Ect 320 A

ECT 320: INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS (ENGLISH)
COURSE OUTLINE
Purpose
The purpose of this course is to provide student-teachers with the background knowledge of
language teaching and learning in secondary schools.
Expected learning outcomes

By the end of the lesson, learners are expected to:
1. Develop effective language lessons that are integrated with Literature
2. Analyze and use relevant resources for teaching and learning English and Literature
3. Employ effective methods in the teaching of language
4. Present language components to learners.
Course Content
Introduction; Principles of language teaching, English language teaching in Kenya,The 8-4-4
English language syllabus for the integration of English and Literature teaching, The long-term
course objectives; The Teaching of Listening and Speaking Skills,Listening with understanding,.
The Teaching of Grammar: Language as a system (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax,
lexis, semantics and pragmatics), Descriptive and prescriptive, grammar, Fluency and accuracy,
Deep vs surface meaning, The role of grammar in language learning, Linguistic competence vs
communicative competence, Stages in a grammar lesson, Teaching strategies.The Teaching of
Reading Skills, The Teaching of Writing Skills, The Teaching of Vocabulary, Resource Materials,
Testing in English Language,Planning for Language Teaching: Developing scheme of work and
lesson plan
Methods
a. Peer teaching
b. Micro teaching,
c. Group work
d. Class presentations
e. Limited lectures.
Assessment /Award of Degree
Component Weighting
Continuous Assessment Tests and Assignments 30%
End of Semester Examination 70%
Total 100%
REFERENCES
Gathumbi, A. W. &Masembe, C. S. (2005). Principles and techniques in language teaching.
Nairobi: The Jomo KenyattaFoundation.
Recommended texts.
Brown G. and Yule, G. (1983). Discourse analysis. Cambrigde: Cambrigde University Press.
Candline, C.N. (1981). The communicative teaching of English:Principles and an exercise in
typology. London: Longman.
Littlewood, W. (1981). Communicative language teaching. Cambrigde. Cambridge University
Press.
Knowledge Transforms
FORM I - KCSE ENGLISH STUDENT
RESOURCES
* Listening and Speaking for form one
* Grammar for form one
* Reading for form one
* Writing for form one
1.1 Specific Objectives:

1.2 Listening and speaking.
By the end of Form I, the learner should be able to:
a)demonstrate awareness that spelling in English may or may not be related to pronunciation;
b)pronounce correctly sounds they find problematic;
c)respond correctly to oral information on a variety of subjects;
d) communicate correctly, confidently and appropriately
in different contexts; e)Demonstrate acceptable
communication skills;
f) identify the features of ogre and trickster stories, and riddles.
FORM I - LISTENING & SPEAKING (INTRODUCTION)
Since English is a second language, most learners are likely to have problems in listening and speaking.
Although the learners will have been taught in English at primary school level most of them will still
have problems in listening and speaking. There is also quite a lot that they will need to learn to enhance
their mastery of the skills. The teacher should therefore design appropriate diagnostic exercises to
identify the unique problems of the learners.
The teacher should then ensure that appropriate opportunities are provided for the learner to develop
these skills. Reciting poems, telling stories, discussing contemporary issues, debating, dramatizing, role-
playing and speech drills can facilitate the acquisition of these skills.
Oral narratives (trickster and ogre stories) and riddles should primarily be used during speaking and
listening lessons because they provide a natural context for practising these skills. The teacher should
also teach the features of these narratives and riddles.
PRONUNCIATION
i)English sounds: vowel and consonant sounds.
ii) Distinction between English sounds and mother tongue and Kiswahili.
iii) Identification of problematic sounds.
iv) Mastery of problematic sounds in meaningful contexts e.g. through use of tongue twisters, songs
and poems.
FORM I - LISTENING, COMPREHENSION & NOTE-TAKING
i)Listening and responding to oral narratives (trickster and ogre stories) and riddles.
ii) Features of trickster and ogre stories, and riddles.
iii) Listening and responding to information/articles on children’s rights, child labour, environment,
HIV/AIDS and on moral values.
c)Mastery of
Content Debate
d) Etiquette
Use of courteous language e.g. thank you, excuse
me, sorry, please. Non-verbal cues that enhance
listening and speaking
Importance of respecting personal space
2.0 GRAMMAR
2.1.0 Specific Objectives
By the end of Form 1, the learner should be able to:
a)use parts of speech correctly;
b)identify the constituents and the functions of the noun phrase;
c)construct different types of simple sentences.
2.0 INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR
The study of grammar should help the learner communicate clearly and understand accurately and
adequately what is heard and read. Literary and non-literary materials should be used for the purpose of
teaching grammar in context. At this level, emphasis should be placed on the parts of speech, before the
teacher progresses to the noun phrase and then simple sentences. Language games may be used to make
learning interesting.
Clarification of concepts taught, through explanation by the teacher is of paramount importance. To

assess the student’s competence in grammar the teacher may use rewriting exercises, completion
exercises, objective questions, gap-filling exercises and composition writing.
2.3.1 Parts of speech
a)Nouns
1) Common nouns
ii) Proper nouns

iii) Concre
te nouns
count
non-count
iv) Abstract nouns
v) Number
regular and irregular nouns
vi) Articles
definite and indefinite articles
functions of articles
b) Pronouns
i)Personal pronouns
ii) Possessive pronouns
iii) Reflexive pronouns
iv) Functions of pronouns
c)Verbs
i)Lexic
al
regul
ar
irregular verbs
ii) Tenses
simple present
tense simple past
tense
d) Adjectives
i)Comparative and superlative forms
ii) Regular and irregular adjectives
iii) Gradable and non-gradable adjectives

e)Adverbs
Adverbs of manner, time and frequency
f)Prepositions
Simple prepositions e.g. in, of, at
g)Conjunctions
Co-ordinating conjunctions (and, but, or)
2.0 ENGLISH GRAMMAR-PHRASES
Constituents and examples of the noun phrase
2.3.3 Simple sentences
i)Sentence structure (subject, predicate)
ii) Types of
sentences
interrogative
imperative
exclamatory
declarative/affirmative negative
3.0 READING
3.1 Specific Objectives
i) read efficiently and
fluently i use the
dictionary effectively
iii use the library
effectively
iv) enjoy reading literary and non-literary materials
v trace the sequence of events in selected plays and
short stones vi demonstrate appropriate
comprehension skills
vii) build a wide range of vocabulary
viii) demonstrate awareness of contemporary issues

3.2 Introduction
A good foundation of reading should be laid in Form One. This is because reading is a very important
component of language learning. It will also help in the study of other subjects.
Intensive reading should help form a foundation for the study of literary texts. However, the learner should
also be encouraged to read for pleasure.
3.0 READING SKILLS
3.2 Introduction
a)Reading Skills
i)Identification of the learner’s reading problems in silent reading e.g. moving lips, verbalizing words,
use of fingers and moving the head.
ii) Development of good reading habits in:
* Silent reading
* Reading aloud
* Speed reading
iii) Using a dictionary
iv) Using the library
b)Intensive Reading
i)Study of poems, plays and short stories.
ii) Focus on plot and literary language.
c)Extensive Reading
i)Literary and non-literary materials on contemporary issues such as:
- children’s rights
- child labour
- environment
- HI V/AIDs
- moral values
ii) Adventure stories
iii) Fairy tales

iv) Poems
v) Plays
vi) Novels
vii) Short stories
viii) Newspapers/Magazines! Periodicals.
3.0 READING - COMPREHENSION SKILLS
i)Recall, comprehension and application
ii) Summary and note-making
4.1 WRITING
a) write legibly and neatly;
b) apply spelling rules correctly;
c) use punctuation marks correctly;
d) write clear and correct sentences, and organize ideas in a logical sequence;
e) use appropriate register and format for a variety of writing tasks; and
f) take and make intelligible notes.
4.3 Introduction
The skill of writing should be introduced through diagnostic tasks. This will help in the identification of
the learner’s problems and weaknesses. Using these results the learner should be facilitated to develop
the skill of writing.
Use of pictures and group discussion could be used as pre writing activities. This would enhance the
learner’s listening and speaking skills and at the same time help them generate ideas for writing. Class
readers should also be used to enhance writing skills. For example a class reader may be used to teach
literary appreciation and at the same time to generate writing tasks.
Focus should be on providing the learner with immediate, meaningful and supportive feedback.
4.0 HANDWRITING
Legibility and
tidiness Spelling
rules
c) Building sentence skills and paragraphing
i)Writing clear and correct sentences.
ii) Structure of the
paragraph. topic
sentences
supporting
sentences
clincher
sentences
sequencing of
ideas unity in
paragraphs
4.0 BUILDING SENTENCES & PARAGRAPHING
i)Writing clear and correct sentences.
ii) Structure of the
paragraph. topic
sentences
supporting
sentences
clincher
sentences
sequencing of
ideas unity in
paragraphs
4.0 WRITING PUNCTUATION
* Capitalization
* Final punctuation marks
* Commas
e) Personal writing
i)Diaries
ii) Addresses
iii) Packing lists

4.0 SOCIAL WRITING
Informal letters
g) Study Writing
i)Making notes
ii) Taking notes
h)Creative Writing
i)Imaginative compositions
ii) Poems
4.0 CREATIVE WRITING
ii) Poems
i) Institutional Writing
i)Public notices
ii) Inventories
FORM TWO SYLLABUS.
FORM II - KCSE ENGLISH STUDENT RESOURCES
* Listening and Speaking for Form Two
* Grammar for Form Two
* Reading for Form Two
* Writing for Form Two
5.0 LISTENING & SPEAKING
a) use correct stress and intonation;
b) respond to oral information on a variety of subjects;
c) communicate correctly, confidently and appropriately in different contexts;

d) demonstrate acceptable communication skills; and
e) identify features of myths, legends and songs.
5.2 Introduction
In Form 2, the use of correct stress and intonation, in addition correct pronunciation should be
emphasized. The use of audio and video tapes would be quite useful. Literary and non-literary material
on issues such as drug and substance abuse, equality among men and women, social responsibility,
integrity, human rights and information technology can be used to facilitate the acquisition of these skills.
a) Pronunciation
i)Further practice on problematic sounds
ii) Stress and intonation
iii) Rhyme in poetry
iv) Word play (puns)
b)Listening Comprehension and Note-taking
i)Listening and responding to myths, legends and songs.
ii) Features of myths, legends and songs.
iii) Listening and responding to information on:
* issues of social responsibility,
* drug and substance abuse
* equal role of men and women
* Integrity/anti-corruption education
* information technology
iv) Skills of attention and turn taking through use of dialogues.
c)Mastery of
Content
Interviews
5.0 ETIQUETTE
Telephone etiquette
Telephone Etiquette Guide, California University Fullerton - An example of institutional
guide to telephone etiquette. Helpful Telephone Etiquette Tips, Salisbury University Career
Services -
Officer Etiquette (Office Manners), Salisbury University Career Services - An Example of
office manners in organizations. Telephone Etiquette for Home
Telephone Etiquette for
Office Internet Etiquette
E-mail Etiquette
e) Non-verbal skills in listening and speaking
i) Facial expressions, gestures and eye contact.
ii) Bowing/curtsying.
6.0 GRAMMAR
a) use parts of speech correctly and appropriately
b) identify the constituents and the functions of the verb phrase
c) identify the constituents and functions of the adverb phrase
d) construct correct compound and complex sentences.
6.2 Introduction
Emphasis at this level is on the constituents of the verb and adverb phrases. Language games and re
writing exercises can be designed to help the learner construct compound and complex sentences. Use
of group work will encourage learners to enact a real- life language situation (e.g. writing letters of
complaint and possible replies). Although the emphasis is on usage, it is imperative for the learner to
master the grammatical terms.
a) Nouns
i) Collective nouns
ii) Compound nouns
iii) Use of phrasal quantifiers e.g. a
piece of advice iv)Possessives

b) Pronouns
i)Number and person in pronouns.
ii) Indefinite pronouns.
c)Verbs
i) Auxiliary verbs - primary
and modal ii)Aspect -
perfective and progressive
iii) Future time
d) Adjecti
ves Order of
adjectives
e)Adverbs
i)Adverbs of place and degree
ii) Comparative and superlative forms of adverbs
f)Prepositions
Complex prepositions e.g. in spite of
g)Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions e.g. because, when, that, which
h)Interjections
Identification and usage in sentences
6.3.2 Phrases
6.3.2 Phrases
Constituents of verb and adverb phrases and examples
6.3.3 Clauses
a)Independent and subordinate clauses (relative and adverbial clauses).
b)Compound sentences.
c)Complex sentences.
d) Active and passive voice.

7.0 READING
(a) scan and skim effectively
(b) make effective use of the available reference materials
(c) enjoy reading literary and non-literary materials
(d) analyse characters and themes from selected novels and plays
(e) analyse simple aspects of style
(f) demonstrate appropriate comprehension skills
(g) build a wide range of vocabulary
(h) demonstrate awareness of contemporary issues
7.2 Introduction
At this level the skill of interpretive reading should be introduced. This involves reading aloud in a
manner that brings out the tone, rhythm, intonation and the meaning of a given passage. A wider
variety of reading texts of different registers and styles of writing should be introduced to broaden the
learner’s awareness of language use.
Some of the methods that may be used are:
a) reading a passage or a poem silently.
b) focus on characterisation and themes.
c) focus on aspects of style such as narrative voice and poetic persona.
d) reading aloud to bring out tone, rhythm, intonation and meaning.
a)Reading Skills
i)Scanning and skimming..
ii) Using reference materials (library, encyclopaedia and the internet).
iii) Interpretive reading.
b)Intensive Reading
i) Study of novels, plays and poems.
ii) Focus on characterization and themes.

iii) Aspects of style.
c)Extensive Reading
i) Literary and non literary materials on contemporary
issues such as: social responsibility
gender
responsiveness drug
and substance abuse
human rights
ii) Biographies
iii) Novels
iv) Plays
v) Poems
d)Comprehension Skills
i)Recall, comprehension, application and analysis.
ii) Summary and note- making.
8.0 WRITING
a) spell words correctly and use punctuation marks appropriately.
b) communicate effectively in writing, using a variety of sentence structures.
c) develop paragraphs using different devices.
d) use figurative language correctly and appropriately.
e) use appropriate register and format for a variety of writing tasks.
8.2 Introduction
In Form 2, the learner should build on the writing skills already developed by:
i) using simple, compound and complex sentences
ii) enriching the paragraphs using supportive sentences

iii) using correct punctuation.
The teaching of writing at this level should aim at integrating writing with other skills of language. In
addition, literary works could be used to generate writing activities such as summaries, letters and
dialogues.
a) Spelling
Commonly misspelt words
b)Building sentence skills and paragraphing
i)Sentence variety; using simple, compound and complex sentences
ii) Devices of developing paragraphs
- giving reasons/examples
- comparing and contrasting
- using idiomatic expressions
- using facts/statistics
- using rhetorical questions
Building sentence skills and paragraphing
i)Sentence variety; using simple, compound and complex sentences
ii) Devices of developing paragraphs
- giving reasons/examples
- comparing and contrasting
- using idiomatic expressions
- using facts/statistics
- using rhetorical questions
c)Punctuation
i) Quotation marks
ii) Ap
ostrophe
iii)Hyphen
d) Study Writing
i) Summaries
ii) Descriptive essays
e)Creative Writing
i) Poems
ii) Imaginative
compositions
iii)Dialogues
f)Institutional Writing
i) Business letters
ii) Posters
iii) Advertisements
g) Personal Writing
i) Personal journals
ii) Shopping lists
h) Socia
l Writing
i)Invitations
i)Public Writing
i)Telephone
messages
ii)Filling forms
iii)Letters of
apology
FORM THREE SYLLABUS
FORM III - KCSE ENGLISH STUDENT RESOURCES
* Listening and Speaking for Form Three
* Grammar for Form Three
* Reading for Form Three
* Writing for Form Three

a) use stress and intonation to bring out rhythm and meaning
b) respond correctly to oral information on a variety of subjects
c) use non-verbal devices effectively in speech
d) demonstrate the ability to use correct register in different contexts
e) identify the features of dilemma and aetiological stories.
9.2 Introduction
The learner should use in their speech the wide range of vocabulary already acquired. The ability to use
appropriate register should also be demonstrated. Opportunities to learn and practise listening and
speaking skills can be provided through activities like reciting poems, listening to and telling oral
narratives (dilemma and aetiological), listening to and making speeches, hot-seating, dramatizing and
role-playing and discussing contemporary issues on the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
a) Pronunciation
i) Stress and intonation in sentences
ii) Rhythm in poetry
iii) Alliteration and assonance in poetry
b)Listening , Comprehension and Note-taking
i) Listening and responding to
information on: HIV/AIDS
Rights and responsibilities of citizens
ii) Listening and responding to dilemma and aetiological oral narratives
iii) Features of dilemma and aetiological stories
iv) Receiving and giving instructions
v) Giving directions
c)Mastery of Content
i) Discussion
ii) Speeches
d) Etiquette
Appropriate choice of register
e)Non-verbal cues that enhance listening
and speaking Appearance and grooming
10.0 GRAMMAR
a) use correct sentence structures creatively
b) appreciate The necessity and use of gender sensitive language
c) use knowledge of grammar to interpret information from various sources.
10.2 Introduction
Grammar at this level needs to focus on more complex structures. In addition, special attention should be
given to gender sensitive language. The special way language is used in literary and non-literary works
would facilitate such usage in context.
a) Nouns
i) Collective nouns
ii) Compound nouns
iii) Use of phrasal quantifiers e.g. a
piece of advice iv)Possessives
b) Pronouns
i)Number and person in pronouns.
ii) Indefinite pronouns.
c)Verbs
i) Auxiliary verbs - primary and
modal ii)Aspect - perfective and
progressive
iii) Future time

d) Adjecti
ves Order of
adjectives
e)Adverbs
i)Adverbs of place and degree
ii) Comparative and superlative forms of adverbs
f)Prepositions
Complex prepositions e.g. in spite of
g)Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions e.g. because, when, that, which
h)Interjections
Identification and usage in sentences
6.3.2 Phrases
Constituents of verb and adverb phrases and examples
6.3.3 Clauses
a)Independent and subordinate clauses (relative and adverbial clauses).
b)Compound sentences.
c)Complex sentences.
d) Active and passive voice.
11.0 READING
a) read a range of texts selecting essential points and applying inference and deduction where
appropriate.
b) demonstrate an understanding of common and distinctive features of literary genres.
c) analyse critically prescribed novels, plays and short stories drawn from Kenya, East Africa, Africa
and the rest of the world.
d) enjoy reading literary and non-literary materials.
e) build a wide range of vocabulary and knowledge of language use through reading.
f) demonstrate awareness of contemporary issues.
11.2 Introduction
Close and critical reading should be practised to enable the learner recognise attitude and tone, and
distinguish between facts and opinions. The learner should also read widely on such issues as
governance, moral integrity, the dangers of HIV/AIDS and technological advancement. This calls for
reading beyond the prescribed set books. The learner should therefore be encouraged and facilitated to
read literary and non-literary works besides the set- books.
Focus on a critical analysis of the prescribed literary texts is essential. In addition, the passages, poems
and extracts used should be more advanced.
To ensure the learners read extensively the following methods can be used:
a) book reviews.
b) reports on newspaper articles, journals and magazines dealing with contemporary issues.
c) reports on library books read.
d) group discussions.
11.3 Content
a)Reading Skills
i) Study reading
ii) Note-making
iii) Critical reading
iv) Recognising attitude and tone
v) Distinguishing facts from opinions
vi) Interpretive reading
vii) Close reading
b)Intensive Reading
i) Study of novels, plays, poems and short stories
ii) Focus on critical analysis of three
prescribed texts: 1 novel
1 play
1 play/novel/anthology of short stories

iii) Focus on oral literature
c)Extensive Reading
i) Literary and non- literary materials on contemporary
issues such as: good governance
integrity
HIV/AIDS
Technological advancement
ii) Newspapers, Journals and magazines on a variety of subjects
iii) Reports
iv) Novels
v) Plays
vi) Poems
vii) Short stories
d)Comprehension Skills
i) Recall, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation
ii) Summary and note- making
12.0 WRITING
a) use cohesive devices in developing paragraphs
b) use punctuation marks competently and creatively
c) use appropriate register and format for a variety of writing tasks
d) demonstrate competence in writing different types of essays.
12.2 Introduction
In Form 3, the learner should be helped to consolidate the wide range of vocabulary and sentence
structures as well as writing skills to write good, imaginative and argumentative essays as well as
various types of functional writing. In addition, the literary texts being studied should be used to
generate writing activities.
12.3 Building Sentence Skills and Paragraphing
i) Cohesion in paragraphs
ii) Using transitional words and phrases
iii)Choice of words
iv) Recurrent words (different words that refer to the same idea in the paragraph).
12.3 Punctuation
i) Colon
ii) Semi-colon
iii) Dash
iv) Parenthesis
12.3 Personal Writing
i) Reminders
ii)Personal
journals
12.3 Social Writing
i) Notes of thanks, congratulations and condolences
ii) Telegrams
12.3 Public
Writing Letters of
application
12.3 Study Writing
i)Synopsis
ii) Reports
iii) Argumentative essays
12.3 Creative Writing
ii) Plays
iii) Short stories

12.3 Institutional Writing
i) Notification of meetings
ii) Agenda and minute writing
iii) Memoranda
FORM FOUR SYLLABUS.
FORM IV - KCSE ENGLISH STUDENT RESOURCES
* Listening and Speaking for Form Four
* Grammar for Form Four
* Reading for Form Four
* Writing for Form Four
a) use tone to express and interpret attitude.
b) use stress to distinguish grammatical meaning in words.
c) respond appropriately to oral information on a variety of subjects.
d) maintain acceptable communication skills.
e) present oral reports on literary and non-literary topics.
f) identify the features of oral poetry and proverbs.
13.2 Introduction
The learner will need to develop the ability to present oral reports, learn negotiation skills, exhibit
acceptable speech habits, show empathy and adhere to other language conventions. The teacher could
use oral poetry, proverbs, recorded speeches, impromptu speeches, role-play, hot-seating, dramatization
and discussions on issues like poverty eradication for the purpose of development and refinement of
these skills.
13.3 Pronunciation
i)Distinguish word class on basis of stress

ii) Use of tone to reveal attitude
13.3 Listening Comprehension and
Note-taking Listen and respond to:
i) Oral poetry
ii) Proverbs
iii) Features of oral poetry and proverbs
iv) Information on poverty eradication
13.3 Mastery of
content Oral
reports
13.3 Etiquette
i) Interrupting and disagreeing politely
ii) Negotiation skills
iii) Turn-taking
iv) Paying attention (listening)
14.0 GRAMMAR
a) demonstrate linguistic competence by writing sentences in a variety of ways.
b) use language structures creatively and competently.
c) use knowledge of grammar to interpret information from various sources.
14.1 Introduction
Grammar work should consolidate and reinforce what has already been taught. The teacher should
guide the learner on further practice of acquired knowledge of grammatical structures.
14.2.1 Content
14.2.1 Parts of Speech
a)Nouns
Functions of nouns in sentences e.g. subject, object, complement
b) Pronouns
i) Interrogative pronouns
ii) Relative pronouns
c)Verbs
i) Participle phrases
ii) Gerunds
d) Adjectives
i) Typical endings of adjectives (e.g. - ful, - less, -ous)
ii) Functions of adjectives
e)Adverbs
i) Position of adverbs in sentences
ii) Typical endings of adverbs e.g. -ly, -wards, -wise)
g) Prepositions
Functions of prepositions in sentences
g) Conjunctions
Functions of conjunctions in sentences
14.2.2 Clauses
i) inversions
ii) sentence connectors
iii) substitution and ellipsis
READING:
a) read and understand a range of texts, select essential points and apply inference and deduction
where appropriate
b) demonstrate an understanding of the common and distinctive features of the literary genres
c) analyse critically prescribed novels, plays and short stories, drawn from Kenya, East Africa, Africa and
the rest of the world
d) enjoy reading literary and non-literary materials
e) enhance vocabulary and knowledge of language use through reading.
f) demonstrate awareness of contemporary issues
g) acquire life-long interest in reading.
15.3 Introduction
The ability for close and responsive reading should be demonstrated in relating what the learner reads to
their experiences. The ability to recognize attitude, tone and mood, and to distinguish facts from opinions
should be developed further. The learner should read broadly on issues of moral values, environmental
concerns, global health problems such as HIV/AIDS and drug abuse and technological advancement.
15.3 Reading Skills
a) Note-making
i) Study reading
ii) Critical reading
iii) Interpretive reading
iv) Responsive reading
v) Recognising attitude and tone
vi) Distinguishing facts from opinions
15.3 Intensive Reading
a) Study of novels, plays, poems and short stories
i) Focus on critical analysis of
prescribed texts: 1 novel
1 play
I play/novel/anthology of short stories
ii) Focus on oral literature
15.3 Extensive Reading

i) Literary and non literary materials on contemporary
issues such as: poverty-eradication
drug and substance abuse
ii) Journals and magazines on different subjects
iii)Novels
iv)Plays
v) Poems
vi) Short stories
vii) Reports
15.3 Comprehension Skills
i) Recall, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
ii) Summarising and note- making
16.0 WRITING
a) present information in a variety of ways.
b) use proper forms of documentation.
c) use appropriate register and format for a variety of writing tasks.
d) demonstrate competence in using a wide range of sentence structures and vocabulary to create the
desired effect.
16.2 Introduction
The learner should by now have achieved competence in writing various sentence structures and using
them in cohesive prose. The learner should be able to read passages, identify key points, make notes,
and write coherent summaries. They should also now be conversant with various types of functional
writing. Literary and non-literary texts should be used to generate writing activities.
16.3 Building Sentence Skills and
Paragraphing Paraphrasing
16.3 Punctuation
Devices for presenting titles of publications, quotations and headings

16.3 Personal
Writing Recipes
16.3 Social Writing
i) E-mails
ii) Fax
iii)Instructions to family and friends
16.3 Public Writing
i)Letters of inquiry
ii) Letters of request
16.3 Study Writing
i)Reviews
ii) Expository writing
iv) Questionnaires
16.3 Creative Writing
ii) Autobiographies
iii) Biographies
16.3 Institutional Writing
i) Curriculum
vitae
ii)Speeches
INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING
Introduction
Planning in most activities is an essential basic requirement. It saves time and helps to show the
direction you need to take to arrive at the set goals. Planning also gives you a sense of security
and confidence since you are prepared to tackle the task ahead. However, you should not wholly
depend on the lesson plan since it is what you do with it in a real classroom situation that
matters.
Serious planning for teaching starts with the writing of a scheme of work (SW), followed by a
lesson plan (LP). In the process, a syllabus, textbooks and other materials are consulted and all
play important roles.
9.2: Objectives
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1) Plan for teaching beforehand
2) Prepare a scheme of work
3) Make a lesson plan
4) Prepare lesson notes
5) Use the scheme of work and lesson plan in teaching
9.3: A Syllabus
A syllabus is based on a specific subject curriculum. It contains the summary of the content and
guides the content to be taught in school. It outlines broadly general/long-term objectives of
teaching English. The syllabus emphasises achievement of the four-macro skills of language
namely listening, speaking, reading and writing, including grammar and vocabulary. The
syllabus is not sacrosanct as the subject matter is not detailed. It only provides a framework for
language teaching. It is, therefore, the onus of you to decide how to use it effectively. There are
a number of factors to be considered when writing a syllabus. The main ones include:
 Goals: National and Educational goals to be achieved at the end of the course.
 Time: Time (or duration) of the a course
 Level: Intellectual or developmental level of students. The content and the way it is handled
should go hand in hand with the students’ capabilities.
 Resources: Resources to be used (both physical and human)
 Needs: Students’ needs. Why are students learning English? What do they intend to do with
the knowledge in future?
 Expectations: Government and societal expectations –What does the government, society, industry
etc. further expect from the education offered to the citizens? What does the government expect from
the education sector after investing so heavily in education?
9.4: A Scheme of Work

You are no doubt familiar with this term and what we are going to discuss applies to both Literature and
English language, due to the integration of the two subjects in actual teaching. A scheme of work is a
projection or plan of the content you intend to teach a class within a specified period, which is usually
one school term. It is derived from the syllabus and it is broken down into units. A syllabus indicates
1
what objectives are to be achieved and at what time. It is meant for use by those in the department and,
therefore, it is public property. It is a document open to scrutiny by the interested parties.
Preparation
Being public property, a scheme of work can be made by any individual teacher but be used by the
whole department. In some schools, heads of departments make all the schemes of work for use by other
members of staff in the department. In other schools, schemes of work are made by all members of the
department together, while in other schools, teachers teaching the same class, e.g. Form 2, will sit
together and scheme.
Factors to consider before making a scheme of work

a) Time available:
If you have 3 periods per week to teach English, you will break up the syllabus for the class concerned
into topics that can be covered within that time. The textbook can help, e.g. units in Integrated English
textbook. Different schools have different practices with regard to their requirements on scheming. For
example, one school may demand schemes for 1 month, another for 1 term. This should not be a
problem if you have the know-how of how to make a scheme of work. Different schools may also have
different formats but you are expected to use the Kenyatta University format, which I will discuss later.
b) Syllabus content:
The content shows how much is expected to be taught within the given time. Days that you intend to
give tests should be indicated in the scheme of work.
c) School Calendar
Consider events in the school during the given term. For example, speech day, mid-term, sports day,
public holidays etc. These days should be omitted from your scheme of work as they interrupt teaching.
d) Availability of Resources
Whatever resources you intend to use, they should be easily available and user friendly. If they are
special, then you should plan for them in advance.
e) Methods
Methods that you intend to use in the classroom should be decided upon beforehand, not when you enter
the classroom. Select a teaching method that will assist you to attain the set objectives
Why should you prepare a scheme of work?

Scheming has many advantages for you and the students, as will be seen below.
Advantages
a) A scheme of work acts as a forecast of the amount of content you intend to cover in a given period
of time.
b) It gives you a specific goal to pursue within that period of time.
c) The head of department is kept abreast with the learning that is going on in the class you are teaching.
d) It ensures that you cover every topic and hence there is no oversight.
e) You are able to budget for time according to the needs of each topic: difficult topics should be
allocated more time.
f) It gives you enough time to sort out the requirements of the subject e.g. resources.
g) It guides you in planning and developing a Lesson Plan.
h) In case of absenteeism, when you fail to report on duty, maybe through sickness, the substitute
2
teacher is able to tell what you have covered and how you covered it. The remarks column will give
this information.
i) It is useful during transition, when a new teacher has to take over a class that was being taught by
another teacher. S/he will know from where to start.
j) Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASO) use schemes of work to give guidance to
teachers on their performance.
9.5: Scheme of Work Format

Different schools may have different scheme of work formats. Despite the various formats, what is
important is that you know the essential information that goes into a scheme of work. Kenyatta
University has a standard format which every education student is expected to use when on Teaching
Practice.
A scheme of work format has many features as seen below.

1) Administration details: At the beginning we have a section with administrative details that
comprise the following:
A Title: E.g. “A scheme of work in English language for Form II class -Term 2 -Year 2014”.
Term/General objectives: E.g. “By the end of the term/course, students should be able to
construct grammatically correct sentences”.
NB: Term objectives are long-term and should be achieved after a given period of time, like one
month, one term or after covering an area of study.
2) Body
The body of the scheme of work is composed of the following eight parts:
Week (the specific week in the timetable when a particular topic is taught)
Lesson (the specific lesson in the week)
Content topic (topics and sub-topics from the syllabus)
Instructional Objectives (These are short-term, to be achieved within the lesson)
Learning Activities (all that goes on in the classroom to promote learning
Resources (materials that you use in the actual teaching, e.g. textbook and charts).
References (materials that you refer to, to enrich your teaching)
Remarks (This is for self-evaluation. Did you attain your objectives? If not, why? Suggest revision)
The above eight features make up the 8 columns of the scheme of work.
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9.6: A Sample Scheme of Work
Title: Scheme of Work for English: Form II
Year: 2014 Term 2 School: Furaha Secondary School
General Objectives
By the end of the term/course, the students should be able to:

1) Listen with understanding and respond appropriately
2) Speak intelligibly and pronounce words and sentences accurately and fluently.
3) Use a common core vocabulary appropriately and effectively.
4) Write coherently, logically and creatively using grammatically correct sentences.
5) Read intensively and extensively for information and pleasure.
6) Read and grasp literal and inferential meanings and relate them to their own experiences.
7) Understand, and appreciate literature appropriate for their level of development.
8) Take and make notes, and locate information efficiently
9) Read and interpret pictures, charts, diagrams and tables.
Week Lesson Topic/Conte Objectives Learning Resource References Remarks

nt Activities s
4
Week Lesson Content/ Objectives Learning Resource References Remarks
Topic Activities s
5
9.7: A Lesson Plan
A lesson plan is a work plan detailing what is to be covered in a single or double lesson. It
translates the objectives in the scheme of work into specific instructional (short-term) objectives, to be
achieved within the lesson(s). This means a scheme of work is available before a lesson plan is made. It
guides you on the time available, the learning activities and the resources to use in class. Lesson plans
vary widely but Kenyatta University follows a particular format. It has several components as shown
below.
9.8: Personal and Administrative Information

At the top is the personal or administrative information. This includes personal details of the student,
which include:
a) Name of the student – teacher (ST) and the University registration number
b) School and the class/form for which the lesson plan is made.
c) Date and time of day when the lesson will be taught, e.g. 8.30 – 10.10 am
d) Subject and the topic from which the lesson is derive.
e) Objective(s). This is a vital section of the lesson plan.
Objectives are meant to be achieved by the students, not you. Therefore, they should be
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable ----and Time bound) They should follow certain criteria as
seen below.
i) Objectives should be specific. They should state clearly the skills that are expected to be
learnt.
ii) They should be measurable to ascertain level of performance.
iii) They should be attainable by the students.
iv) The objectives should be realistic, neither too ambitious nor aim to achieve too little.
They have to be simple and clearly state. There should be no ambiguities.
v) They are time-bound in that they should be achieved within a specified period of time.
Other conditions are that:

vi) They should be stated in terms of student’s observable behaviour. The student’s
terminal behaviour should be explicitly stated. This would help you to evaluate if the
objectives set on the onset have been achieved at the end of the lesson.
vii) They are content specific in the sense that they state the content that is to be learnt within
the given time.
viii) Abstract or descriptive words that are not easy to observe should be avoided. These are
words like know, understand, appreciate, see, hear etc. Instead, use action words
like explain, distinguish, draw, identify, perform, list, write down etc.
viii) The acceptable level / standard of performance could also be stated if deemed necessary.
ix) They should correspond to the topic and aims in the scheme of work, which is in turn
derived from the syllabus.
x) The condition under which the students will perform could be included if necessary.
6
Study the following objective and analyse it using the criteria above.
“By the end of the lesson, learners should be able to list down five dramatic techniques used
by playwrights, in 3 minutes.”
9.9: Body of a Lesson Plan

The body of a lesson plan is divided into four columns namely, time, content, learning activities and
resources. Let us look at these in detail.
Time
The approximate time required to cover the content and do the learning activities
involved. The time is divided between the three phases of the lesson plan,
depending on their importance. E.g. 5 min. (Introduction). 30 min. (Development) 5 min.

(Conclusion)
Content
The content to be taught is derived from the topic. It includes summary or
statements of important points, but not details of the whole topic. (Details should be
in your notes). The stated objectives and time available will determine the depth in
which the content of the topic will be covered. The content can be divided into stages
for double lessons.
Learning Activities
This is the most important part of the LP, which is left to your discretion. This is a wider
column in the lesson plan and it shows how you create opportunities for the students
to be involved in their own learning. The students are expected to apply their thinking
powers through use of their intellectual or affective or psychomotor skills, depending
on the stated objectives. It requires the ST to describe explicitly all the activities in
which the students will be involved, to ensure learning is taking place. For instance,
the type of questions asked, analysing themes in a different text, writing of
short poems, practising grammar items in sentences and discussing in pairs. The
activities should be varied, for example, alternating work that requires high mental
activity with relaxing work to maintain interest and avoid students’ fatigue or
boredom. The activities must also be meaningful and helpful to the students in
achieving the stated objectives.
Resource Materials
This is the last column in the lesson plan and it includes materials to be used at different stages
during the lesson. They should be varied to lend variety in teaching. Examples of these
are: pictures, textbook, chalkboard, charts and realia. The resources used at every stage should be
shown.
9.10: Phases of a Lesson Plan

The lesson plan is divided into three phases namely:
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 Introduction
 Body/development
 Conclusion
Introduction:
This is the initial stage of the lesson when students are introduced to the topic. You can start
by arousing interest or motivating the students through, for example, set-induction.
Introduction phase may also be used to link students’ previous experiences or knowledge to the
learning that is about to take place. This can be done by reviewing what was learnt in the
previous lesson. This stage is allocated very little time; between 5 – 10 minutes.
NB: Motivation should not be limited to the initial stage only but should be encouraged
throughout the lesson.
Development
This is the main body of the lesson plan and it is allocated about 2/3s of the teaching time. It
shows the progression of the lesson. The main content of the day’s topic is covered and much
of the learning activities are carried out at this level. Most of the resources are also used at this stage.
Conclusion
At this juncture, you signal the conclusion of the lesson. This may be done through giving a
summary of the lesson. This can be done by going through the main points, or checking
students’ notes or giving an exercise to be done in class or as homework. Like the
introduction, this stage too should be allocated less time than the development stage, e.g.
5 -10 minutes. See below a sample of a lesson plan.
9.11: A Sample of a Lesson Plan

Name: Musyoka V. Reg. No. E35/0967/200
School: Kahasho Sec. Form 2
Date: 26/4/2014 Time: 2.30 – 3.10
Subject: English Topic: Direct Speech
Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Identify direct speech from written materials, showing presentation features
2. Transform sentences to direct speech
3. Write down ten sentences in direct speech
TIME TOPIC/CONTENT LEARNING RESOURCES

ACTIVITIES
5 Min. Introduction Students answer Integrated English

-Review of the previous question on indirect Bk 2 by JKF
lesson on indirect speech - speech. They give Students books,
Definition of direct speech. the definition of Teachers’ notes.
direct speech.
Integrated English,
30 Min. Development -Highlights book 2
Sentences with direct features in Direct Extract from
speech. Speech. a Newspaper
Dialogue -Students make
8
sentences using
Direct Speech
-Use dialogue to
identify direct
speech
Conclusion Students answer Integrated English
5 Min. Summary – questions – Book 2
The main points Write
Homework Direct down
homework.
on Speech.
Select a topic from your textbook and write a lesson plan of 40 minutes, using the format
shown above.
9
: MEASUREMENT, EVALUATION AND TESTING
8.1: Introduction
In any programme or course of learning, there are objectives set on the outset. Teaching then
takes place with the aim of enabling students to achieve the set objectives. During the course,
other objectives are set that are specific to the topic being taught. The objectives to be achieved
should be formulated clearly to enable their attainment and proper assessment during and at the
end of the course. As the teacher, you would like to know whether the objectives set for the
students have been achieved. To do this, you would have to make a decision on the appropriate
measurement procedures and tools to use to establish the extent to which the set objectives have
been achieved. Evaluation, tests and measurement are part and parcel of teaching and learning.
8.2: Definitions of Measurement, Evaluation and Testing

The terms Measurement, Test and Evaluation are often erroneously used synonymously. The
three terms have their distinct functions in education. Bachman (1990) gives the following
definitions.
Measurement
According to Carroll (1983c, 1987a), measurement involves quantifying the characteristics of
persons according to explicit procedures and rules. Quantification involves the assigning of
numbers to determine a student’s performance. Both physical and mental characteristics can be
quantified. However, measurement in testing normally quantifies mental attributes and abilities.
It is important to understand that we measure attributes or abilities but not the persons. It would
be misleading to assume that a single measure or even a number of measures can adequately
characterize human beings in all their complexity. The mental characteristics, sometimes referred
to as traits or constructs, are such as intelligence, aptitude, motivation, attitude and in languages,
fluency and accuracy. These are normally observed indirectly. Quantification must be done
according to explicit rules and procedures. This means, haphazard assigning of numbers to
attributes of individuals cannot be regarded as measurement. In social sciences, measures such as
rating scales, rankings and tests are usually used.
Evaluation
This is a systematic gathering of reliable and relevant information for the purpose of making
decisions. Evaluation does not necessarily entail testing and by the same token, tests are not
necessarily evaluative unless their results are used to make decisions. One example of evaluation
is a qualitative description of a student’s performance to distinguish learning problems. From the
above descriptions, it is clear that not all tests are evaluative and not all evaluation involves
either measurement or tests. For example, a proficiency test is non-evaluative but it can be used
in research to determine the level of students. In schools, teachers are mainly interested in the
best ways of organising, setting and conducting examinations that involve testing. Let us now
look at how this can be done.
Testing
Carroll (1968: 46) says that a test is a psychological or educational procedure designed to elicit
certain behavior, from which one can make inferences about certain characteristics of an
individual. From this definition, we can say a test is a measurement instrument designed to elicit
a specific sample of a student’s behavior, thereby inferring certain competence. Testing can also
be said to be a method of measuring a person’s ability or knowledge in a specific area.
Tests in the education system may be used for pedagogical purposes such as to motivate students
to learn or as a means of reviewing the material taught. They may also be used purely for
descriptive purposes such as to describe a phenomenon. In this case, no evaluative decisions are
made based on the test results. In secondary school, you will be required to set different types of
tests. Let us now look at examples of these below.
8.3: Objectives
The following are the objectives for testing in the English language classroom.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1) Establish a purpose for testing
2) Plan for a test beforehand
3) Consider the criteria necessary in setting good tests
4) Establish the validity and reliability of a test
5) Select test items based on the content taught
6) Select the appropriate type of test based on the purpose
7) Guard against having negative backwash effects
8.4: Tests in English language

Testing means there is a set of techniques and procedures followed when developing test items.
The method requires some performance or activity on the part of the examinee or the examiner
or both. The method may be informal, where you intuitively declares something good or poor. It
may also be formal with structured items as in multiple choice technique, where correct
responses have already been specified by some “objective” means.
A test has the purpose of measuring. Some measurements are rather broad and inexact, for
example, a statement like ‘She is a good tennis player’ or ‘He is a poor reader.’ The words
‘good’ and ‘poor’ are not easily measurable. Measurements are better understood when
quantified in mathematical terms. Quantification is important, especially for intra-comparison
(for an individual, for example, at the beginning or end of a course) or inter-comparison (across
individuals).
A test measures a person’s ability or knowledge. Important factors to consider are:

(i) Who are the examinees?
(ii) What is their entry behavior? i.e. previous knowledge and experience.
(iii) Is the test appropriate for them?
(iv) How are scores to be interpreted for individuals?
Competence:
A test samples performance but infers certain competences. For example, graphic design test
requires a sample of performance, but that performance is used by the examiner to infer one’s
general competence. A language test too samples language behaviour and infers general ability
in a language. It also measures a given area, for example, you may choose to test what has been
taught after a specified period of time and ignore everything else.
8.5: Purposes for Testing
There are various purposes for testing. A test may be given to assess acquisition of abilities and
skills, as well as knowledge of some phenomena. It is can be used to place students according to
their levels of ability. Tests are also used as diagnostic tools to establish students strengths and
weaknesses, in order to make instructional decisions.
Feedback from tests can help you to make important decisions, such as whether to continue using
or change teaching methods or resource materials. Outcome of tests can also help to change
either a course, or a curriculum, or course policy decisions. Tests also provide data which may
give valuable information in designing better tests or a better curriculum. So, test data acts as a
prelude decision making. Tests also help in providing information on student’s entry behaviour
through test data. Such data are used to gain information on the effectiveness of a programme
content or teaching and learning strategies. Feedback may also advance knowledge of students’
progress, and their achievement of set objectives.
8.6: Development of Tests

First and foremost, you should establish the purpose or function of the test. This is because tests
are aimed at different functions. A test may be formative which means it is on going to modify
teaching. You could do this by, for example, (i) varying teaching methods; (ii) identifying
students’ strengths and weaknesses.
A test may also be summative where it is given at the end of a course to test the effectiveness of
teaching and learning, and also to find out whether the goals set at the outset have been achieved.
Under the two broad categories, emerges different types of tests, based on the actions taken after
the outcome.
8.7: Assessment Modes
a) Paper-pen/pencil Tests
This type of assessment involves writing down on paper or book responses to questions using a
pen or pencil or other writing materials. The outcome is a permanent record of the test
proceedings. The good thing about using this mode of testing is that the assessment does not
have to be on the spot. Marking can be done later after the test has been done, at the examiner’s
convenience. Cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills can be assessed using this method.
Different types of tests are mostly administered in this manner, as it is the most common and
convenient in learning intuitions.
The advantages of conducting paper-and-pen tests are that, it can be used to assess a large
number of students at the same time, thereby saving time. It is economical, as no special
materials are needed. Another advantage is that students are tested under uniform conditions.
This mode of testing also has disadvantages. For example, performance may be affected
negatively if conditions under which the test is done are not conducive to testing, feedback might
be delayed, and lastly, only a small sample of a student’s knowledge, abilities and skills can be
assessed at any one time, and yet this might be a deciding factor on whether a student has passed
or failed.
b) Oral Tests
An Oral test requires a one-to-one mode of testing where the examiner and the examinee are
face-to-face. The examinee is assessed through verbal presentations. This means s/he should
have good verbal communication skills to be able to articulate the ideas. Oral tests can be
conducted, for instance, when assessing a student’s oral fluency and accuracy in a language, or in
interviews. As the assessment is for individuals, the examiner can tailor-make it to suit his or her
purpose. Rating scales are usually used to assess students in oral skills.
Advantages
Oral testing has advantages. The main one is that the examiner has a chance to interact directly
with the examinee. The examinee is able to ask for clarification if the question is unclear. On the
other hand, the examiner is able to clarify a question to the examinee or even simplify it for
easier understanding. The examiner is also able to find out how the examinee arrived at a
particular answer. The examiner can also identify the weak areas on the spot. Lastly, several
examiners can administer an oral test simultaneously.
Disadvantages
Oral tests also have disadvantages. Firstly, one of these is that the tests lack objectivity and there
is much subjectivity in the assessment. This makes it difficult to make generalization about
performance. Secondly, it is difficult to compare performance across examinees, as oral tests are
not standardized. It is also not clear what criteria the examiner used to assess and award marks.
Another disadvantage is that oral testing is time-consuming and, therefore, unsuitable for large
classes.
c) Performance Tests
Performance tests have to do with the psychomotor domain, as they require the examinee to
perform a certain task. They are individualized and the examinee is observed by the examiner(s)
when performing certain tasks. Marks allocation is based on the ability to perform the task at
hand as expected. Performance tests are used in achievement, diagnostic, and aptitude tests.
Advantages
There are advantages in using performance tests:
(i) Individual’s performance can be observed and assessed on the spot
(ii) In other cases, the examiner can give time to examinees to perform the task, even in
his absence, and then assess later.
(iii) The testing situation is authentic
(iv) During the test, the examinee is able to synthesize different skills in performing the
task, an activity that is difficult in other types of testing.
(v) It is also possible to test the affective factors by observing aspects like attitude
towards the task at hand or the mood of the examinee.
Disadvantages
Performance tests have also have some disadvantages such as:
(i) Where the equipment being used fails to work, the examinee may perform poorly.
(ii) The testing situation may not be practicable where some materials are not enough for
everybody and examinees are forced to share. This may result in cheating, thereby
making the results invalid.
(iii) It is not suitable for large groups as the assessment in most cases is individualized.
(iv) It lacks objectivity and so subjectivity may crop in, where standardized marking
schemes are not strictly adhered to. When this happens, the results are unreliable.
(v) Much of the syllabus is not tested as only a small portion of it can be tested at any one
time.
d) Norm-referenced tests (NRT)

This type of test has to do with the scores obtained by an examinee. It relates one candidate’s
performance to that of other candidates (Frith and Macintosh,1984; Bachman, 1990). There are
two ways of reporting performance in NRT: students may be clustered where we say 70% and
above get ‘A’ or 40% and below fail and get ‘F’. One might also say, a candidate’s score was
among the first ten or the last ten. However, this does not tell us specifically what the candidate
is actually capable of doing or not doing in that subject, because an aggregate grade is given.
e) Criterion- (Domain) referenced testing (CRT)

Criterion-referenced testing (CRT) is the opposite of NRT. In this type of testing, criteria are set
to be fulfilled. The purpose of CRT is to classify candidates according to whether or not they are
able to perform certain tasks satisfactorily. The tasks are set and the performances are assessed.
Those who perform them satisfactorily pass and those who don’t, fail. It does not matter in
principle if all the candidates are successful. Students on the other hand are encouraged to
measure their progress in relation to meaningful criteria, without feeling that, because they are
less able than most of their colleagues, they are destined to fail (Ebel, 1979; Bachman, 1990).
The CRT, therefore, has two positive virtues: they set meaningful norms or standards in terms of
what students can do. They also motivate students to achieve those norms.
f) Objective and subjective testing

The distinction between objective and subjective testing is the methods of testing and scoring. If
no judgment is required on the part of the scorer, then the scoring is objective. An example of
this is the multiple choice type of test. It is more reliable because the inter-scorer reliability is
high. However, if judgment is called for, the scoring is said to be subjective. An example of such
testing is in the essay question. Subjective testing is not reliable because impressionistic scoring
can be used. Consequently, this would affect the performance score in some way. Some of the
aspects that can affect a score could be a bad handwriting, untidiness and the teacher’s bad mood
when marking. It is also possible for a previous score to affect a score in the subsequent
question, depending on the previous performance.
8.8: Assessment in the Classroom
a) Cloze tests:
The cloze test was developed in the 1950s to assess the difficulty of reading tests for first
language (L1) speakers. Later on it was found to be suitable for second language (L2) students.
The test is able to measure overall ability in a language and more so, the reading ability.
i) It involves deleting a number of words in a passage, leaving blanks at regular intervals of
between 5 to 12 words.
ii) This type of deletion is called fixed-ratio deletion. The distance between the gaps affects
the difficulty of the test. The shorter the distance, the more difficult the test.
iii) Deleting the words at regular intervals samples the text at random.
iv) The examinee is required to fill the blank spaces and there are two methods of filling the
blanks:
The exact word method: The examinee must fill the blank space with the original word.
Acceptable alternative method: The examinee fills the blank space with a word that is
equivalent to the original word, or one that is acceptable in the context and not
necessarily the original word. Note that it is possible to have alternative words or
synonyms when content words are used, but this is not possible with structural words.
v) To replace a missing word in a blank space, go beyond the immediate context.
vi) The examinee is given a score according to how well the words guessed match the
original words or how well they make sense.
vii) This means the cloze procedure provides a measure of the underlying abilities.
viii)It has content validity because the deletion of some words means that a representative
sample of the linguistic features of the text was obtained.
ix) Cloze tests are easier to construct, administer and score.
x) When preparing to construct a cloze test, select texts and words to be deleted from the
outset so as to avoid the problem of being unable to predict the missing word.
xi) A cloze test not only tests grammar, but also processing of various contextual features.
Creating a cloze test

a) First and foremost, the chosen passage must be at a level of difficulty appropriate to the
students who are to take the test. If there is doubt about the level, pre-testing of various passages
should be done. The text should be of a style appropriate to the kind of language ability being
th th
tested. After a couple of uninterrupted sentences, deletion should be done at about every 7 , 8
th
or 9 word. For a short passage, you leave fewer words. This is what is called pseudo-random
method of deletion. Clear instructions should be given. For example, contracted forms like
‘isn’t’, ‘can’t’ are regarded as single words. Students should be encouraged to read the passage
right through at first to get an idea of what is being conveyed.
The following is a Sample Cloze Test.

A passage used in a test is a passage of material in which words have regularly deleted.
The students must try to reconstruct the passage filling in the missing words.
b) C- tests
The C-test is actually a variety of the Cloze test, which is thought to be a bit superior in terms of
the required language abilities. Instead of whole words, it is the second half of every second
word, which is deleted. Unlike the Cloze test, a C-test necessitates exact scoring. The passages
are also shorter and so more varied passages are provided, thereby giving a wider range of topics,
styles and levels of ability. A C-test takes less space and time to create than a Cloze-test. It is
harder to read a C-test passage than a Cloze-test passage. However, correct responses can often
be found in the surrounding text.
The following is a sample C-test
A pa used I a clo test I a pa of mat in wh words ha been regu deleted. T
learner mu then t to recon the pass by fi in t missing w .
Select a passage of ten sentences from your English language textbook and construct a “Cloze
test”
c) Essay test
The test requires students to express themselves freely. Students may be asked to choose their
own topics or a topic may be given by you. It allows for the testing of a student’s creativity and
the ability to organize ideas. Essays are of various types.
Structured essay
These are sometimes referred to as “Restricted” because writing is controlled. The content,
context, and the length of the answer may be indicated. These can be used to test a student’s
knowledge, comprehension, analysis, application and synthesis abilities. Some of the common
terms used in structured essays are: list down, name, state, explain, and describe.
Open-ended essay
This is sometimes called long answer essay. There is no control on the number of points that
should be included. Creativity is called into play. This type of essay is suitable when testing
ability to synthesise and evaluate. There are specific words that are used to phrase open-ended
essays. Examples of these are: discuss, analyse, justify and explain.
Marking
Marking of open-ended items like essays lends itself to subjectivity because it is difficult to
pinpoint what exactly one is looking for. This is because different students may present the same
ideas in different ways. When marking the essay, you should decide beforehand in which areas
you want the students to practise. These could be sentence structure, spelling, cohesion,
punctuation, use of vocabulary, expression of ideas, or a number of these at a time. For example,
in creative writing, most of the marks may go to proper punctuation and less to other errors. This
means other errors are not as heavily penalized during that particular assessment. It is not
unusual for the same teacher or different teachers to score the same essay differently, depending
on what they put more emphasis.
One effective way of dealing with errors is to have students correct their errors instead of you
doing it for them. This can be done by giving sufficient clues to enable them self-correct. The
clues have to be unambiguous, and they should be interpreted correctly. A number of symbols
have been evolved over time to show what the nature of the error is. The symbols are written in
the script above the error or in the margin. Examples of these are:
Sp = Spelling, Vb = Wrong verb form, T = Tense error, D = Wrong or missing or superfluous
determiner, C = A countable noun is used as an uncountable noun or vice versa, Sg/Pl = Singular
and plural concord is wrong.
Students should be made aware of these symbols so as to be able to do corrections. This method
may not work if the students’ standard of English is low. Again the method cannot deal with
most lexical errors, particularly where wrong collocations are concerned. For example, “I had a
large wish to see her.” If the student is good in English, you may point out that, the word ‘large’
does not collocate with the word “wish” and that he or she should look for a more appropriate
modifier. A poor student may not understand this reasoning and needs to be assisted.
For other errors, it would make little sense to either write a symbol or correction in the script.
What would be needed would be a brief explanatory comment. For example, explain when a
structure would be unacceptable in one context, but would be in another. For poor students, it
would be advisable for you to write the correction on his/her book. In some cases, you should
find time to talk to individual students with peculiar problems, about their work. At other times,
you may find an error or certain errors are common among the students. In such cases, you
should devise a quick remedial activity to consolidate the explanation for the whole class.
d) Multiple choice test

This is an objective type of test in the sense that there is only one correct answer, unless stated
otherwise. This type of test has got its advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
 It saves time during the actual testing.
 It is suitable for large classes since it eases the burden of marking.
 The scoring is objective since there are no alternative answers.
 It can evaluate many language skills at the same time.
Disadvantages:
 It is not able to test acquisition of some skills like writing.
 It can encourage intelligent guessing which means a student’s score may not be
representative of his/her capability.
 Cheating is possible since in most cases, only one letter is required to indicate the
answer.
 The setting of the test is time consuming.
 Getting the appropriate distracters is difficult.
Setting multiple choice test items

When developing a multiple choice type of test, certain aspects need to be taken into
consideration.
 Every test item has a stem. There are a number of alternative choices called distracters.
 Out of the distracters, only one is the correct answer.
 The distracters should be closer to the correct answer but not far removed.
 The correct answer should not be easily identified by, for example, making it longer or
shorter than the other distracters.
 The distracters should be about 3 or 4. Less than these will make it less challenging and
therefore easy to get the right answer while more than these may cause confusion.
Care should be taken not to have more than one answer in the test item unless there is a
need for it.
 The tense in the stem must agree with the tense in the distracters.
 The distracters should not repeat words in the stem.
Explain why this multiple choice test item is not well

constructed.
The secret to success in any business is to:
a) have been on time
b) to be strict with the employees
c) not to be generous to relatives
d) keep records of transactions
The following are the weaknesses in the above multiple choice test item.
a) There is tense disagreement
b) There is repetition of ‘to’ in the stem
c) The sentence structure is wrong
d) This is the correct answer “keep records of transactions”.
NB: There are other testing techniques that you can use. Learn about these and use them.
8.9: Types of Tests
Aptitude Test.
One purpose of giving an aptitude test could be to measure aptitude for learning or to assess the
potential of the students. The main aim could be to predict future performance of students and
place/stream them according to their ability.
Proficiency Test
A proficiency test determines the readiness for instructional programs. It is used to separate those
who are prepared for an academic training from those who are not. An example of such a test is
KCSE examination which has a single cut-off point. Examinees either pass or fail.
Diagnostic Test
This is also a proficiency test for it diagnoses an individual’s strength or weakness. It is also used
to identify problematic areas in teaching and learning. Such tests consist of several short but
reliable sub-tests, measuring different language skills. These show the relative strength in various
areas tested. For example, a diagnostic test may be given to test students’ understanding of
particular aspects or learning of a skill that has been taught, before moving on to other areas.
Being a formative test, the diagnostic test helps you to adjust the teaching methods, give
individual attention to weak students, or even adjust the learning resources previously used if
they are found not to be helping in the achievement of the set objectives.
Achievement Test / Evaluative Tests
This type of test measures the extent of student’s achievement of instructional goals. It monitors
learning and student progress. It also evaluates the effectiveness of instruction and assesses the
degree of success, not of instruction but of the instructional programme itself. The achievement
test also motivates students. Examples of achievement tests are progress/formative tests. These
are done in the classroom to assess students’ progress. They also provide feedback to the teacher
on students’ progress and challenges. Achievement tests are also summative in the sense that
they can be given at the end to test achievement of set objectives, or success of a programme.
The results of a test can be interpreted in two different ways depending on the frame of reference
adopted: (1) When test scores are interpreted in relation to the performance of a particular group
of students, we say it is a norm-referenced interpretation. (2) If they are interpreted with respect
to a specific level or domain of ability, we say it is a domain or criterion-referenced
interpretation. (See above).
8.10: Planning for a Test

When planning for a test, four important questions should be answered, prior to setting it.
1. Why give a test? What is its precise purpose? It would be futile to give a test for the sake of
it or because others are doing it. Define the general purpose and be clear why you should
give a test.
2. What should I test? What abilities and skills do you want to test? Are the test items relevant
to the topic? What levels of understanding need to be tested? Is it knowledge?
Comprehension? Application? Analysis? Synthesis or Evaluation? These questions are
important because whatever ability you test, will determine the form and mode of testing.
These questions all zero in on the content covered and the skills learnt. You are expected to
test what has been taught over a period of time. The topics studied should be listed down for
consideration and also to make sure none is forgotten.
3. What is the format? To answer this question, you should first answer the following
questions. How many sections should the test have? How long should they be? i.e. What
number of items should be in each section? So, make a decision on the number of test items
to be included and the levels of learning to be tested.
4. What method of testing should I use? Is it going to be written or spoken? Is it going to be

an objective or subjective test? The purpose for testing will determine the mode of testing
and the type of test. For example, you may be interested in the development of a diversity of
skills and these may lend themselves to various testing techniques. For instance, an
achievement test could be given to assess students’ progress and achievement of set goals.
You may also give an aptitude test to gauge students’ intelligence or a diagnostic test to
assess their strengths and weaknesses in the subject matter. You should consider the amount
of content covered and the emphasis placed on various skills, before determining the
weighting assigned to each test item.
5. When should the test be given? You are expected to use your discretion to decide the
appropriate time to give a test. However, in some institutions, test-dates are decided upon by
the management. You could give a test at the beginning of the term or year, with the aim of
assessing students’ entry behavior. You could test students during the term to assess their
progress and to use the feedback to make decisions. When a test is given at the end of the
term or year, it is to know how to rate students or place them in various classes the following
year. It is also given to find out if the set objectives have been achieved. Tests may also be
given when students are about to tackle a major examination, to give them practice in
answering examination questions.
8.11: Characteristics of a Good Test.

a) Validity
The most important quality of test interpretation or use is validity. In other words, it is the extent
to which you make inferences and decisions on the basis of test scores. A test is valid if it
measures what it is expected to measure. This means the aim, content and the skill being tested
must be explicit and specific.
To determine if the test scores are meaningful indicators of examinees’ particular ability, You
must ensure the test measures that ability and nothing else. While examining the meaningfulness
of test scores, it is important to ensure that they are not unduly affected by factors other than the
abilities being tested. If test scores are affected by measurement errors, they will not be
meaningful and, therefore, they will not provide a basis for valid interpretation or use. Examples
of sources of measurement errors that can affect an examinee’s performance are unfavourable
testing conditions, fatigue, anxiety and ambiguity in phrasing questions. For example,
a) If you intend to test the writing capability of the student, then give a multiple choice test, that
test is not valid since no writing skills are used.
b) If you give an essay topic: ‘The working of a motor engine’, with the aim of testing accuracy
and fluency in writing, yet the students are not familiar with the topic, the validity of the test
is destroyed. A student who is fluent in English but has little knowledge of the working of a
motor engine will definitely perform poorly. The score given in such circumstances is not
indicative of the language ability being tested.
There are different types of validity that you should observe when setting a test. Two major types
of validation need to be taken into account when setting a test. These are content validity and
construct validity.
Content validity
For a test to have content validity, it must demonstrate that it is relevant to and covers a given
area of content or ability. Content relevance involves specification of ability domain as well as
test method facets. Content coverage is the extent to which tasks required in the test adequately
represents the behavioral domain in question. These can be summarised in two questions: Do the
skills and knowledge being tested of any value to the individual and the society? Does the test
cover what has been taught?
Construct validity
A construct is an abstract idea such as height, self esteem, proficiency. It is not concrete and as a
result it cannot be observed. And yet much of what we look for in testing are constructs. For
example, a construct like proficiency cannot be observed but it can be defined. It can be tested
through some observable behaviour. A test, therefore, operationalizes the ability being tested.
For a test to have construct validity, it should be based on a theory or theories as they have been
defined. In many cases, such theoretical constructs are perceived as being adequately defined in
the content. But when there is questionable content validity, then you have to ensure presence of
construct validity. In this case, validation of the construct has to be based on empirical research
findings that show that the behaviour required of the examinee is correlated with the total
construct of behaviours in question. For example, a general proficiency test that consists of say,
grammatical items, reading comprehension items, and listening comprehension items is defining
“proficiency” as either consisting of, or being correlated with, those three modes of performance.
Remember!
(i) A test is valid for a specific skill i.e. a valid test for literary analysis may not be valid
for identification of character aspects.
(ii) A valid test depends on its linguistic content and the technique used. For example, if
your aim is to test the speaking skill and he / she gives a dialogue but fails to test
acquisition of prosodic features i.e. verbal aspects like intonation, stress,
pronunciation then the test is not valid even though dialogue provides valid material
to test the speaking skill.
Reliability
A reliable test is one that is consistent and dependable. Sources of unreliability may lie in the test
itself test reliability or in the scoring of the test scorer reliability “inter-rater reliability”. Test
reliability is ensured when the scores are consistent. For example, scores obtained by the same
student on the same test, at different times of the day, under similar circumstances, should be
consistent, even when marked by different examiners. For example, if a test is given under the
same conditions and a candidate scores 50% at 8 o’clock, 90% at 11 o’clock and 30% at 4
o’clock, then the reliability of that test should be questioned. Inter-rater reliability is the
consistency of scoring by two or more scorers. When very subjective techniques are used in the
scoring of a test, for instance, when testing writing skills, the inter-rater reliability is diminished.
However, Brown and Bailey (1984) argue that the inter-rater reliability can be improved if
scoring directions are clear and specific as to the exact details the scorer should attend to. This
can be done through having a specification of an analytical scoring instrument.
Practical
A test is practical if it is within the means of financial limitations, time constraints, ease of
administration and scoring and interpretation. The condition and manner in which a test is
conducted and the time it is allocated matters a lot in terms of performance. For example, if a
test is conducted in a humid, stuffy, congested and noisy situation or if the test is expected to
take 2 hours but it is given 11/2 hours, the results of the performance are bound to be affected
negatively. A test that takes 10 hours to complete is also not practicable. A test that takes
students a short time to do but several hours for the examiner to mark is impracticable especially
where examinees are many, with only one examiner and with a short deadline to complete.
Scoring and interpretation of the results should also be considered. For example, a test that can
only be scored by computer is impracticable if no computers and the necessary analysis
programme exist.
Instructional value
According to Oller (1979), a test should have instructional value. This means it ought to be
possible to use the test to enhance the delivery of instruction. Testing and teaching are
interrelated. Make clear and give useful interpretation of test data, in order to understand your
students better. Students too should be able to benefit from a test by being able to use the learnt
knowledge appropriately, not reproduce facts ‘parrot fashion’. A test should also reflect
individual language needs as well as those of the society. The knowledge gained should be
beneficial to the student and the society.
Discriminative
A test should show the difference between those who have mastered the skill being tested and
those who have not. Check the scores between your bright and poor students. If the grades are
the same, then the test is not discriminative enough.
Clarity
A test should be clear in terms of layout and instructions. Instructions must be unequivocal
because their clarity can determine success or failure of an examinee. Authenticity should be
maintained when setting examination questions. Framing of questions should be clear and the
examiner should guard against using terms students are not familiar with, simply because he
found them used elsewhere. So avoid ambiguity at all costs. For example, a test which does not
indicate the rubric, i.e. the number of questions to be answered, may cause the students to answer
all the questions and yet you will mark only three or four. The student is disadvantaged in that he
will have spent much time doing work that is not required and which does not earn him marks.
8.12: Backwash Effects

Tests may have beneficial or harmful effects on teaching and learning, by either succeeding or
failing to measure whatever it is they are expected to measure. The effects of testing on teaching
and learning is known as “backwash”. Too often, tests have had either positive (beneficial) or
negative (harmful) backwash effects which have been overlooked by those responsible.
Backwash can be harmful if a test is regarded as important and it dominates all teaching and
learning activities. For example, if the writing skill is tested through multiple choice items,
students feel obliged to practice intelligent guessing of such items, instead of developing the
writing skill. The backwash effect here is negative or harmful. Similarly, backwash effects are
experienced when the content and testing techniques are at variance with the objectives of the
course. For example, language learning requires teaching of the four basic language skills of
listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, listening and speaking skills are not tested in
the KCSE English language examination. This causes negative backwash effect as these skills
are overlooked and not well taught.
Testing can also have positive backwash effects. For example, if a test assesses every language
skill that students are expected to learn by the end of a course, you are bound to teach all the
skills. This is beneficial to the student. Testing should not only follow teaching (syllabus) but it
should also be supportive of good teaching and exert a corrective influence on bad teaching.
8.13: Summary
 Planning for tests is absolutely crucial and this should be done in advance.
 Tests should be an integral part of the teaching / learning process.
 Students should be taught to view tests as part of their learning process not a way of
punishing them.
 Class tests should reflect teaching which has taken place and which will vary according
to the students’ maturity and ability.
 To achieve an adequate balance, tests must be included in the overall scheme of work for
the term. This helps you to get organized in advance.
 Tests should be formative (given during the term) to assess students’ progress and get
Feedback. They should also be summative (given at the end of the term/year) to find out
if the set objectives have been achieved before taking decisions.
 You should prepare a detailed marking scheme when you are setting the examination
questions, not after the test has been given. This helps you to know if there are answers to
the questions.
 You should act upon the results of a test in order to give immediate feedback.
 Discuss the test with the students to find out their areas of weakness.
 Students should be shown where they went wrong and how they could improve in the
future. This means, the test results should indicate what remedial work should be
incorporated into the teaching program.
 After the test is done, it is also necessary for you to analyse the test and the scores. Such
feedback will enable you to know how the students performed. Identify problematic
questions that students found difficult to answer or those that were too easy. This will
enable you to do a review of the topic whose performance was poor or even change the
teaching techniques. Lastly, you could also revisit test items with the aim of rephrasing or
adjusting them for future use.
1) Set an end of term examination comprising 20 test items from the following
English language learning areas (Listening and speaking (5), Reading (5),
Writing (5), Grammar (5), Vocabulary (5).
2) Prepare a marking scheme to guide you in marking the examination.
1.1: Introduction
The English language secondary school curriculum comprises all the content taught in the
subject. Development of any school subject curriculum is guided by the national goals of
education. The goals are developed to guide a country’s social, educational and development
agenda. From the country’s national goals of education, general educational goals are developed.
These guide curriculum developers in formulating general objectives of teaching each subject
area. Before a country decides on the type of education to give to her citizens, a needs analysis is
carried out to hear stakeholders’ views and their expectations. Let us look at the process of
developing English language curriculum.
1.2: Setting General Goals of Teaching English

The term ‘goal’ is also referred to as ‘aim’ or ‘objective’ A goal is foreseen as it is impossible to
write a goal whose results cannot be foreseen. It should, therefore, be written for a situation that
permits end results to be identified beforehand. The goals identify the kind and level of language
proficiency the student will attain in the program (if the program is successful).
Goals and objectives in education appear in the curricula and syllabuses. Curriculum is a
programmed outline of study containing program objectives, selected subject content to be
learned, appropriate learning strategies, instructional materials and mode of evaluation. A
syllabus is a detailed specification of objectives and content within a defined field of study. It is
derived from the curriculum and it shows what is to be learnt within a specified period of time.
The English language syllabus has:
• General objectives
• Specific objectives
• Subject content, written in summary form.
The curriculum is thus broader than a syllabus and the syllabus is part of the curriculum.
What is the difference between a curriculum and a syllabus? Explain
Understanding the nature of educational objectives is first and foremost a matter of

understanding what is involved in the acquisition of knowledge (theory). An aim is a foreseen
end (result) which is written for situations that permit the end results to be identified beforehand.
It is impossible to write an aim whose results cannot be foreseen. Since the end justifies the
means, the objectives determine the mode of implementation procedures. Objectives also dictate
the type of content, teaching methods, resources, environment and evaluation procedures a
program adopts. i.e. curriculum implementation.
Objectives should take care of the total development of the human being. Development should
be in the following four areas:-
• Cognitive domain – This has to do with the intellect: facts, knowledge
• Affective domain – This concerns emotions: values, attitudes or habit.
• Psychomotor domain – This involves use of manipulative skills like writing skills, speaking
skills, playing football, conducting an experiment.
• Social domain – This concerns human relations. It involves interactive skills.
In the actual teaching, there should be integration of the domains as much as possible. It is
further argued that aims can only be written for those learning situations that permit the end
result to be identified beforehand. Such aims give direction to the content and activity in the
lesson.
Various ways are used in different countries to select objectives. For example, they may be:
a) chosen on the basis of expediency – i.e. because they are the easiest, most
convenient or least controversial
b) just accepted without exploring alternatives and choosing between them
c) imposed upon a situation from outside for political or personal reasons.
The format chosen to select objectives should be appropriate to the situation and it should
necessitate their achievement.
Decisions about curriculum objectives are usually affected by the following factors:
(a) Contemporary life outside school
Society is dynamic i.e. it is in a constant state of change. As such, the objectives must be selected
in accordance with major current educational trends and inventions and innovations. An example
of these is integration of technology through use of computers. For these reasons, analysis of
implications of societal changes should be done beforehand.
(b)Manpower employment patterns

These are normally dictated by new behaviour requirements in education, health, welfare,
politics and social activities. Social and cultural patterns of behaviour are in a state of evolution
the world over and students should acquire the skills and attitude needed to cope with everyday
living in the society. Objectives should, therefore, be selected in accordance with major current
trends, such as use of technology like computers in schools.
(c) The needs of the student

In addressing student needs, an analysis should be done. The aim of needs analysis is to identify
the type of knowledge, skills and level of language proficiency the program should aim to
deliver. Needs analysis is also concerned with identifying general and specific needs for each
subject that can be addressed in developing goals, objectives and content. The goals of students
vary and must be determined before decisions about content and methods can be made. The
needs of the student may emerge from contemporary social life and from the individual himself.
Information obtained from needs analysis is used in developing, selecting, or revising program
objectives. The factors below should be taken into consideration when doing needs analysis.
1.3: Needs Analysis

Needs analysis may focus on the following:
1. Who the students are.
2. Their present level of language proficiency.
3. Teacher and student goals and expectations
4. Your teaching skills and level of proficiency
5. Constraints of time and budget
6. Available instructional resources
7. Societal expectations or on a specific need
8. What skills the student will be required to use on completion of the program.
The following are general objectives for teaching English in secondary school.
1.4: General Objectives for Teaching English
By the end of the course, your students should be able to select and use methods and techniques
that will enable the student to:
1) Listen with understanding and respond appropriately
2) Speak intelligibly and intelligently in English in different situations
3) Read intensively and extensively
4) Understand a passage by following its content, arguments and logical sequence
5) Infer information from what is said or read
6) Use correctly and effectively a common core vocabulary learnt during the course
7) Demonstrate acceptable habits both in spoken and written communication
8) Use effectively the main structures of English by writing logically and coherently
9) Recognize and use technical and specialized registers in language
10) Exploit current technological resources and literary materials to enrich the learning of
English language.
11) Show a deeper insight in the appreciation of literature in English by applying creative and
critical thinking.
12) Maintain a habit of wide reading for information and pleasure
13) Appreciate the importance of English as a tool of fostering understanding among
peoples of the world.
What do you understand by the term, “English is an essential tool of

communication”?
SECTION 2: THE TEACHING OF ORAL SKILLS
2.1: Introduction
Listening is an inferential process of extracting meaning from the oral stimuli. Hearing on the
other hand is the perception of auditory stimuli by the human ear, which may not be necessarily
with understanding. Listening is both a receptive and an active skill that may or may not require
a response. It is intentional with the aim of comprehending what is uttered, hearing is not
intentional.
Speaking on the other hand is the production of speech sounds or making verbal utterances by
human beings in the process of communication. It is the act or instance of uttering words for
communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words. The process of speaking is
incomplete without listening. The fact that speaking is a productive skill calls for a careful
understanding of the dynamics of communication. Teaching of speaking skills is aimed at
attaining oral fluency and accuracy. Listening and speaking are language skills that should be
taught together in the actual classroom situation.
People understand us from the way we pronounce words. Wrong pronunciation can cause
communication breakdown. The importance of proper pronunciation cannot be overstressed.
Pronunciation encompasses the production and the proper/correct reception of English sounds
and words. It entails your knowledge, as you of English, of how and where the English sounds
are articulated. It goes beyond the production and reception of English sounds as it also
examines the way some words are stressed and others are not. In other words pronunciation
covers articulation, stress/unstressed syllables, and intonation.
To be able to communicate intelligibly and for academic purposes, students should be taught
standard English pronunciation; the language that is found in academic books. You must be a
good model of the standard variety of English you teach (in Kenya we use British Standard
English). It is important that you display proper pronunciation for your students to emulate you.
Linguistics has provided teachers of language with improved descriptions of the language to be
taught. Students are able to acquire a specified body of content and increase their linguistic
competence in producing grammatically accurate sentences in the target language. However,
instead of only acquiring linguistic competence, the student must also acquire communicative
competence. Instead of teaching the student only the rules of formation, we should also teach
him the pragmatic use of language that mainly involves making decisions about what language to
use, where and how. That is, use of informal and formal language.
English language has 44 basic sounds and these are too many to be represented by the 26 letters
of the alphabet. For this reason, English uses phonetic script, as well as digraphs (doubled
consonants) and diphthongs (doubled vowels) to represent its 44 basic sounds. You as an English
language teacher, must possess phonemic awareness. By being aware of how the different
English sounds are formed and articulated, (manner of articulation), you can assist your students
to articulate the sounds and use correctly the right intonation to get the meanings. You can also
help your students to overcome certain pronunciation difficulties of L1 interference, if you have
both phonetic and phonemic awareness. This means, you as the English language teacher has to
put extra effort to ensure you get rid of pronunciation errors before you go to teach. Your
pronunciation weakness can influence the students negatively. Remember they depend on you as
the model and the expert, and in most cases they will emulate you.
Mother tongue influence in most cases predisposes your students not to hear and identify the
differences in sounds that are important when learning a second or foreign language. You should
identify the problematic sounds that are none existent in the mother tongue. Students in this case
have to be exposed to such sounds and learn to identify them.
2.2 Objectives for Teaching Listening and Speaking

By the end of the course, your students should be able to:
1) Recognize, articulate and use correctly English language phonemes, vowels and consonants
2) Listen with understanding and respond appropriately verbally and in writing
3) Listen and respond spontaneously and fluently to conversational prompts
4) Identify and use correctly stress, intonation, tonal variation and rhythm in utterances
5) Make grammatically correct sentences verbally
6) Respond verbally to both verbal and written questions and instructions
7) Express ones ideas verbally in different situations
8) Present orally reports from what is read and on everyday experiences
9) Conduct a conversation intelligibly
10) Adapt ones mode of conversation to suit the context or situation
11) Identify the main ideas from different types of spoken discourse
12) Write down/retell correctly what is heard
2.3: English Language Phonemes

Phonemic awareness entails knowledge of how the minimal meaningful units of sound, the
phonemes, influence the production and perception of the sounds of that language. These,
consequently, influence communicative intelligibility in the language. As you who is supposed
to be knowledgeable in this area, you should assist students who have problems with
differentiating, for instance, between chip /tʃip/ and sip /sip/ in the way they are articulated.
Phonetic awareness, on the other hand, involves the general knowledge of how human speech
sounds are produced and received, in the process of verbal communication. Your phonetic
awareness should help you to assist your students where they have L1 interfering, with the
learning of L2. Gimson (1980:b) stresses that phonetic and phonemic analysis should occupy an
important place in the study of any language. You as you of English must make every effort to
acquire and master the phonology of English. You should not only be able to produce the various
individual vowel and consonantal sounds of English, but also the various sound clusters like
dipthongs and digraphs used in English. You should also be able to help your students to acquire,
not only the English sounds, but also patterns of English.
As you, you should be the model for students to imitate. Ensure that your
pronunciation is proper. Familiarise yourself with phonetic symbols/script to help
your students in pronunciation, where they face difficulties.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is related to phonetics and phonology. Phonetics means the speech sounds of a
particular language. Phonology is the study of speech sounds and systems of languages.
As stated earlier, English language has 44 basic sounds which are too many to be represented by
the 26 letters of the alphabet. Phonetic script as well as digraphs, consonant clusters and
diphthongs are, therefore, used to represent the 44 sounds.
It is important to note that not all differences in sounds are phonemic. There are other sounds that
are not phonemic in the sense that they do not distinguish between words. For example, the
sound /k/ can be produced by either consonant /k/ or /c/. The vowels that follow letter /c/
determine whether the sound is /k/ or /c/. For example, you can help your students by letting
them know that in most cases, when /c/ is followed by /e/, /i/ and /y/, it is pronounced as /c/ as in
“circle”, ‘cycle’, “cease”. However, when /c/ is followed by any other letter except /h/, it is
pronounced as /k/ as in “cure”, “clip”, “coat”, “cap”.
Knowledge of the vowels and consonants would help students in the formation of words and
pronunciation. Vowel sounds are characterised by free flow of air from the lungs for the
vibration of the vocal cords. The mouth cavity, tongue and lips shape the vowels. Consonants on
the other hand, are formed by audible obstruction or complete stoppage of airflow. They can be
classified as voiced, if the vocal cords vibrate or voiceless if they don’t. Most of them are usually
in pairs. For example, /p/ voiceless /b/ voiced. Consonants are usually described in terms of their
point of articulation such as dental (teeth) and bilabial (lips). They are also described in terms of
the degree or manner of obstruction along the oral or nasal channels.
Consonants can be:

 Bilabial plosives /pen/ /bin/ like “pen” and “bin”
 Alveolar /tɔɪ/ /daɪ/ as in “toy” and “dye”
 Velars /kiŋ/ /giv/ as in “king” and “give”
 Nasals /mʌm/ /nɒt/ like “mum” and “not”
 Lateral /luk/ as in “look”
 Affricates /t∫ʌk/ /ʤʌʤ/ for example “chuck” and “judge”
 Semi vowels /jes/ /∫u:/ like “yes” and “shoe”
 Velar /siŋ / as in “sing”
 Trills /rəᴜl/ like “roll”
 Labio-dental /feil/ /veil/ such as “fail” and “vale”
 Dental / Өin / /ðeə/ as in “thin” and “there”
 Glottal /haɪ/ like “high”NB:
NB: Phonetic script has been used.
There are other features related to pronunciation that contribute a lot to meaning. These can
only be heard when we speak in sentences or in larger units of sentences like in dialogue or
speech. These features are: stress and intonation. To distinguish these features from
phonemes, we call them suprasegmental phonemes or prosodic features.
Stress
 Stress means the force by which the voice bears upon one syllable rather than on another.
In English, it operates at 2 levels: word and sentence levels. This is also the case in
Kiswahili.
 At the word level, stress distinguishes between parts of speech. For example, produce
(noun), produce (verb), present (noun), present (verb). In many other words though,
stress is fixed, which means it does not change, as in “always”, “horizon”.
 At the sentence level, stress falls on the stressed syllables of those words that mainly
carry the information. These are mainly parts of speech or content words like nouns,
pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. The emphasis falls on the stressed syllables.
Look at the following sentence.
“I told you to put that book on the desk.”
The underlining in the above sentence shows where stress can fall to emphasise or give different
meanings.
When “I” is stressed, it means I myself told you and nobody else.
When “you” is stressed, it means you and nobody else was told.
When “that” is stressed, it means, that particular book, not any other.
When “on” is stressed, it means on the desk not under or in the desk.
Function words like prepositions and articles will only carry stress if the speaker wishes to give
them prominence. For instance, in the above sentence, the word “that” is stressed to emphasise
the fact that the speaker is referring to a particular book.
Explain the meaning you get when the underlined words are stressed.
Everyone must carry two blankets and should wait outside the bus station next to the market.
Intonation
Intonation is the fluctuation of the voice pitch or speech melody as part of the structure of
sentences. This involves loudness, syllable length and sometimes speech rhythm. Some
languages make a functional use of intonation like varying meaning of a word by changing the
intonation. Languages that use intonation for different functions are called Intonational
languages. In this case, intonation patterns have different functions. The intonation patterns
differ between languages or between varieties of the same language, like Australian, Scottish and
American English. One major use of intonation in English is where a statement and a question
are identified by change of the intonation. For instance, statements are identified by the falling
intonation at the end of the sentence. A rising intonation at the end indicates it is a question. For
instance, “He is looking for us.” (Statement).
“He is looking for us?” (Question, with a rising intonation). Intonation patterns are also used to
express a speaker’s emotional state or attitude to the listener or to the matter being discussed. For
example, But I told you so. (It implies the one being addressed did not listen).
Stress and intonation can also give additional information to that given by the words of an
utterance. For example, I got the job? By emphasising the word ‘got’ and the rising intonation at
the end, implies it was doubtful if I would get the job.
The best way to teach stress and intonation is to expose students to a variety of spoken sentence
patterns. These should be presented in natural settings like simple dialogues. A good English
book would also help in teaching this area.
Tone
Tone is related to intonation and is also a suprasegmental phoneme. It is the fluctuation of the
voice pitch. Languages that make a functional use of it are called Tonal languages. In such
languages, a syllable of a word may sometimes have 3 different tones (high – middle – low).
This tonal variation consequently gives different meanings. The meaning conveyed depends on
the tone used to pronounce it. Many African languages are tonal. For example, in Kenya, Gusii,
Kikuyu and Luo are tonal languages.
Rhythm
The other phonological feature is rhythm. There are two types unique to English languages and
indeed to most languages: stress–timed and syllable – timed rhythm. Stress–timed rhythm
occurs when the time interval from stress to stress is more or less the same. The unstressed
syllables in between are pronounced within an equal length of time. For example,
‘I told you to lay it on the floor.
In syllable-timed rhythm, like the one found in Kiswahili, each syllable in a sentence is given
approximately the same length of time. This results in a staccato type of rhythm with all the
vowels pronounced in practically the same way whether stressed or unstressed. This feature
forms the foundation of rhythm in poetry. The implication of this phenomenon is that speakers of
languages with stress-timed rhythm, usually find it rather difficult to appreciate, for instance,
Kiswahili poetry (Mashairi) which is syllable–timed, and vice versa. These phenomena, if
present in the first language, could affect learning of a L2 like English.
We now turn to teaching strategies that can be used to teach the speaking skill.
2.4: Teaching Strategies

 To be able to teach listening and speaking skills efficiently, you should be a role model.
Ensure you are able to pronounce English sounds and words correctly, since students will
be copying you. You should also have knowledge of the phonetic script to be able to
check the pronunciation of particular words, especially the problematic ones, from a
dictionary or phonetics book.
 While teaching, students should not be taught pronunciation through the phonetic script
because they must first of all learn to produce the sounds represented. When this is
mastered, they should then be taught how to pronounce the words correctly, ignoring the
phonetic script. Later on when they have developed proper pronunciation, they can learn
phonetic script for the same reason as for which it is useful to you, that is, to check how
certain words are pronounced.
A number of teaching techniques can be used to teach pronunciation skills.

 One of the methods is use of minimal pairs like cup/cap, lead/read, shoe/sue and
church/judge. These are best taught in their contexts so as to show students their usage in
sentences. This also helps to bring out the meaning.
 Another method of teaching pronunciation is by asking students to listen carefully as you

utter a word, either singly or in a sentence. Then ask them to identify the uttered word.
This is called auditory discrimination. The problematic sounds should be identified first
before students can imitate you. The assumption here is that you are a good model and
that his/her pronunciation is correct. However, if you are not quite sure of his/her
pronunciation, it would be advisable to use a taped cassette with the sounds being taught.
Such resources can be obtained from curriculum development centres like the Kenya
Institute of Education.
 Use of tongue-twisters is another method that helps in auditory discrimination. These are
enjoyable and frequent practice helps students to learn the right articulation and to get rid
of pronunciation errors in a relaxed atmosphere without tension of making mistakes. Use
words with sounds that cause pronunciation problems in the community from which the
students come.
 You can also use dictation to teach pronunciation of words. The passage or sentences
selected for dictation should contain a substantial number of words in which you are
interested. These should be words that are problematic to spell by your students. It is
recommended that you give immediate feedback of the students’ performance, by going
through the errors identified and giving remedial work where necessary.
Drama
As a teaching technique, drama can be defined as an activity that asks students to portray either
themselves or other people in an imaginary situation. Although drama may be in form of mime,
it usually involves verbal communication, an activity that helps students in the development of
the speaking skills. The student is expected to adopt the role of a character and to project, for
instant, that character’s way of dressing, physical features and behaviour. This may be done
individually like in monologues but it is usually done with one or more of their peers.
Students can follow the guidelines laid down by you, by acting in a controlled manner. They can
also be given the liberty to speak and react as they see fit. You can integrate language teaching
by using drama to reinforce grammatical structures that have been taught.
Role-Play
Role-play also helps in the development of the speaking skill. It is very much like drama but it
has connotations of a more controlled situation. Students may interact in pairs or small groups, as
follows:
(1) Students are given different cards with different emotions written on them, e.g. sadness
and anger. Each tries to portray in turn the emotion written on the card so that other
members of the class can guess which emotion it is.
(2) Here the actor is not allowed to speak but to act out an action or a situation or a
profession. For example, he may pick an imaginary object from the floor. You then asks
the others to say which object they think has been picked. Other students are allowed to
ask questions concerning the role played, such as “Do you like it?” “Is it made of wood
or iron?” Is it dangerous? Is it liquid or solid? This activity does not only help
development of the speaking skill, it also helps to reinforce understanding of
interrogatives.
(3) Students can also be asked to act out situations in which arguments may easily develop.
For example, a chief may suppress his subjects. You may pose questions based on the
chief’s behaviour.
(4) ‘A’ meets a stranger ‘B’ who is lost. He wants to know the way to a specific place such
as the post office or hospital or shopping centre. “A” is then asked to give directions to
“B” You should decide on the starting point, (where they met). Local landmarks well
known to the students should be used to give directions.
Communication Games
 Communication games are used to foster authentic, natural and creative language use.
They are based on an information or opinion gap, which has to be bridged. Cooperation
during the game is more important than competition. A goal has to be set and the
challenge of achieving it should encourage unrestrained communication behaviour. Your
role should be that of a consultant and facilitator.
The following are possible examples of communication games.
1) Describe and draw

Look for pictures that would help to practice pronunciation of English language sounds that
students find difficult to pronounce. Some communities in Kenya find it difficult to
pronounce some English sounds like s/sh, r/l, k/g, p/b, due to mother tongue influence.
The following is an example of the game.
- Student ‘A’ describes a picture to student ‘B’

- ‘B’ tries to draw the picture on the basis of ‘A’s description.
- ‘B’ is allowed to ask questions for clarification.
- The same activity can be carried out in small groups where one group describes the picture
and other groups draw the picture from the verbal descriptions.
- Later, pictures are compared and the whole class participates by reacting to the drawings.
Allow the class to judge the performance, before giving your views and advice.
These activities involve integration of skills in the sense that they not only help students in
improving their speaking skills, but they also enhance students’ listening skills. They have to
listen keenly to be able to include all the details in their drawings.
2) Describe and arrange

- Student ‘A’ mixes up pictures that should follow a particular pattern.
- Then he holds the mixed up pictures and describes them to student ‘B’.
- ‘B’ arranges the pictures in sequence on the basis of ‘A’s’ descriptions.
- ‘B’ may ask questions of clarification or to generate more information.
- When this is done, ask the rest of the class to judge whether the pictures have been arranged
in order. They are also expected to correct where pictures have been arranged wrongly.
- Afterwards ask students in groups to choose their favourite pictures and write creative stories
based on them. The best stories are read out to the class and later displayed on the wall.
These exercises do not only improve the speaking skill but also help in the integration of the
four basic language skills namely, listening, speaking, reading and writing.
3) Find the Difference

- Students ‘A’ and ‘B’ have each a picture, which only differs in some small details.
- By describing the pictures they have to discover what the differences are.
- The rest of the class participates by identifying the difference.
4) Debates
Choose a topic that can cause arguments to develop easily. Examples of these are: topics that
deal with gender issues, school administration and love matters. Assure the students that they
will not be victimised for their views and that whatever they say will not leave the classroom.
Such an assurance helps to ally their fears and they open up and express their views.
5) Group Discussions
Small groups should be used to discuss a topic of their own choice or one given by you. After
the task is completed, the students should be asked to present their points to the rest of the class.
Other students should react to the presentations in a class discussion.
2.5: Summary
 In conclusion, it is important to point out that in terms of intelligibility, accurate

intonation, stress and rhythm are rated higher than accurate pronunciation of the
phonemes.
 The intended meaning can be clarified by using the context of the situation and the
linguistic context of the sentence. This is called redundancy in language. Redundancy
means in some cases, units in the language carry the same information. If one of them is
left out, the message will still be left intact. For example, in some cases the word “stump”
and “stamp” are pronounced interchangeably without causing communication
breakdown, until the students are able to identify the two different vowel sounds /ӕ/ and
/ʌ/. The implication here is that even though some words may be pronounced wrongly,
the meaning can be got from the content and context in which it is uttered. Redundancy is
important in language learning because without it, there would be misunderstanding and
breakdown in communication. However, proper pronunciation is important as incorrect
pronunciation can sometimes cause communication breakdown, especially in situations
where the content is limited to a single sentence.
 When children learn mother tongue through total involvement in real–life situations,
which require genuine communication, they acquire both linguistic and communicative
competence.
 Since opportunities to engage in genuine communication in a second or foreign language
learning situation are rare, you have to create opportunities and situations that promote
this intentionally.
 To bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world outside, you can use teaching
techniques that promote this, such as role-play, drama and communication games.
 It is also important to remember that we converse in sentences and not single words.
Again, sounds occur in a sequence of not only words but also sentences. Therefore,
practice in auditory discrimination and sound production should as soon as possible be
switched from contrasting sounds of single words to their use in sentences. The sentence
should ultimately be the minimal unit for pronunciation practice.
THE INTEGRATION OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Rationale for Integration
The Kenyan syllabus of English adopts and integrated approach to the teaching of
English. Integration means merging two autonomous but related entities in order to
strengthen and enrich both. It means that no language skill should be taught in isolation.
Listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills should complement each other.
 In her introduction to the Integrated English syllabus, the director of Education

notes, “it is important to realize that Literature provides genuine and expressive
samples of language in context”, (MOE, Syllabus for English; 2002: 3.) This
helps students to gain familiarity with many different linguistic uses, forms and
conventions of the written mode. Reading of literary works provides a rich
context in which learners can acquire new vocabularies and knowledge of rich
possibilities of language use. It has been established that teaching language
structures in isolation is not only boring, but it also tends to produce learners who
lack communicative competence.
 Through exposure to Literature, the learner will improve their language sills.
They will not only enrich their vocabulary but also learn to use language in a
variety of ways. Similarly, an improved knowledge of the language will enhance
the learner’s appreciation of literary materials.
 Literary works also help to develop the learner’s critical thinking, which is a
crucial element in intellectual development. As we have already seen in the
previous unit, Literature is about life (values, conflict, human nature etc) and it is
a good avenue for providing suggestions on how to resolve some of the
challenges people face. All this is done through artistic employment of language.
In order to speak and write naturally and expressively. The learner must acquire
the ability to use structures and expressions, which are an inalienable part of the
language.
 It should be noted that language is not learnt in a vacuum. It revolves around
issues and concerns that affect man on daily basis such as HIV/AIDS pandemic;
good governance corruption and civic education. The English teacher is therefore
required to expose the learners to these concerns through all the language skills.
Question
Do you support the rationale for integrating the teaching of language and
Literature? Support your answer.
Note d) The Merits of Integrating Language and Literature
I would like to support the rationale for integrating the teaching of language in
literature by presenting below some merits of the same.
 Literature and Language have complementary roles. Literature draws a lot

from language as already discussed earlier and language draw heavily from
literature.
 The study of literary works plays an important part in language learning.
Literature is one of the three areas on which language learning content could
be based (the others are linguistics and civilization). This view is supported
by authorities like Halloway (1963), Wiley and Dunk (1985), Brumfit (1985),
and Collie and Slatter (1987). They argue that there must be content, which is
worthwhile if language teaching is to be really effective. That literature
enhances communicative competence in a learner through carefully selected
activities from interesting materials.
To add to this, the integration of the two may be used to develop various
aspects of English such as vocabulary and language structures drawn from
various types of texts. This view is supported by Mwanzi (1987) and
Muthiani (1988).
 Students can acquire development of verbal skills through classroom
presentation of literary pieces such as poetry and drama. This also helps in
the development of listening skills.
 Integration makes language more practical than separating the teaching of the
two.
 The use of the integrated approach will help to maximize the utilization of the
time allocated and ensure effective coverage of the syllabus.
 Integration makes literature compulsory and students can appreciate at an
early age the special relationship between language and literature. (Indangasi,
1988.
The demerits of Integrating Language and Literature
Despite the merits of integration, we also have dissenting views regarding it. It is
argued that:
 They are two different disciplines-that literature is in no way synonymous

with, for example, reading. Literature goes beyond mere comprehension,
which is only pre-requisite for literary analysis.
 Integration can take place after a learner has been exposed for sometime to the
necessary language skills. Language must therefore be learnt on its own first
before literary skills are taught (Burton 1982)
 Very little of the intrinsic values of the two come out when they are
integrated, hence each should be taught on its own.
 Their syllabi are different (although seemingly integrated) and there are
concepts and content that are specific to literature and not to language and
vice versa,
 There is no clear-cut boundary between the two. For example, how do you
divorce the literary aspects from the linguistic aspects in a context.
 Sometimes, teachers who are better in literature tend to ignore the language
aspects during instruction and vice versa.
 Not all teachers are trained to teach both disciplines, and as
such, one subject suffers. In some countries such as Kenya,
a literature teacher or language teacher is assumed to be
proficient enough to handle both-a fallacy that needs to be
corrected.
 The concept of integration has not been well understood by
teachers and when they attempt it in actual classroom, it
proves difficult.
THE TEACHING OF GRAMMAR
3.1: Introduction
There has been a lot of debate about the teaching of grammar in language teaching among
linguists and language teachers. Some have tended to stress the teaching of grammar from a
prescriptive point of view while others have stressed the descriptive and functional aspects of
language. Those who stress prescriptive grammar insist on teaching rules which indicate what
should be said and/or written in a language according to traditional grammarian. The linguists
and language teachers who prefer teaching descriptive grammar base their ideas on the
functional use of language and on the usage of language by the native users. You should,
therefore, have a proper understanding of grammar in order to be able to help the students to be
communicatively competent in all English language skills.
3.2: Grammar and the Language System

Grammar can simply be defined as the rules by which words change their forms and are
combined into meaningful sentences. Grammar constitutes the organizing principles where
sounds are related to meaning and vice versa. It comprises two main elements: morphology and
syntax.
Grammar covers a wide area in the English syllabus, as it is present in all the four basic language
skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is made up of the organizing principles where
sounds are related to words and meaning. Without grammar, our utterances would be
unintelligible. Grammar also takes the central position in the wider language system, as seen in
the figure below.
The Language System
Language
Pronunciation Grammar Semantic/Meaning
Phonetics Phonology Morphology Syntax Vocabulary/lexis Discourse
Morphology
Morphology is the study of morphemes and their different forms (allomorphs), and the way they
combine to form words. Morphemes form the items of the language and they are the smallest units
without grammatical structure within themselves. There are two main forms of morphemes: Free
and Bound morphemes. Free morphemes occur independently as words such as ‘conduct’. Bound
morphemes combine with others to form words. Bound morphemes are in two categories. The
morphemes that change the meaning and class of a word are derivational, e.g. “write” verb and
“writer” noun. Those morphemes that do not change the class but the meaning are inflectional.
Inflectional morphemes indicate grammatical categories of the same word E.g. “write, writes” as a
verb. They also consist of affixes in form of prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes occur at the beginning
of a word and suffixes at the end and this changes the meaning of a word. Examples of prefixes
are ‘mis’ misconduct and ‘bi’ bilingual. Examples of suffixes are ‘ed’ conducted and ‘ful’ careful.
Syntax
Syntax describes the relationship between morphemes or items in a language. This includes how
words combine to form phrases, clauses and sentences. It also deals with word order in sentence
formation like (subject + verb + object). As these aspects are not mutually exclusive, you should
teach them in complete sentences to show their usage. The two subsystems in grammar:
morphology and syntax, form methods in which to describe the formal aspects of a language.
3.3: Types of Grammar

There are 3 types of grammar that you are expected to teach your students:
1) Structural grammar:
This type of grammar shows how words combine to form phrases, clauses and sentences.
2) Traditional grammar:
It is sometimes referred to as school grammar. It deals with labeling of parts of speech.
3) Prescriptive grammar:
It prescribes grammar rules to be followed to construct correct sentences. It prescribes what
people should say or write.
There is also a fourth type of grammar which is, linguistic grammar. This is knowledge of L1,
learnt naturally at home.
3.4: English Language Competences

As you of English, you should aim at developing among your students the following competences:
1) Linguistic competence which involves the speaker’s knowledge of a language, mainly the first
language. This kind of competence is acquired or learnt naturally without formal schooling
2) Communicative competence requires the speaker’s ability to put language to communicative
use appropriately. For example, language to complain or praise would be different each time it
is used, and would perform specific functions.
(3)Pragmatic competence is sometimes referred to as strategic competence. It requires the
speaker’s ability to use language for a range of public and private functions, including
communication.
(4) Social linguistic competence implies use of language appropriate to particular social
situations.
To attain the above competences, expose your students to the following types of sentences.
3.5: Types of Sentences

a) Expose your students to different types of sentences and their usage. They should be
familiar with the 4 basic types:
(i) Declaratives: Statements and assertions
(ii) Interrogatives: Questions – these seek information
(iii) Imperatives: Express commands
(iv) Exclamatory: Express strong feelings
a) All the above types of sentences should be taught in their correct usage and contexts.
b) Ensure your students are familiar with grammatical terms, especially the 9 parts of speech,
These are: Nouns, Verbs, Pronouns, Adverbs, Adjectives, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Articles
and Interjections. These are the building blocks in sentence formation.
c) The ultimate goal should be to develop the ability to use language in meaningful
communication, not just rote learning of grammar rules as an end in itself.
d) Ability to describe functions of subject, object, tenses, phrases, clauses and sentences.
e) Use of structural elements such as articles, prepositions, conjunctions and auxiliaries.
f) Master suprasegmental phonemes/prosodic features. These are, e.g. stress, intonation and
rhythm. The sentence should be the basic unit for teaching grammar (in all activities). Avoid
teaching language items in isolation. Instead use sentences that allow meaningful activity.
It is important for you to realize that languages are dynamic. New words and structures are
being incorporated in the existing languages through technological inventions and contact
with other languages.
It is your responsibility to keep abreast with what is acceptable (standard language) and what
is no. You can do this by reading widely to get exposed to different words, registers and
structures.
3.6: Objectives
By the end of the course, your students should be able to:

Identify the word classes and their functions in the sentence.
Use correct sentence structures in various situations
Note common errors and identify them in their own work.
Demonstrate creativity and flexibility in sentence construction.
Express themselves clearly and precisely using grammatically correct sentences.
Understand and appreciate what they hear and read
Assess their progress in the acquisition of grammar skills.
3.7: General Criteria for Selecting Grammar Teaching Methods

The choice of a teaching method is left to the discretion of you.
However, there are certain criteria that need to be taken into consideration before a method is
selected:
1) Student objectives: These should determine the type of teaching method chosen.
2) The context of the teaching: (Where learning will take place)
3) The time requirements of the method: Consider the time you have and the time
requirements of the topic. Also consider the time on the timetable.
4) The demands of the method: How will you and students be involved?
5) The type of resource materials: What materials will be needed to use the method
successfully.
6) Availability of the required resource materials:
7) The objectives that the method helps to achieve: (Is this the best method?)
8) The number of students in the classroom: This will determine the method selected.
9) The students’ entering behavior: (their ability, interests, needs & previous
experiences).
10) The nature of the subject matter: The method used to teach grammar may not
necessarily be the best to teach writing or listening skills.
11) Your own abilities and inclinations: Are you trained? Are you motivated? Do you like
the method?
12) Domain(s) of knowledge you wish to emphasize in the teaching: Is it a skill?
(Psychomotor) or knowledge? (cognitive) or values? (affective/social).
Give five advantages of choosing a suitable method to teach grammar.

What do you think would happen when a wrong method is selected? Give five
disadvantages
3.7: Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative language teaching (CLT) is an approach that helps to teach English in a more
productive manner, in terms of developing both linguistic and functional skills. It was introduced
after British linguists were dissatisfied with the existing methods of language teaching English.
It was expected to take care of functional and communicative potential of language. These are
dimensions of language teaching that had previously been overlooked.
Communicative competence (CC) is the ability to know if an utterance is formal, informal,

feasible or appropriate. These are pragmatic aspects of language use. The aim of the approach is
focused on attaining CC or proficiency. To support this view, Hymes (1972) argued that the goal
of language teaching is students’ attainment of CC. Linguists in the forefront of CLT were:
Halliday (1970); Candlin (1976); Wilkins (1976); Widdowson (1978); Brumfit and Johnson
(1979); Littlewood (1981); Finocchiaro and Brumfit (1983).
Characteristics CLT
Proponents of this approach argue it is important to look at the communicative aspects of
language, rather than mere mastery of structures, when teaching. Students are expected to
discover rules of language underlying a functional expression (inductive). Avoid teaching the
rules (deductive). The aim is to provide relevant and purposeful language activity, set in a
meaningful context which reflects real-world use. The emphasis is on meaning potential of
language rather than on mastery of forms.
Your students should have a purpose to communicate by you creating opportunities where they
will feel the need to communicate. Unless you use authentic situations when teaching language,
students may never learn to use language spontaneously & creatively in real-life situations. If
this does not happen, students may also stagnate at the level of mechanical responses. Their
vocabulary level will remain limited. This may explain the contradiction where a s
tudent performs well in a grammar exam but fails miserably when writing an essay. This
situation may be caused by their inability to communicate ideas in an authentic situation.
Classroom Activities in CLT

 You should abandon teacher-centered, frontally controlled classroom, in favour of student-
centeredness.
 Individual activities should give way to group and pair work (co-operative learning.
 Encourage interaction where the student makes meaningful use of language.
 Spontaneous dialogue is a major classroom activity.
 Questions and dialogue are based on a passage or selected topics and situations.
 Students are encouraged to contribute in discussions, either verbally or in writing.
 You should act as the facilitator of the communication process by creating opportunities for
everyone to participate. You should also act as an independent participant within the group,
which you may stop to join and contribute.
 Avoid using your authority to influence members of any group.
3.8: Teaching Techniques

i) Deductive and inductive teaching
There are two main general teaching techniques (deductive and inductive) that teachers use to
teach grammar. In the deductive way, you start by teaching rules of grammar, then asks students
to give examples by forming sentences. In the inductive way, you give examples first and asks
students to come up with the rules. This technique in teaching grammar has been found to have
long lasting effects than the deductive teaching. The retention is also longer and rote-learning of
the rules common in deductive teaching is eliminated.
To use any of the techniques effectively, you should make proper preparation beforehand.
Examples of techniques that you can use are :
ii) Language games

 Games add fun and variety to the teaching of grammar. Students would normally
welcome a change of pace.
Requirements:
 You should make thorough preparation by first of all reading the rules of the game
beforehand, to have a good understanding of how it is played.
 Gather the materials that you may require for the game in advance.
 Before introducing the game, you should find out if the students are interested. If they are
not, you should abandon it until a later date.
 The game selected should be within the student’s language ability.
 You should also choose a game that allows as many students as possible to participate.
 You should ensure the participants understand the game rules clearly.
 The rules should be adhered to strictly as allowing them to be broken, sets a precedent
that may lead to hostility and you may be accused of bias.
 You should keep the game under control and indiscipline should not be allowed.
 You should have a pleasant but firm tone. Pleasantness brings about a relaxed atmosphere
whereas firmness makes the game serious.
 If an error occurs when the game is going on, do not point it out on the spot. Instead, note
it down and deal with it at a later time.
 If it is a team game, have mixed ability teams where the proficient students mix with the
less proficient ones. This balances the teams and the weak students learn from the
brighter ones, as they are absorbed in the team. However, remember to rotate participants
in different teams.
 You should also direct the game and act as the facilitator and the referee.
 There should be flexibility in the choice of games. If one game does not succeed, select
another one that is more appealing.
 Do not use one game too often to a point that it bores your students. Encourage a good
spirit of fun.
 Games become motivating if competitiveness is included, such as in the scoring system
 An example of a game is a quiz where two balanced teams are involved.
 For example, you have just taught the conditional tense and you want to reinforce the
structure. The rule is to use: If I were…, I would….
 In this case, you divide the class into two teams, having already made cards with various
occupations that students are familiar with. Examples of these are a farmer, policeman,
lawyer and teacher.
 The leader of the team picks any card from you at random and in not more than ten
seconds produces a suitable sentence based on the occupation on the card.
 The conditional structure should be used in the sentence correctly. However, if the
student is unable to make the sentence within the given time, the chance is given to the
other team.
 Write the sentences that the students make on the chalkboard.
 At the end of the game, point out identified errors and encourage students to correct their
own errors first, before offering assistance. Ask them to copy the correct sentences in
their books.
 In large classes, some students can become the audience.
 The language game should not be played at the beginning of the lesson but in the middle
or towards the end, when a change is welcome.
iii) Use of songs

 Songs like games add fun to the teaching and learning of grammar.
 The structure being taught is also learnt in a relaxed manner.
 You should look for a song that has the grammatical structure that has been taught and
needs to be reinforced. You could also have one of your own.
 For instance, the students may have finished learning how to use the conditional:
If I were….. I would…...
 Songs should be used towards the end of the lesson as it is an enjoyable way of
concluding the lesson.
iv) Role play

Role-play has been confused with drama. Drama is a literary form while role-play is condensed
drama. The acquisition of any language goes hand in hand with the familiarity of the culture of
the language. Through role-play, the culture of the native language can be understood. The target
language and the context of role-play fuse into the language learning process with high interest,
relevance and enjoyment. You can use role-play to teach grammar in an enjoyable way. In role-
play, pairs or groups of students act out certain parts, where they are required to use limited
structures. For example, you may teach students how to get permission using polite structures
like May I, Could I, Is it possible for me/you to---
Role-play could also be used as a form of communication game where students could hold a
mock-trial. This involves having a judge, the defendant, the prosecutor and the jury. The rest of
the class becomes the audience. Students perform first with your guidance but during the actual
role-play, they are on their own. Your role is that of a facilitator and you are expected to offer
help if need arises. Your presence should not influence the progression of the role-play.
Language games have some advantages as seen below.
Advantages of using games, songs, drama and role play

 Use of these techniques gives students a chance to use formal, informal and specialized
language forms and registers.
 They are good for revision of grammatical structures in a relaxed manner.
 They help to structure human behaviour and speech into an art of speaking.
 They also provide an opportunity for the integration of a variety of language structures.
Use of role-play gives students a chance to use formal or specialized language (register). It is good for revision
It structures human behaviour and speech into an art of speaking.
It provides an opportunity for the integration of a variety of language structures. The topic should be at the leve
The selected passages should contain the structures you want to put emphasis on.
v) Flash cards
Flash cards may be in form of pictures. For example, pictures could be placed in a
sequence and students are asked to develop a story from them.
E.g. Pictures of a lion An antelope grazing at the edge of a forest The lion eating
the antelope.
Alternatively, flash cards may be in form of words. E.g. Lion Antelope Graze
Forest Attack.
Ask students to use the words to create a story. Later on, you can ask the students to
analyse parts of a sentence. For example, you can teach definite and indefinite articles using the
sentences they have made:
This is a lion that…..
This is the lion that…..
It is also important to familiarize students to grammatical terms.

The main ones are the parts of speech.
The ultimate aim should be to develop the ability to use them in meaningful sentences, not as single words or
It is important that students are able to use structural elements such as articles
,prepositions, conjunctions and auxiliary in sentences.
Likewise, mastery of suprasegmental phonemes that are usually referred to as prosody, like stress, intonation
vi) Pictures and drawings
Draw or collect pictures that will assist you to teach a particular grammatical structure. Pictures
can be obtained from books, magazines, newspapers and photographs. Prepare by formulating
questions that you would like your students to answer. These should be based on the
picture/drawing.
Show one picture to the whole class or, different pictures to different groups. For example, to
practise use of comparatives & superlatives, present different pictures like: different makes of
cars or animals. These will assist students to practice:
Comparatives: more beautiful, tougher, less reliable
Superlatives: most powerful, fastest, the best.
Here, your students will be learning use of: more, er, most, est, less and best.
vii) Audio tapes

Audio and visual tapes assist to teach difficult grammatical and sentence structures. You have to
prepare beforehand by following the steps below:
 Revise with students the structure to be taught beforehand.
 Listen to the tape in advance and prepare relevant questions based on the recording.
 When playing the tape, ensure there are no distractions.
 Stop purposefully at certain intervals to explain.
 Afterwards, ask questions based on the tape content.
 Give a writing assignment to consolidate the grammatical structure taught.
viii) Films
If the school has a film projector and power, you can use films to teach grammar. Study the film
beforehand and make oral and written questions from the film. Then proceed making the same
preparation like that made when teaching using an audio tape.
ix) Realia or 3D objects

These are real objects. For example, you could use a box effectively to teach prepositions: in, on,
over, under, beside etc. Display the box to the class and demonstrate various prepositions using a
pen, for example, in, on, over, beside, along and under. This technique increases students’
concentration span and the retention rate improves.
x) Reading
To reinforce taught grammatical structures, select reading passages containing such structures.
Use such passages during reading comprehension sessions. Consider the language level of your
students when selecting reading materials. Afterwards, ask questions that require students to use
the taught structures. Questions should be varied to test different skills. E.g. comprehension,
knowledge, inference, evaluation, application, synthesis and vocabulary use.
xi) Writing
You can use writing to consolidate taught grammatical structures. This can be done in form of
written assignments. For example, after teaching the Passive voice, you can ask students to
describe a process in writing, using the passive voice. You can also use transformation of
sentences from one form to the other. For example, you can ask students to change sentences
from direct speech to indirect speech. You could also ask students to write a dialogue between
two friends who have just met and have not seen each other for a long time. In this case they may
have to practice use of present tense.
1) List any three grammatical errors in English language that are common among your
students due to mother-tongue influence.
2) Select any one of the three errors and devise a remedial activity that you can use to
overcome the problem.
xii) Mechanical practice

Mechanical practice is in form of tables and drills. It is useful when you find your students are
not able to make a particular type of language structure. The problem could be inability to get
the right tense, it could be they are not able to get the subject-verb-object agreement etc. This
can be in form of tables and drills.
a) Substitution tables
These are useful for oral practice. They help in reinforcing learning of a particular grammatical
structure. The student chooses from different boxes to form different sentences. The language
level of students will determine the level of difficulty of the sentences to be formed.
I shall be the first to Miriam

Mary will travel to arrive
The student will get married to read
Simon will opt to Uganda
b) Substitution drills
These involves repetition of a certain language structure that does not change. Sentences are
formed by combining the structure with other words. The structure is in the first column.
lend me his pen.

I asked him to give a speech.
arrive on time.
NB: Substitution drills & tables can be boring if overdone. Shift to something else once you are
sure students understand the structure you are trying to teaching.
xiii) Forward and Backward chaining

This technique helps in sentence construction, especially when you want to teach the ‘if’
conditional’. It helps to show how various parts are used to build a sentence. One student starts
by reading the first part and . Another student adds information on the second line, another adds
more information on the third line and so on, until the sentence is complete. See the examples
below. The information added must be relevant to the sentence.
If I were you………….
If I were you I wouldn’t…………
If I were you I wouldn’t drink that stuff…………..
If I were you I wouldn’t drink that stuff at all.
xiv) Backward chaining
This is the opposite of forward chaining. Unlike the forward chaining, here one starts with the
end part of the sentence. The technique is also used to teach conditionals. For example,
at all………………………………………
drink that stuff at all…………………..…
I wouldn’t drink that stuff at all………...
If I were you I wouldn’t drink that stuff at all.
NB: Both forward and backward chaining require much concentration to ensure the sentence
produced makes sense .
xv) Group work

Use of group work helps students to develop speaking and expressive skills. There are 3 basic
types of groups that you can assist your students to form.
1) Buss Group
This comprises two to three students, consulting and doing short tasks as they are seated.
This activity normally takes about 5 minutes. It is used during the lesson when you pose a
question and you want your students to discuss quickly, then give you an answer.
2) Task Group
A task group has 3-6 students. All groups do the same tasks. The activity takes longer, about 15
minutes.
3) Syndicate Group
A syndicate group consists 3-6 students doing different tasks. Like the task group, it takes longer
to discuss; about 15 minutes.
Things to consider when forming groups

The size of the group will depend on the number of students in the classroom. Ideally, each
group should be between 3-6 students. Discuss the task beforehand and make sure students
understand what is expected of them. Act as a guide or facilitator who is consulted when the
need arises.
 Ensure each group has mixed abilities and mixed gender, if the school is co-educational.
 Each group should have a group leader, who makes sure everyone participates. The leader
also makes sure some students are not dominating the discussion. The other role is to record
and present the group’s deliberations.
It is important to note that the larger the group, the fewer the opportunities for every member to participate fu
Advantages of group-work.
 Learning becomes student-centered
 Students are involved in their own learning.
 They do not depend on you to provide all the knowledge.
 It gives students an opportunity to put language to functional use.
 Provides an ideal situation for lang. learning.
 Allows students to express themselves freely, thereby developing their verbal skills.
 It motivates them which is good for language learning.
Disadvantages
 The leader should ask everyone’s views.
 It is time consuming and can only be used when there is ample time.
 Sometimes, students might discuss in mother tongue or any other language but English.
 If this happens, it beats the purpose of organizing such discussions.
 There can also be passive indiscipline where some students refuse to participate.
Solution:
 Move around, making sure everyone participates.
 Make sure only English is used and not any other language.
The techniques used to teach grammar may not necessarily be the best to teach other areas of
English. The content to be taught should determine the technique selected.
1) Which of the above teaching techniques would you use in your grammar lessons?
Explain
3.10: Conclusion
 Compromise is often the best approach.
 Successful teachers and textbook writers employ a mixture of the approaches.
 This is often known as the ‘eclectic’ approach.
 Remember, lessons incorporating real-life communication are always more meaningful.
 They are also more motivating to the students.
 Grammar rules should not be taught in isolation but in meaningful sentences.
 The sentence should also be the basic unit of teaching all grammatical
aspects
Select one area of grammar. Create an activity that is suitable to teach the
language skills from the identified area. Explain why the technique you have
selected is the best to teach the skills.
THE TEACHING OF READING
4.1: Introduction
Proficiency in reading has been identified as one of the most reliable indicators of whether a
student will attain the competence needed to achieve academic success and to contribute actively
to society (Carter, 2000). Reading is a vital skill as access to most of the information is through
this skill. This makes it important that you use methods and techniques that will develop
proficiency in reading. Ability to read fluently, use of expression when reading a passage aloud,
proper pronunciation of target words with confusing or problematic phonemes, reading a map, a
picture, numbers, graphs and charts are some of the skills expected from students.
The ability to read with understanding is also one of the most important skills, not only in
learning English language but also in other subjects. Reading in the early years of schooling
should, among other things, be aimed at reading for pleasure. Expose your students to a variety
of reading materials. Reading widely helps them to develop a word bank of new words, and
exposes them to new ideas and sentence structures. These are used later to communicate both
verbally and in the written form. It is through reading that your students are able to gather
information from printed and visual sources, both for academic and non-academic purposes.
Ability to read is also part of education for life in that a student is able to read information that is
important in one’s everyday life. Things that your students are bound to read are, for example,
signs on the roads, instructions in order to perform a task or carry out a process, labels on
chemical containers, some of which may warn the user of its poisonous contents, and labels on
medications. So, reading is not only a vital skill for academic purposes but also for life,
especially in the modern world.
4.2: Theoretical Views

There are three theoretical procedures used in reading that have been identified, (Carter 2003):
bottom-up, top-down and interactive.
 The bottom-up strategy is at the word level. It confines the reader to the text and
emphasizes recognition of words rather than meaning. This is the strategy used during
the early stages of reading with beginners. They include the phonic method, (an
awareness of sounds that make up spoken words). In terms of comprehension, this type of
reading is referred to as “reading the line” as it involves literal comprehension. The ideas,
facts and information are explicitly stated in the text.
 The top-down strategy takes the reader outside the text and sees the reading process as a
language acquisition process. The reader brings in background knowledge and
experiences to the text to make meaning of what is read. We call this reading, “beyond
the word” or “reading between the lines”.
 The interactive strategy combines both the bottom-up and top-down strategies. There is
interaction between the reader and the text. Regardless of the strategy you adopt, the
nature of the reading process changes as a student progresses and matures.
4.3: Reading processes

There are various reading processes in which you can involve your students, either individually
or interactively. Examples of these are:
Reading aloud
You or the student could read aloud, depending on the purpose. This fosters the listening skills
and develops the correct articulation of words. You should act as a model for your students to
emulate. Students in their early years of learning English should be given a chance to read aloud,
as this helps them to learn how to articulate words correctly. You are also able to tell those who
have pronunciation problems and help them rectify.
Shared reading
This process is interactive in nature and involves the whole class. Give your students a chance to
read key words and phrases. Ask questions. As you read aloud, pause at intervals; at words or
phrases that you know students are familiar with or those that are problematic to them. As your
students advance in their reading skills, leave them alone to read independently.
Guided reading
Make sure the students are aware of the purposes for reading and monitor the process. As they
respond to the reading materials, evaluate their progress, pointing out the weaknesses. This can
be time consuming and the students need to read without pressure. For this reason, this type of
reading is better done as homework.
Paired reading
The students work in pairs and help each other in reading. In the pair, one of the readers should
be a better reader to assist the weak one in understanding and answering comprehension
questions.
Independent reading
This can only be done when students have mastered the alphabet and the corresponding sounds,
syllables and word forms. Independent readers should be able to read on their own and derive
meaning from what is read. Independent reading will require students’ exposure to a variety of
materials.
Language exploration
This requires you to involve your students with activities that foster further development of
language skills. The activities may involve discussion of selected topics that students are familiar
with, reading, reciting, drawing, singing and writing.
4.4: Forms of Reading

Reading in the classroom takes many forms. For example,
a) Fast reading: This may involve:
 Skimming
This is fast reading to get the gist or a general overview of the subject matter. For example when
one reads a newspaper, he is skimming; he just wants to find out the day’s news, not to pass an
exam. When you want to develop this skill, reading should be timed. Then give your students a
question or questions asking them to say what the passage was about or some other information
in the book.
 Scanning
This is fast reading in order to locate specific information while ignoring all other information.
Eyes move fast down and across the page until the required information is located. Once it is
located, the eyes stop and one reads slowly. An example of this type of reading is when one
wants to get the meaning of a word from the dictionary. To develop this skill, time the students’
reading. For example, ask them to locate a particular word or phrase in a text within five
seconds.
b) Reading for detail

Avoid this form of reading at the early years. However, simple reasoning, for example, why
something happens and looking for relationships could be used to sharpen students’ mental
processes. It increases their concentration and keeps them thinking of what they are reading,
instead of reading parrot-fashion.
c) Critical reading: This requires the reader to look at the written material critically. For
instance, the reader looks at the implied meaning, inferential meaning, the connotations, writer’s
purpose and whether it has been achieved. This skill should be taught to advanced students and
should be avoided at the elementary level.
d) Reading for Factual information

In reading for factual information, students should look at points, arguments and ideas expressed
in the reading material. Questions to test comprehension of what is read are normally found in
the textbook but you can also formulate your own questions with answers.
e) Consolidating knowledge
The reading skill requires the reader to go beyond the text. It involves consolidation of
knowledge, specifically of vocabulary, sentence structure and textual structure. Teach this skill
to advanced students in forms 3 and 4. Use the read materials to teach use of vocabulary and
different sentence structures in various language situations.
4.5: Bad reading habits

Reading fast is essential in academic situations since students are expected to read widely
and from different subject registers. However, this can be hampered by bad reading habits
that slow down the silent reading pace, to the speed at which we speak or read aloud. Let us
look at some of the common bad reading habits that your students should avoid and which
they should look out for.
a) Vocalising: This is forming the words with the lips and tongue.
b) Sub-vocalising: This is saying each word silently by moving the tongue or throat or vocal
cords. The movement can be seen under the chin.
c) Movement: This is movement of the head or pointing at each word with the finger.
d) Reading each word at a time. This involves students reading hesitatingly and uttering each
word at a time, instead of reading a phrase at once. This slows down the reading process and
the student loses concentration quickly.
e) Back skipping (unconscious) and Regression (conscious). This is going back over what has
been read; whether done as an unconscious habit (back skipping) or deliberately (regression)
because one realises he has not understood. This is the most common reading fault among
students.
f) Hearing in the mind each word as it is read. This is an abstract verb that is covert (cannot be
seen but is experienced). You can only identify this problem by asking the students their
experience while reading.
Proposed solutions:
To get rid of the bad reading habits, you should involve students in the following activities that
have been found to work.
a) Vocalising: For those students with this type of problem, ask them to read with a pencil held
between their lips. They will soon get tired of having it fall out whenever they open their
mouths.
b) Sub-vocalizing: Ask students to place the thumb and the forefinger at the sides of the throat
as they read. They should not feel any movement except for the occasional very important word.
c) Movement: Ask students to read with their elbows propped on the desk, their chins held in the
V formed by both hands and their palms holding their heads in position. This limits their
movement of the head.
d) Pointing at words with the finger: To avoid this reading problem, ask your tudents to read
with their hands firmly on the desk or kept at the back.
e) Reading each word at a time: Encourage your students to read a whole phrase or thought-
unit at a time, instead of single words. Use of peripheral vision assists in this (see below).
f) Back-skipping/Regression: This is going back to what one has read. Ask the students to push
a card or ruler down the page, covering each line as soon as they have read it so that they cannot
go back. They will be surprised at how much they can understand without going back.
g) Hearing: Ask students to think about what they are reading and to read faster. This will keep
them too busy trying to understand meaning to say or hear individual words.
h) Use of the dictionary: A good reader does not interrupt the reading at each unfamiliar word
to look up the meaning from a dictionary. He often infers meaning from the context. This makes
him read faster and understand better. Encourage your students to get meaning of a difficult word
from the context.
i) Eye fixations: A good reader’s eyes see more words at a time. Our eyes do not move
continuously along a line of print. They move in series of jerks and stops and they only see when
they stop. About 90% of our reading time is spent on the pauses or “fixations” between eye
movements. A good reader makes fewer fixations because he uses the “peripheral vision”.
j) Peripheral vision: Faster readers comprehend better than slow ones because they use the
peripheral vision (all what you can see at the corner of the eyes). They concentrate on meaning
rather than on individual words. The following exercise can be done to develop students’
peripheral vision.
Ask your students to open any printed page and focus on one word in the middle of a paragraph.
Without changing the focus, ask them how many words they can recognise on either side
of the word, above and below. How many more can they guess at?
Then ask them to check the accuracy of their answers.
The clues that might have helped them to guess are:

 The shape of the word
 The first or last letters
 Knowing what words appear together
 Knowing what words are likely to be used in discussing the topic.
It is important to note that not every written word helps in giving the meaning. Examples of such words are stru
Ask your students to concentrate on key words and these are content words like nouns & verbs. A missed word
Important ideas are usually repeated, so there is no need to go back to what is read.
4.6: Developing Reading Skills through Reading Comprehension

Apart from faster reading, the commonest way to improve reading skills is through the reading
comprehension lesson. However, many teachers fail to practise all the skills because they are
under the mistaken belief that comprehension lessons are only concerned with a student’s
knowledge. Let us remind ourselves of the skills we can practise in reading comprehension by
looking at how this should be done in the classroom.
Conducting a reading comprehension lesson

A student who is adequately prepared is expected to:
1) Comprehend a passage by following its content, arguments and narrative sequence.
2) Be able to infer information, meanings, attitudes and intentions from what is read.
3) Present such information in a variety of ways.
4) Respond to various questions from the passage.
Classroom practice
 Most teachers depend on the passage and questions in the textbook.
 One disadvantage of this is
 that when they come round to do the comprehension passage, they often find that the
passage is already stale to the students. This is because students tend to read in advance the
most interesting parts of the textbook. These are the comprehension passages, which are
usually more stimulating than most other areas of the text.
 You can avoid this by looking at the passages keenly and in some cases drawing up your
own questions. You can also attack the passage from a different angle from that given in
the textbook. This makes the material new to the students.
 You can also supplement the passages in the textbook with ones of your own.
Stages in a reading comprehension lesson
a) Preparation
 Read the passage or the story beforehand and decide if it is suitable for your students.
 Note down the difficult words and either discuss them with the students before reading, to
make their reading easier. For advanced students, the difficult words could be included in
the questions for the students to deduce the meaning from the context.
 Look at the set questions and if you find they are not challenging enough or they are too
difficult for your class, then rephrase them or leave them out altogether and formulate new
ones to suit your purpose.
b) Pre-reading:
Discuss any interesting topic related to the content of the passage. Pose related questions to
arouse their curiosity and interest. You could also tell interesting anecdotes related to the
topic to motivate the students.
c) Reading
Give students a chance to read the passage silently first and when they have comprehended,
ask them to answer the set questions. If your purpose is also to find out how well they can
pronounce words or whether they recognise punctuation marks, then they can be asked to
read aloud in class. Errors should be corrected after, not during the reading session. This
helps to develop fluency.
d) Post-reading
 Discuss the questions with the students, helping them to get the difficult
answers.
 A debate could be held based on the issues raised in the passage. This gives the students a
chance to express themselves. Only students with a certain amount of English proficiency
would benefit from this activity.
A debate would not be suitable for students with limited language proficiency as they have not developed e
e) Assessment
You may want to find out whether the objectives set before the reading lesson have been
achieved, and also how much of what has been read has been comprehended. One way of
evaluating this is to give an assignment before and after the reading. These assignments should
be based on the language level of the students. It is not possible to know students’ progress by
giving one-off measures. Assessment should therefore, be continuous.
You also need to know that assessment procedures are based on identified objectives. Specific
purposes for all reading tasks should be given and the subsequent evaluation should be based on
the purposes. You could ask questions to determine the purpose. Examples of these are:
 Is the purpose to find information?

 Is it to test their comprehension of what is read?
 Is it to note arguments to their conclusion?
 Is it to test their literary analysis skills?
 Is it to test vocabulary acquisition?
 Is it to develop their ability to give their own views?
 Is it to develop their ability to write summaries and book reviews
 Is it to develop their creativity?
i) Observation
Observation is one of the possible ways of evaluating what is read using English literacy norms.
It involves looking for answers to specific reading behaviour. Documenting some of the
observations helps in gaining insights into students’ knowledge and reading strategies. Checklists
with appropriate statements as a guide can help. The assessor should:
 Observe performance indicators through display of expected English language competences.
These may be demonstrated through students’ verbal and written activities, given tasks,
teacher-student interaction or student-student interaction. Assessment may be to:
 Observe individual working styles
 Establish what students can do individually and collectively
 Check the kind of readers (short stories) they select. Are they simple? Heavily illustrated?
With more text than illustrations?
 Find out the objects they bring with them
 Listen to their conversations about current affairs or daily activities in organised settings.
ii) Interaction and Questioning

These involve teacher/student or student/student interactions before the reading, to make them
aware of the materials they are about to read. Later, you could try to find out whether what has
been read has been comprehended. There is also a need to find out if they enjoyed or did not
enjoy reading the material and why. If they did not, the material should be changed.
iii) Self-assessment
After students have been taught effective strategies of reading, they should be able to self-
evaluate their progress. This can be done through use of portfolios in form of diaries in which
they reflect on their daily progress and experiences.
Other methods of assessing what has been read are through asking various types of questions.
The type of question asked depends on the language level and mental development of the
student, as will be seen below.
4.7) Types of Questions

Factual questions
These are sometimes referred to as recall type of questions. Students whose level of language is
low should be given simple recall and comprehension questions. Answers to this type of
questions are easily identified in the text. They test student’s ability to comprehend and identify
specific information in the passage.
E.g. “Why did the policeman not arrest the thief?”
Lexical questions
These normally test student’s understanding of simple vocabulary and idioms used in the text.
E.g. “Give the meaning of the following words as they are used in the context.”
Literary questions
Literary questions require analysis of the text. They also test understanding of the implications
of actions of characters in the text. Questions may seek information about the plot, setting,
themes as well as their opinion about what has been read or the traits of characters and their
attitudes to various things or people or animals.
E.g. “Who is the main character in the text? How do you know?
Grammatical questions
They may test, for example, student’s understanding of the structure of a sentence in the passage.
E.g. “What does the word this, refer to? This question requires the reader to think back.
Another purely grammatical task would be transformation of a sentence found in the text. E.g.
“Change the following sentence into past tense.” E.g. “He drinks tea in this restaurant.”
This requires the student’s knowledge of past tense in grammar.
Comprehension questions
These are set to see if students have grasped the subject matter. A common question of this type
could be: “Identify the main points from the passage”.
Questions that require use of creativity
Such questions may be asked in relation to the text. The student’s imagination will be called to
work and figurative language may be used.
E.g. “If you were Hare, how would you have handled the situation?
Evaluative questions
The questions may test students’ reactions to the text by asking them to give their views? E.g.
E.g. In your opinion, who is better between the two?” or
“If you were the victim, would you have killed the dog? Support your answer.
Application questions
Require students to apply in the passage knowledge learnt elsewhere. E.g. “Rewrite paragraph
two in the present continuous tense”. This question is given after students have learnt how to use
the tense.
4.8: Criteria for Selecting Reading Materials

Choice of reading materials is the responsibility of you. Reading materials may be in form of
books (fiction and non-fiction) like class readers. magazines, newspapers, journal articles etc. To
choose suitable reading materials you should consider the following factors.
a) The intellectual level and age of the students
The materials selected should be of the intellectual level of the students. Some topics may be too
mature or advanced or too simple for certain classes.
b) The linguistic level of the material: (Syntax and Lexis)

You should not select materials that are beyond the linguistic level of the students. However, the
reading material should contain a number of new words or phrases, perhaps about 10 words in
every 450 words.
 These items should occur in contexts where students can deduce the meaning.
 Clusters of new vocabulary should be avoided, as this would tend to reduce students’
interests in the reading material.
 It may assist students if they come across related words and phrases in a particular
register. Exposure to different registers does not only help in the development of
reading skill but also in the development of vocabulary and syntax (sentence
structure).
 Structures that are likely to cause great difficulty should not appear in great numbers
but be included gradually.
 If texts are adapted from books, magazines or newspapers, you may have to rewrite
sections of them to make them suitable for the level of class they are teaching.
c) Style
 You need to expose students to a variety of styles of writing.
 In particular, they must be exposed to styles such as science and general textbook
writing, the language of letters, dialogues, plays and poetry.
 It is useful for advanced students to be aware of the difference between formal and
informal styles of writing.
 Obviously here, there is a strong connection between reading skills and their
application in terms of writing.
 Most textbooks do in fact offer a variety of reading passages, but you must guard
against the kind of book which, for example, only offers fiction passages.
d) Some types of writing

You should make an effort to look for reading materials like short stories and passages,
which contain most of these types of writing. The following types of writing are useful to
expose students to during the reading lessons.
 Narrative: Short stories and passages are useful here. Use abridged versions for
poor readers
 Descriptive: Materials that describe people, places, objects, animals, events or a
procedure.
 Instructions: As are used in recipes, in giving directions and in how to carry out a
process.
 Arguments: As are found in discussions found in newspaper’s ‘letters to the editor’ or
passages with arguments for and against an issue. (For advanced readers)
 Letters: Expose students to formats like those found in both formal and informal letters.
 Dialogue: As found in plays, novels, conversations and interviews.
e) The Content
The content of the reading materials should be relevant to what the students are likely to come
across in their various courses at school. You should also be concerned with the language across
the curriculum since students level of English will also affect performance in other school
subjects taught in English.
f) Interest
It is important to use reading materials that stimulate a response in the student. To do this,
There are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration concerning the students:
 Student’s age: Some topics may be too mature or advanced for some students. So,
consider the chronological age of the students in relation to their mental age.
 Student’s gender: Sometimes, girls may not be interested in topics that interest boys and
vice versa. You have to take time to understand students’ interests.
 Students’ ambitions: Students may enjoy reading topics or about people doing jobs they
like or aspire to do.
 Students’ cultural background: The content should be socially and culturally suitable.
Students also enjoy reading about their own society as they can evaluate the attitude of the
writer. So such materials should be selected from time to time. Materials that ridicule a
particular society should be avoided.
 Religious beliefs: Students’ religious backgrounds should be considered. Materials that
question students’ religious beliefs should be avoided for they may cause animosity between
you and the students or between the students themselves.
 The length of the book: Consider the chronological age and mental development of the
students. Short stories or class readers without complex vocabulary are suitable for students
whose proficiency level is low. They are also suitable when you want to improve the
reading speed of your students. The complexity of the material should increase gradually as
students advance to higher levels.
g) Illustration
Consider the illustrations in the reading material. How useful are they? They are useful as they
raise a student’s interest as well as sustain concentration. However, as students advance in their
reading proficiency, you should encourage and expose them to materials with more text than
illustrations.
h) Typefaces
Consider the suitability of the typefaces used in the reading materials in relation to the level of
students. Large typefaces are suitable for young beginners. The typeface should become smaller
as students mature and become more proficient in English.
4.9: Summary
Students should be exposed to a variety of writing styles, patterns and registers. Such
exposure will help to develop their writing skills in creative composition, vocabulary use
and sentence structure, among other benefits.
Give your students immediate feedback, for them to correct their errors before they forget.
Guided compositions are more beneficial to the students, especially at the earlier stages.
Give your students familiar topics to write on. With the content, they will produce better essays.
THE TEACHING OF VOCABULARY
6.1 : Introduction
To communicate effectively, one needs a broad working vocabulary, which allows one to
transmit and understand ideas. A lot of the problems many students experience in language arise
from having a poor stock of words. Words in any language denote concepts and relate to
abstractions in our minds (concepts), which in turn relate to the reality from which these
abstractions are made.
To be able to understand what words mean, we need to look at them in two respects. Firstly in
terms of their referential / denotative meaning, which is their relationship with the outside world.
Secondly in terms of their connotative or associative relationship, which means their relationship
with other words and meanings. Development of any language’s vocabulary occurs through
experience with the word. Vocabulary learning, therefore, cannot be a matter of substituting a
new word for the word available in the mother-tongue. This is because there may be words with
equivalent meanings, but very seldom will you find equivalent meanings in all contexts.
6.2: Syntagmatic Relationship

Many words cannot be understood in isolation. Their meaning is often related to other words which help to
clearly define them. This is done firstly by those that are present in the utterance (sentence).This constitutes
their syntagmatic relationship, which means the relations a word has with other words in the same sentence.,
for example, “The dress will cost you…..”. In this utterance, the word ‘cost’ asks for a word denoting
money. This is a syntagmatic relationship. The following are some of the syntagmatic relationships.
The following are Syntagmatic Relationships

Co-occurrence For words to co-occur in a sentence depends on certain characteristics
attached to them. This means some words in a sentence can only occur with
particular words and not other. E.g. “Feline laughed the baby”. This is
ungrammatical because laugh cannot co-occur with an object, as it is an
intransitive verb.
Also, the subject of the verb “think” has to be human, as humans think.
Collocation When words co-occur frequently, they are said to collocate. Collocation means
the way in which some words are often used together and sound natural
together e.g. ‘sour’ and ‘milk’.
Idiom Where more than one lexical item co-occur in such a way that each has lost its
original meaning and both have given rise to a new meaning, e.g. to lose one’s
head.
Give your own example of each of the 3 syntagmatic relationships.
6.3: Paradigmatic Relationship

Relationships can also be made by words that are not in the utterance. This is referred to as
paradigmatic relationship. This means a word has relations with other words that could be
substituted for it in the sentence. For example, if we say “I will attend the service this evening”,
the word ‘service’ could be substituted with ’worship’ or ‘Mass’. The following are examples of
paradigmatic relationships:
1. Polysemy – This means that one lexical item has different meaning e.g. “Table” has
multiple meanings e.g. lay the table, a water table, table document etc. “Foot” can be:
foot of the stairs, foot the bill and the human foot.
2. Synonymy – Two lexical items have the same meaning, e.g. rub and erase, big and large,
hide and conceal. However, this seldom happens in all contexts e.g. rub/erase the board.
We can say ‘rub the oil on your skin’ but we cannot say “erase the oil on your skin”.
Other examples are: hide the pen but not conceal the pen, hide behind the tree but not
conceal behind the tree.
3. Hyponyms - A relationship between two words, in which the words include the meaning
of the other, e.g. dog and animal. The two words are related, but dog is the hyponym of
the general term animal, which is the superordinate.
Superordinate terms can have many hyponyms. E.g. vehicle
Car, Bus, Lorry, Van

Move
Walk, Run, Swim, Fly)

4. Antonyms – These are lexical item with the opposite meaning e.g. sad/happy, dead/alive,
sit/stand etc.
5. Exclusive: - this is a situation where the meaning of two lexical items exclude each other
by either:
a) Being incompatible with each other e.g. morning/darkness/night/sunshine
b) Contradicting each other e.g. dead/walking
c) Being antonyms to each other e.g. young/old
6. Scale: - when in between two lexical items with contradictory meanings, there exists
other lexical items with meanings which gradually approach the meaning of either of the
two extremes e.g. always – usually - often/frequently – sometimes -occasionally –
rarely/seldom – never
7. Homophones – These are lexical items having the same pronunciation but different
spelling and different meaning e.g. lead/led, principle/principal, card/curd, no/know.
8. Homonyms: - words which are written in the same way and sound alike but which have
different meanings. E.g. lie down/lie to you, rose (plant) rose (past tense of rise).
1) Using the definition of each word above, give your own example.
2) Using each of the above types of vocabulary, show the paradigmatic relationship by
writing two sentences of each.
What do you understand by the following sentences.
1) Your vocabulary can be one of your strongest assets or one of your greatest liabilities.
2) Your vocabulary can define and describe you.
6.4: Structural (Functional) and Content Words

A more basic kind of distinction is between structure words and content words. Structure words
are part of the grammar of a language. When considered in isolation, they are meaningless. Their
main function is grammatical. Examples of structural words are: auxiliaries, conjunctions and
prepositions. Content words can give some meaning and examples of these are nouns, verbs and
adjectives.
6.5 Developing Word Efficiency
One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary is to read widely and diversely, sampling many
different subjects and styles of writing. Through reading you encounter new words as well as
new uses for already familiar words.
Using contextual clues
A student can determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word by using the context in which it is
used. One can often figure out the meaning of an unknown word by looking for clues in the
sentence or paragraph in which it appears. Examples of these are:
Contrast Clues – A word opposite in meaning is used to get the correct meaning.
Inference Clues – The meaning is inferred from the context or previous knowledge.
Example clues – Examples are given to clarify the meaning of a word.
Definition clues – The meaning is given by defining the word.
Vocabulary can also be acquired from knowledge of the following:

A. Affixes: English words are made from morphemes which are described as the smallest
meaningful units of speech with grammatical function. Morphemes are in two parts: roots and
affixes. Affixes are attached to root words. Those that occur at the beginning of words are called
prefixes. Examples of these are: anti (antiseptic), pre (premeditate). Those that occur at the end
of root words are called suffixes. Examples of these are: ful (plentiful), less (painless). When an
affix is attached to a word, it changes the meaning of that word. In most cases, suffixes often
change the part of speech of a word.
B. Inflections: These are added at the end of a word. They normally change the tense, show
possession or plural. For example, want – wanted (past tense), Mary – Mary’s (possession),
ditch – ditches (plural).
C. Compound Words: Combining two or more words to get new meanings, e.g. dressmaker.
D. Blends: Part of two or more words combine to form a new word called a blend.
Examples: paratroops (parachute + troops), telecast (television + broadcast),
Interpol (international + Police)
E. Inventions: A new word is invented through new discoveries, new manufactured goods or
from proper nouns, e.g. wellingtons, hoover, omo, solar panel.
F. Clipping: A part of a word may be omitted to form a new word. The omission is usually at the
end of the word although in some cases it can be at the beginning e.g. photo,
(photograph), tele (television), plane (aeroplane), disco (discotheque).
G. Phrasal verbs: Show how two or three different words combine to give a different meaning
e.g. look up to, take after, make out
H. Acronyms: An acronym is formed by putting together all the initial letters of an institution,
organisation, political party or title. It is usually pronounced as one word and is written
in capital letters. E.g. CAT (Continuous Assessment Test), UNICEF (United Nations
International Children’s Emergency Fund), KARI (Kenya Agricultural Research
Institute) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation).
I. Loan Words: Through contact with other languages, English has borrowed or invented some
words from these languages and they are accepted as English words, e.g. Safari, Banana,
(African), Apartheid, Kraal (South African), Boomerang, Kangaroo (Australian), Guitar,
Alligator (Spanish), Barrister, Crown (French), Alphabet, Drama (Greek).
J. Phrasal verbs: Show how two or three different words combine to give a totally different
meaning – e.g. take after – make out.
6.6: Criteria for Selecting Vocabulary to Teach

Teaching of vocabulary can be teacher-centred which involves you giving definition or
explanation of meaning of a word. It can also be student-centred where the students make
effort to get the meaning by themselves, through use of contextual clues. Student-centred
techniques are more effective and have longer-lasting effects. There are various techniques for
teaching vocabulary. The following are examples:
Let us first look at two criteria that would influence the selection of words to be taught as well as
how we would have to teach them
Active and passive vocabulary

Other appropriate terms to indicate the same distinction are receptive and productive use of
vocabulary. Any language user understands more vocabulary than he/she actually uses. This is
from listening and reading. Much of the vocabulary learnt is hardly used when one speaks or
writes. In this sense we say ‘the passive vocabulary of a user exceeds his/her active vocabulary’.
Unlike L2 speakers, native speakers increase their active vocabulary unconsciously. After a
student hears the word several times in different contexts with different collocation, he/she
begins to use the word. However, only when greater mastery has been achieved by the L2 learner,
does the transfer from passive to active usage become an unconscious process. This is a good
argument against learning words in isolation. Vocabulary that is not often heard or read in the
normal context, will either be forgotten or be misused.
Structural (functional) and content words
A more basic kind of distinction is between structure and content words.
a) Structure words are part of the grammar of a language. When considered in
isolation, they are meaningless. Their main function is grammatical. For example,
Do you live here? The word ‘do’ acts as the marker of a question and a tense.
Examples of structural words are modal verbs like auxiliaries - may, could, must
and will and also pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and certain adverbs like
‘very’ or ‘rather’.
b) Content words are Noun, verbs, adjectives and adverbs formed from adjectives
e.g. beautifully.
6.7 Directing Questions to Form Criteria

There are certain questions that need to be asked to form the criteria.
a) Familiar: Is the item known already by the students?
If it is known then you don’t need to teach it again. For you to find out, do not ask them to
give definitions, but make use of relationships already mentioned above. E.g.
(i) What words mean the same as………………?
(ii) What words mean the opposite of…………...?
Elicit educated guesses from the students.
b) Importance: Is the item important?
This means, do students need to know the term as part of their active vocabulary, so as to use
it in other school subjects or in the future?
c) Frequency: How frequently is the item used?
Some words occur more frequently than others, like structure words. These should, therefore,
become part of a student’s active vocabulary.
d) Coverage: Some words have far wider usage than others with similar meanings. E.g.
compare usage of the word children with: kids, minors, youngsters and nippers, boys with
lads and girls with lasses. The words: children, boys and girls are much more used than the
others.
6.8: Techniques for Teaching Vocabulary

Teacher – centred activities
This can involve giving explanations using paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships of words.
To teach structural words, you can use induction by giving examples and allowing students to
find out what their functions are. Ask your students to give their own examples afterwards.
Giving a definition can be used but it is not a very effective method of teaching vocabulary.
Some teachers think students can develop their vocabulary repertoire by giving them a list of
words to learn by heart, but this does not work well. Research has shown that expecting students
to learn more than 10 – 12 new lexical items per lesson is not realistic. One of the best ways to
teach and enlarge students’ vocabulary is to offer them an opportunity to read widely and to hear
use of words in their right context.
New lexical items need recycling otherwise they will be forgotten. This can be done by making
sure the new items are used repeatedly wherever an opportunity occurs, for example, at the end
of the lesson, during the following week, again after a month etc. To reinforce the retention or
assist the memory, a number of activities can be carried out in class. Reinforcing explanations by
using visual aids like a drawing, realia and a picture. You can also mime or ask a student to
mime the meaning of a word. You can also organise a class or group discussion of the word
where peers consult each other.
Learner – centred activities

i) Context: Give a chance to your students to use contextual clues, guess-work, inference or
make intelligent guesses. If they are unable to get the right meaning from the
context, then allow them to get the meaning from their dictionaries.
ii) Definition: Animals that live by killing other animals and eating them are called carnivorous.
iii) Hyponym: The museum contained many types of transport: cars, buses, trains and trams.
iv) Characteristics: For example, there was no doubting his physical prowess, on several
occasions, he fought off several enemies single-handed.
v) Synonym: You could use different words that mean the same thing to develop vocabulary e.g.
Pause – stop Onus – responsibility, Loath – dislike/hate, Fuss – ado, Froth – foam
E.g. We had never seen such a large cave; it was simply enormous
vi) Antonym: You could also teach vocabulary by using words that are opposite in meaning to
the given word, e.g. extravagant – thrifty, generous – mean/miserly, pause – continue
E.g. Our last employer was extremely mean, but the present one is quite generous.
vii) Area of reference: The following areas of reference help to get the meaning of a word.
Words Area of reference
Partner - Business/Firm
Colleague - Profession
Ally - War
Accomplice - Crime
Comrade - Friendship
Mate - Friendship
viii) Level of formality: Some words are used in a more formal way than others. The three
categories are: formal, informal and neutral.
Indicate if the following words are formal or informal or neutral.

Pal
Associate
Companion
Buddy
Friend
ix) ) Collocation: As stated earlier, collocation is the way in which some words are often
used together and sound natural together.
 Look at these verbs: cut, hew, hack, chop, carve, slit.

 How would each collocate with the words listed below to form new words?
 Make a sentence with each new word to show you understand the meaning.
down, up, off, at, open
x) Contextualization: One effective way of teaching vocabulary is by relating the meaning of an

unknown word to the context and the way it is used. Passages or sentences can be
given with the new word for the student to infer the meaning.
xi) Sentence: The new word could be used in different sentences to reinforce the meaning.
xii) Visual Aids: Sometimes, you can use visual aids to explain difficult word e.g. real
objects, photographs, illustrations on the chalkboard could also help e.g. charts,
diagrams sketches.
xiii) Dramatization and mime: These can also help to explain difficult words, especially verbs.
E.g. Your students could understand the word ‘grunt’ better by actually producing
the sound itself, the word fatigue by miming.
References: Difficult or hard words could also be explained better by referring to what the
students already know or what they have read. For example, a word like ‘civil war’
can be explained by referring students to an area where there is a civil war which
may be highlighted in the newspapers.
Dictionary: Sometimes you can ask the students to look up the meanings of words from the
dictionary. Although this might help, it might in some cases become a drawback
because some dictionaries do not show different uses of a word in their context.
They just list down different meanings of a word. It would help to train students
how to use a dictionary and to point out the limitations.
Different Registers: Expose your students to different registers by using passages with different
registers. You can get these from different disciplines. For example, you could
collect articles or passages from magazines or textbooks e.g. scientific articles,
passages dealing with technology and from medical journals, literary works or
religious books. Later, you could give comprehension and writing tasks to your
students. You could also ask the students to write a composition based on the
comprehension passage. For example, you could ask them to rewrite the passage in a
different tense.
Use of games: You could devise different games to enlarge your student’s vocabulary, such as
crossword puzzles, use of kangaroo words and anagrams. Such games make learning
fun. E.g. use of a kangaroo word.
a) A kangaroo word is formed from another word which is the same or almost the
same in meaning to the given word. In this game, one improves his or her vocabulary
of synonyms. E.g. Craft – art, Deceased – dead, Appropriate – proper, Fixture – fit.
b) Anagrams are formed by rearranging letters of a given word to form a different word
or words. The words do not have to be the same in meaning to the given word. E.g.
Information: nation, notion, form, firm, ratio, onion, trim, motion
Draw: ward, raw, war
Transform: farm, torn, man, tram, norm, form, rat, fan, torn, far, arm, foam
Canister: canter, cane, cist, crane, crate, tan, rein, rest, rat, tin, sin, nest, ten, rent
Evaluation: You can use different methods to assess whether a student has acquired vocabulary
and whether he/she is able to use it appropriately. E.g.
 Use of multiple choice questions where a student is expected to pick the meaning of a
word from a list of words.
 Use of a word instead of an expression e.g. a group of worshippers – congregation.
One who loves his country - patriot
 Use of antonyms and synonyms in sentences or in substitution tables
 Use of affixes and compound words to form new words which can be used to make
sentences.
 Use of phrasal verbs in sentences to show that one clearly understands them. E.g. I
cannot understand what he is saying – make out
 Use of cloze tests like gap filling exercises where the new words are used to fill the
gaps in a passage or sentence.
 Use of games like kangaroo words, anagrams and crossword puzzles to test
knowledge and clear understanding of words in a pleasant way.
Use of formal, informal and neutral vocabulary
Pal (informal), Associate (formal), Companion (formal), Buddy (informal), Friend (neutral)
6.9: Summary
Speakers of a language understand more vocabulary than they actually use. This is from
everyday listening and reading. However, most of the words are hardly used when one speaks or
writes. In this sense we say the passive vocabulary of language users exceeds their active
vocabulary. Native speakers increase their active vocabulary unconsciously. After they have
heard the word several times in different contexts with different collocations, they begin to use
the word. Even for L2 students, when greater mastery has been achieved, the transfer from
passive to active usage becomes an unconscious process. For this reason, you should expose your
students to vocabulary severally because vocabulary that is not often heard or read in its normal
context will either be forgotten or be misused. Encourage your students to read widely as this
helps to develop their vocabulary.
Select a passage from your Literature text, identify ten vocabulary items and:
1) Get the meaning from the context.
2) Indicate the type of vocabulary it is.
3) For each vocabulary, make a sentence of your own.
THE TEACHING OF WRITING
5.1: Introduction
Writing is a deliberate & conscious process of forming letters on paper or other surface to record
or communicate ideas. It is a productive communication skill like speaking. It demands an
awareness of the position or role of the reader in the communicative relationship. Writing should
be planned, organized, clear and fluent. The style used should be dictated by the subject matter.
Content.
5.2: The Nature of Writing

Writing is usually an individual process. It constitutes a visible permanent product, so long as it
remains unaltered. A writer makes marks on a surface which are looked at by someone else later.
The meaning is interpreted long after writing and the interpretation is without the benefit of face-
to-face interaction. So, information may not be clarified or questions answered. It is for this
reason that whatever is written is logical and intelligible.
Writing occurs in space and time, independent of the physical context in which it was produced.
There is a permanence of writing, as opposed to speech because it continues to exist so long as
the ink and paper exist. Writing for academic purposes should be unambiguous due to large
readership of mixed linguistic background and experience.
5.3: Writing Skills

Writing skills can be categorized into two broad categories: basic and advanced.
Basic writing skills
These requires good handwriting, proper spelling and right punctuation. They constitute the
primary skills needed to write well such as scripting and proper hand writing.
Advanced writing skills
These skills relate to visual presentation, grammar, style, and organization. Proficiency in writing
depends mainly on students’ oral and grammar proficiency. Let us look at writing of advanced
skills.
Visual presentation skills
These concern:
 Use of specific formats like a letter, memorandum, minutes and reports.
 Use of proper punctuation marks and capitalization.
 Use of a variety of sentence patterns, constructions and paragraphing.
Expressive skills/ Stylistic skills involve:
 Expression of precise meaning in a variety of styles and registers.
 Selection of appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures.
 Reading widely contributes a lot to the development of this skill.
Organizational skills concern the ability to:
 Write coherently.
 Use linguistic cohesive devices like connectors.
 Take and make notes.
 Summarize.
 Write different ideas in different paragraphs.
1) Give five problems experienced by students in their development of writing skills.

2) Explain the possible causes of each problem.
5.4: Difficulties in Writing

Some students face difficulties in understanding what is expected in continuous writing. They
need help with the choice, planning and arrangement of content, which is referred to as content
organization. A good writer plans & organizes before starting to write. Good ideas that are
jumbled up may cause incoherence. This may pose difficulties in comprehension. Identified
problems among students that cause difficulties in understanding what is written are:
 Wrong punctuation, or there may be no punctuation where there should be some.

 Ideas are not presented in a logical order (scrambled sentences).
 Relation between ideas is not clear because of absence or wrong use of connectors and
phrases.
 The purpose for writing is not clear. For example, one would not know if the student is
describing, suggesting, supporting or criticizing?
 Ideas are not put into distinct groups.
 Practically every sentence is begun on a new line.
 Use of ideas irrelevant to what one wants to express.
 Inability to think of enough ideas and, therefore, presenting work that lacks details.
5.5: Motivation
Students’ interest is central in the development of writing skills. Sometimes they lack confidence
and motivation. Some of the reasons for this are that the content does not motivate nor give
opportunities for personal communication. Unmotivated students don’t see the need to write.
Holding e.g. pair or group discussions on the topic to be written about, can help boost their
interest, motivation & confidence. Students get motivated when:
 They have something worthwhile to write about
 They feel recipients have interest in what they write
 Communication is purposeful, e.g. they write to inform, invite or apply for a job.
Increase your students’ motivation through use of a variety of stimuli. Examples of these are:
Visual stimuli
Use, for example, pictures, maps, charts, and diagrams from various sources, to stimulate and
increase the students’ motivation to write.
Oral stimuli
Give e.g. anecdotes, speeches, stories, or conduct a discussion, song or read a poem before
giving a writing assignment. Alternatively, you can give them interesting and well selected
reading materials for use in class. These should provide students with materials or information to
write about.
Selection of the audience
This acts as a stimulus for students to write well. Give them a chance to choose the audience. To
motivate them further, the best written work could be displayed on the wall or school notice
board, or presented to the class, or included in a school magazine, if there is one.
5.6 Types of Writing

Writing can be placed under three broad categories:
(a) ) Creative writing: e.g. stories, plays, poetry.
(b) Functional writing: e.g. reports, letters, minutes.
(c) Academic writing: e.g. essays, summary.
Note:
Creative and functional writing may also be considered as academic writing, depending on the
purpose and circumstance.
To write well, three basic things should be done:

a) Observe patterns of word order and word structure
b) Demonstrate a good command of sentence structure
c) Preserve coherence, both within and between sentences, to give meaning to the text.
5.7 Essay (Composition) Writing

Essay writing requires a students’ creativity and proficiency in language. It requires use of a
number of skills such as proper use of: spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, connectors,
paragraphing, capitalization and coherence of ides. These are skills that you should teach and
give students opportunities to practice. Practice is vital to reinforce learning and use of the skills.
There are two main approaches that have been used in teaching essay writing. These are:
Product – oriented approach
Product-oriented approach to writing is also referred to as the Traditional Approach. It has four
common features:
a) A title is given by you.
b) Students are asked to write a composition of e.g. 400 words
c) They are asked to hand the work in at the end of the lesson or on the next day which they do.
d) You marks the books and returns them to the students. This may take two weeks or even a
month.
e) No feedback is given and so the students do not know their weaknesses or why they scored a
low grade. They put away the books and forget the essay.
This approach of writing essays has been found to have limitations. For example, you views the
student’s writing as a product. There is also an assumption that the student knows how to write.
What a student produces is used as a test of the ability to write. You concentrates on form such as
spelling, syntax, lexis and punctuation, rather than content. The content is seen as just a vehicle
for the correct expression of grammatical and organizational patterns.
Due to lack of direction, students see the work as tedious and a burden. They are not consulted in
the choice of the topic and the audience, so they have no interest. They are not asked if they are
familiar with the topic. Lastly, there is delayed feedback.
Process – Oriented Approach

The approach is a direct contrast to the product – oriented approach. Meaning rather than form is
stressed. The approach views writing as a complex process which requires the writer to perceive
writing as communication. Students are encouraged to choose their audience (the reader) and
decide the purpose for writing. It combines two approaches to writing:
 The communicative approach
 The process approach.
Process-oriented approach is based on the following two assumptions:

a) People write to communicate with readers.
b) People write to accomplish specific purposes.
Writing is also treated as a process, which can be divided into three stages:
a) Prewriting
b Composing
c) Revision
Prewriting
Prewriting stage is the starting point, where students select a topic. At this stage, students are
given the freedom to think and create ideas. These are based on their interests, knowledge and
experiences. There is not much interference and restriction from you. In pairs and groups,
students freely exchange ideas and opinions concerning the topic. They write down their points
which means they are involved in the writing process right from the onset. They select what to
write about, the audience and they also plan how the writing should proceed. During the writing
stage, students are encouraged to consult each other and work together. Your role is to facilitate
and provide guidance wherever it is needed.
After writing, students edit and proof-read their work. Some or all of these activities can take
place in the classroom. After the exercise, other students, together with you can provide
immediate feedback in a number of ways. For example, individuals could write the first draft in
the classroom when consulting other students. Drafts written outside the classroom, should still
be discussed in pairs or small groups, where you facilitates & provides guidance. Students can
make alterations to their drafts before handing in the final product for marking.
A process of good writing entails going through 9 stages (Raimes, 1983). These are:
1) Identification: The writer needs a reason for writing.
2) Audience: The writer needs to identify the reader/audience.
3) Vocabulary: The vocabulary chosen should be appropriate to the topic.
4) Materials: These can be gathered through observing, brainstorming, making notes, talking to
others, and reading.
5) Planning: Plan how to do the task and organize the gathered materials as they will be used.
6) Draft: Write the first draft using the points generated and having the reader in mind.
7) Read: Self-assess your first draft by reading it critically. Look at content and style.
8) Revise: Revise the draft and prepare the final copy.
9) Proof read: The last stage is to proof read and edit for possible grammatical, syntactic,
spelling and punctuation errors.
• There is not one writing approach or method that is mutually exclusive.

• In most cases, there is always an overlap of teaching methods.
• Do not be devoted to one method that excludes all others. Integration is key to good teaching.
• All the considerations involved in good writing above should be taken into account.
5.8: Techniques of Teaching Writing

Teaching of writing skills should follow certain principles. To begin with, you should encourage
integration of the 4 basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). However,
ensure writing skills are the primary focus of your teaching.
Presenting information in a different form
One technique is to present information in a different form or from a different angle. For
example, an event that happens in school can be written in different forms by different groups of
students. For instance, it can be in form of a letter home, a report to the police and a dialogue
between a journalist and an eyewitness.
Note taking, note making and summary writing
 As a first step, explain what is expected of students.
 Next, they listen to a short lecture or a passage from which they identify and write down the
main points and supporting details.
 A blackboard summary of the main points helps to guide your students how to organize their
notes.
 Encourage them to discuss their notes in pairs or small groups. This should be followed by a
class discussion.
 Avoid dictating notes to students or copying notes as these neither facilities comprehension
nor serve as feedback on what they have understood.
5.9: Summary
 Train your students summary writing skills.

 Taking and making notes are prerequisites to summary writing.
 After taking and making notes, ask your students to write the first draft.
 Make sure all the important points are included.
 Ask students to write a second or final draft, paying attention to the required number of
words.
 It is important that the meaning of the original passage is not changed.
 Summary writing requires use of a specified number of words.
 Train your students to use logical connectors that help in reducing the number of words.
Tongue twisters are a great way to practice and improve pronunciation and fluency. They can also help
to improve accents by using alliteration, which is the repetition of one sound. They’re not just for kids,
but are also used by actors, politicians, and public speakers who want to sound clear when speaking.
Below, you will find some of the most popular English tongue twisters. Say them as quickly as you can.
If you can master them, you will be a much more confident speaker.
1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
2. Betty Botter bought some butter

But she said the butter’s bitter
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter
But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter
3. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood
As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood
4. She sells seashells by the seashore
5. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
6. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream
7. I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop
8. Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines
9. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?
10. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
11. I have got a date at a quarter to eight; I’ll see you at the gate, so don’t be late
12. You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York
13. I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen
14. If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
15. I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you
16. I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch
17. Near an ear, a nearer ear, a nearly eerie ear
18. Eddie edited it
19. Willie’s really weary

20. A big black bear sat on a big black rug
21. Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks
22. He threw three free throws
23. Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely
24. So, this is the sushi chef
25. Four fine fresh fish for you
26. Wayne went to wales to watch walruses
27. Six sticky skeletons (x3)
28. Which witch is which? (x3)
29. Snap crackle pop (x3)
30. Flash message (x3)
31. Red Buick, blue Buick (x3)
32. Red lorry, yellow lorry (x3)
33. Thin sticks, thick bricks (x3)
34. Stupid superstition (x3)
35. Eleven benevolent elephants (x3)
36. Two tried and true tridents (x3)
37. Rolling red wagons (x3)
38. Black back bat (x3)
39. She sees cheese (x3)
40. Truly rural (x3)
41. Good blood, bad blood (x3)
42. Pre-shrunk silk shirts (x3)
43. Ed had edited it. (x3)
44. We surely shall see the sun shine soon
45. Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?
46. Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread
47. I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit
48. A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk
49. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better
50. Of all the vids I’ve ever viewed, I’ve never viewed a vid as valued as Alex’s engVid vid

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ECT 320: INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS (ENGLISH)

Expected learning outcomes

Assessment /Award of Degree

1.1 Specific Objectives:

By the end of Form I, the learner should be able to:

b)pronounce correctly sounds they find problematic;

c)respond correctly to oral information on a variety of subjects;

d) communicate correctly, confidently and appropriately

in different contexts; e)Demonstrate acceptable

f) identify the features of ogre and trickster stories, and riddles.

FORM I - LISTENING & SPEAKING (INTRODUCTION)

i)English sounds: vowel and consonant sounds.

iii) Identification of problematic sounds.

ii) Features of trickster and ogre stories, and riddles.

Use of courteous language e.g. thank you, excuse

me, sorry, please. Non-verbal cues that enhance

listening and speaking

Importance of respecting personal space

2.1.0 Specific Objectives

By the end of Form 1, the learner should be able to:

a)use parts of speech correctly;

b)identify the constituents and the functions of the noun phrase;

c)construct different types of simple sentences.

2.0 INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Clarification of concepts taught, through explanation by the teacher is of paramount importance. To

2.3.1 Parts of speech

ii) Proper nouns

iv) Abstract nouns

regular and irregular nouns

definite and indefinite articles

ii) Possessive pronouns

iii) Reflexive pronouns

iv) Functions of pronouns

tense simple past

i)Comparative and superlative forms

ii) Regular and irregular adjectives

iii) Gradable and non-gradable adjectives

Simple prepositions e.g. in, of, at

Co-ordinating conjunctions (and, but, or)

2.0 ENGLISH GRAMMAR-PHRASES

Constituents and examples of the noun phrase

2.3.3 Simple sentences

i)Sentence structure (subject, predicate)

3.1 Specific Objectives

By the end of Form 1, the learner should be able to:

i) read efficiently and

fluently i use the

iii use the library

iv) enjoy reading literary and non-literary materials

v trace the sequence of events in selected plays and

short stones vi demonstrate appropriate

vii) build a wide range of vocabulary

viii) demonstrate awareness of contemporary issues

3.0 READING SKILLS

ii) Development of good reading habits in:

iii) Using a dictionary

iv) Using the library

i)Study of poems, plays and short stories.

ii) Focus on plot and literary language.

i)Literary and non-literary materials on contemporary issues such as:

ii) Adventure stories

iii) Fairy tales

vii) Short stories

viii) Newspapers/Magazines! Periodicals.

3.0 READING - COMPREHENSION SKILLS

i)Recall, comprehension and application

ii) Summary and note-making

4.2 Specific Objectives

By the end of Form 1, the learner should be able to:

a) write legibly and neatly;

b) apply spelling rules correctly;

c) use punctuation marks correctly;

f) take and make intelligible notes.

c) Building sentence skills and paragraphing

i)Writing clear and correct sentences.

ii) Structure of the