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ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2014-2015)

E.S.-344
Teaching of English
Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the
Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teacher/Tutors/Auhtors for the help and Guidance
of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions of the Assignments. We do not claim 100% Accuracy
of these sample Answers as these are based on the knowledge and cabability of Private Teacher/Tutor. Sample answers
may be seen as the Guide/Help Book for the reference to prepare the answers of the Question given in the assignment. As
these solutions and answers are prepared by the private teacher/tutor so the chances of error or mistake cannot be denied.
Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these Sample Answers/
Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer & for uptodate and exact
information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer the official study material provided by the university.

Answer the following questions in about 500 words each:

Q. 1. What are the major differences between teaching a mother tongue and English Language Teaching?
Discuss an appropriate method for teaching English at secondary level.
Ans. A teacher of English, as a second language must know the following principles and follow them while
teaching:
1. A second language is learned gradually. For a long time at first stage. The learner will be in the imitating
stage. He will be able to say only what he has heard from his teacher or, when he is a little older, what he has read in
a book. Everything cannot be taught at together teach one thing at one time. Effort must not be wasted on relatively
unimportant things, the essential things must be put first before less important. Sometimes such relatively unimportant
things can be left out altogether, those words which are expections can be left at early stage.
2. A child will make many mistakes when he tries to speak new language. The teacher must expect this from
him. Teacher should try to make these mistakes as few as possible by the way he plans his teaching. If he corrects the
childs errors, constantly, regularly, there will be illiminated by and by.
3. A child will learn the dictionary of a language separate words are learnt in the beginning. He will learn the
ways in which the words are arranged in sentences to make complete ideas, after learning the words.
Right habit formation is a matter of drilling. A child will have to do a lot of drill before he begins to develop the
right habits. This is especially difficult because the habits of arranging words in the childs native language are
different. For example in Hindi, The verb has the last place in the sentence where as in English it is immediately after
the subject. The prepositions also creat lot of problems.
4. Motivation is one of the most important factor in learning. A childs learning is more complete if he is
interested in his lessons. It is a great advantage if his motive for learning a second language is strong. The teacher
must make his lessons based on principles of psychology and interesting and should take every opportunity of
showing his pupils the practical value of learning a second language.
5. Drilling has important place in language learning. Since the teacher will often have to use drill methods he
must first of all see that these periods of drill, although they must be frequent, are very short as young children tire
very easily. Drills must be interesting. Language games, puzzles, spelling games etc. can be used. The drills must
have varieties.
6. Constant revision of what has already been taught is necessary. Without revisions, children will forget what
has already been done. It is like going the next chapter and forgetting the previous ones.
7. A language is best learned actively, that is, by using it. The teacher must create class environment of the
language learning. Audio-visual aids are very usefulin this regard.

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In the early stages a teachers work will be largely oral by and by he should change the types of lessons. The
teacher had been effective or not, can be judged by (a) how far the child can express himself in English correctly. (b)
how far he is able to receive what has been conveyed to him.
All the four skills of language are required slowly and not at all together at one time.
Learning a foreign language is a difficult task. Sound linguistic principles are to be followed to teach English
in India. The English teacher should follow the principles and students must go accordingly to learn language
correctly and in time bound schedule.
1. Principle of Habit-formation: Language learning is essentially a half forming process, a process during
which we acquire new habits.
Palmer
Language learning is a skill. It is not acquiring knowledge. A skill is best performed when we have mastered it
so well that it has become a matter of automatic habit. It is a process in which one gets habit of speaking in the
language. Besides speech habits, a language learner has to form habits of reading and writing.
2. Principle of Practice and Drill: Language learning is a habit-forming process. For this purpose sufficient
practice and drill must be given while teaching a language. Language is a skill subject and not a knowledge subject.
Like other skills as dancing and painting, sufficient practice is needed in language learning.
Repetition at proper interval of time is very valuable. Expression also improves by practice just knowing
words, meanings and rules of grammar is not enough.
3. Principle of oral approach to language teaching: A child learns speaking his mother-tongue before reading
or writing it. This principle should also be adopted in learning and teaching a foreign language. Speaking should
come earlier than reading and writing. Beginning should be made with speech lessons, this works as motivation for
learning the language.
E.C. Kettson has rightly remarked: Learning to speak a language is always by far the shortest road to learning
to read it and to writeBy using the language as speech the pupil will cover something like twenty times as much
ground in a given time as he would by doing written work and practice. The acquiring of a language is the acquiring
of an art, the art of expressing oneself in that language: this art like other arts must be acquired by practicethat
means, by using the language: the most satisfactory manner of using the language from the practical point of economy
of time and effort is as speech, and it is also theoretically, the most natural; it follows, therefore, that a language
should be learnt by speaking it. A living language should be taught as living speech, that is, they should be taught
orally.
4. Principle of selection and gradation: Practice alone enables the learner to acquire the habit of speaking the
language. It is a fundamental principle of teaching that one should proceed from simple to difficult and from more
useful to less useful. But no one knows all the words even in his own native language. Essential vocabulary and basic
extence pattern must be learnt and ability to use then can be developed by practice. About 250 structures and 2500
words are expected from a child learning school at + 2 stage.
5. Principle of situational approach to language teaching: English language should be taught in situations,
which is the natural way in which a child learns his mother tongue. A structure or word is meaningful in the situation
in which it is used. Situations can be created with the help of objects, actions, pictures, drawing on the board, gesture
and actions.
6. Multi-skill approach and Principle of exposure to the language: A child learns his mother-tongue because
he is exposed to it. He listens to it when it is spoken around him, and then he tries to speak it. In the same way, for
learning a foreign language, one has to creat an atmosphere around the child so that he acquires the skill. Exposure
helps in learning. All the four language skills are to be given their due importance while learning or teaching them.
No skill should be over-emphasised or neglected. For this purpose help of tape-recorder, radio and gramophone can
be taken. The learner should receive good models of reading and writing. A good library of standard literary works
must be arranged.
7. Principle of accuracy: It is very important for an English teacher to know the principles of language
learning and teaching. Without this knowledge he will not be able to teach English effectively with accuracy. Moreover,
the students command over English will be very poor. The teacher should insist on accuracy in all the skills and
principle of motivation. Last but not least, we must accept, motivation plays important role in learning a language.

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Child learns his mother-tongue to get his need fulfilled. The learning of a foreign language like English also fulfils
certain needs of our students in our country. They should have some motivation to learn English. Teaching of
English should be closely related to the daily life of the students. Thus they will have a desire to learn English.
Thus a learner must be kept in mind while teaching him. Factors like his/her age-group, gender, aptitied,
background etc. must be considered that will help to plan and motivate the learner.
Language is such an essential part of everyones existence that it is impossible to imagine life without it. The
process of language learning, specifically if the language at issue is not native to the learners, is rather intricate and
demands a profound understanding of the nature of the language. While discussing nature of a language, it is worth
mentioning that it is only for man that this divine gift has been bestowed. Among human being, it is an instrument of
communication and expressing views.
The nature of learning a language is such that its acquisition depends on the motivation of the learner towards
learning it. Another factor that plays an important role in learning of a language is the environment in which a learner
spends most of his time.
Every language carries certain characteristics features that affect the way the language is learnt and taught.
Language teachers need to be aware of these features, as only they then will be able to accomplish their task of
teaching the language successfully.
There are various methods of teaching English at secondary level of given below:
1. Grammar-translation method
2. Structural approach
3. Communicative approach
4. Direct method
5. Text book/reader method.
A teacher can use textbook and while teaching it, he can develop listening ability by reading it himself or
making students to read it loudly to the class. Similarly, he makes students to read it silently or loudly and develops
their reading ability. By giving homework and correcting it, he develops their writing ability. However in this method
students get very little attention to the development of speaking ability. But this method is being used in some of the
school. Besides this separate grammar books are introduced to make various rules and usages of the language. But
overall view is that this method takes various skills separately and leaves little scope for overall progress of the child
in the various skills of the language learning.
Some scholars feel grammar translation is the best method as grammar teaching leads to correct writing and
translation provides ability to write and finally ability to express himself. This method structural method is based on
the concept that by giving structures of sentences, we can teach language. In this method text-book is also based on
sentence patterns. The students are expected to know the language through sentence structure. Exercises are also
based on them. The shortcoming of this method is if the students do not practice the pattern and just remember few
sentences, they get through the exam without learning the language.
Direct method is also not popular now a days. As a new approach towards teaching of English has been
developed. This is called Interactive approach. According to this approach language learning is acquiring skills.
These skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Whatever method as approach may be adopted, it is important
that teacher should play active role and develop the interest for language among the learners.
Q. 2. Discuss any two kinds of tests that can be used in formative assessment for assessing writing skills.
Ans. The evaluation of achievement in English should be in fine with the new techniques of teaching and
learning. Stress should be laid on the testing of all the four skills through oral work, spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary,
expression, etc. There should be questions to test the understanding of the vocabulary learnt, use to verb, forms,
tenses, sentence patterns, etc.
There should be a variety of questions to test linguistic competence and the knowledge of vocabularly learnt,
questions on the use of verb, forms and tenses, sentence patterns, the degree of comparison and synthesis of sentences
and so on. Not all of these should be set each time, a few should be selected each time.
In the words of Bhandari Rinkley and Ram: Learning English means acquiring four, specific language
skills, the skill of speaking English, the skill or reading English, and the skill of writing English. An examination in

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English should therefore, test mastery of these four fundamental skills. These tests are based on large number of
questions requiring short answers. There are different kinds of attainment. Thus, there might be vocabulary tests,
spelling tests, comprehension tests, grammar tests and tests in pronunciation. The examiners are not expected to
give long answers. The answers are often single worded. More often the examines are required only to put some
mark at a right alternative out of the several given in the test. Never are the answers expected in sentences of any
length.
Long Answer Type or Essay Type Test
In the essay type tests, essay type questions are set in different papers and the examinees are expected to write
their answers in the form of essays. The examiner judges the students ability by the subject matter, method of
expression and style of writing.
In this type test evaluation is done on the bases of overall performance or attempt of the examine.
Q. 3. What is a resource file? Select a few materials for making a resource file on speaking Activities.
Discuss how you plan to use the resources you have selected for develop speaking skills of your learners.
Ans. The resource files should be added and administered from outside the scope of the running assembly and
should not form a part of the assembly. This approach is helpful because the resource file is generated outside the
building process of an application. It provides flexibility in terms of externally creating the language-specific resource,
and adding it to the executing assembly without compiling the current project.
This resource is aimed at B1 to B2 (intermediate-upper intermediate) learners of English as a Foreign Language
(ELT, EFL, ESOL). It covers most intermediate topics from auxiliary verbs and present perfect to modal verbs and
verb patterns. Skills covered include creative writing, pair work and presentation skills. There are exercises provided
in the powerpoints. There are no answers to these, however, I can provide a list of the answers if necessary (please
get in touch). It was designed to be used alongside the New Total English Intermediate coursebook.
Improving your English speaking skills will help you communicate more easily and effectively. But how do you
become a more confident English speaker?
Practise where you can, when you can. Any practice is good - whether you speak to someone who is a native
English speaker or not.
It's important to build your confidence. If possible, use simple English sentence structure that you know is
correct, so that you can concentrate on getting your message across.
Try to experiment with the English you know. Use words and phrases you know in new situations. Native
English speakers are more likely to correct you if you use the wrong word than if you use the wronggrammar.
Experimenting with vocabulary is a really good way of getting feedback.
Try to respond to what people say to you. You can often get clues to what people think by looking at their body
language. Respond to them in a natural way.
Try NOT to translate into and from your own language. This takes too much time and will make you more
hesitant.
If you forget a word, do what native English speakers do all the time, and say things that 'fill' the conversation.
This is better than keeping completely silent. Try using um, or er, if you forget the word.
Don't speak too fast! It's important to use a natural rhythm when speaking English, but if you speak too fast it
will be difficult for people to understand you.
Try to relax when you speak - you'll find your mouth does most of the pronunciation work for you. When you
speak English at normal speed, you'll discover that many of the pronunciation skills, such as linking between words,
will happen automatically.

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