
8. The teacher said “Boys never tell a lie”.
9. This applies to all the subjects in school including
agriculture.
10. In spite of being an expensive book I bought it.

Question No.3:
Insert commas, full-stops, semi-colons and colons where
necessary:
1. In Rome the army was the nation no citizen could
take office unless he had served in three
campaigns.
2. The principal parts of a verb in English are the
present tense the past tense and the past participle
3. Man proposes God disposes
4. Forget mistakes organise victory out of mistakes
5. Study nature by seeing not pulling it to pieces this
study is loved by God
6. Lord Bacon says “Reading makes a full man
speaking a ready man writing an exact man
7. To err is human to forgive divine
(Pak English Grammar and Composition, P. 250)

5.7 The Mark or Interrogation:

1) The mark of Interrogation (?) is placed after a
direct question:
What are you doing?
Where has the servant gone?

699
 The Mark of interrogation is not used after
an indirect question or a polite request:

He enquired of me what I was doing. Could

you please tell me where the servant has
gone.

2) The Mark of Interrogation is also used where some

word, name or figure is doubtful:
The population of Hazara division is 500000 (?)
The Saiful Maluk Lake is situated in Swat (?) .

5.8 The Mark of Exclamation:

1) The Mark of Exclamation (!) is used after words or

sentences expressed in emotion, surprise, feeling
of joy or grief:
How glad I am today!
Alas! We have lost the match.
How beautiful the moon is!
Off you go!
I can’t believe it!
2) It is also used when a wish is expressed:
May you be happy!
May you live long!
3) The mark is also placed after a Nominative of
address:
Have pity, O Judge!
Pardon me, Sir!

5.9 The Dash:

1) The Dash (—) is used to mark a break or change in
sense:

700
 He was sitting next to the minister —never thought
of it.
2) The Dash is used to indicate explanation of a word:
Would you like to open an account in my bank —
The Qaumi Bank?
3) When some words are used for explaining or
emphasising in a sentence, one dash will be placed
at the beginning and the other at the end:
He announced— no one denied it —that he had
won the case.

5.10 The Hyphen

1) The Hyphen (—) is used to make compound words:
full-back, fruit-cake, fire-arm, rope-dancer, duty–
free.
2) The Hyphen is used in verbs compounded with
prefixes:
re-open, re-elect, pre-arrange, pre-war.
3) The Hyphen is used to separate a prefix from a
proper noun:
pre–partition, post-graduate, un-American
4) To use the prefix “ex”, the Hyphen is placed after it:
ex–minister, ex-governor, ex-champion.

5.11 The Apostrophe:

1) The Apostrophe (‘) shows the possessive case of

singular nouns:
boy’s name, girl's book, teacher's pen
2) In case of plural nouns the Apostrophe is added
after the “s”:
boys’ names, girls' school, teachers’ pen.

701
 3) The Apostrophe is used to show that a letter or
letters have been omitted from a word:
I’am for I am
I’ve for I have
Can’t for cannot
we’ve for we have
let’s for let us
4) The possessive of a noun ending in “s” is formed by
adding the apostrophe afterwards:
Jesus' mother, Moses’ tablet.

5) Plurals of alphabets and figures are made by

adding apostrophe and “s” (or apostrophes) b’s, t’s,
p’s, 10’s

5.12 The Inverted Commas:

1). The-Inverted Commas or quotation marks (“ ”) are
used to show the actual words spoken by the
speaker.
The Inverted Commas are placed at the beginning
of the spoken words and at the end:
Ahmed said, “Let me finish this book first”
The prisoner cried, “My God, help me, I am not
guilty”.
2) The Inverted Commas are used around titles of
books, poems, TV. programmes, etc.
“Bang-i-Dara”, “A Tale of Two Cities”.
“Javab-i-Shikwa”, “Waris”.

702
5.13 The Brackets:

1) The Brackets [ ( ) ] are the pairs of marks used to

enclose words, phrases which are not a part of the
sentence.

2) The Brackets are used to mark off letters or figures

in a series:
Three books written by Syed Ameer Ali are as
follows:
(a) The Spirit of Islam.
(b) A short History of the Saracens
(c) Muhammadan Law

3) The Brackets are used to enclose words explaining

something:
His birthday falls on 20th (Friday).
4) Square brackets [] are normally used when the
curved brackets have already been used:
I have already referred to this point [see page 126
(footnote No.1)].

5.14 The Capital Letters:

Capital letter is used:
1) To begin the first word of every new sentence.

2) To begin the first word of every line of a poem.

3) To begin every proper name:
Allama Iqbal, Milton, Keats, Karachi, Tokyo.
4) To begin the names of the days of the week,
months, seasons:
Monday, March, April, Spring, Winter.
5) For the names of books, magazines, newspapers:

703
 A Tale of Two Cities, Bang-i-Dara, The Readers’
Digest, Mah-i-Nau, The Pakistan Times.
6) At the beginning of the first word of a reported
speech:
He replied, “Of course, you are right”.
5.15 Exercise No. 8:
Question No.1
Study the following passage carefully:
great as he was he knew his limitations when his
admirers exceeded the bound of admiration and called him amir
ul momenin the king of the believers a title given to caliphs for
they were the spiritual and political heads of muslim society he
would say please do not claim this I do not profess to be your
religious and spiritual guide or leader I am your political leader
and no more.
Now, go through again. The passage has been punctuated
and proper marks have been put:
Great as he was, he knew his limitations. When his
admirers exceeded the bound of admiration and called him
Amir-ul-Momenin (the king of the Believers) a title given to
Caliphs, for they were the spiritual and political heads of Muslim
Society, he would say: “Please do not call me this. I do not
profess to be your religious and spiritual guide or leader. I am
your political leader and no more."

Question No.2
Punctuate the following passage:
have you bought the ticket the ticket checker asked the
passenger the passanger replied yes I've bought the ticket what
is the departure time enquired the passenger it is half past three
thank you very much said the passenger and taking his brief
case boarded the train now it was only ten minutes left for the
trains departure he took his seat and made himself comfortable

704
 6 – BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, W. S. (1973): Living English Structure, Lahore. Shahsons,
Pakistan Ed.,.
London Book Association (1972): The Concise Oxford Dictionary
of Current English. London:

AIOU (1985): Functional English B.A., Islamabad, Allama Iqbal

Open University.

A Guide to the Study of English, London MacMillan and Co., Ltd.,

1915.
Eckersley & Macauly (1962): Brighter Grammar, Book III,
London; Longmans.

705
Unit – 16

TEXTUAL STUDY AND CRITICAL

APPRECIATION-I

Written By:
Iftikhar Ahmed

Revised By:
Professor Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (second) By:

Mrs. Raazia Waseem
708
 INTRODUCTION
In unit 7 we introduced you to the teaching poetry in
general. You must have realized that our approach to the
teaching of poetry is slightly different from the simple
translation of the poem into Urdu and paraphrasing of the poem
into prose. We do not say that, that approach is wrong. No;
poetry can be studied from different angles. Some approaches
are more interesting for the learners than others. We want you
to try various ways of handling a poem in the class so that you
will judge for yourself what works well in your class.
However, the first requirement for teaching poetry is that
you understand and enjoy the poem yourself. It means
preparation ahead of your class. This unit will give you ideas for
doing new activities and if you solve the questions and SAQs
yourself, your understanding of the unit will help you greatly as
a teacher.

OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit you will be able to:
 Familiarize yourself with English poetry.
 Prepare poetry lessons.

 Understand simple English verses and teach them in

the class.

 Help students enjoy poetry.

709
710
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. What is Poetry? 713

2. The Study of Poetry 715

3. Textual Study 720

4. Textual Study 724

5. Textual Study 728
6. Textual Study 733

7. Answers to the Self-Assessment Questions 738

8. Bibliography 740

711
712
 1. WHAT IS POETRY

1.1 Poetry and prose

Poetry differs from prose in form more than its subject.
Both poetry and prose may express any humanly conceived
idea, emotion or experience. However, prose tends to express
more of intellectual ideas and poetry apparently deals with
human emotions. But, this division is very superficial.
As far as the poetic language is concerned, it uses more
poetic devices than prose. At the same time, we are sure you
may have read a very romantic short story in prose which may
be full of colours, emotions and use of imagery. So we want you
to realize that the distinction between prose and poetry is
actually very difficult to state. However, for the teaching
purposes you may not bother too much about it.

1.2 Poetry as expression of feelings and thoughts

Man began to express himself in poetry very early in the
history of his development. He used poetry to express his
feelings even before he knew the art of writing. Poetic
expression is easy to remember and convenient to repeat. It
may not be incorrect to say that man began to use poetry as a
medium of expression for thoughts that he wanted to preserve
earlier than he began to use prose. Poetry touches many
aspects of human life.

1.3 Views about poetry

According to Coleridge, “a poem is that species of
composition which is opposed to the words of science for
proposing for its immediate object, pleasure and truth, and from
all other species having this object in common with it, it is
discriminated by proposing to itself such delight from the whole
as compatible with the distinct gratification from each

713
component part”. Johnson also supports that poetry is the art of
uniting pleasure with truth by calling imagination to the help of
reason.

“Absolute poetry is the concrete and artistic expression of

the human mind in emotional and rhythmical language”.
(Theodore Walts–Danton)

“Poetry is spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling; it

takes its origin from emotions recollected in tranquility”.
(Wordswoth)

“Poetry in general sense may be defined to be the

expression of the imagination”. (Shelley)

Poetry has therefore many aspects and different qualities.

The purpose of teaching poetry at secondary school level is
understanding of emotions, sensitive feelings and appreciation
of beauty of thought and expression. For students of this age
group, poetry is taught mainly for enjoyment, pleasure and
happiness.

2. THE STUDY OF POETRY

2.1 General approaches

The study of poetry has its technical side. You should be
aware from the outset that not all verse deserves to be called
poetry; nor is all prose lacking in poetic effect. Your general
method of approach to any poem can be guided by three basic
questions:
 What is the poet saying? Search for his theme, his
purpose or motive in writing and consider each idea in the
poem’s content (subject matter). Consider the
arrangement of ideas and their relation to the theme.

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 How is the poet saying it? Examine the form (pattern),
the mood of atmosphere of feeling which is created, and
the devices of sound and language.

 Was it worth saying? Your answer to this question has

little value until you have carefully examined all the
aspects of above questions you will then be able to say
whether you consider the poem important for its ideas or
its beauty of sound, or for some other reason such as its
ingenuity of language or its unexpected design. You may
assess its relevance for modern readers in general and its
appeal or otherwise for yourself.

Your task is to equip yourself to appreciate, in the real

sense of the word, what the poet is trying to do. It is hoped that
you will reach a stage where you seek poems in order to explore
and experience the poet’s heightened awareness of life and the
world. If you already enjoy some poetry, further study will
deepen your enjoyment.

2.2 Theme and content

As critics, our first task is to make sure we know what the

poet is saying. We should be able to offer an explanation of
each idea as it is developed in the poem and then consider all
the ideas linked coherently; that is whether there is unit of
purpose in the poem. You will find occasionally that the poet
uses unfamiliar words or even everyday words in an unfamiliar
way. It is your responsibility to check their meaning if your
reading is to be satisfactory. When you have considered the
whole subject matter of a poem, you must try to find its THEME
(the central or controlling idea). Only the theme can tell you
why the poet felt he had to write the poem. Sometimes the title
of the poem may hint at its theme. The content or subject
matter may keep repeating the theme, or it may be pictorial or

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symbolic illustration of the theme. This will become clearer to
you as you try to identify the themes in the poems set for study.
Let us take an example here. We are sure you may at
some point have read the poem ‘The Daffodils’ by
W.Wordsworth. Now the poet describes the lovely valley and the
flowers near the lake. But his theme is not flowers or the beauty
of the flowers. He is actually writing about the power to recall a
scene at some future time and enjoy it in your mind’s eye. So
the theme is expressed through a particular medium.

2.3 Figures of speech

We are again repeating some of the ideas that you have

covered in earlier units. Earlier, in this unit we mentioned the
differences between prose and poetry. The poet uses a language
which is more colourful and enjoyable. He tries to use all the
human senses to crate beauty in his poems.
The poets use various devices or techniques to express
their ideas. This is not peculiar to English poetry alone. You can
perhaps appreciate this point when you read Urdu poetry
specially a good poet who will be using imagery and
personification etc. It will be a good exercise if at this point you
can find a book of Urdu verses (or any other regional language)
and read a verse or two and try to find out the use of poetic
techniques used by that poet. Here are some of the common
poetic devices.

Simile: A comparison beginning with ‘like’ or ‘as’ e.g. He is like

a lion:

Or picture of a fat woman laughing

‘…………all the woman heaves

As a great elm all its mound of leaves
Wallows before the storm……………’.

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Metaphor: A comparison, without ‘like’ or ’as’ in which one
thing is said to be another. He is a lion, i.e. he is so brave that
he can be called a lion.

Or Shakespeare’s description of death:

“That undiscovered country from whose bourne

No traveller returns …………………”

Personification: The ascribing of human qualities to non-

human things (gaining thus a special metaphorical effect), e.g.
Shakespeare’s image of dawn:

‘But look, the dawn, in russet mantle clad,

Walks o’er the dew of you high eastern hill’.

Hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration for dramatic effect, e.g.

(Lady Macbeth, remorseful over murder of the king):

‘Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not
sweeten this little hand’.

Antithesis: Balanced contrast for special effect, e.g.

Alexander Pope’s description of man:

Created half to rise, and half to fall;

Great Lord of all things, yet a prey to all………

Imagery: One important aim of the poet is to choose words

that evoke a suitable image or picture in our imagination. It
may appeal to our intellect as a clever or starling idea or it may
torture our sense of taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. Your
task as a critic is to be able to explain whether such imagery is
vivid or hackneyed, whether it develops the content or
atmosphere of the poem, or whether it obscures the poet’s
intention by being too unexpected or over-complicated.

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Symbolism: Sometimes a particular object or image is made to
stand for some idea. “The cross”, for example, always suggests
Christianity; “Eve” is the symbol of womankind and “Adam” the
symbol for all men.

Form (literary terms): It is usually possible to recognise verse

simply by looking at its more or less regular lines on the printed
page; but there is more to its form than the regularity. The form
of any one poem depends on the writer’s choice of rhythm and
metre, rhyme, line-length, stanza pattern, and even a particular
set of rules (such as that governing the sonnet). You can
appreciate a poem without knowing all these names; however,
they can be very helpful in giving you an exact term for the
effects you wish to comment on.

2.4 Stanza pattern

Although there are numerous technical terms for different
patterns, the most useful ones are the quatrain (four lines) and
the couplet (two lines). Some poets reject stanzas altogether, or
they divide their poems into stanzas of irregular length, like
paragraph in prose.

2.5 Forms of poetry

There are three major forms of poetry:

Descriptive poetry: In this kind of poetry the poet
usually describes different objects of nature or other
things that he may find of interest to himself.
Wordworth’s poem ‘Daffodils’ is an example of this kind of
poetry.
Narrative poetry: In this kind of poetry greater
importance is given to the events than to the things that
are described. Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner’ is an example of this kind.

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 Reflective poetry: In this kind of poetry the poet
expresses his own ideas about things.
Ballad: ballad is the oldest form of poetry. This is the
earliest type of narrative poem, extremely simple in
language, often with a refrain, always with a definite
rhythm and rhyme to help recitation.

Lyric verse: Traditionally there have been several lyric

forms, each with its own characteristics. However, all lyric
verse is marked by an intensely personal expression of
thoughts and feelings, and thus it is highly subjective in
treatment.

Sonnet: A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines. In the first eight

lines (called octave) the poet places before the reader the
problem and in the last six lines (called sestet) he gives a
solution of the problem.
Ode: Ode is a form of poetry in which a thing or a person
is addressed.

Elegy: Elegy is a poem written on the death of a man or

the loss of a cause.

Epic: This is a narrative poem of much more solemnity

and magnitude than the ballad. Its subject is legend or
great heroes or main events in a nation’s history.

2.6 Critical appreciation

While writing appreciation of a poem first thing is to deal
with the theme and content. Then make an attempt to
understand poet’s motive and ideas. You may also indicate the
type of poem, particularly if it follows a definite structure such
as the sonnet. Take note of his use of poetic devices such as
figures of speech and tricks of sound. You may want to discuss
the emotional impact of the word or their precision in expressing
the thoughts of the poet. Finally, you should give your own

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opinion of the poet’s success perhaps emphasizing the qualities,
you consider most worthwhile, perhaps comparing it with other
poems of similar content and mood.

3. TEXTUAL STUDY

3.1 ‘March’ by William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth (1770-1890) was educated at the

grammar school of Hawkshead and St John’s College. In 1970
he went on a walking tour to France, the Alps, and Italy. He was
greatly influenced by revolution and the democratic movement
to which it gave birth. Wordsworth was high priest of nature. In
1795 he made the acquaintance of S.T. Coleridge and they
together published the “Lyrical Ballads” in 1798. Wordsworth
was married in 1802. In 1843, he succeeded Southey as poet
laureate and died in 1850. Wordsworth’s poetry is a strong
protest against over-civilization. He is a poet of nature.

MARCH
The cock is crowing
The stream is flowing;
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter;
The green field sleeps in the sun
The oldest and youngest;
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing;
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!
Like an army defeated,
The snow has retreated;
And now doth fare ill,
On the top of the bare hill;

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 The plough boy is whooping anon! anon!

There is joy on the mountains,

There’s life in the fountains;

Small clouds are sailing;

Blue sky prevailing;

The rain is over and gone!

3.2 Let us first look at the difficult words

Birds twitter – birds make small noise
Lake doth glitter – lake shines
Retreated – has gone back
Doth – old form of does
Fare ill – is not doing well
Whooping – crying loudly and joyfully
An–on – soon
Prevailing – has gained victory

3.3 Stanza pattern

There are four stanzas of the poem, each of five lines.

3.4 Theme

The theme or central idea of the poem is expression of

joy at the coming of spring.

3.5 Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is expression of the same thing in other
words not necessarily making much changes in construction or
meaning.

Set out below is paraphrase of all stanzas of the poem:

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Stanza-1:

The cock is crowing and the stream is flowing. The

small birds are making noise and the lake is shining.
The green field is stretched in the sun.
Stanza-2:
The oldest and the youngest people are at work with
the strongest. The cattle are grazing in such a way
that they do not raise their heads. They are plenty in
number but they all look as one.
Stanza-3:

The snow has gone down like a defeated army and

does not look well on the naked hill. The plough boy
cries with joy that the season is changing soon.

Stanza-4:
Joy can be seen on the mountains and fountains as
they are full of life. Small clouds can be seen moving
and the sky is blue. The rain is over now.

3.6 Critical appreciation

“March” is a poem in which Wordsworth has expressed his
feelings in very simple language. Wordsworth is a poet of nature
and deals with the different manifestations of nature. In this
delightful poem the poet has expressed his joy at the coming of
spring. Winter has gone and snow has melted.

Like an army defeated

The snow has retreated

The poet is overjoyed on the change of season and

vehemently expresses that activities of life have come back. The
birds are happy and old and young people have come to work.
The cattle are grazing in the field and there is life all around. It

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is an atmosphere of festivity. There is joy on the mountains and
fountains are full of life.
The poem is an example of beautiful rhythm. The short
lines create good effect and the set pattern of rhyme scheme
adds to the charm of the verses. The poem is like a song sung
in festivity. The poet has used in this poem some attractive
similes.
“They are forty feeding like one”;
and

“Like an army defeated, the snow has retreated”.

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 4. TEXTUAL STUDY

4.1 Leisure by W. H. Davies

S. H. Davies (1871-1940) is a poet whose lyrics have a
force and simplicity lacking in most of his fellow poets. His verse
represents a turn towards nature. After serving as apprentice to
a picture farmer, Davies tramped through the United States.
Crossed the Atlantic many times on cattle boats, lost a foot
while trying to jump a train headed for the Klondike region in
Canada, became a street singer in England and after several
years of wandering life, published his first volume “The Soul’s
Destroyer”, and other poems’ (1905). Although his work
achieved wide popularity, Davies lived the life of a recluse. A
collection of his poems with an introduction by Sir Osber Sitwall,
appeared in 1942. His poem “Leisure” is given below:
What is this life if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare? 2
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep or cows, 4
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass 6
No time to see in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night 8
No time to turn at beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance. 10
No time to wait till her mouth can,
Enrich that smile her eyes began 12
A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare. 14

We have analyzed the poem March for you. Now let us

see if you could attempt to enjoy as well appreciate this poem.

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4.2 In the poem March, we noticed that each stanza was
made up of 5 lines. Can you find out how many lines make a
unit (which will be called a couplet) in this poem? The sound at
the end of the lines will give you a clue. We are sure you found
out the care goes with stare; and boughs goes with cows. So we
can say that it is a poem in which the poet has used the pattern
of 2 lines which is called couplet (the word is related to the word
couple meaning 2 persons). Now read the poem and find the
words that sound the as these words.

Boughs

Pass

Light

Glance

Can

4.3 Suggest at least one more word with the same sound
pattern as the words above. For example the words care and
stare have the same sound pattern, but there are other words
such as share, bare, layer, mayor that end with the same
sound.
Boughs

Pass

Light
Glance
Can

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4.4 Theme

Read the poem again and notice how many different kinds of
‘nature’ does he mentions here.

1. Humans

2. _______
3. _______

4. _______
5. _______
In the last poem, we suggested that the poet is writing about
the beauty of the season of change. In the Western countries
winter is very harsh and everything is covered with snow. March
is the month when things in the world come to life again. So the
poet talks about all the rural activities which take place when
the weather changes.
What do you think is the theme of this poem?
Write in your own words here.
..__________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
_________________________

In the poem the poet has used word which express the opposite
ideas. For example, day and night express opposite conditions.
Find the words which express the opposite condition, place or
idea to the words below.

Care

Stand

Daylight

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4.5 Simile

At the beginning of this unit we explained what is a simile. If

you turn to previous pages you will read that it is a comparison
of two similar objects or situations. Find one simile used in this
poem and write it here.

4.6 Paraphrase
Line 1-2:
This life of ours is no good because we have to bother
too much and we are so busy that we have no time to
stand for a while and see around us.
Line 3-4:
The busy life does not give us time to stand under
boughs of trees to see upto the grazing sheep or cows.
Line 5-6:
We have no time to see the woods (jungle) we are
passing through and have a look at squirrels who are
storing their food in grass.

Line 7-8:
We have no time to have a view of the board daylight
and the streams which are full of stars made up of
reflection of sun. These appear like skies full of stars
at night.
Line 9-10:

We have no time to have a look of beautiful lady and

watch her feet dancing.
Line 11-12:
We have no time to wait and see the expected
charming smile of her mouth initialed from her eyes.

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Line 13-14:

Indeed our life is poor, as it is full of cares and does

not give us time to stand and stare.

4.7 Critical appreciation

The poet has beautifully drawn the picture of today’s life
which is full of care and man has become so busy that he has no
time to stand and see around him. The poet has counted
numerous activities of life which are overlooked as we have no
leisure time.

The poet has used couplets for expression of his feelings

to create effect. Each couplet has single idea which is linked
with the other. The poem presents good example of rhythm and
rhyme. The style is highly imaginative. The poet has strong
desire for leisure which is essential for human life.

5. TEXTUAL STUDY

5.1 Drive The Nail Aright (Anonymous)

Drive the nail aright boys
Hit it on the head;
Strike with all your might boys,
While the iron is red.
When you have work to do boys,
Do it with a will;
They who reach the top boys,
First must climb the hill.
Standing at the foot boys,
Looking at the sky;
How can you get up boys,
If you never try?

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 Though you stumble oft, boys,
Never be downcast;
Try and try again boys,
You will win at last.
Drive the nail aright boys,
Hit it on the head;
Strike with all your might boys,
While the iron is red.
(Note: A poem whose writer is not known or given is
called anonymous).

5.2 Notes

Aright in the right way

Might power, strength

Will determination, inclination
At the foot at the bottom
Stumble takes a false step, come near to
falling, lapse into wrong doing.

Oft often, many times

Down cast dejected

5.3 Stanza pattern

The poem consists of five stanzas each of four lines.

5.4 Rhyme and rhythm

The poem has a set rhyme pattern. Boys (line 1) rhymes
with boys (line 3), and head (line 2) rhymes with red (line 4).
The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is therefore abab.

The rhyme scheme of other stanzas is as below:

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Stanza 2 acac

Stanza 3 adad
Stanza 4 aeae

Stanza 5 abab

There is regular rise and fall (rhythm) in each line of the

poem. The division of line into a number of regular unites or feet
(metre) is even and equal. The poem, therefore, creates a great
musical effect.

5.5 Theme

The poet wants to convey his message to the younger

generation that they should avail every possible opportunity at
the right time and never be discouraged.

5.6 Paraphrase
Stanza-1:
Drive the nail, boys, in the right way and hit it on the
head. While the iron is hot, you should strike it with
full force.
Stanza-2:
Boys, when you have to do work, do it with
willingness, as those who reach the top, first climb
the hill.
Stanza-3:
If you keep on standing at the bottom only looking at
the sky, you cannot reach the top.
Stranza-4:

Although many times you face problems, never by

disappointed. Keep on trying and at last you will win.

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Stanza-5:

Drive the nail, boys, in the right way and hit it on the
head. While the iron is hot, you should strike it with
full force.

5.7 Critical appreciation

In this poem the poet has stressed the younger

generation to make best use of the time and avail every
possible opportunity at proper time. He has given a note of
encouragement to boys and has advised them to do consistent
effort which is kenote to success. The poet emphasises the
youth to work with determination. Only standing at the bottom
and looking upto sky does not make one climb, unless he tries.
He says the boys not to be discouraged whatsoever obstructions
come on the way. The poet urges the youth to continue their
efforts till the achievement of goal.
The poem creates strong musical effect because of its
highly rhythmic pattern. The appropriate use of words,
arrangement of ideas and the style of composition strengthens
the expression of the poet to convey his message.

5.8 Self-assessment questions-1

1. Which one word points out to the central idea of stanza-2

(line 5 to 8)?
2. What is the relationship of foot’ (line 9) with sky (line
10)?
3. What figure of speech is used in ‘Drive the Nail Aright
Boys’?
4. A number of passions such as given below have been
expressed in lines 13-16. Write against each the word or
phrase, from these lines which indicates these feelings.

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a. Courage

b. Consistent effort

c. Hope

d. Disgusted

e. Anger

f. Pleasure

5. What does the following mean as used in the poem?

a. Drive The Nail Aright
b. While the iron’s red

c. They who reach the top

d. Strike with all your might

e. How can you get up
f. Though you stumble oft

g. Never be downcast
h. Hit it on the head

6. What is the theme of the poem?

7. What message the poet wants to give and whom?

8. As the poet says, who is the winner in the end?
9. Why do you like this poem?
10. Looking at the style of the poem, which mood the poet
wants to create?

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 6. TEXTUAL STUDY

6.1 ‘DEEDS OF KINDNESS’

by
Fanny Van Alstyne

Suppose the little cowslip

Should hand its golden cup,

And say, “I am such a tiny flower,

I’d better not grow up!” 4
How many a weary traveller

Would miss its fragrant smell,

How many a little child would grieve
To miss it from the dell! 8

Suppose the glistening dewdrop

Upon the grass should say,
“What can a little dewdrop do?
I’d better roll away!” 12
The blade on which it rested,

Before the day was done,

Without a drop to moisten it,
Would wither in the sun! 16
Suppose the little breezes,
Upon a summer’s day

Should think themselves too small to cool

The traveller on his way! 20
Would we not miss the smallest

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 And softest ones that blow,

And think they made a great mistake,

If they were talking so? 24

How many deeds of kindness

A little child may do,

Although it has so little strength,

And little wisdom too! 28

It wants a loving spirit
Much more than strenth, to prove

How many things a child may do

For others by its love! 32

6.2 Notes

Cowslip — a wild flower of yellow colour, as well

as the plant on which it grows.
Golden cup — the flower is yellow in colour and is
shaped like a round, hollow cup. The
poet therefore calls the flower ‘golden
cup ‘hand its golden cup’ ‘means to
refuse to grow its flowers.
Weary — tired
Fragrant — sweet smelling

Grieve — feel sad and unhappy

Miss — to regret the absence of something
Dell — small valley or low ground
Glistening — shining; sparkling

Roll away — warm up

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 Moisten — make slightly wet

Wither — become dry; fade; die

Wants — requires, needs. The whole stanza
means that a child does not require
strength of body to show love and
kindness to others. He only needs
to have a loving nature.

6.3 Theme

The poet is trying to say that even small deeds of

kindness leave significant impact on our life. If we consider such
acts too little and ignore them, we will miss something great.
The blossom of a flower, the small beautiful dew drop and the
love of a child, and his small innocent deeds of kindness are
humble part of significant deeds. Such things need attention and
should not be overlooked.

6.4 Paraphrase
Stanza-1:

If a little cowslip thinks that it is too small a flower

and better should not grow up, it will deprive the
tired traveller from sweet smell and small children
will feel sad by not finding it in the valley.
Stanza-2:
If a shining dew drop on the grass says it is too little
to do anything and should better roll away and move
out, the blade of the grass whom it made wet would
dry in the sun.
Stanza-3:

If little breezes on a summer day think they are too

small to cool the traveller on his way, we will miss
the little coolness and would face hardship of a hot

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 day and feel that small and soft breezes made a
mistake by not contributing even their insignificant
share.
Stanza-4:

A child can do many acts of kindness, though he has

little strength and little wisdom. There is need of a
loving spirit of child, more than its strength, to prove
that he can do so many things for others by its love.

6.5 Critical appreciation

The poet is talking about the value of small but kind

deeds that make a difference in our lives. Kindness and
goodness are abstract ideas. However, the poet makes the ideas
clear to us by giving examples from nature.
There are a total of 32 lines in this poem; can you read
the poem and decide how many lines make a stanza here? The
best clue is the topic.

1. The first topic is the cowslip

2.

3.

4.

Yes you guessed it right. There are four topics and each
topic is covered in eight lines. The second topic is the dewdrop,
third the breeze and the last one being the acts of kindness.
Cowslip is a foreign flower for us. Give example of a local
flower which may grow in your area without proper plantation or
care. Talk with your classmates how much you notice it and why
would you miss it if it was not there.
Lines 9 to 16 describe a tiny dewdrop. Now this is part of
universal nature. We also enjoy seeing the dewdrop early in the

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morning. Let us think for the words that the dewdrop can be
compared to. We can say:
As bright as_________________

As precious as_______________

Lines 17 to 24 describes the breeze ‘upon a summer’s

day,

What other words can you think which mean breeze

1_________
2_________

What is the difference between the breeze and the

hurricane? Look it up in the dictionary. In our country, we can
easily appreciate them.

6.6 Self-Assessment Questions-2

1. If we talk about the subject, what is common in stanza 1
and 2?
2. What role can a tiny flower play?

3. Why is a little dewdrop important?

4. What does ‘ones’ stands for in line 22?

5. In line 24 ‘if they were talking so’, who is talking to

whom?
6. What figure of speech is used in the line ‘if they were
talking so’?
7. What is the link between stanza 3 and 4?
8. Why do you like this poem?
9. In which broad form of poetry i.e. descriptive or narrative
would you place this poem?

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10. What effect do the little breezes have on summer’s day?
(Refer line 17-18).

Answers to Self Assessment Questions

SAQ-1
1. Will

2. ‘Foot’ refers to the lowest and ‘sky’ has been used for the
highest.
3. Metaphor

4. Courage never be down cast

Consistent effort try and try again

Hope will win

Disgusted downcast

Anger stumble
Pleasure win at last
5. a. Initiate the work in the right direction
b. When there is the right time, avail the opportunity.

c. Those who reach the high ranks or top position in

life.

d. Hit the target with full force; make the best use of
available chance.
e. How can you reach the heights in rank, position of
authority?
f. Although you are often obstructed on the way;
though many a time you face problems.
g. Never be discouraged.

h. Strike at proper place to avoid missing.

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6. The theme of the poem is that the youth should try
constantly without fear of defeat and should avail chances
to best of their ability so as to achieve victory in life.

7. The poet wants to convey the message that the youth

should work in the right direction and should try again
and again to achieve success. The message is directed to
the youth.
8. One who puts in constant effort and tries again and again.
9. Because it gives courage to work hard for success.

10. The poet has used simple language and has been
successful in conveying his message to whom it is
directed. The rhythm and set rhyming pattern are helpful
in creating effect. The words are persuasive and ideas are
well arranged. The poem has not been loaded with
unfamiliar poetic tricks. The poet has succeed in
motivating the youth to work hard to achieve their goal in
life.

SAQ-2

1. Cowslip and dewdrop are very small things.

2. A tiny flower can provide soothing and refreshing
effect to a tired traveller and can give fragrant smell to
a little child.
3. A little dewdrop is important because without it the
blade of grass would dry in the sunshine and greenery
would disappear. A dew drop plays very significant
role to keep the terraces green and to provide lively
atmosphere to mankind.
4. Little breezes.

5. The little breezes are talking to themselves.

6. Personification.

739
 7. Thinking of too small of themselves.

8. It is a good poem to be liked by all, because the poet

has stressed that even the small deeds of kindness
have their place and we should not overlook them
because of their mini size or little role they play.
9. This is a descriptive poem, because the poet is
describing about the deeds of kindness small things
present.
10. They have cooling effect.

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Foester, N. (1962): American Poetry and Prose, Houghton Mifflin

Company, Boston.

Jones, E. D. (1963): English Critical Essays (nineteenth

century), Oxford University Press, London.

MeNamee, Maurice B, Gromin, Jame E, Rogers, Joseph A:

Literary and Themes, (second edition), Holt, Rinehart and
Winston Tnc, New YTork.

Teaching Literature Overseas. Language Based Approaches,

Pergamon Press, Oxford, (1983)

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Volume III, 15th

Edition, (9174): Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, USA.

Wheeler, P. M. and Walshe, R. D. (1971): The Students Guide to

Mastering English, A.H. and A.W. Reed, Sydney.

Punjab Text Book Board (2004): English Textbook for class ix &
x. Lahore: Author.

740
Unit – 17

TEXTUAL STUDY AND CRITICAL

APPRECIATION - II

Written By:
Professor Muhammad Ismail Bhatti

Revised By:
Professor Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (second) By:

Mrs. Raazia Waseem
742
 INTRODUCTION
You have read Unit 16 in which we critically examined 4
poems. So by now you have a fairly good idea how to introduce
a new poem in the class and how to appreciate it critically.

You must have noticed that we seem to move from the

outward to inward. First we look at the visible features such as
length of the poem and lines; the kind of groups that lines make
(if 2 lines end with the similar sound words to a complete). Then
we look at the rhyme scheme in the lines. After this we study
the difficult words so that the meaning is clear to the students.
Next we start looking at the poets use of language. What kind of
techniques the poet is using to create an effect in his poem. We
also tried to put words in groups for example all the words
referring to animals or parts of nature such as mountains
breeze, valley, river etc.
The purpose of such analysis is to divide a huge piece into
bite size pieces so that the students may be able to digest them
easily.

OBJECTIVES

After reading the unit, you will be able to:

 Pick different grammatical structures in poetry

 Find examples of imaginary figures of speech, rhyme

scheme
 Analyze parts to understand the whole
 More practice

743
744
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. True Love 747

2. The Sands of Dee 751

3. Youssouf 757

7. Bibliography 762

745
746
 1. TRUE LOVE

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove;
0 no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks;
But bears it out ev’n to the edge of doom:

If this be error, and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
William Shakespeare

1. “True Love” is a beautiful sonnet by the great English

dramatist and poet, William Shakespeare (1564-1616). A
sonnest is poem of fourteen lines. Shakespeare’s sonnet
consists of three quartrains followed by a couplet.

2. The main theme of the poem is the unchangeable and

permanent character of love. Love, as presented in this
poem, is indestructible, unfathomable. The poem opens
with a declaration or a statement of intention. The poet
announces that he will not stand in the way of true love
of “the marriage of true minds”. He firmly states that true
love cannot be bent or altered by any force whatsoever.
Mark the relation between the first part of the statement
with the second.

747
3. The second quartrain highlights the steadfastness and the
immeasurable value of love. It has a rock-like strength
and star-like light saving people from being lost.

4. In the third quartrain the poet regards love as immortal,

beyond the destructive power of time. Man is mortal and
youth and beauty (rosy lips and cheeks’) will not last.
Long, but love will survive “to the edge of doom”. Here
the permanence of love is compared with the transient
nature of youth and beauty.

In the ending couplet, the poet asserts the

unquestionable truth of what has been said earlier.

1.1 Exercise-1
What do the following words or phrases imply?
Indicate with the sign.

i. ‘Impediments’ ii. ‘Alteration’

a. Hurdles a. Changing force
b. Objections b. Compulsion to change

iii. ‘Ever-fixed mark’ iv. ‘Tempests’

a. Permanentpoint a. Storms
b. Unchanging thing b. Adversities

v. ‘Time’s fool vi. ‘Bears it out’

a. Deceived by time a. Tolerates it
b. Helpless before time b. Transcends it

vii. ‘To the edge of doom’

a. Upon the last day
b. Forever.

748
1.2 Exercise-2
Metaphor and simile are the two most common figures of
speech found in poetry. Metaphor is a figure of speech in which
one thing is described in terms of another. The comparison is
implicit. For example, “love is an ever-fixed mark”. Here love
and un–changing thing or spot have been favourably compared.

Simile: A figure of speech of which a direct comparison

between two different things is made and indicated by the
words ‘like’ or ‘as’. For example, ‘O my love’s like a red, red
rose’

Mention the metaphors used in this poem.

a. ________________
b. ________________
c. ________________
d. ________________

1.3 Exercise-3
a. Arrange in pairs the words that rhyme:
minds, mark, removed, proved, finds, bark.

1.4 Exercise-4

Indicate whether the following images are:

a. Visual (pertaining to the eye)
b. Tactile (touch), or
c. Abstract (conceptual)
or are mixed ones:
Visual Tactile Abstract
i. bends
ii. ever-fixed mark
iii. wandering bark

749
 iv. rosy lips and cheeks
v. bending sickle’s compass
vi. to the edge of doom

1.5 Exercise-5
In each of the 3 stanzas the poet mentions at least one
quality of love. We have given you a choice of words, select one
word which best suits each stanza.

Stanza-1: a. Inflexible
b. unchanging
c. alterable
d. true.

Stanza-2: a. powerful
b. immovable
c. guiding light
d beautiful
Stanza-3: a. immortal
b. long-lasting
c. strong
d. inflexible

1.6 Exercise-6

Read the poem carefully and complete the following

sentences in your own words:

a. True love does not alter when it ______________

b. Love is the star ______________
c. Although youth and beauty are short-lived __________

d. Love does not change with time but lasts ___________

750
1.7. Exercise-7

a. Do you think the poet uses the word ‘love’ in two different
senses in ‘love is not love’?
b. What is the function of love as mentioned in the last
verses of stanza-2?
c. In stanza-3 the poet relates time, and love. What is the
nature of this relationship?
d. Explain the nature of the conclusion drawn by the poet in
the final couplet.

2. THE SANDS OF DEE

O Mary, go and call the cattle home, 1
And call the cattle home,
And call the cattle home,
Across the sands of dee’;
The western wind was wild and dank with foam,
And all alone went she. 6

The western tied crept up along the sand, 7

And o’er and o’er the sand,
And round and round the sand,
As far as eye could see. 10

The rooling mist came down and hid the land: 11

And never home came she
“Oh! is it weed, or fish or floating hair
A tress of golden hair,
A drowned maiden's hair
Above the nets at sea?” 16

Was never salmon yet that shone so fair 17

Among the stakes on dee’.
They rowed her in across the rolling foam,

751
 The cruel crawling foam.
The cruel hungry foam,
To her grave besides the sea!
But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home
Across the sands of dee. 24
C. Kingsley

1. This poem is different from the whole group discussed in

this unit. It tells the pathetic story of Mary’s death by
drowning. The song-like easy flow of verse and the
varying rhythm intensify the effect of tragedy.

2. Thr rural setting marked by the traditional way of life is in

harmony with the sentiments expressed in the poem. The
repetitions in the second and third lines of each stanza
produce a deep effect. The poet adopts an informal and
spontaneous tone. The choice of simple language is
deliberate and is appropriate to the total atmosphere
created in the poem.

3. In the first stanza, the reader is told about the task for
which Mary was sent. The fury of the weather (the wild
western wind) and fury of the seatides, indicated by
‘foam’ prepare the reader’s mind for the impending
tragedy, which is mentioned in the second stanza.

4. The pathetic death of Mary is movingly described in the

third stanza:
“O! is it weed or firsh, or floating hair …
A tress of golden hair,
A drowned maiden's hair
Above the nets at sea?"
The information in the stanza is supposed to have been
given by someone (see the use of inverted commas). The device
enhanced the gravity of the event. The impression of
uncertainty gives way to definite knowledge of the child’s

752
identity. It is Mary’s dead body not fish which is floating on
water.
The last stanza gives us a new element: the presence of
Mary’s voice after death “Across the sands of dee”.

2.1 Exercise-8

i. In stanza-1, second and third lines are repeated.

(Repetition is a poetic device used to heighten effect and
to serve as a unifying element in poetry.) What effect is
desired to be heightened by the poet?

The speaker
a. Request Mary to hurry up _______
b. Urges her to hurry up __________
ii. What kind of atmosphere has the poet created in the 5th
and 6th lines of stanza-1?
a. Beautiful ___________
b. Dangerous __________

iii. At the end of second stanza the poet says:

“And never home came she”.
The first five lines provide the answer.
Was it because Mary
a. lost her way?
b. got drowned?

iv. What is the function of the second and third verses?

a. To produce a musical effect.

b. To create frightening effect.

753
v. What three objects have been compared in stanza-3, and
why?
a. They look alike.
b. they are connected.

vi. Why did they row her “across the rolling foam”?

a. Because she was helpless.

b. Dead.

vii. What did the last two verses suggest?

2.2 Exercise-9
There is a strong element of:
i. Alliteration in the whole poem. (Alliteration is a figure of
speech in which consonants, especially at the beginning
words, or stressed syllables, are repreated e.g. call,
cattle.)
What consonant sounds have been repeated in the
first stanza?

ii. What do the 'nets' and 'stakes suggest in stanza-3’?

iii. What is the grammatical function of ‘Oh’ in stanza three?
a. To invite attention
b. To express astonishment
c. To give information
iv. The three phrases ‘the rolling foam’; ‘the cruel crawling
foam’; ‘the cruel hungry foam' suggest three attributes of
the tide.
What do they imply respectively.
a. ‘The rolling foam’.
b. ‘The cruel crawling foam’.
c. ‘The cruel hungry foam.

754
2.3 Exercise-10

Ellipsis
(A device where a word or several words are left out in
order to achieve more compact expression.)

i. Read stanza-4 closely and tell in which places some words

have been dropped. Re-write the whole in prose, using
the original words of the poet.
ii. Inversion (change in word order) in which lines of
stanzas-1 and 2, does it occur?

2.4 Exercise-11
The poem is full of powerful imagery. (Imagery is a
general term which covers the use of language to represent
objects of feelings, thoughts, states of minds and any sensory
or extrasensory experience. An image may be visual (pertaining
to the eye), tactile (touch), auditory (hearing), abstract or
conceptual or kinesthetic (sense of movement). Mention the
nature of the following images, indicating with a mark the actual
category of each one:
i. (The western wind was) ‘dark with foam’:
a. Visual
b. Tactile
c. Conceptual
ii. ‘The rolling mist’
a. Visual
b. Tactile
c. Conceptual
d. Auditory
e. Kinesthetic (motion)

755
iii. ‘The rolling foam’
a. Visual
b. Tactile
c. Kinesthetic
iv. ‘The cruel hungry foam’
a. Visual
b. Kinesthetic
c. Tactile
d. Conceptual

2.5 Exercise-12

i. What information has been provided about ‘Mary’, in

a. Stanza-1
b. Stanza-2

ii. a. What information about Mary does the poet give in

the first line of stanza-3?
b. What does the poet suggest by comparing Mary's
dead body with Salmon?
c. What feelings does the poet intend to produce by
the first four verses of stanza-3?
iii. The poem is a dirge' or song of lament and creates
feelings of pity and sympathy for the poor girl swallowed
by the cruel tides of the sea. What is the function of the
last two lines?
“But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle
home; Across the sands of Dee”.

756
 3. YUSSOUF
A stranger came one night to Yussouf’s tent,
Saying, Behold one outcast and in dread,
Against whose life the bow of power is bent,
Who flies, and hath not where to lay his head;
I come to thee for shelter and for food,
To Yussouf, called through all our tribes “The Good”.

This tent is mine, ‘said Yussouf’, but no more

Than it is God's; come in, and be at peace;
Freely shalt thou partake of all my store,
As I of His who buildeth over these
Our tents his glorious roof of night and day,
And at whose door none ever yet had “Nay”.

So Yussouf entertained his guest that night,

and, waking him ere day, said, here is gold;
My swiftest horse is saddled for thy flight;
Depart before the prying day grows bold’.
As one lamp lights another, nor grows less
So nobleness enkindleth nobleness.
That inward light the stranger's face made grand,
Which shines from all self-conquest, Kneeling low.
He bowed his forehead upon Yussouf’s hand,
Sobbing, O’ Shaikh I cannot leave thee so;
I will repay thee; all this thou hast done
Into that Ibrahim who slew thy son!
“Take thrice the gold, 'said Yussouf; for with thee
Into the desert, never to return,
My one black thought shall ride away from me.
First-born, for whom by day and night I yearn,
Balanced and just are all of God's decrees;
Thou art avenged, my first-born, sleep in peace!”
J. R. Lowell

757
1. “Yussouf” is written in the form of story with a situation
containing an element of suspense. A stranger, who had
earlier killed Yussouf’s son, is closed by his enemies and
begs for refuge in his tent for a night. When he is about
to leave next morning, Yussouf gave him gold and a swift
horse for escape. By this time the reader hasn’t the
slightest idea of, who the stranger is. Moved by Yussouf's
hospitality and generosity, he discloses his identity as the
murderer of his son and begs for revenge. The large
hearted and noble Yussouf overcomes one black thought
(of revenge) and gives him more gold, bidding him to
leave at once and never to return.
2. In the last three verses, the poet communicates the
profound message of the poem. The noble Yussouf
accepts the death of his son as God's will and forgives his
enemy. Yussouf is presented in poem as an exemplary
person who believes in noble deeds and has conquered all
low impulses. He is held up as a moral ideal. The poet has
throughout the poem recorded tense feelings and
profound reactions very accurately.

3.1 Exercise-13
Mark with a tick the correct meaning of the following:
i. ‘A stranger’
a. A strange person
b. A person unknown to Yussouf

ii. ‘Outcast’
a. Friendless
b. Vagabond

758
iii. ‘In dread’
a. In danger
b. In great fear

iv. ‘The bow of power’

a. The force opposed to him
b. Enemy

v. ‘Who flies’
a. Who leaves
b. Who runs away

vi. ‘To lay his head’

a. To have shelter
b. To rest

vii. ‘Be at peace’

a. Be comfortable
b. Be peaceful

viii. ‘My store’

a. My stock of provisions
b. My storing place

ix. ‘Glorious roof’

a. Beautiful roof
b. The sky

x. ‘The prying day grows bold’

a. It is broad daylight
b. The day begins to inquire boldly

759
xi. ‘One black thought’
a. Bad thought
b. Thought of revenge

xii. ‘God’s decrees’

a. God’s will
b. God’s judgment

3.2 Exercise-14
a. Re-arrange the following words in rhyming pairs:
tent, gold, night, bent, dread, good flight, hold.

3.3 Exercise-15
There is ‘ellipsis’ in the lines given below.

Rewrite the lines in prose supplying the missing words, as

you guess.
A stranger came one night to Yussouf's tent
Saying, 'Behold one outcast and in dread;
Against whose life the bow of power is bent,
Who flies, and hath not where to lay his head.

Fist born, for whom by day and night I yearn,

Balanced and just are all of God’s decrees;
Thou art avenged, my first born, sleep in peace:

3.4 Exercise–16
Complete the following statement after consulting the
relevant stanza:
i. A stranger came to Yussouf’s tent and begged for shelter
and food because he ___________.
ii. Yussouf told the stranger that this tent is mine … but no
more than ____________ .

760
iii. In the morning Yussouf gave the stranger ________ and
_________ for his flight.
iv. The stranger was moved by Yussouf’s kindness and
informed him that he had killed __________.

v. The name of the stranger was ___________.

vi. Yussouf forgives the strange because _____________.

3.5 Exercise–17
The language of poetry is figurative and metaphorical,
while the language of prose is almost literal. Rewrite the poem
in a dialogue form in simple English between Yussouf and the
stranger.

761
 4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bright, J. A. & McGregor, G. P (1982): Teaching English as a
Second Language, Longman Limited.

Brumfitt C. J: Teaching Literature Overseas, the British Council,

London.

Burton, S. H: The criticism of Poetry, Longman.

Coombes, H (1975): Literature and Criticism, Penguin Books,.

Cox, C. B. & Dyson, A. E: The Practical Criticism of Poetry;

Edward Arnold Limited, London.

Drew, Elizabeth: Poetry, Pan Books Limited.

Gurrey, P (1951): The Appreciation of Poetry, Oxford University

Press.

Lee, C. I: Oral Interpretation, Houghton, Mifflin Co., Boston.

Reeves, J.: Understanding Poetry; Pan Books Limited, London.

Reeves, J. (1978): The Critical Sense, Heinemann Educational

Books. London.

Reichert, John (1977): Making Sense of Literature, The

University of Chicago Press.

Vallins, G. H: The Best English, Pan Books Limited, London.

Warren, R. P. & Brooks, Cleanth: Understanding Poetry.

762
Unit – 18

TEXT AND RELATED EXERCISES

Written By:
Dr. Mrs. Mussarat Anwar Sheikh

Revised By:
Professor Mian Muhammad Afzal

Revised (second) By:

Mrs. Raazia Waseem
764
 INTRODUCTION
Both from the language learning and examination point of
view, the most important assignment of a language teacher is
“Teaching the text”. Textbooks are set according to an accepted
norm at the national level, while the schools, where the texts
are taught do not keep any such norm for promoting students to
higher grades. The task of teaching text depends upon the
ingenuity of the teacher.
If the teacher is innovative and can devise methods for
motivating students, he/she is expected to perform the job most
successfully.

In this unit some invovative ways of teaching text have

been explained. You can devise many other ways on the same
pattern.

OBJECTIVES
After reading the unit you will be able to:
 Retrieve information stated in the text.
 Deduce meaning and use of unknown words.

 Skim to obtain the gist.

 Understand the meaning and implications of
grammatical structures and related exercises
following the text.
 Make pre-reading and post-reading exercises
stimulating and interesting for the students.
 Recognize the functions of sentences even when not
introduced by discourse markers, e.g. definition,
paraphrase, conclusion, warning.

765
766
 CONTENTS

Page No
1. Reading the text 769

2. Text–I: The Quaid said 772

3. Text-II: The Giant Leap 779

4. Bibliography 789

767
768
 1. READING THE TEXT

1.1 Introduction
An introduction in the form of a teacher monologue is less
likely to motivate the students than the one in which you
involve your students in a discussion. You will see that an
introduction which poses questions is more likely to make your
students want to read. This approach definitely arouses interest
than the one in which all the answers are given or story
summary provided. When you provide everything ready for the
students, then they do not see any point in reading for
themselves.
But at times, there will be difficult text. With such a text
you will have to help your students through adopting the
following points:

 More background information.

 Pre-teach key words the day before.
 Divide text into short chunks.
 Sign post-question for main points.
 Ask easy questions.
 Paraphrase difficult ideas.
 Set easy tasks like matching questions and
answers.
 Praise and encouragement.

1.2 Writing and reading

Alongwith reading, you have to develop the writing skills
of the students. Reading and writing reinforce each other. You
should see that the writing exercise is not liked by your
students. Make the writing exercise also as interesting as
possible. Before students write, make sure that they:

769
  can say it
 can read it
 can understand it
 know what you want them to do
 know why they are doing it

In order to develop in your students the urge to read,

you have to arouse their interests, involve them, devise
activities, exercises for testing their comprehension and
application of knowledge. The exercises should be confined to
the comprehensive question only in order to test their
comprehension skill, you may develop exercises like:
 True and false statements.
 Incomplete sentences.
 Matching items.

1.3 Preparation of exercises

When preparing exercises you should keep the following
points in mind:

 Give clear instructions.

 Have variety in exercises.
 Make use of all the four skills of listening,
speaking, reading and writing.

Furthermore the assimilation of text should extend to

post-reading activities. Activities can be in the form of group
and class projects. The skills of listening, speaking, reading and
writing can further be enhanced by further reading and listening
to cassettes, making speeches, participating in dialogues,
dramas and writing for class magazines, school magazines, class
newsletters, and youth section of newspapers.

770
 So as a language teacher, your task is to make the
teaching of the text interesting, stimulating and challenging for
your students. Make use of a variety of learning exercises and
projects.
Remember: Variety is the spice of life and essence of
“good teaching”

The exercises given here are a fraction of the amount of

work that can be done. Do not let these exercises limit your
innovative ideas. Using these as guidelines, make a
breakthrough in making text exercises enjoyable and worth
doing.

In this unit we will be dealing with the following two

texts:
The Quaid Said
Textbook of English of class-x
The Giant Leap
The format used with these texts is based on the
following structures:

Projects Writing Speaking Listening TV

Group/Class Radio/Cassettes

771
 In order to carry out the different reading skills, group
work is advocated. The groups should be small, of even
numbers so that if you wish to do pairing within groups, you can
do it easily. Moreover, the size of the groups should be
according to the number of students and size of the classroom.
The group arrangements should not hinder your movement to
different groups.
When students are working is groups, you should go
round and supervise the work. Group leader should be told that
if they are not sure of any word’s pronunciation, they should not
hesitate to call you. The groups should have a mix of good and
weak students. The good students can help the weak ones.
After every reading lesson you should write down
comments for evaluating the lesson. These comments should
form the basis of your future lesson.

2. TEXT-I: THE QUAID SAID

2.1 Pre-reading
 Can any one tell me:
 What does Quaid-i-Azam mean?
Any one . . . . The great leader
 Can you quote any saying of the Quaid?

2.2 Reading of text

Introduction: We have heard what our great leader had

to say. Today we have a whole lesson with his different
messages. The lesson is “The Quaid Said”.

Listening:
- Get into groups.
- Choose one person as your group leader.

772
- Group leader, you have to help your group and organize
your group.
- Have a notebook to record your group discussion.
- Open your books on the lesson “The Quaid Said”.
- In your groups read the lesson. Find the difficult words
and in the groups try to find out their meanings.
- If there are words which the groups cannot handle we will
discuss them together.

Reading:

The group members read in groups or the group leader

reads aloud and others listen.

2.3 Comprehension

Para-I:
i. The groups give their difficult vocabulary.
Discussion of the vocabulary and its usage.
e.g. mould (cast), deliverance (act of freeing), honour
(respect), grasp (hold), proportion (ratio), forth
(forward), glory (honour).
ii. We celebrate March 23, 1940 because on this day:
a. Pakistan Resolution was passed.
b. Allama Iqbal was born.
c. All India Muslim League was formed.
iii. Grammar: Encircle the words in column II which are
similar in meaning to column-I:

Column-I Column-II

deliverance rescue, safety

destiny fate, power
ensure definite, certain, doubtful
honour reputation, prestige
solid hard, strong

773
victory success
grasp With, reach, hold with hand

Writing:
Write a paragraph about Minar-e-Pakistan:
Hints: Location
Height
Design
Messages written
Why erected?

Speaking:
i. A dialogue on the celebration of Pakistan Day. (Let two
students from each group have a dialogue for Pakistan
Day celebrations in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi.)
Karachi Qaid's Tomb
Flag hoisting
March Past
Wreath and Fatehah
People paying homage to the Quaid
Lahore Allama Iqbal’s Tomb
Guard changing
Wreath and Fatehah
Badshahi Mosque
Minar-e-Pakistan

Rawalpindi March Past in the Race Course Ground

The three armed forces parade
Audience
Exhibition
ii. Discussion on what is the message of first para.

774
2.4 Reading/listening

Para-2:
i. The group leaders read para-2 aloud in the groups and
the group members listen.
ii. The groups discuss the difficult vocabulary among
themselves. The vocabulary which they can not handle is
written on the blackboard by the teacher. The teacher has
to give examples to explain the meaning and usage of the
vocabulary.
iii. Fill in the blanks:
In May 1944 Quaid-e-Azam was __________ years old.

Match the words similar in meaning from column A with

column B:
Column A Column B
youthful barriers
untiring enemies
tremendously tirelessly
opponents inspiration
obligatory extraordinarily
obstruction legally
young age
compulsory

Speaking:
i. Group leaders to make a speech on what students should
do for Pakistan. Quaid-e-Azam’s advice should guide the
leaders in making the speech. Group members to give
help with speech preparation.
ii. Discussion on what is the message of 4th paragraph.

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2.5 Activity
Listen to the cassette tape of Quaid-e-Azam’s message to
students and in groups discuss your role as a student.

Comprehension:
i. Sindhis, Punjabis, Pathan, Baluchi, are all.
ii. All the four provinces make our—land.

Speaking:
i. Let two pairs of students have a dialogue of 3 minutes
each on “our land and agricultural products of Pakistan”.
Let each pair come in turn before the whole class. Good
performance may be applaused, by point system.
ii. Discussion on the message of the para.

Writing:
Write paragraph on the qualities of a good Pakistani.

2.6 Reading listening (para-4)

Group leaders read the para and group members follow it
in their books.

Comprehension:
Fill in the blanks (choose the right word):
The duties required of you are: develop a sound ______
of ________ character _________ and a solid _________
background. You must devote yourself _______ to your
______ for that is your first __________ to yourselves,
your parents, and to the _________.

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Speaking:

i. Each group to contribute one sentence each for the topic:

“How to make Pakistan strong?” Each member to read
his/her sentence aloud. Best sentence to be appreciated.

ii. Discussion of the message of the para.

Writing:
How to make a strong Pakistan?

2.7 Post—Reading Exercises and Activities

Listening:
Group 1 to listen to a cassette of Quaid’s messages and
pick out any item which has been covered in the
textbook.

Writing:
Group II to write the items not covered in the book.

Class project
Group III make a chart on the important dates in Quaid's
life. Make a chart of the important buildings related to
Quaid-i-Azam. Group IV make a list of meetings of Quaid-
i-Azam and students.
OR
Make one class project on Quaid-i-Azam and his life.

2.8 Hints for exercises of the textbook

a. Comprehension
1. The Great Leader
2. Pakistan Resolution passed
3. A Separate Nation
4. Destroy the Forces Against Pakistan

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 5. Curse
6. Studies
b. Para-2 (ii) 67 years
Para-3: Pakistanis, homeland
Para-4: Sense, initiative, academic, whole heartedly,
studies obligations, state

c. achievements, creation, youthfulness, destruction, advice,

strength, happiness, provincialism, liveliness, political,
socialism, development.

d. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions.

1. for 2. with
3. to 4. to, into
5. up, into, for, up
Choose words in column B which are similar in meaning
with words in column A.

Column A Column B

create make something new

separate apart
fundamental basic
high tall
active energetic
freedom liberty
famous well-known
honour respect

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 3. TEXT-II: THE GIANT LEAP
3.1 Pre-reading
Look at these pictures. Can you differentiate between
these pictures?

What is another name for big?

Huge Giant
Generate the word from the students through discussion.

Picture of frog What is frog jump called

jumping leap

Have you ever played leap frog race?

If we have these two words together, what does it mean?
Giant Leap
Big Jump

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3.2 Reading of text (introduction)
We have the words “Giant Leap”, meaning ‘big jump’. In
our text we have a lesson called “Giant Leap”. Open your books
on the “Giant Leap” lesson. Can anyone tell me by looking at the
picture what the lesson will be about? Likely answers-space,
rocket, astronaut.

Listening:
Get into groups. For today choose a new group leader.
You have the big responsibility of helping your group. So open
your notebook and get started. Start reading the “Giant Leap”.
While reading write down the difficult words. First try and
discuss the words within group. If there are words whose
meanings you could not find, then do let me know. We will write
them on the blackboard and discuss with the whole class.

Reading: (Para-I)
The group leader to read the paragraph loudly and the
group members to follow silently in the book.
Speaking:
Can anyone in the group tell the class what the first paragraph
is about. (Generate answeres by calling out different students.)

Hints:
This para tells us about man's adventures in space. The
first person responsible for this big jump is the American
Astronaut Neil Armstrong. He landed on Moon on July 20, 1969.
His this action is a source of joy for millions of people of the
words. His name will be remembered in man's history for ever.

Writing:
Write answers to the following questions:
1. Who was the first person to land on moon?
Ans. Neil Armstrong, an American Astronaut was the
first man to land on noon.

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 2. Why will Armstrong’s name be remembered in
history?
Ans. Armstrong's name will be remembered for ever
because he succeeded in finding space for man on
moon.

Dictation:
(See words from sheet for paras.)

3.3 Speaking/grammar/vocabulary (para-2)

Through discussion let the students in groups tell the
meaning of the following vocabulary:
astronomer : a person who studies stars
telescope : an instrument
data : information
fanciful : imaginary
strange : funny
creatures : living beings

Comprehension:
Make a list of people mentioned in para-2.

Reading:
Loud reading by group leader
Silent reading by the group members.

Grammar (new vocabulary)

a. Through group discussion elicit from the students the
difficult vocabulary:
technology, industrial arts, orbit,

b. Make new words (nouns) by adding “tion”

create : creation
inform : information
invent : invention

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 explore : exploration
imagine : imagination
select : selection
elect : election
form : formation
administer : administration

3.4 Comprehension writing

Write answers to the following questions:

a. How did telescope help astronomers?

b. How was the V-2 improved to fulfill the required speed of
space travel?

Reading:
Loud reading by group leader.
Silent reading by group members.
Discussion of vocabulary, para-4.

Grammar (New vocabulary)

Para-4: startled
Para-5: manned spacecraft
Para-6: launching pad, historic journey

Match words in column A with words of similar meaning in

column B:

Column A Column B

invention rocket
explore surprised
startled search
spacecraft discovery

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Comprehension:

Complete the blanks in the following sentences:

1. Russians launched Sputnik I in ____________.
2. Sputnik II was carrying dog _____________.
3. Americans launched in ________ in March _________.
4. To escape from the gravity of the earth, the speed should
be ___________ per hour.
5. Russians launched their first spacecraft ________ in April
____.
6. The first Russian man who travelled in space was ______.
7. Vostok VI carried the ________ Russian woman in June
________.
8. The first American man Alan Shepherd was carried by
__________. Capsule in May _______.
9. The NASA lunar programme was called project ________.
10. Apollo project involved the following:
Expenditure ________.
Labour _______.
Manufacturing companies __________.
11. Apollo II took off from __________ launching pad.
12. The project of the capsule was ________ meters.
13. Apollo II took off at ___________.
14. The three American Astronauts on the spacecraft were:
___________ Armstrong
___________ Aldrin
___________ Collins

Speaking:
Para-2: What was the point discussed in: information about
moon through telescopes; information about moon
through imagination of writers.
Para-3: Invention of Garman V-2 rocket. Improvement of V-2
as a result of research and experiment into multistage
rocket with a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour.

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Para–4: Space Race of USA and USSR years 1957, 1958.

Para-5: Continuation of Race -Russians man 1961.

Continuation of American Race -man 1961, woman
1963.

Para-6: NASA Lunar Programme and details of Apollo's

expenditure, people involved in its manufacture, its
launching -place, time, date, with the three Astronauts
(names).

Writing:
Write down all the persons used in this lesson in
paragraph order.
Para-I: Astronauts
American
Commentator
Para-2: Writers
Astronauts
Poets
Scientists

Para-3: Scientists
Para–4: Astronauts
Para-5: Astronauts
Russians
Para-6: Technicians
Technologists
Scientists

Para-7: Write down the different names used for

space vehicles in this lesson, e.g. Lunar
Module, V-2 rocket.
Multi-stage
Satellite

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 Sputnik I
Sputnik II
Vanguard
Vostok I
Freedom 7 capsule
Vostok VI
Apollo II
Capsule

3.5 Grammar (Vocabulary) – para–1

i. Explain the meaning through discussion:

lunar -moon
descending - downward direction
immortal -famous for all times, divine, which can not die
mankind -human beings
Established a Foothold in Space: Found a place in space
ii. An astronaut is a person who travels in space
iii. Encircle the words in column 2 which are opposite in
meaning to column 1:
Column 1 Column 2
immortal mortal
descending uphill, ascending
land leave, take off
lunar solar
surface bottom, at the basement

Writing:
Learn the spelling for dictation:
Correction of spellings to be done in pairs.
Para-1 Para-2 Para-3
attentively powerful invention
excited telescope technology
commentator astronomers exploration

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kilometers information principles
astronauts imagination design
lunar fanciful components
descending features vehicles
immortal scientists possibility
giant technology satellite
mankind gravity
established research
foothold experiments
orbit
Para-4 Para-5 Para-6
launching manned expenditure
sputnik spacecraft labour
startled technologists
aeronautics designer
administration engineers
scientists
manufacturing
companies
thunderous
historic
cooperation

3.6 Hints for exercises of the textbook

A. Comprehension:
1. Neil Armstrong.
2. Find a space for man on moon.
3. Provide useful information and data about moon.
4. The basic design, principles and components of V-2
are the sole operators of V-2 in space.
5. V-2 speed was only 7,200 kilometers per hour
whereas to remain close to the orbit, the required
speed was 29,000 kilometers per hour and to
escape from the gravity of the earth completely by

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 a speed of 40,000 kilometers per hour was
required.
6. First man in space was a Russian, Yuri Gagarin.
7. First woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova.

Comprehension para-3:

a. The astronomers collected a lot of useful

information and data about the moon.
b. Another rocket was mounted on V–2 to make it a
multi-stage rocket over V-2 so that it can achieve
high speed for space.

B. Fill in the blanks

1. 1967
2. Laika
3. Vanguard, 1958
4. 40,000 kilometers
5. Vostok, 1961
6. Yuri Gagarin
7. Valentina Tereshkova, 1963
8. Shepherd, 1961
9. Apollo
10. 7,000 million, 30,000 technicians, 20,000
manufacturing companies
11. Cape Kennedy
12. 11064 meter
13. American time, July, 16
14. Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Michael Collins

C. Correct answers
1.b An astronomer is a scientist who studies stars and
planets.
2.c An astronaut is a traveller in space.

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 3.a An orbit is the path of a planet revolving round the
Sun.
4.a Lunar means pertaining to the moon.
5.c Solar means pertaining to the Sun.

D. Find in list B words similar in meaning to words in list A:

List A List B

1. hush attempt
2. glued imaginary
3. triumph search
4. immortal silent
5. endeavour victory
6. verify fixed
7. data ever lasting
8. fanciful jump
9. leap attest
10. explore information

E. Change voice from passive into active. (Explain that in

the active form ‘by’ is not used):

Passive Active

1. He is not liked by me. I do not like him.

2. Grass is eaten by cow. A cow eats grass.
3. The newspaper is being He is reading the newspaper.
read by him.
4. Why were you beaten by Why did he beat you?
him.
5. Apples were being sold by
He was selling apples.
him.
6. The window was closed by
I closed the window.
me.

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7. This book has been bought He has bought this book.
by him.
8. You will be helped by him in He will help you in the hour of
the hour of need. need.
9. A football match will be We will play a football match
played by us tomorrow. tomorrow.
10.My homework will be I will finish my homework in a
finished by me in a week. week.

3.7 Post-reading/writing
Suppose you are a Pakistani astronaut to land on the
moon. Describe your feelings on your landing.

3.8 Activity

a. Prepare a chart of comparison with dates for USSR and

US Space Race.
b. Abbreviations are used to shorten names. For example
NASA is the abbreviation of National Aeronautics Space
Administration. Can you tell what do these abbreviations
stand for? Write them down:
PIA USA PBC USSR PTV UK BBC

UAE MCC WAPDA CDA DHS DHA

Project: In groups prepare a model of a rocket. Name your

rocket.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Punjab Textbook Board(2004): English Textbook for class IX and
X Lahore:

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