English – Language and Literature
Code No. 184
Classes : IX-X
Background
Traditionally, language-learning materials beyond the initial stages have been sourced from literature: prose,fiction and poetry. While there is a trend for inclusion of a wider range of contemporary and authentic texts, accessible and culturally appropriate pieces of literature should play a pivotal role at the secondary stage of education. The English class should not be seen as a place merely to read poems and stories in, but an area of activities to develop the learner's imagination as a major aim of language study, and to equip the learner with communicative skills to perform various language functions through speech and writing.
Objectives
The general objectives at this stage are :
to build greater confidence and proficiency in oral and written communication
to develop the ability and knowledge required in order to engage in independent reflection and inquiry
to use appropriate English to communicate in various social settings
equip learners with essential language skills to question and to articulate their point of view.
to build competence in the different registers of Englilsh
to develop sensitivity to, and appreciation of, other varieties of English, Indian Englishes, and the culture they reflect
to enable the learner to access knowledge and information through reference skills (consulting a dictionary / thesaurus, library, internet etc.)
to develop curiosity and creativity through extensive reading
to facilitate self-learning to enable them to become independent learners
to review, organise and edit their own work and work done by peers
At the end of this stage learners will be able to do the following :
give a brief oral description of events / incidents of topical interest retell the contents of authentic audio texts (weather reports, public announcements, simple advertisements, short interviews, etc.)
participate in conversations, discussions, etc. on topics of mutual interest in non-classroom situations narrate the story depicted pictorially or in any other non-verbal mode respond in writing to business letters, official communications
read and identify the main points / significant details of texts like scripts of audio-video interviews, discussions, debates etc.
write without prior preparation on a given topic and be able to defend or explain the position taken / views expressed
write a summary of short lectures on familiar topics by making / taking notes
write an assessment of different points of view expressed in a discussion / debate
read poems effectively (with proper rhythm and intonation)
to transcode information from a graph / chart to a description / report
Language Items
In addition to consolidating the grammatical items practised earlier, the courses at secondary level seek to reinforce the following explicitly :
sequence of tenses
reported speech in extended texts
modal auxiliaries (those not covered at upper primary)
non-finites (infinitives, gerunds, participles)
conditional clauses
complex and compound sentences
phrasal verbs and prepositional phrases
cohesive devices
punctuation (semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, parenthesis or use of brackets and exclamation mark)
Methods and Techniques
The methodology is based on a multi-skill, activity based, learner centred approach. Care is taken to fulfil the functional (communicative), literary (aesthetic) and cultural (sociological) needs of the learner. In this situation the teacher is the facilitator of learning, s(he) presents language items, contrives situations which motivates the child to use English for the purposes of communication and expression. Aural-oral teaching and testing is an integral feature of the teaching-learning process. The electronic and print media could be used extensively. The evaluation procedure should be continuous and comprehensive. A few suggested activities are :
Role playing
Simulating real-to-life situations
Dramatising and miming
Problem solving and decision making
Interpreting information given in tabular form and schedule
Using newspaper clippings
Borrowing situations from the world around the learners, from books and from other disciplines
Using language games, riddles, puzzles and jokes
Interpreting pictures / sketches / cartoons
Debating and discussing
Narrating and discussing stories, anecdotes, etc.
Reciting poems
Working in pairs and groups
Using media inputs - computer, television, video cassettes, tapes, software packages.
ENGLISH - LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Code No. 184
Examination Specifications
CLASS IX
SECTION A : READING 20 Marks (30 Periods)
Questions 1 and 2. Two unseen passages of total 500 words with a variety of questions including 4 marks for vocabulary.
Only prose passages will be used. One will be factual and the other will be literary.
Passage 1 - 200 words (8 marks) - Four or five comprehension questions
Passage 2 - 300 words (12 marks) - Four or five comprehension questions and two questions on vocabulary.
Marks for vocabulary will not exceed 4.
SECTION B : WRITING 20 Marks (40 Periods)
3. Letter Writing - One letter in not more than 80 words based on provided verbal stimulus and context. Types of letter : Informal; Personal such as to family and friends. Formal : Letters of complaint, enquiry, request and application 8 Marks
4. Writing a short paragraph on a given outline/topic in about 60 words 4 Marks
5. Writing a short writing task based on a verbal and / or visual stimulus. (diagram, picture, graph, map, chart, flow chart etc.) Maximum words 80 8 marks
SECTION C : GRAMMAR 15 Marks (45 Periods)
Question No. 6-11
A variety of short questions involving the use of particular structures within a context. Text types used will include gap-filling, sentence-completion, sentence-reordering, dialogue-completion and sentence-transformation (including combining sentences). The Grammar syllabus will include the following areas in class IX :
1. Tenses (present with extension)
2. Modals (have to / had to, must, should, need, ought to and their negative forms)
3. Use of passive voice
4. Subject-verb concord
5. Reporting
(i) Commands and requests
(ii) Statements
(iii) Questions
6. Clauses :
(i) Noun clauses
(ii) Adverb Clauses of condition and time
(iii) Relative Clauses
7. Determiners, and
8. Prepositions
Note : No separate marks allotted for any of grammatical items listed above.
SECTION D : TEXT BOOKS 45 Marks (95 Periods)
Beehive - NCERT Textbook for Class IX
Prose 20 Marks
12 & 13 Two extracts from different prose lessons included in Textbook (approximately 100 words each) 5X2= 10 Marks
These extracts chosen from different lessons will be literary and discursive in nature Each extract will be of 5 marks. One mark in each extract will be for vocabulary. 4 marks in each passage will be used for testing local and global comprehension besides a question on interpretation.
14. One out of two questions extrapolative in nature based on any one of the prose lessons from Textbook to be answered in about 80 words. 6 Marks
15. Two out of three questions from Prose Text (local and global comprehension question) (30-40 words) 4 Marks
Poetry 10 Marks
16. One out of two extracts from a poem from the prescribed Reader followed by two or three questions to test the local and global comprehension of the set text. The extract will carry four marks. 4 Marks
17. Two out of three short answer type questions on interpretation of themes and ideas 6 Marks
Moments - NCERT Supplementary Reader for Class IX 15 Marks
18. One out of two questions from Supplementary Reader to interpret, evaluate and analyse character, plot or situations occurring in the lessons to be answered in about 100 words 8 Marks
19. One out of two very short answer type questions based on factual aspects of the lessons to be answered in 30-40 words 4 Marks
20. One out of two short answer type questions of interpretative and evaluative nature based on lessons to be answered in 20-30 words 3 Marks
To the teachers
NOTE : Teachers are advised to :
(i) encourage classroom interaction among peers, students and teachers through activities such as role play, group work etc.
(ii) reduce teacher-talking time to the minimum.
(iii) Take up questions for discussion to encourage pupils to participate; and to marshal their ideas and express and defend their views, and
(iv) Use scale of assessment for conversation skills for testing the students for continuous assessment.
Besides measuring attainment, tests serve the dual purpose of diagnosing mistakes and areas of nonlearning. To make evaluation a true index of learners’ attainment, each language ablity is to be tested through a judicious mixture of different types of questions. In addition to the formal examination, continuous and comprehensive assessment is essential to measure the level of attainment in the four language skills and the learners’ communicative capability. Continuous evaluation will be done through tests, assignments and projects.
Prescribed Books
1. Beehive - Textbook for Class IX Published by NCERT,
2. Moments - Supplementary Reader for Class IX Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
ENGLISH - LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Code No. 184
Examination Specifications
CLASS X
SECTION A : READING 20 Marks (30 Periods)
Questions 1 and 2 two unseen passages of total 500 words with a variety of questions including 4 marks for vocabulary.
Only prose passages will be used. One will be factual and the other will be literary.
Passage 1 - 200 words (8 marks) - Four or five comprehension questions 8 marks
Passage 2 - 300 words (12 marks)-Four or five comprehension questions and two questions on vocabulary.
Marks for vocabulary will not exceed 4 marks. 12 marks
SECTION B : WRITING 20 Marks (40 Periods)
3. Letter Writing - One letter based on provided verbal stimulus and context. 8 Marks
Type of letter : Informal: Personal such as to family and friends.
Formal : Letter of complaints, enquiries, requests, applications
4. Writing a short paragraph on a given outline / topic in about 60 words 4 Marks
5. Composition : A short writing task based on a verbal and / or visual stimulus. (diagram, picture, graph, map, chart, table, flow chart etc.) Maximum words 80 8 Marks
SECTION C : GRAMMAR 15 Marks (45 Periods)
Question No. 6-11
A variety of short questions involving the use of particular structures within a context. Test types used will include cloze, gap-filling, sentence-completion, sentence-reordering, dialogue-completion and sentence-transformation (including combining sentences). The Grammar syllabus will include the following areas for teaching:
1. Use of non-finites.
2. Sentence connectors : as, since, while, then, just because, just, until.
3. Clauses with what, where and how.
4. Past Tense.
5. Modals : can, could, may, must, might.
Note : All other areas covered in Class IX will also be tested in Class X as this is an integrated course for this area of learning.
SECTION D : TEXT BOOKS 45 Marks (95 Periods)
First Flight - NCERT Textbook for Class X
Prose 20 Marks
12 & 13 Two extracts from different prose lessons included in Textbook (Approximately 100 words each) 5x2 = 10 Marks
These extracts chosen from different lessons will be literary and discursive in nature Each extract will be of 5 marks. One mark in each extract will be for vocabulary. 4 marks in each passage will be used for testing local and global comprehension besides a question on interpretation.
14. One out of two questions extrapolative in nature based on any one of the prose lessons from Textbook to be answered in about 80 words. 6 Marks
15. One out of two questions on Drama Text (local and global comprehension question) (30-40 words) 4 Marks
Poetry 10 Marks
16. One extract from a poem from the prescribed reader followed by two or three questions to test the local and global comprehension of the set text. 4 Marks
17. Two out of three short answer type questions on interpretation of themes and ideas contained in the poems to be answered in 30-40 words each. 6 Marks
Foot Prints without Feet - NCERT Supplementary Reader for Class X 15 Marks
18. One out of two questions from Supplementary Reader to interpret, evaluate and analyse character, plot or situations occurring in the lessons to be answered in about 100 words. 8 Marks
19. One out of two short answer type questions of interpretative and evaluative nature based on lessons to be answered in 30-40 words 4 Marks
20. One out of two short answer type questions based on factual aspects of the lessons to be answered in 20-30 words. 3 Marks
Prescribed Books
1. First Flight - Textbook for Class X - Published by NCERT,
2. Foot Prints without Feet - Supplementary Reader for Class X - Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi.
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