SECC I SPECIAL COURSE PDF

SKILL ENHACEMENT COMPUYSLORY COURSE-I COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH (SPECIAL COURSE) Enriching Linguistic Knowledge & Communication Proficiency ODISHA STATE HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL BHUBANESWAR STATE MODEL SYLLABUS FOR UNDER GRADUATE COURSE IN SKILL ENHANCEMENT COURSE (I) (Bachelor of Arts/Sc/Com Examination) UNDER CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM 1|P ag e FOREWARD The higher education system has undergone a paradigm shift in Odisha with the introduction of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) in academic year 2015-16 as per University Grant Commission regulation. Initially it was adopted in all Autonomous colleges and from 2016-17, in all the colleges of Odisha. CBCS offers students the liberty to choose from available lists of courses under the domains of Ability Enhancement, Skill Enhancement and General electives. This book on English aims to engage the students more creatively to improve their English language and communication skills. This paper will be taught under Skill Enhancement Compulsory Course (SECC). The main intent of this paper is to strengthen the language competency of graduate students, majority of who are set to enter the job market with high hopes. Needless to say, a good command over English language is one skill which various companies expect from the prospective employees. The course content is adopted from the study material of Infosys Foundation. They have had the experiences of conducting faculty development programme under Project Genesis in Odisha. A group of academicians from state universities were involved in the process of contextualising the material to the needs of students of Odisha. We would like to acknowledge the vital contribution from Infosys Foundation in sharing the study material and conducting faculty training. We hope the students find merit in using this book not just as a course study material but as a life time companion in improving his / her English skills. Vice Chairperson Bhubaneswar OSHEC 2|P ag e Some Useful Apps downloadable from Play store Dictionary- Word Web Oxford Dictionary of English (to add some English learning apps) Word Connect- Word Games Puzzle (to add some English learning game apps) Some Useful links https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar http://library.aceondo.net/ebooks/English_Language/how_english_works_a_grammar_practice_ book_oxford_1997.pdf http://primus.arts.u-szeged.hu/bese/bese.pdf https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radioboxlabs.englishgrammerbywrenmartin& hl=en_US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cambridge.englishgrammar.egiu&hl=en https://elt.oup.com/catalogue/items/global/grammar_vocabulary/practical_english_usage_4th_ed ition/?cc=global&selLanguage=en 3|P ag e Table of Contents UNIT-I- BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND GRAMMAR............................................................... 8 1. Why English Communication is Essential and How to Improve the Skill?.................................... 8 2. Introduction to Voice and Accent................................................................................................. 8 Why do we have such different accents?.......................................................................................... 8 Accent Training-Consequences........................................................................................................ 9 Voice and accent in the Enterprise Industry................................................................................... 11 Globally Comprehensible Accent................................................................................................... 11 Introduction to Phonetics............................................................................................................... 13 International Phonetic Alphabet..................................................................................................... 15 3. Consonant Sounds...................................................................................................................... 16 4. Vowels...................................................................................................................................... 25 5. Diphthongs................................................................................................................................ 28 6. A Few Phonic Rules................................................................................................................... 31 7. Word Stress: Syllables............................................................................................................... 34 8. Intonation.................................................................................................................................. 37 Intonation and Stress...................................................................................................................... 39 9. Pacing and Chunking................................................................................................................. 41 Common Patterns of Pacing........................................................................................................... 41 Importance of Chunking................................................................................................................ 42 10. Fluency.................................................................................................................................. 45 11. Indianisms.............................................................................................................................. 48 Errors relating to Grammar............................................................................................................ 48 Vocabulary.................................................................................................................................... 48 UNIT-II: GRAMMAR.......................................................................................................................... 53 1. English: Spoken Versus Written Communication....................................................................... 53 2. Nouns........................................................................................................................................ 61 2.1 Kinds of Nouns........................................................................................................................ 61 2.2 Activity 3: Noun Ping-pong..................................................................................................... 63 2.3 Nouns-Number........................................................................................................................ 64 2.4 Noun-Gender........................................................................................................................... 64 4|P ag e 2.5 Countable and Uncountable Nouns........................................................................................... 65 3. Pronouns.................................................................................................................................... 67 3.1 Reflexive Pronouns.................................................................................................................. 69 3.2 Relative Pronouns.................................................................................................................... 69 3.3 Demonstrative Pronouns.......................................................................................................... 70 3.4 Interrogative Pronouns............................................................................................................. 71 3.5 Indefinite pronouns.................................................................................................................. 71 3.6 Activity 4: Sentence Auction.................................................................................................... 72 4. Adjectives.................................................................................................................................. 75 4.1 Activity 5 : Picture perfect....................................................................................................... 75 4.2 Positioning of adjectives.......................................................................................................... 77 4.3 Comparative Degrees of Adjectives.......................................................................................... 77 4.4 Order of Adjectives.................................................................................................................. 79 5. Adverbs..................................................................................................................................... 80 5.1 Kinds of Adverb...................................................................................................................... 81 5.2 Degree of Comparison............................................................................................................. 81 5.3 Word Order with Adverbs........................................................................................................ 82 5.4 Activity 6: Relay Race............................................................................................................. 83 6. Prepositions............................................................................................................................... 85 6.2 Activity 7: Treasure Hunt......................................................................................................... 91 6.3 Activity 8: Route Map.............................................................................................................. 94 6.4 Prepositions with Adjectives, Nouns and Verbs........................................................................ 96 7. Conjunctions.............................................................................................................................. 97 7.1 Coordinating conjunctions........................................................................................................ 97 7.2 Subordinating Conjunctions..................................................................................................... 98 7.3 Correlative Conjunctions.......................................................................................................... 99 7.4 Connecting Adverbs............................................................................................................... 100 7.5 Activity 9: The Socks Story.................................................................................................... 101 8. Verbs....................................................................................................................................... 103 8.1 Verb Classification................................................................................................................. 103 8.2 List of irregular verbs............................................................................................................. 106 8.3 Activity 10: Word Search....................................................................................................... 108 5|P ag e 9. Subject and verb agreement...................................................................................................... 109 9.1 Activity 11: Tossed Word Salad............................................................................................. 116 9.2 Activity 12: The Sentence Pageant......................................................................................... 120 10. Determiners and Modifiers................................................................................................... 123 10.1 Kinds of determiners............................................................................................................ 123 10.2 The Definite and the Indefinite Article................................................................................. 124 10.3 Definite Article: The............................................................................................................ 126 Activity 13: Proof Reading.......................................................................................................... 128 11. Tenses.................................................................................................................................. 130 11.1 Reference Table................................................................................................................... 132 11.2 Present Tense....................................................................................................................... 134 11.3 Activity 14: Instruction Manual............................................................................................ 135 11.4 Activity 15: Commentary.................................................................................................... 136 11.5 Past Tense............................................................................................................................ 138 11.6 Activity 16:The Chain List.................................................................................................. 138 11.7 Activity 17: Transcription................................................................................................. 140 11.8 Future Tense........................................................................................................................ 141 11.9 Activity 18: This Week for You........................................................................................... 141 11.10 Activity 19: Verb Grand Prix.............................................................................................. 142 12. Punctuation.......................................................................................................................... 154 Forms of Punctuation................................................................................................................... 154 UNIT-III: READING COMPREHENSION......................................................................................... 161 Reading – A 7 Step Process............................................................................................................. 161 Techniques to enhance students’ reading skills................................................................................. 161 Types of reading skills..................................................................................................................... 162 Skimming.................................................................................................................................... 162 Scanning...................................................................................................................................... 162 Extensive reading........................................................................................................................ 163 Intensive reading......................................................................................................................... 163 Three levels of Reading................................................................................................................... 164 Improving your reading speed.......................................................................................................... 166 Reading Comprehension Practice Exercises..................................................................................... 167 6|P ag e 7|P ag e COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH (SPECIAL COURSE) UNIT-I- BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND GRAMMAR 1. Why English Communication is Essential and How to Improve the Skill? (Extempore discussion. Students to list benefits. Faculty to guide) 2. Introduction to Voice and Accent Introduction - Faculty to elicit answers for this question Why do we have such different accents? Answers can primarily be categorized into any one of the aspects mentioned below:  First language influence -Every language has a unique pronunciation system and as little children when we learn our first language, we internalize this pronunciation system. Thus, when we learn a new language (especially after puberty), it is filtered through the pronunciation system of our first language. This process causes the sounds to be influenced by the system of our first language. Thus, for most of us- for whom English is not the first language, the accent is influenced by our mother/native tongue.  Geographical influence – Languages have evolved over the years with the dynamic changes in society, cultures and people and so has the accent. The same language is spoken in different ways in various parts of the same country, this is called a dialect. As people travelled around the world and began settling in other countries, they brought about an influence of their language in the way they spoke the foreign languages 8|P ag e as well. Over the years (and even to this date), this has changed the way, various groups speak in a place.  Socio economic influence- For many years, our society has shown an evident presence of classes and ranks brought about by the difference in economic standards and social /cultural groups. Due to the closer interaction amongst one’s own group/rank, the language and accent have distinct differences that have developed over the years. The intermingling of these classes/ranks in the years of the modern era has also created hybrid dialects with a different pronunciation system.  Educational influence-Every country has its own laws on English as the medium of instruction in schools and colleges; this certainly has an influence in the development of the use of English. With the advent of students travelling to various countries to study, foreign student exchange courses and the rising using of English in higher education-the language has evolved and developed.  Climatic influence- According to a linguistic theory in history, climate has influenced human history a lot with its grasp over language too. In cold counties people speak with tight lips so that the extremely cold weather does not affect them. This results in a distinct accent. Similarly accents of people from tropical countries have a more open phonetic system. Accent Training-Consequences What would be the consequence? What is the importance of Accent Training? In order to understand the extent to which the business would benefit from Accent Training, let us look at the scenarios mentioned below: Display the scenarios one-by-one and elicit answers from the students for these questions -what would be the consequence of this situation? 9|P ag e Discuss the answers in alignment with the one on the PPT. i. Scenario 1 Agent: the problem is due to b(p)oor network, ma’am! Customer: What network? Agent: Boor network ma’am! Customer: I am sorry I don’t understand! Consequence: The agent confuses the P/B sounds. This will result in increased call handling time and the customer will get frustrated as she is unable to comprehend the agent. ii. Scenario 2 Agent: Can I have De number on the invoice? Customer: Sorry, what number? Agent: De number on the invoice? Customer: I am sorry, I cannot understand you! Consequence: The agent pronounces “The” as “De”. The customer is confused and is unable to comprehend the word. iii. Scenario 3 Agent: Mrs. Stephen, have YOU made the payments? Customer: uumm…. No, but my daughter did, is that a problem? Agent: No, I was just checking if YOU made the payments. Customer: Like I said, I did not but my Daughter did. Consequence: The agent stresses on the wrong word and thus the intent of the message is not communicated correctly. The customer is confused. iv. Scenario 4: Agent: May I speak with Mr. Burton? Customer: I am sorry dear, he has kicked the bucket. Agent: uhhh…. So when can I call back to talk with him? Customer: I am sorry??? Consequence:The agent is not aware of the idiom that conveys that Mr. Burton has passed away. The agent’s response shocks the customer. Debrief: 10 | P a g e  The effect of pronunciation errors has grievous consequences, more so when it is a telephonic conversation.  The possibility of misunderstanding in an inter-country communication scenario is quite high, thus making the improvement of one’s language and accent more vital.  The awareness of the client’s language usage is vital in customer service, since this would help create a positive impact on the customer.  The aim is to ensure our language and accent each comprehensible. Voice and accent in the Enterprise Industry  Communication is the heart of the business and the previous examples bring forth the importance of developing one’s awareness of the language.  Training and developing Accent and Language has the following advantages:  Enriches customer experience by displaying greater comprehension skills  Enhances knowledge of current vocabulary and pronunciation  Decreases the chances of inter- cultural communication failure  Projects a professional image, as the language is globally understood Globally Comprehensible Accent Our accent has developed over the years with the influence of various factors and any change or development that we intend to bring, will only be fruitful with a lot of practice and dedication. In this training, we will follow the path below to help improve and develop our accent skills. Awareness Of Identify areas of Individual Develop an Improvement Understanding Communication Style Of The Phonetic System Correct Understand the Evaluate Improve and Syllabic Stress & Improvement Practice Intonation 11 | P a g e 1. Awareness of individual communication style: Every student must get feedback from the faculty, other students and from oneself on their communication styles. This would include feedback on : a) Articulation b) Pronunciation c) Syllable/ word/ sentence stress d) Intonation This awareness will help the students understand where they stand and will help the faculty draw up a personal improvement plan. 2. Identify areas of improvement: The following exercise will illustrate the individual areas of improvement for each training. The primary areas of concern would be around the points mentioned below: a) Interchanging sounds- for example: interchanging the / s / and / sh/ sounds pronouncing “shame” as “same“. b) MTI- Mother Tongue Influence on the manner of articulation and speech. For example: pronouncing “this” as “dis” due to prominent presence of the / d / sound in one’s language. c) Incorrect stress - pronouncing “technology” as “technoLOgy”- stressing on the third syllable instead of the second. d) In appropriate intonation – example of this could be the sing song or the flat intonation styles. 3. Develop an understanding of the phonetic system: Once students evaluate and understand their strengths and weaknesses in terms of the accent of a language, the importance of learning the English Phonetic system is evident. This learning will help bring about an awareness of the correct manner and place of articulation for each sound in the English language. 4. Understand the syllabic stress and intonation: Students can build on their communication skills through the process of understanding the syllabic patterns and intonation styles appropriate in English. This would also help enhance comprehension and thus improve, communication. 5. Correct, Improve and Practice: As students continue to understand and the English phonetic system, the error correction and practice would happen simultaneously. However, please note that this is the most important part of the process, since positive change & improvement is the end objective of accent improvisation. 12 | P a g e 6. Evaluate improvement: the final step is to check the improvement by testing the students. Gauging the level of the improvement and the areas of weakness, the faculty can decide if the student is good to go! Introduction to Phonetics Look at the word pairs shown below and ask the students to find out what is being conveyed? Introduction to phonetics Sultry Sea sugar Idea Heave Frown & Heaven Blown Towed Cushion & Chair vowed Million Chaos Laugh Ghost Polka Worm& People Storm leopard & talk Each of the word pairs have similar words; however each of them is pronounced differently. Let us look at them one by one: 1. Sultry & sugar: The two words have the letter of the alphabet ‘s’, however the first word is pronounced with a / s/ sound and the second word has a/∫/sound. 2. Sea & idea: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘ea’, however the first word has a / I: /sound and the second word has a / 𝜕/ sound. 13 | P a g e 3. Heave & Heaven: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘heave’. However the first word has / hi:v/sound and the second word has the /hev/sound. 4. Towed & vowed: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘owed’ however the first word has the / ≅ 𝑌𝛿/ sound and the second word has the / αYd/ sound. 5. Cushion & Million: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ’ion’, however the first word has the /𝜕𝑛/ sound and the second word has the /j𝜕𝑛/ sound. 6. Chair & chaos: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘ch’, however the first word has the /t∫/ sound and the second word has the /k/ sound. 7. Frown & blown: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘own’, however the first word has the /∝ 𝑌/ sound and the second word has the /≅Y/ sound. 8. Polka & talk:The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘lk’, however the first word has the /𝛩lk/sound and the second word has the /ͽ:k/sound. 9. Worm & storm: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘orm’, however the first word has the /Ȝ:m/ sound and the second word has the/ͽ:m/sound. 10. People & leopard: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘eop’, however the first word has the /i:p/ sound and the second word has the /ep/ sound. 11. Laugh & ghost: The two words have the letters of the alphabet ‘gh’, however the first word has the /f/ sound and the second word has the /g/ sound. Debrief:  The word pairs shown have similar spellings but different pronunciation and thus it is important to have a system that has a one–to-one co relation with what is written and what is pronounced.  Keeping the thread ,we have two types of languages:  Phonetic languages-the words are pronounced exactly the way they are written and are also written exactly the way you hear it. There is a direct relationship between the spelling and the pronunciation. For example: Arabic, Hindi & Spanish.  Non-Phonetic languages-The words are not pronounced exactly the way they are written. There is no correlation (one-to-one) between the spelling and the pronunciation. For example: French & English.  A system that would help us to understand pronunciation better is the IPA –the International Phonetic Alphabet.  The IPA was published by the International Phonetic Association in 1888. 14 | P a g e International Phonetic Alphabet No. of consonants 21 Letters of the 26 alphabet 5 No. of Vowels No. of Consonant sounds 24 Sounds in the 44 English language No. of Vowel Sounds 20 STOP! GO BACK AND REFLECT! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 15 | P a g e 3. Consonant Sounds These 44 sounds constitute the IPA. The breakup of these 44 sounds is shown below. Plosives (6) Fricatives (9) Affricates (2) Nasals (3) Semi Vowels (3) Laterals (1) Only for Faculty’s Knowledge Every sound has two aspects with respect to its articulation: 1. Place of Articulation- This indicates where the sound is produced. 2. Manner of Articulation- This indicates how the sound is produced. As faculty, it is important to know the articulation system as this would help enhance the expertise one has. Let us understand the places of articulation for each of the Consonant sounds. In order to do this we need to familiarize ourselves with the articulators in the mouth. The picture below illustrates the various articulators: 16 | P a g e Each of the articulators helps us to produce all various sounds of the English Language. The sound shave been classified according to their places of articulation, as shown below: I. Bilabial Consonants (Two Lips) – the sounds / p/ b/ m/ w/, both the lips are used to produce the sounds and thus they are called bilabial sounds. II. Labiodental Consonants (Lips and teeth) – the sounds / v/ f/ are produced by placing the upper teeth of the lower lip. III. Dental Consonants (Tongue and teeth) – The sounds / t/ d/θ/&/ ∆/, are produced when the tip of the tongue touches the teeth. IV. Alveolar Consonants (Tongue and Alveolar Ridge)- The sounds /s/,/z/,/t/,/d/,/n/,/r/ and /I / are produced when the tip of the tongue touches the Alveolar ridge. V. Palatal Consonant (Tongue and Palate) – These sounds /j/ are produced when the blade of the tongue touches the hard palate. VI. Glottal Consonants (Tongue and Velum- soft part of the palate) –These sounds /g/&/k/ are produced when the back of the tongue touches the velum. Let’s begin with the understanding of each of the 44 sounds of the IPA. IPA-44 sounds: Consonant Sounds Plosives: Ask students “What word comes to your mind when you hear the word- “PLOSIVES”? Responses would be around the words mentioned below:  Explosion, Explosive, Explode, Crackers and other words in the same context. Plosives,as the word suggests, is a set of sounds that are articulated in the form of a mini explosion in the mouth. They are called stop sounds- the air is blocked in the mouth and is then suddenly released. We have 6 sounds classified under this category; of which 3 are aspirated and remaining 3 are non-aspirated sounds. Aspirated Plosives- A puff of air is released during the articulation of these sounds. The aspirated plosives are /p/t/&/k/. Non-Aspirated Sounds- No puff of air is released during the articulation of these sounds. The non-aspirated plosives are /b /d/ & /g/. 17 | P a g e Activity: Air Football Materials Required: 2 sheets of paper and a pen. Instructions: instruct the students to take one of the sheets and tear it into 6 pieces and then scrunch these pieces into small paper balls. Now, ask them to draw two lines on the other sheet of paper and place the paper balls within the first line enclosure (as shown below). Line 2 Line 1 Paper Balls Every student must have the above set-up on their respective desks (faculty to go around the class to check). Now, the faculty would read a word at a time and students must pronounce each word, keeping their mouth at the level of the paper balls. One word for each paper ball they have placed on the paper. Word List: 1. Gracious 2. Christmas 3. Patience 4. Dungeon 5. Tornado 6. Blessing Debrief: After the 6 sounds are pronounced, ask the students to make note of the words whose pronunciation made the ball move. They will notice that when they pronounce the word Christmas, Patience & Tornado the paper balls move. However, the paper balls remain in the same position while pronouncing the words Gracious, Dungeon & Blessing. This is because the /p/, /t/& /k/ sounds are aspirated and thus have a puff of air that is released when it is articulated- making the paper balls move. Since /b/,/d/& /g/ are non-aspirated sounds , the paper balls remain motionless. 18 | P a g e Students can practice and check if the articulation of the aspirated sounds is correct by placing their palms before their mouth while pronouncing the sounds (the puff of air would hit their palms). Plosive Sounds Aspirated plosives: 1. /p/ - Punctual , Leopard, Gallop A poor passenger was poisoned by a Piranha Create a sentence with at least five /p/ sounds- Example: Peter bought a pile of papers from Mrs. Parkers ‘Pink n Carry’ sale. 2. /t/ - Teeth, Button, Bullet A toy train takes Timothy to Trentworld Create a grocery list with at least five /t/ sounds- Example: Tomatoes, Toilet roll, Turpentine, Potatoes and Castor oil 3. /k/ - Christmas, Trickle, Ballistic Kelly complained about the choir at the Cambridge College Create a write-up for a Car Ad with at least five /k/ sounds- Example- A cool car that can give you great comfort and care. Non-Aspirated Plosives 4. /b/- Byzantine, Bubbles, Absorb Billy bought a big boar from the bounty bargain festival. Create a birthday-wish write-up with at least five /b/ sounds- Example: Dear Billy Baby, wish you a great big birthday bash!!!! Your brother Bob. 5. /d/ - Dance, Grandeur, Cascade Does Dorothy drink detox drinks daily? Create a two –line diary entry with at least five /d/ sounds- Example- Dear Diary, today was an amazing day since Dunston from Dutch class asked me out for a date. 19 | P a g e 6. /g/- Grudge, Vagabond, Log Green goblins gobble goodies and remain grumpy. Create a postal address with at least five /g/ sounds- Example: Gate no-17, Goodwill Home, Ghost Street, Greenlight town, Greenland. The /P/-/b/ divide Ask the students to read out each of the words (from left to right). A trick that will help them understand the difference in the articulation of the two sounds would be to look at the ‘voiced’ and ‘voiceless’ aspect. While articulating the /p/ sound, place your hand on your throat- you would feel no vibration however while articulating the /b/ sound you would feel the vibration in your throat. Any sound that produces vibration is called a Voiced sound and ones that do not produce vibrations are called Voiceless sounds. Bin Bat Bug Bet Ben Pin Pat Pug Pet Pen Bill Beat Bear Balm Best Pill Pete Pear Palm Pest Please bring Peter a Book and post Bob’s package today The building has plenty of beauty salons and posh bookstores. Bold Posh Braille Pursue Blend Polka Brittle Plunder Blush Plant Beeper Poster Bread Purse Boastful Precarious Fricatives Fricatives are produced when the two parts of the mouth force air through a small space, thus creating audible friction. We have nine sounds classified in the category: 20 | P a g e 7. /f/- Fish, Stifling, Plaintiff Five foreigners left to the famous Filipino fantasy park. Create five female names that begin with /f/ sound- Example: Fiona, Farah, Faiza, Freeda, Fathima and Feeza. 8. /v/- Victorious, Frivolous, Believe Viceroy Vivian was very vindictive and vicious. Create a list of five food items that begin with a /v/ sound- Example: Vanilla cake, Vermicelli pasta, Vegetables, Vienna Sausage and Veal. 9. /θ/ - Thermometer, Catholic, Aftermath Theoretically, three thieves are caught every three hours. Create a movie name with at least five /θ/ sounds- Example: The theory behind thirty-three thieves and a thistle. 10. /ð/ - Thereafter , Feather, Breath The mothers gathered at the feathers hall now and then. Create a two line letter with at least five /ð/ sounds- Example- Dear father, the gathering has decided to go with leather couches rather than synthetic ones. 11. /s/- Synchronise, Pastry, Meticulous A sinister silence followed the song sung by Sasha. Create a two- line poem with a at least five /s/ sounds- Example: A sweet soldier said to his wife, my sweetheart I will never sell you to solitude. 12. /∫/- Champagne, Rational, Polish, Luxury, Fissure Shelly is the fashionable cashier at the Lush Shoe Shop. Create five sentences with two /∫/ sounds- Example: She sold all her shares. Puppies take shelter in roadside shacks, She will be in ship shape, Fashionable shoes are out & The railway station is crazy during rush hour. S/SH Exercise She Sea Single Shingle Ship Sip Leash Lease Seat Sheet Self Shelf Sell Shell Said Shed 21 | P a g e Ask the students to read out the word pairs and identify the difference in the articulation of two sounds. 13. /Z/ - Pleasure, Seizure, Closure, Luxurious The pleasure of a leisure break is a luxurious feeling. Create a five word list of /Z/ sounds- Example: Pleasure, Measure, Enclosure and Explosion 14. /z/ - Zebra, Guzzle, Craze Frizzy hair marine likes puzzles and going to the zoo. Create a sentence with at least five /z/ sounds- Example: The zoo keeper was zapped when he heard the crazy buzzing noise. 15. /h/ - Hilarious, Historical, Stockholm He hinted at her to hike with him to the top of Histone hills. Create a personal introduction with at least five /h/ sounds- Example: My name is Helena and I teach History for high-school kids in the Hispanic part of Holland. Z/Th Sound Exercise Bays Bathe Sues Soothe Breeze Breathe Close Clothe Zen Then Rhythm Risen Ask the students to read out the word pairs and identify the difference in the articulation of the two sounds. Affricates Affricates are the combination of plosives and fricatives. We have two sounds classified under this category. 16. /ʧ/- Challenge, Stretchable, Staunch I cherish a chilled cherry drink and chocolates. Create a 2- line dialogue with at least five/ʧ/ sounds- 22 | P a g e Example: Charlotte- “Hey, Charlie! Are you going to the church fare today? “Charlie – “Oh no, Charlotte! I need to fetch chocolates for my sister. 17. /ʤ / - Gigantic, Gorgeous, Marriage Gina dressed like a gentle giraffe named Ginger. Create five male names that have /ʤ/ sounds- Example: George, Sanjay, Jason, Joshua & Josiah Nasals Nasals are sounds produced with help from nasal passage. We have 3 sounds in this category. 18. /m/- Mystical, Fumble, Aquarium My mother makes mouth-watering mango milk shakes. Create a two- line recipe with at least five /m/ sounds- Example: Mushroom Mayo- boil and cook mushrooms in medium hot oil and mix mayo and serve hot with minestrone soup. 19. /n/ - Notorious, Lunatic, Valentine Nathaniel is not a nice neighbour, say many in Newcastle. Create a list of five places, you‘ve not visited, with /n/ sound-Netherlands, New Zealand, Nebraska, Nottingham & Nepal 20. /ƞ/ - Sting, Blaring, Triangle The king had a song ringing in his head since morning. Create two- liner songs with at least five / ƞ/ sounds- Examples: The fragrance lingered in the morning; it stung me like the setting of the sun as I knew she left the ring behind. Semi Vowels 21. /j/ - Yawn, Youngster, Kayak Yellow flowers and yummy food is aplenty in Mr. Yuri’s home. Create a sentence with at least five /j/ sounds- Example: Yellow magazine had an article on how youngsters waste their lives, yearning for luxury and letting their youth and years pass by. 22. /w/ - Winter, Wailing, Powerful When Wendy went to the White House she was not well. Create a list of five questions you have 1 /w/ sound each – Example: Where were you yesterday? When will you arrive? Which dress is a better option? Why were you busy today? I want to know whether this is the right thing to do? 23 | P a g e 23. /r/- Rustic, Guaranteed, Shopper Recently no rooms were free at the romantic River Resort. Create a five –line ‘To –Do’ list with at least five /r/ sounds- Example: Run to the local market to buy a bunch of red roses, Raise a request for a new Debit Card, Go to the Rodeo Drive to buy Rayban sunglasses. Lateral Consonants 24. /l/ - Leprechaun, Fallacy, Coral Lincoln lost his lucky locket at the local market. Create a list of five gift items that begin with /l/ sound- Example: Lilac Lip Gloss, Lotus- shaped candles, Leather Boots, Lavender Stole & Little Black Dress. Activity: Rhyme time Materials Required: None Instructions:  Tell the students that they will be given five minute to think of a rhyme.  The rhyme should include the usage of all the consonant sounds.  The students can be called randomly to make their presentation.  In case of shortage of time, the students may work in groups and one from the group may make the presentation.  The faculty will check against a list of consonant sounds listed on the board for usage and pronunciation as well.  The group that has used all the consonant sounds and finishes the fastest is entitled to a prize. STOP ! GO BACK AND REFLECT ! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. 3.Something VowelsI would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 24 | P a g e 4. Vowels We have 20 vowel sounds. “Vowel” has its roots in the Latin word ‘vocalis’ which means- speaking, since vowels are the most important aspect of speaking any language. 25. /𝜕/- America, Against, Afraid, Agriculture, Annoy, Another Create a sentence with a t least five /𝜕/sounds 26. /3:/ - Stir, Pearl, First, Hurt, Shirt, Bird, Learn, Burly, Mirth Create a sentence with at least five /3:/ sounds 27. /˄/- Butter, Stuck, Money, Lucky, Shut, Cutter, Nut Create a sentence with at least five /˄/ sounds 28. /æ/- Fan, Cramp, Gaggle, Stack, Parasite, Clap Create a sentence with at least five /æ/ sounds. 29. /a:/- Farmer, Shark, Chance, Starter, Glass Create a sentence with at least five /a:/ sounds. 30. /I/ - Kiss, Sting, Interval, Print, Whimsical, Interest Create a sentence with at least five /I/ sounds. 31. /i:/- Heels, Phonics, Devious, Leader, Preacher Create a sentence with at least five /i:/ sounds. 25 | P a g e 32. /Θ/ -Cot, Stock, Potter, Fought, Rotting Create a sentence with at least five /Θ/ sounds. 33. /Ɔ:/- Awesome, Awful, Caught, Origin, Four Create a sentence with at least five /Ɔ:/ sounds. 34. /Y/- Footprints, Good, Should, Look, Hook, Shook Create a sentence with at least five /Y/sounds. 35. /u:/- Spooky, Foolish, Prudent, Moon, Fume Create a sentence with at least five /u:/ sounds. 36. /e/- Elephant, Egg, Plenty, Blend, Kentucky Create a sentence with at least five /e/ sounds. Activity: The Great Vowel Hunt Materials required: 10 blank A4 size papers, 4 bowls, a pack of post-its & Sketch pens Instructions:  Divide the class into four teams  Each team will be given 15 minutes to come up with two words for every vowel sound. These 24 words should be written in separate slips of paper, clearly underlining the vowel sound. For example, a slip containing a word that highlights the /e/ sound should look like this: Mentor  Once the team has prepared 24 such slips containing words, they fold up the slips, mix it all up and put it into the bowl given to the team. 26 | P a g e  Swap the bowls of one team with another.  Write each vowel sound on a post it (one on each) and place the post-its randomly around the room(on the door, on the white board, on the desk, near the window, etc)  Instruct the teams to divide their team members into “Runners”, “Callers” & “Readers”.  Once the teams decide on the members who take on the titles mentioned above, tell them the rules of the game.  Rules of the game:  The “Readers” would pick one word at a time from the bowl and inform the “Caller” of the word and the sound it highlights.  The “Caller” then shouts out the word and the sound to the “Runner”.  The “Runner” in turn needs to identify the post-it which has the symbol for this sound and needs to run to it and write down the word on the post-it.  The process is repeated for every word, the team that finishes first shouts out “Bingo!!!”  The game is continued till the final team shouts out “Bingo!!!”  The faculty to make note of the order.  The final task is to cross check the words and see if the teams have been able to pick out the word in correct post-it: this final check is done by the other teams.  Based on the final score (2 points for every correct word in the correct post-it) the winners are declared. Debrief: This activity helps the students to apply the understanding of sounds and symbols. This brings about the clear comprehension of the sounds and their distinctions. 27 | P a g e 5. Diphthongs A diphthong is made of two vowel sounds placed adjacent to each other within the same syllable. When we represent a diphthong sound using the IPA code we use a combination of two vowel symbols placed next to each other. Look at the examples below. 37. /ɛɪ/- Vacation, Placement, Payment, Facial, Baseball Create a list of 5 words with /ɛɪ/ sound. 38. /αɪ/- Sunshine, Crime, Behind, Bright, Guide, Style, Shy Create a list of 5 words with /αɪ/ sound. 39. /Oɪ/- Soil, Oyster, Ploy, Stoic, Boisterous, Boys, Coin Create a list of 5 words with /Oɪ / sound. 40. /ɪ ≅/- Beer, Sheer, Clear, Fierce, Pioneer, Steer Create a list of 5 words with /ɪ ≅ / sound. 41. /ɛ≅/- Bear, Chair, Careful, Scare, Flair, Share, Ware Create a list of 5 words with /ɛ≅ / sound. 42. /ʏ≅/- Tour, Poor, Cure, Cruel, Sure Create a list of 5 words with /ʏ≅ / sound 43. /αʏ/- Flounder, Around, Cow, Couch, Loud, Prowl, Ouch Create a list of 5 words with /αʏ / sound 44. /≅ ʏ/- Ghost, Post Code, Stole, Boast, Joke, Low Create a list of 5 words with /≅ ʏ / sound 28 | P a g e Activity: Diphthong Drummers Materials Required: A4 size papers and Pens Instructions:  Divide the class into four teams.  Ask each team to come up with a name for a music band for themselves  Instruct them that they will be given 20 minutes to come up with a song that has words containing all the diphthongs  The song should have 2 paragraphs and a two line chorus  The team can set a tune and provide music (with no instruments- clapping/ beat boxing, using materials available in class, is allowed)  Give each team 5 to7 minutes to make a presentation  Rate the team son the usage of the diphthongs and creativity  Conduct a blind voting score- ask all the students to put down their heads and call out one team at a time, except the team that is being called all the other teams need to raise their hands based on the rating they support. For example, if the faculty calls out “Team 1”, then the members of teams 2, 3 and 4 can vote. The ratings that will also be called out by the faculty for each team is- “Amazing”, “Average”, “Not too good”. Calculate the total votes giving “Amazing”- 20 points for every vote, “Average”- 10 points for every vote & “Not too good”- Negative 2 points for every vote Debrief: This activity helps the students familiarise themselves with the diphthongs and its classification. The students also practice the correct articulation of these diphthongs. Pronunciation checker Possibly Ambiguous Purpose Executive Recognise Miser Cache Sachet Business Photocopier Genre Plush Gather Manoeuvre Majority Decision Closure Cabinet Reservation Surveillance Archaic Ask the students to pronounce each of the word in the grid and correct, if required. 29 | P a g e STOP ! GO BACK AND REFLECT ! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 30 | P a g e 6. A Few Phonic Rules Sometimes the rules don’t work. There are many exceptions in English because of the expanse of the language. The rules do apply however, in the majority of the words. Ask the students to write more examples of their own to better understand the rules: 1. “C” followed by “e, i or y” usually has the soft sound of “s”. For example: “cyst”, “central” and “city”. 2. “G” followed by “e, i or y” usually has the soft sound of “j”. For example: “gem”, ”gym”, “gist”. 3. When a syllable ends in a consonant and has only one vowel, that vowel is short. For example: “fact, bed, fish, spot, luck”. 4. When a syllable ends in a silent “e”, the silent “e” is a signal that the vowel in front of it is long. For example: “make, gene, kite, rope and use”. Minimal Pairs:  Pairs of words whose pronunciation differs at only one segment, such as Sleep and Slip or Pair and Pore.  Since the articulation of these pairs are very similar, they lead to confusion.  Write ten minimal pairs of your own (especially once that confuse you the most) - give students more examples with the minimal pairs they tend to confuse. 31 | P a g e Minimal Pair – Consonant Sounds: read out and ask the students to write more examples of their own. P Patter Rope Newspaper Th Think With Something B Batter Robe Observe Th These Smooth Other T Time Great Outside S Sue Police Eraser D Dime Grade Children Z Zoo Please Business K Class Back Technical Sh Pressure Brush Reservation G Glass Bag Negligent Zh Pleasure Beige Decision F Fairy Off After Ch Choke Batch Picture V Very Of Involve J Joke Badge Educate M Male Same Remember N Nail Sane Convention W Wary Wire Wane V Vary Via Vein Activity: The Missing Sound  In one word in each group, the ‘b’ or ‘p’ is not pronounced. Circle the word  Example: double debt Dublin a. lamb label lap b b. crab robbed climb c. cup cupboard copy d. photo ord potato paper o e. recipe repeat receipt f. possibly psychology special g. Cambridge combine combing Minimal Pair- Vowel Sounds Read out and ask the students to write more examples of their own. Loud Load Lord Miss Mass Mess 32 | P a g e Cot Curt Caught Fair Fear Far Sam Sum Psalm Wheat Wet Wit Shone Shorn Shown Beat Bid Bed Fill Feel Fell Led Laid Lad Cart Cut Curt Pull Pool Paul Activity: They Sound the Same!!! Ask the students to identify the right word for each sentence. 1. He wanted a Daze/ Day’s leave. 2. King Henry rode/ road on his favourite horse that day. 3. Please wring/ ring the clothes before putting them to dry. 4. Her diamond ring shown/shone in the ballroom. 5. Mr. Paul has no write/right interfering in my business. 6. Ones/ Once upon a time. 7. Jones fell down the stares/ stairs and broke his leg. 8. Can you make the table with Mahogany would/wood. 9. She maid /made chocolate chip cookies in the evening. 10. Mary ate /eight all the toffees kept for little Ben. STOP! GO BACK AND REFLECT! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 33 | P a g e 7. Word Stress: Syllables There are two very simple rules about word stress: 1. One word has only one stress 2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants. Let us understand Syllables: A syllable is one unit of sound in a word. 3. For example: If you were to clap to the rhythm of every word, you would clap twice for the word “Water”, once for the word “tap” and thrice for the word “Magazine”- this unit of sound is a syllable. 4. Every word is made up of syllables. 5. Each word has either one, two, three or more syllables. Syllables: Monosyllabic Words: Hat Gun Love Pen Words with one Pet Kin Fill Wrist syllable Fun Cub Den Fish Pin Food Run King Bi syllabic Words: Words with two syllables Water Pension Ration Joker Polka Stigma Waiter Polish Ruler Falter Cooker Feline Tri syllabic Words: Words with three syllables Computer Government Newspaper Rational Offensive Microsoft Polysyllabic words Words with more Predictable Hallucination than three syllables Malnutrition Stability Presentation Technology 34 | P a g e Ask students to write examples of their own. Activity: Syllable Slot Read out the list below and ask the students to classify them as Mono, Bi, Tri and polysyllabic words. 1. Tear- Monosyllabic 2. Finale- Trisyllabic 3. Greener- Bisyllabic 4. International – Polysyllabic 5. Law- Monosyllabic 6. Police- Bisyllabic 7. Fierce- Monosyllabic 8. Roller coaster – Polysyllabic 9. Princess- Bisyllabic 10. Fishing- Bisyllabic 11. Analysis- Polysyllabic 12. Presentation- Polysyllabic 13. Marker-Bisyllabic 14. Branding-Bisylalbic 15. Advertisement- Polysyllabic 16. College- Bisyllabic 17. Professor- Trisyllabic 18. Interview- Trisyllabic 19. Student- Bisyllabic 20. President- Trisyllabic Word Stress: Rules  You could stress on a syllable by using one or more of the following five features:  It is l-o-n-g-e-r-  It is LOUDER  It has a change in pitch  It is said more clearly  It uses larger fishing movements Rules: Stress on first syllable: 35 | P a g e Rule Example Most 2- syllable nouns PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble Most 2- syllable PRESent, SLENder, adjectives CLEVer, HAPpy Stress on Second Syllable: Rule Example Most 2- syllable verbs to preSent, to exPORT, to deCIDE, to beGIN Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end) Rule Example Words ending in – ic GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic Words ending in –sion and - tion teleVIsion, reveLAtion Stress on ante- penultimate syllable (ante- penultimate = third from end) Rule Example deMOcracy, dependaBility, Words ending in –cy, -ty, -phy and phoTOgraphy, geOLogy -gy Words ending in -al CRItical, geoLOGical, Compound words (words with two parts) Rule Example For compound nouns, the stress is on the BLACKbird, GREENhouse, first part For compound adjectives, the stress is on the bad-TEMpered, old-FASHioned second part For compound verbs, the stress is on the to underSTAND, to overFLOW second part 36 | P a g e STOP ! GO BACK AND REFLECT ! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. 8. Intonation Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 37 | P a g e 7. Intonation Patterns: Statement Questions Phrases Tag Questions Items in Series Statements:  Downward drop:  Indicates the end of an idea  Indicates that it is another person’s chance to speak. For example:  The students are from National Science Academy.  He is capable of maintaining excellent health.  My boss decided to hire the five finalists.  The judge and jury joked about the arrangement. Questions:  Open- ended questions: Drop down at the end. Example: Describe the city in which you live.  Closed-ended questions: Begin with a lower pitch and usually end in a rising pitch. Example: Have you been here before?  Choice questions: The pitch will go up on the first choice and down on the next choice. 38 | P a g e Example: Do you want a Yellow or an Orange t-shirt?  Wh’ questions: They have a rhythm that usually ends with a downward drop.  Which employee’s bag is on the desk?  What Indian costumes do travelers find intriguing?  Who wrote the lyrics for the album?  Yes/ No questions: This rhythm signals the listener that it is his turn to respond.  Did the couple split?  Will they finish the project before March?  Is Alisha eligible for the course in Journalism?  Does the chart at the end of the text make sense? Phrases:  The largest “step down” in pitch and volume usually happens at the end of a statement.  Before the author wrote, he thought things through.  When wires were crossed, the warehouse lost power.  As we walked, we talked about factory management.  In early summer, we will visit the western waterfall. Items in a series:  When items are presented in a particular order, you will notice upward inflection with each one until the final item, where there is usually a downward step.  All kinds of data are on the charts, tables, and graphs.  Desks were covered with computers, manuals and papers.  Prepositions include “across”, “until”, “among”, and “of”.  The last three letters of the alphabet are X, Y, Z.  Add flour, sugar and butter to the batter. Intonation and Stress New Information:  When any new information is given, the noun carries the stress in the sentence. Example: Meet Mr.White.  The Intonation and stress change after the information is given. The verb takes on the stress. Example: He sells car accessories. Contrast: 39 | P a g e  Change in pitch indicates the emphasis laid on one thing over another.  E.g. Keith studies History. Keith studies History, but he doesn’t use it. Stress changes meaning Lets us see how the meaning and intention of the sentence changes with variation in stress. For example: “He did not steal the money” He did not steal the money- someone else did. He did not steal the money- he borrowed it. He did not steal the money- he stole the bag. STOP ! GO BACK AND REFLECT ! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 40 | P a g e 9. Pacing and Chunking Pacing: The method of varying the speed of your speech, the proper pace and rhythm helps a person to be understood better. Examples: 1. Bad performance costs jobs. Bad performance/ costs/ jobs 2. This is probably the first time I’ve fallen in love. This/ is probably/ the first time / I’ve fallen in love. In written English, the use of punctuation marks enables one to observe the punctuation and read the sentence accordingly, but when we speak English, a listener understands what we say because we group words together and pause appropriately to convey the meaning. This allows us to speak in phrases or thought groups and to pause just after important information that we want to emphasise. If we speak slowly and clearly, the phrases are shorter, but if we speak fast, the phrases are longer and we don’t emphasise as many words. It’s important to know where to put the pauses in the sentences so that you can sound comprehensible to the native speaker. Common Patterns of Pacing Examples: the obsolete software Noun phrases: Army and Peter Mary walked Short subject and verb: The boy smiled Verb phrases: Jogged joyfully seemed correct In the laboratory with the Prepositional phrases: hammer to the mall …. woman who wore glasses Relative clauses: ….. book that I read, is …. Phrase (or thought groups) are Parenthetical remarks: … this is, in fact, an example. 41 | P a g e Between each thought group, the speaker needs to pause. There are some pauses that are longer and more important than others. These would be marked with commas, semi-colons, colons and full stop in writing and will almost always be pauses, no matter how fast the person is speaking. The other pauses are less evident but definitely in place and they do impact speech. Importance of Chunking  A conversation is made more meaningful and clear.  Helps one to learn to think and speak in complete phrases.  The pitch, frequency, length and intensity help to add additional and variable meaning to a given statement.  By deliberately placing the main stress at the beginning or in the middle of a chunk, you can subtly change the meaning of what you say.  The stressed words tend to be nouns and verbs generally.  It is better to pause after stressed words.  Pausing can change the meaning of a sentence. The scope of an adjective can be altered depending upon the pausing. Activity 1: Faculty to read each of the three options for each sentence and students need to identify the sentence that has been wrongly paced. 1. a. The person who never made a mistake/ never/ made anything. b. The person/ who never made a mistake/ never/ made anything. c. The person/ who/ never made a mistake/ never/ made anything. 2. a. Management/ problems always /turn/ out / to/ be people problems. b. Management problems/ always turn out/ to be people problems. c. Management/ problems/ always turn out / to be people/ problems. 3. a. Big companies / are small companies/ that succeeded. b. Big companies / are/ small companies that/ succeeded. c. Big companies / are small companies that succeeded. 4. a. Hard work never killed anybody, / but worrying about it did. b. Hard/ work/ never/ killed /anybody, / but worrying about it did. c. Hard work never killed anybody, / but worrying/ about it did. 5. a. Ideas are/ like children./ Your own are / wonderful. b. Ideas are like children./ Your own are wonderful. 42 | P a g e c. Ideas/ are like children. Your own/ are / wonderful. Activity 2 Ask students to work in pairs: Each pair to be given a copy of the poem below. Ask them to read it to each other and with a slash, mark the areas where the appropriate pauses are to be made so that it can be understood better by the listener. Ask each pair to read it out to you and then provide correction and adequate feedback: Let’s face it; English is a stupid language. There is no sand in a sandwich No ham in a hamburger, And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple. Quicksand takes you down slowly, Boxing rings are square. If writers write, how come fingers don’t fing? If the plural of tooth is teeth, Shouldn’t the plural of phone booth be phone beeth? If the teacher taught, Why didn’t the preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, What does a humanitarian eat!? When the stars are out they are visible, But when the lights are out they are invisible. Why do people recite at a play Yet play at a recital? And that is why you fill in a form by filling it out, And a bell is only heard after it goes. And why when I wind up my watch, It starts, But when I wind up this observation, 43 | P a g e It ends. Activity 3 Here is a short extract from President Obama’s speech. Get your class into pairs, ask them to read it through. Now make them read it again slowly and mark with a slash, the appropriate chunks of the sentence and have them read aloud to their partner. Ensure you give timely correction and feedback. “It drew strength from the not – so – young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth”. “This is your victory.” “And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me.” “You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring, are the greatest of our lifetime- two words, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.” Extract: http://www.independent.co.uk/news STOP ! GO BACK AND REFLECT ! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 44 | P a g e 10. Fluency Fluency denotes language proficiency. It is the ability to be understood by both native and non- native speakers of the language. Fluency in speaking, refers to one’s ability to express their thoughts coherently and logically in complete sentences, using appropriate vocabulary and without hesitation. How to improve fluency:  Use a variety of linkers to organize and link ideas.  Speak confidently for long stretches of time.  Say things in a different way to avoid saying the same things twice.  Avoid repeating content words and repeating phrases.  Use synonyms and/ or referencing language (pronouns; this, that it, those, etc.) to avoid repeating things.  Avoid regular hesitations/ pausing for too long (more than 3 seconds) when searching for words and expressions Activity 1 Explain that there are only three rules to this game:  No hesitation (more than 3 seconds).  No repetition (saying the same thing twice; repeating phrases or content words)  No (going off topic) deviation. Note: Before getting the participants to do this activity in pairs, demonstrate how the rules get broken by getting one participant to the front of the class. This person is given a topic from the table and is told to speak for a minute on this topic. Tell the other participants that they must stop the speaker if any one of the three rules are broken. If the participants have not stopped the speaker for breaking any of the three rules, the faculty must do this. Highlight which rule has been broken and ask participants what the speaker could have done to avoid breaking the rule; for example, if the speaker has repeated the phrase or content word, the whole class has to think of a synonym or referencing word (pronoun; it, this, that, etc.) to replace this word/ phrase. Repeat this with more participants so that the three rules are highlighted and ways to avoid breaking these rules have also been brought to the attention of the participants. Playing the game: Participants sit in pairs (A and B) facing each other. 45 | P a g e Partner A starts talking on one of the topics selected from the table. Partner B must stop A if A breaks one of the three rules. B gets 10 points for this. Then B continues the topic, and this time A must stop B if B breaks one of the three rules. The person who is talking at the end of the minute gets an extra 10 points. Points are added up to find a winner. Monitor and encourage participants to find participants to find synonyms or other ways of saying something to avoid repetition of phrases/ content words. Also, remind them to use a variety of linkers to organize and connect their ideas. Get participants to change partners, and repeat the steps above again with another topic. Now, B starts talking on a new topic from the table A and must stop B. After some time, get everyone to change partners and repeat the activity with a new partner. Continue until all participants have built up their confidence in talking on a topic for a minute, without any hesitation, repetition and digression. Activity 2 The participant next get into pairs and choose at least four current affairs topics that they are both comfortable with and have sufficient knowledge of. Participant A will introduce the topic and share his/ her viewpoint on it. Partner B will play the devil’s advocate by disagreeing politely. They will have a structured discussion - give an argument, partner politely disagrees, ask for clarification, reply.  Pairs discuss while the faculty monitors closely.  Faculty provides feedback at the end, with special focus on clarifying and disagreement language and the ability to express thoughts fluently. Activity 3  Divide the class into groups of five. Ask each group to choose a common topic of interest.  The group is allotted 10 minutes to brainstorm and make a mind-map of talking points relevant to the topic.  The group now chooses a person to represent their group who will string these thoughts and make a speech. (if time permits, they could write out their speech.)  Ask the speaker to address the class.  At the end of the speech, permit the audience to ask questions.  Throughout this activity, the faculty should monitor closely, taking note of areas to provide feedback on, later. Also be sensitive to any potential conflicts, defusing any tension, if necessary. 46 | P a g e Group Discussion What is it In a group discussion, we discuss a topic by sharing different viewpoints. The idea is not to defeat each other but to ask questions and get to know each other’s viewpoints and build upon that and if possible reach a final conclusion on a topic. A group discussion involves discussion i.e. giving your opinion and supporting that with a reason, personal experience etc. participants ask questions to one another, building upon what the other person has said. Group Discussion Structure 1. Appoint a moderator. 2. Moderator introduces the topic. 3. Then elicits everyone’s views on the topic. 4. Ensures everyone gets a chance to share their view. 5. Ensures that the discussion stays on track and use functional language. 6. Summarises the key outcome of the discussion. Activity 1  Put participants in groups of 6 and ask them to choose a controversial topic (they can choose one of their own if they don’t like the ones given). However, this must be a topic which everyone is comfortable discussing.  Once they have chosen, give them time to brainstorm ideas on the topic and give reasons for their opinions.  Highlight the importance of using phrases to introduce their opinion, ask questions and so on.  Ask them to choose a moderator.  Give the participants a topic. Give them 5 minutes to prepare their opinions.  Allow participants 15 to 20 minutes to discuss their chosen topic.  Monitor and make notes on their performance.  Share your feedback. STOP ! GO BACK AND REFLECT ! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt / do differently……………………………………………………………………… 47 | P a g e 11. Indianisms This refers to usage of certain turns of a phrase and anomalies in the use of a syntactic structure which is typical of the way English is spoken in India. Most often, this is a result of direct translation from the mother- tongue into English, however such usages sound colloquial and may not be understood by the native speakers of the language. Strangely some of these usages, have, over a period of time, become an accepted way of speaking and goes unnoticed within the country, however they could be disastrous in an international forum. Errors relating to Grammar  Progressive tense used in stative verbs: I am knowing the result.  Variation in noun number and use of determiners:  My brother loves to pull your legs.  I visited the Mysore.  One-to – one correspondence of prepositional usage: Let us discuss about the book.  Word order: my all friends are calling.  Use of the Indefinite article- ‘a’ before words that start with vowels: I have a uncle who lives in Mumbai.  Use of only as an intensifier: I only cooked the curry.  Omission of definite article: Please bring bag when you come. Vocabulary Listed below are some of the common errors. There are many more that one can think of.  Use of open and close/ on it/ off it instead of switch on and instead of switch off.  Use of the word ‘since’ instead of ‘for’: I have been going to work since four years ago.  Use of the phrase “I can be able” instead of “I can”.  Use of the word ‘back’ instead of ‘ago’.  Uses of the phrase ‘pass out’ to mean graduating from.  Use of also in the place of ‘too’.  Doubling of adjectives to show intensification- ‘curly curly’ hair Activity Organize the class into pairs and ask them to work on the list below. Listed below are typical Indian usages. Replace with the appropriate phrase: 48 | P a g e 1. I’ll be there in 2 hours’ time. 2. You have trust on me. 3. I am finding your details. 4. I am going to my native. 5. It’s very much hot today. 6. You have found the details? 7. You can’t see? 8. I am having two cars 9. I am having a bad headache 10. He is my cousin brother 11. She is my sister, isn’t it? 12. You are coming for the party, no? 13. Are you sister of Reena? 14. Can you explain me the problem? 15. I said him that I’ll come. 16. I’ll explain you how to do it. 17. I’ll help you out. 18. It is on the backside of your monitor. 19. I didn’t went there 20. I am going to Kerala today evening 21. I got stuck up in the lift. 22. She’s got good communication skills. 23. It’s on the backside of next building. 24. This has to be done by next to next week. 25. I had to buy some small small things. 26. Basically I’m from Delhi 27. May I just have your account details? 28. It’ll be done in max to max 2 hours 29. What is your good name? 49 | P a g e 30. Myself Robin 31. In case if I want it…. 32. This is Ram this side 33. Me, my family and my friends had a great time at the party. 34. It’s his happy birthday 35. The reason is because 36. Let me check it out for you 37. I will return it back to you. 38. Please revert back to us 39. What I have to do? 40. I have a small brother 41. I am very much delighted 42. What you are waiting for? 43. I can’t be able to do it? 44. I am a B.Com graduate 45. She’s wearing a blue colour dress 46. He has a book of mine 47. Who is the person who looks after this? 48. The meeting has been preponed 49. Does it pain? 50. He has taken five offs this month 51. Hope things are well at your end 52. I’m going out of station 53. Just let me tell you 54. I’ve been working here since quite some time. 55. I’m not getting you 56. Could you repeat it once again? 57. You have found the details? 50 | P a g e 58. I got disturbed by the noise 59. What is your order number? 60. I’m put up at Benson Town 61. I wrote to you one week back 62. His grandfather is 65 years of age 63. I don’t think so he welcome 64. Like I said you 65. I will suggest you to take a look at this 66. Would you like to go for it? 67. I am not having any idea about it. 68. I was not knowing the way to your house 69. He is more taller than his brother 70. This shirt is more better 71. My friends and all went bowling 72. What all can we do? 73. Means they are not coming today 74. This is very near to my place 75. She is very much beautiful 76. Today only I’ll do that 77. I want it done now itself 78. They are here only 79. You are not understanding me. 80. Better you come with me 81. It was cold yesterday night 82. I ordered for some food 83. Something and all he was talking about 84. Where and all I looked for you 85. Off/on the lights 86. I’ll be going tomorrow 51 | P a g e 87. My name would be 88. You are coming to the party no? 89. Coming, no? 90. She was saying she’ll come on time 91. Peoples, childrens, informations, datas, jargons, feedbacks 92. Meet my better half 93. Her would be is in US 94. What for I am reading this book 95. Just I was telling him this morning 96. Please do the needful 97. I need the same by tomorrow 98. She bought a new dress for her son 99. I like hot hot food 100. She’s standing on my head to get it done STOP ! GO BACK AND REFLECT ! I learnt ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. I would like to know more about ……………………………………………………………………………….. Activities / tasks I liked / found useful…………………………………………………………………………. Something I would adapt /do differently……………………………………………………………………… 52 | P a g e UNIT-II: GRAMMAR 1. English: Spoken Versus Written Communication Have you often found it difficult to put across your thoughts in English when you speak, but found it easier to put your thoughts to paper? Have you found it easier to convey a written message more easily than a spoken one? To set the pace and make the students experience it themselves, the facilitator could get one participant to the front of the class and ask him to speak on a topic in English for two minutes, go back to his seat and put down his thoughts on paper- time given for writing: four minutes. ( All the students could be asked to participate in the writing experience) The facilitator then asks the participants to share his thoughts on the process that he went through. Ask the participant to tell the class about all the feelings he experienced, his fears, his body feelings, the tension he felt, any symptoms of stress, etc. Now ask the entire class to attempt the activity listed below. The build-up is aimed to help the participants realize, both the importance of English as a global language and the need to attain fluency in speech and writing. Chose one of the topics given below and write a paragraph of about 70 to 100 words in your first language. Time yourself and note it down. 1. My role model. 2. My vision for India. 3. My dream holiday destination. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________ Now write on the same topic on English and time yourself again. 53 | P a g e Which was the easier of the two choices? Was it easier to write or speak in your mother tongue or in English? What were the areas of difficulty that you faced? Did they relate to sentence structure, grammar or vocabulary? The facilitator asks the participants to write their individual areas of difficulty. The participants could share this with the facilitator and subsequently map it to their progress along the course. What is language? Would you say it is a tool that aids communication? When you started to speak as a child, you did not realize the difficulties you faced learning the language, since people all around you spoke it. Besides, that was the only tool you had to get what you wanted, not to forget the tantrums you threw! You picked up the first language effortlessly, and later with the help of other adults learnt to read and write in that language. In most Indian homes, a child first learns to speak his mother tongue or regional language and learns English only on joining school or perhaps even later while in middle school. In fact if you think about it, your thought process is in your language (mother tongue). Over the years you become very comfortable thinking and speaking in your mother tongue. Subsequently you learn English; you are comfortable writing and reading English but however hesitate to speak the language. English therefore becomes your second language. When force to speak in English you are hesitant and at a loss for words. This grammar translation method makes us dependent on our mother tongue besides which we often struggle for the right words to convey our thoughts. 54 | P a g e English is a global language and most of us lack the confidence to speak in English because our form of expression is weak. We have to acknowledge and accept that in the business world particularly when mergers and acquisitions are happening between countries across the world, the link language continues to be English. Can you give me some more reasons why you should learn English? Students may put their thoughts down in the space provided below. 1.. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. ________________________________________________ The facilitator may instead engage the participants in a healthy debate, if need be, to convince them about the need to be able to speak fluently in English. The points presented can be listed out on the board. Well, if you are convinced now about the necessity to be able to write and speak English, let us move on with our discussion. What would you say are the differences between the spoken and the written language? When speaking, people use contractions, slang, colloquial expressions and do not always adhere to rules. Would it be appropriate to begin a sentence with ‘but’ or ‘because’ when you write? You would often have often heard such usage in spoken language. If we were to look at grammar, we find that we are very particular with the syntactic structure when we write, but tend to ignore it at times when we speak. 55 | P a g e The spoken language is immediate, repetitive and more communicative and therefore there are chances that one makes mistakes and instantly corrects them in the course of speech. Besides, we also tend to intersperse our language with words from the local language. Moreover, we in India are comfortable using Indianisms or words which are unique to Indian English. In spoken language one communicates not just with words, but also with tone, body language, intonation and stress. In short, spoken language is less formal but more communicative whereas the written language is precise, well – ordered and structured. Try this:- Students should work together in pairs and read the following dialogue, one student reading the part of caller, the other student reading the part of the receiver. Note the expressions used in the dialogue and the progression of the conversation. Receiver: Hello Caller: Let me talk to Radha. Receiver: Radha? There is no one here by that name. Caller: You sure? This is the number what she gave me. Receiver: Quite sure. This is Sharma’s residence. Caller: Haan, what number did I call? Receiver: what number you were trying to call? Caller: 2543-3768 Receiver: wrong number. You must have misdialed. That is not this number. Disconnect and try again. Caller: OK, thanks yaar! sorry for the trouble Receiver: No problems, that’s all right. Good bye. Caller: Bye. 56 | P a g e While speaking, we use simple everyday vocabulary. Besides, our speech is interspersed with words and expressions from the local language (notice the use of ‘yaar, no problems’) while writers use formal and elaborate words. Written language when read out sounds less effective. Try and recollect how often have you been distracted when chunks of text were read out to you in the classroom? It bored you and you looked around at other things to keep you amused. As second language learners of the language, you are more exposed to the written words and perhaps, also practice the written skills a lot more. The situations and occasions for you to speak in English are limited since your interactions are with your family and friends. Your exposure to first language speakers of the language is also limited. As a result of this predicament you often find that when you speak, your speech sounds stilted and official and lacks the conversational edge. This, in turn impacts your tone and you sound condescending and officious, sometimes rude. The reverse is also true where you sound too informal or casual and inappropriate. Have you noticed that sometimes you are quicker and more fluent with your expressions when you write, but feel tongue tied when you speak? You feel your vocabulary is good, you are not confused with grammatical structure and convey your thoughts fairly well. However, when you are asked to speak in front of an audience or you are asked to make conversation with someone, your hands sweat, your pulse races and your words are stuck in your throat. Speaking as a skill involves not just the words but a lot more. The tone, body language, gestures, facial expressions and the environment, all play their part in making you feel the way you do. The only remedy for this is practice, practice and more practice. Just as Rome was not built in a day, language fluency cannot be achieved overnight. It requires constant and conscious effort, a willingness to bring that change in you. Please emphasize with the students, the need for constant practice. To get over our initial inhibitions, let us try a simple activity. Remember when it is your turn to speak, do not get nervous. Take a deep breath, compose yourself and speak. 1.1 Activity 1: Story Circle: Subject: Spoken versus Written English Aim: To learn to speak the English language with ease 57 | P a g e Props: None Instructions: Facilitator to make the participants sit in a circle. Facilitator to explain to the participants the concept of telling a story. The facilitator will tell the group that this is going to be a relaxed session where we are all going to contribute towards creating a story. The participants can also be made aware that working in a group helps to improve the learning experience and helps build the confidence to speak in front of a large group without inhibitions. Once the facilitator has started the first line, the next participant in the c

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