ENGLISH NOTES FOR FORM SIX – ALL TOPICS

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IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC SPEAKING – PART 2

5. Builds your confidence

As you begin improving your professional
speaking skills and take on different types of public speaking events, either
big or small, you’ll start to build your confidence. It may be terrifying at
first, but with every victory comes a feeling of relief and accomplishment.
Relief that it’s over, and then accomplishment once you start to receive
positive feedback from your peers and audience. Every small victory will
further bolster your confidence.

6. Improve your oral communication skills

Participating in public speaking can
increase your oral communication skills because you’re rehearsing and
presenting information to people, whether it’s a small or large audience.
Colleagues, moderators or audience members can give you feedback on how to
improve your oral skills for your next public speaking event. The more you
present speeches, the more you may improve your speaking skills. You may also
find that your improved oral skills transfer into your everyday conversations
with others.

7. Ability to inform, persuade, and
direct.

Business managers, educators, military
leaders, lawyers, and politicians, among others, seek to develop their speaking
skills to such a level that they are transformed into master communicators.
Speaking clearly and confidently can gain the attention of an audience,
providing the golden opportunity for the speaker to make the message known.
Wise is the speaker who gains and then holds the attention of an audience, with
well-chosen words in a well-delivered presentation, forming a message that is
effective, informative, and understood.

8. Represent your organization

Doing public speaking for your company can
allow you to represent your organization and share its mission and goals. It
can also help you improve your marketing skills and increase your confidence in
your delivery and sales. Your speeches may help potential customers learn what
the organization can provide them with, such as products and services, which
might help the company generate more sales.

9. Ability to stand out from the rest.

When one thinks of speaking skills, one
tends to think of it as a common skill. Think again. The ability to stand
before others and speak effectively is not an ordinary ability. Many people are
deathly afraid of public speaking; others have little ability to form thoughts
into sentences and then deliver those words in a believable way. The bad news
is that at any given moment the world has precious few with the speaking
talents of, say, Winston Churchill or John F. Kennedy. The good news is that a
speaker whose skills are honed and developed with constant application and hard
work can stand out.

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Spread it out

Studying a new language involves learning a LOT of material, so you’ll want to use your study time as effectively as possible. According to research in educational and cognitive psychology, one of the most effective learning strategies is distributed practice. This concept has two main components: spacing, which is breaking study time up into multiple small sessions, and separation, which means spreading those sessions out over time.

For example, let’s imagine you have a list of vocabulary words to learn. Today is Sunday, and the vocab quiz is on Friday. If you can only spend a total of 30 minutes studying this vocab, which study plan will be the most effective?

(A) Study for 30 minutes on Thursday.
(B) Study for 10 minutes at a time on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
(C) Study for 10 minutes at a time on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
(D) Study for 30 minutes on Sunday.

If you look at the total time spent studying, all four options are exactly the same. But research suggests that option C is the most effective way to manage your time: instead of studying the vocabulary all at once, you’ve spread out the time into several shorter sessions, and you’ve also increased the amount of time between study sessions. (And yes, this is also why “cramming” isn’t a good study plan!)

DO: Break up your study time into shorter chunks and spread those sessions out over time.

Bump up your memory

Memory is a critical part of any kind of studying, and effective memorization is strongly correlated with success in foreign language classes.[3] But if you’re not “good at” memorizing things, don’t despair! Although people often think of memory as a fixed quality, it’s actually a skill that you can improve through deliberate practice.

There’s a considerable amount of research on how memory works, as well as a wide range of strategies for improving memory. For example, scientific experiments show that our short-term memory can only hold about 7 pieces of new information at once. So if you’re working on a long list of new vocabulary words, start by breaking it up into smaller chunks, and study one shorter section at a time. Additionally, research also suggests that recall-based study methods are most effective. This means that actively trying to recall information is more effective than simply reviewing information; essentially, self-testing will help you more than re-reading your notes will.[4]

The best way to start working on your memory is to build on the techniques that you already know work for you. For example, if associating a word with a picture is effective for you, then you should incorporate images into your vocabulary practice. However, if you’re not sure where to start, here’s a “beginner” formula for memorizing a new word: use the word at least five times the first day that you learn it, then multiple times over the week, at least once every day.

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Starting Intervening and Closing a Conversation/Discussion

Using Appropriate Expressions for Starting, Intervening and Closing a Conversation/Discussion

Use appropriate expressions for starting, intervening and closing a conversation/discussion

CONVERSATION: Refers to a form of communication between two or more people. The conversation may be bases on a certain topic/ issue or subject or event that needs the sharing of ideas or information.

A conversation/ discussion normally involves spoken language used during interviews, telephone conversation between a father / mother and son daughter or any person. Actors or players also use conversation style.

Observe good grammar and tone when involved in formal conversation. Informal/casual conversation allow you to be free to choose any language style and tone depending on the person you are talking to and the situation in which the conversation takes place.

Example 5

Study the following conversation between Danes and Norman in the PCCB office at Morogoro.

Norman: Good morning?

Danes: Good morning, How are you?

Norman: I’m fine! Excuse me what is your name?

Danes: My name is Danes.

Norman: Do you mind if ask you a question?

Danes: No, but am sorry I have to leave now!

Norman: Where are you going?

Danes: I have to visit at anti-corruption office at Ifakara.

Norman: What is wrong there?

Danes: I want to go and have discussion with the PCCB manager on corruption in Tanzania.

Norman: May you tell me one impact of corruption?

Danes: What? Pardon! Can you explain to me what you mean?

Norman: My point is, I want you to explain to me how corruption affects the society in Tanzania?

Danes: Of course, corruption is a great issue in Tanzania. It leads to problems such as Unemployment and poverty because the economy in the country falls in the hand of few people.

Norman: Ok, thank you for you are explanation.

Danes: That is all, I have nothing to add, and shall we stop here?

Norman: Yes, goodbye!

Danes: Goodbye!

Activity 1

Now in group of four, practice introducing your friend to the other person. Write down your conversation.(In not less than 20 lines)

Using Appropriate Language to Resolve a Problem/Conflict

Use appropriate language to resolve a problem/conflict

Activity 1

Study the problems mentioned by your teacher.

Discuss how they can be resolved.

Discuss the appropriate language to use for each solution.

Suggest solutions to the problems.

Play a role of a person being advised on how to resolve a problem that he /she has.

One student will play the role of the advisor and the other the role of a person with a problem.

Negotiation skills

Activity 1

Practice the conversation below in pairs.

Student:Excuse me sir, can I have minute with you please?

Teacher:Yes, please.

Student: Sir I have a class project and I need to interview three teachers

Teacher:That’s what you want? I have been interviewed by three of you classmate. That’s enough from one teacher.

Students: Sorry sir, I know you are very busy .but I promise this will not take much time.

Teacher:What is your interview about anyway?

Student:My topic is sporting activities in traditional societies Sir.

Teacher: I don’t have any information on that

Student:You still know more than me Sir.

Teacher: come another time. Right now I am busy

Student: thank you sir. What time is good for you this afternoon?

Teacher:One thirty.

Student: I will be here at one thirty sir. May I leave my short questionnaire behind for you to look at?

Teacher: place it on the table over there.

LANGUAGE PATTERNS

Modal auxiliaries include will, shall, should, can, and must. They are used to express prediction, certainty and obligation.

Expressing predictions

When you want to make predictions, you use ‘will” and ‘shall”. You predicting because you are talking about things that have not take place. For example;

I think the country will change.

I know he will win the elections.

“Shall” is mostly used in the first person (I /we). Its use, however, is not very common. It is mostly used in questions when:

Making offers, for example: shall I get you another cup of tea?

Making suggestions, for example: shall we go to the stadium on Saturday?

Express certainty

When we want to express certainty we use ‘will” and sometimes “must”. For example:

You will have noticed that corruption has gone down.

The principal won’t (will not) be in the office.

It will be alright.

I am very tired. I will not go anywhere.

“Must” is sometimes used to show that something is certain, example:

It must have rained heavily last night.

This must be his house; I recognise the car parked outside.

In this use, the opposite of must is’ cannot’ or ‘cant’. For example, the two sentences above would be:

It can’t have rained heavily last night.

This can’t be his house; I don’t recognise the car parked outside.

Expressing obligation

To express obligation we use “should’ and ‘must’. For example:

Every student must work hard in school.

Member of parliament must fulfill their election promises.

Doctors should listen to patients carefully.

Children should obey their parents.

NB: In these sentences,’ should” and ‘must” are used to express what is required or what is expected.

Exercise 1

Rewrite these sentences using ‘must’ or “cant”. The first two are done for you.

1. I’m sure she’s at home. She must be at home.
2. I’m sure you’re not serious. I know you’re joking. You can’t be serious. You must be joking.
3. I ‘m certain you’re disappointed.
4. I’m sure she thinks I’m mean.
5. They’re always buying new cars,I m certain they make a lot of money.
6. Are you an architect? I’m sure that an interesting job.
7. I know that isn’t my bag, it is my brothers.
8. I’m sure he’s unhappy.
9. I’m sure he has problems at home, he doesn’t like getting home early.
10. I m sure there’s some way I can help him solve his problem.

Giving Advice Using Appropriate Language

Give advice using appropriate language

Activity 1

Read and study the dialogue below between Jamila and Jasmine.

Jamila: How are you my friend Jasmine?

Jasmine: I’m fines how about you?

Jamila: I’m also ok! But I have something to share with you.

Jasmine: What?

Jamila: I’m very afraid of disease called HIV/ADIS

Jasmine: Oh! My friend, there are several ways on how to be out of disease.

Jamila: What are they?

Jasmine: One of the most effective ways is to abstain from doing sexual intercourse.

Jamila: What more do you think I should do?

Jasmine: oh! My friend, the other way is to use condoms and to have a single faithful partner.

An Account of Event that Happened in the Past

Write an account of event/that happened in the past

Composition refers to a piece of writing on a particular topic, event or person. It can be expository, narrative, argumentative or descriptive compositions. Composition can be written at collage, school, and university as a part of studies or assignment given on a particular course. In writing composition a student is supposed to generate his/her own ideas and use them to narrate, describe, explain, argue, or persuade a certain thing or event.

Composition involves writing essays, letter, poems, stories, debates, speeches, dialogue, which involves a collection of ideas that are organised a good manner /pattern on a given topic or subject.

Things to consider when writing a composition

Title:Start with the title, the title should be written in capital letters. The title should be underlined if hand written and bold if type. The title should relate with the topic or subject given. Think of the number of words if it is given.

Put your ideas in small but detailed paragraphs. Revise and edit your work carefully. Divide your essay into three parts namely:

Introduction which relates to the title i.e. defines, explains the key words from the title.

Main body: This is the main part of the composition. Discuss your ideas in point in relation to the topic or subject given, planned. The main ideas should precede the minor ideas. Consider the logical arrangement of your ideas and points.

Conclusion:Under this part, you may give suggestions, views, opinions on the topic discussed. It should reflect the whole content discussed in your essay.

Write your essay/composition in a good manner, tone and good grammar.

There are various types of composition, namely:

1. Narrative composition/ essay.
2. Expository composition/ essay.
3. Descriptive composition/essay.
4. Argumentative / persuasive composition/ essay.

Narrative Composition/Essay

These are essays that account or give stories of events. The stories may be personal, fiction or non-fictional, historical stories or events. Personal autobiographical stories focus on the author’s or writers own life and historical stories rely on past events /happenings.

Non –fiction stories are based on truth or true events but fictional stories depend on imagination and use of figurative language to produce a story according to the writer or author.

Narrative essay involve telling a story about someone or something you probably do every day in a normal conversation. You may preset and narrate or tell your experience on a piece of paper.

Activity 1

Imagine you are exploring a deserted house at night when you are surprised and captured by a member of a gang of thieves who have made the place their headquarters. You succeed in escaping from the villain. Write a narrative story in no less than 300 words to explain what happened.

Writing Events in the Past

Writing events in the past

Example 2

HOW KIBONGE WAS HUNTED BY TWO WOLVES

The next morning, when I went down to the river to fill my can, I was horrified to see a dog’s tracks that were bigger than my fist. I turned back to my tent, made my breakfast, packed up and get started.

But just as I was leaving I saw two cars over a bush; it was a wolf all right. The brute shrank down out of sight as I looked, but when I moved on it followed me, keeping under cover, and presently I found that there were two of them walking and hunting together. Every now and then one of them showed itself in the open and I had a shot at it, but they were quick you’d think they saw the flash and dodged the bullet – and I never touched them once.

After I had several shots at them I happen to look at my belt, and I’d only one to more left. I would come but with a heavy pack, and had cut down my ammunition to six or eight rounds to same weight.’ No more shooting, Kibonge. ”I said you keep the rounds for yourself’’ if they got me, I tell you I wasn’t going to turn into pieces alive.

As I went on without firing, the wolves gradually realised that there was no danger and they got more and more cheeky, keeping closer and closer to me and calling to one another to check up on my movements. I had to use up one of my two last shots on them. They followed the raft down along the sands, but eventually it drifted to the other side of the river, and I got away. Of course the Indians said it was my own fault for going out alone.

Exercise 1

1. Write an account of result of a recent family dispute that you know about.
2. Express the meaning of these phrases in your own words (a) Out and out; (b) Cut down my ammunition to six or eight rounds; (c) Pushing off; (d) Form to pieces alive
3. Write a story called ‘’ Lost in the desert’’ (about 250 words)
4. Write a 300 words composition carefully paragraphed, on the subject ‘’ the best years of my life’’.
5. How far is it true, do you think that schooldays are the happiest ones of our life? (write in 250 words)

Writing Factual Information on a Topic/Subject

Write factual information on a topic/subject

Expository essays are essays that explain something with facts, as opposed to opinion. They may describe how to do something, analyse events, ideas, objects, or written works. They must contain an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs and a conclusion. The introductory paragraph may contain the thesis statement or topic sentence that introduces the theme of an essay.

Expository essays are most written by college, school or university students during their test and examinations. They need response to questions that asks the writer to explain or expose a specific issue basing on a given topic or subject or describe a process.

Characteristics of an expository essay

It focuses on the main topic.

It needs logical supporting facts details, explanations and examples.

It needs strong organisation.

Clarity.

Unity and coherence of ideas.

Expository essay includes writing letters, definitions, reports and research, instructions, newspaper articles, magazine articles, etc.

Steps to writing an expository essay.

1. Select a topic – it should not be wide so as to make you manage to describe it.( it should be a narrow enough topic).
2. Provide an introduction paragraph. It should state the thesis of the essay.
3. Think how to develop your essay. E.g. definition, listing, and explaining, classifying, process analysis, etc.
4. Think of organisation of the essay. Provide topic sentence for each body paragraph that relates to the thesis sentence; make few suggestions related to the essay. e.g. in conclusion………, all in all……, It is now in position to say that………, etc.

FACTS ABOUT THE LOCUST MENACE

In spite of what has recently done to combat the threat of the locust, they remain a menace to entire food supply of a quarter of the world. One trouble of them is they breed, the more they eat; and the more they eat the more they breed.

A breeding area may have up to five thousand eggs to the square yard. And a breeding area may cover up to two hundred thousand acres.

A large swarm, migrating from one of these breeding grounds, may number up to five hundred million and be capable of destroying an area of two hundred square miles. The locusts are a menace to plants therefore effective steps should be taken to destroy their breeding places.

Exercise 1

1. Write an expository essay on the causes of HIV.
2. Write down the duties and uses of the police force.(about 200 words).
3. Write an essay on the causes of soil erosion (250 words).
4. In many African countries there is the plight of children employed in mines. Write an expository essay about the problem in about 300 words.
5. Write an essay on “ The power of water” (250 words).

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If you’re interested in more tips for improving your memory

In addition to figuring out which memorization techniques work best for you, it’s also important to actively protect your memory. For example, experiencing a strong emotion has been shown to sharply decrease the ability to memorize unrelated content. (So if you’ve just watched a horror movie, it’s probably not a great time for vocabulary review!)

To get the most out of your study time, here’s a list of common “memory killers” to avoid:

Stress and anxiety: Just like other strong emotions, stress and anxiety drastically reduce your ability to make new memories and recall information.

Information overload: Studying for hours at a time might seem like a great idea, but it’s actually a really ineffective use of time. In fact, taking a short break every 30 minutes helps improve focus, and after 2 hours you should consider switching topics.

Fatigue: The more tired you are, the less effective your memory is. Chronic sleep deprivation is particularly detrimental, so those late-night study sessions might actually do more harm than good!

Multitasking: As you may have noticed, all of these “memory killers” are also things that disrupt focus. Multi-tasking is probably the most common source of distraction. In fact, here’s a great rule of thumb for protecting your memory: if you’re not supposed to do it while driving, then you shouldn’t do it while studying. (Yes, that means drinking, texting, and watching Netflix “in the background” are all NOs.)

DO: Increase memorization by breaking information into small chunks and studying the chunks one at a time, and by using recall-based strategies like self-testing.

DO: Focus on protecting and improving your memorization skills, and build the memory techniques that work best for you into your study plan.

Vocab is king

Want to know a secret? Vocabulary is more important than grammar.
DISCLAIMER: This does NOT mean that grammar is unimportant. Without grammar, you won’t know how to use your vocabulary, since grammar tells you how to combine words into sentences. And obviously, if you’re in a foreign language class, you’re going to need to study ALL the material to do well, and that will definitely include grammar.
The more vocabulary you know, the more quickly you can grow your language skills. The reason is simple: understanding more words directly translates into more input, producing more words means more output, and more output means more opportunity for feedback. Additionally, when you’re interacting with native speakers, vocabulary is more beneficial to communication than grammar is. Being able to produce words will help get your meaning across, even if what you say is not perfectly grammatical.[5]

Of course, in order to become fully fluent in your new language, eventually you will need strong grammar skills. But once again, this is something that having a strong, well-developed vocabulary will help with. Since grammar dictates relationships between words and phrases, understanding those smaller components (aka vocabulary) will help improve your understanding of how those grammatical relationships work.

DO: Design a study plan that emphasizes vocabulary.

Activities

Now that we’ve talked about the general principles that you should incorporate in your language study, let’s focus on activities: practical suggestions to help you find new ways to grow your language skills!

Find real-life sources

Since one of the main 3 components of language learning is input, look for ways to expose yourself to as much of the language you’re learning as possible. But this doesn’t mean reading more textbooks (unless your textbook is a fascinating read that you’re excited about). Instead, look for “authentic” examples of the language, things you’ll actually enjoy and look forward to practicing with, even if you don’t understand every word!

Here are some examples to get you started:

Newspaper articles, magazines, & blogs: Many of these are freely available online, and once you’ve tried reading them a few times, it’s easy to translate the key parts to check your understanding. Look for a topic you’re already interested in and follow it with a news reader app!

Books: Children’s picture books and books you’ve read before in your native language are easy options for intermediate/advanced beginners. The library often has great options available for free!

TV shows and movies: Try watching them without subtitles the first time, starting in ~15 minute segments. Another great option is to watch first without any subtitles, then with subtitles in the language you’re learning, and then finally with subtitles in your native language if you need them. Soap operas are also great options (especially if you like lots of drama!), since the plot lines are often explained multiple times.

Songs: Music, especially popular songs, can be especially well suited to language practice, since you’re likely to memorize the ones you enjoy. Ask a teacher or native speaker for recommendations if you’re struggling to find good examples. Children’s songs can also be fun practice tools.

Podcasts and audio books: There are a lot of options for all sorts of languages, and as a bonus you’ll often get exposure to local news and cultural topics. To get you started, we recommend this site, which has a great list of podcasts for many different languages.

Also, consider tweaking some of your media settings to “bump up” your casual language exposure. For example, changing your Facebook and LinkedIn location and language preferences will force you to interact with the language you’re learning, even when you’re (mostly) wasting time.

Pro tips

Improve the effectiveness of this activity by using the following suggestions!

Slow it down: If you’re listening to a podcast or audio book, try slowing down the speed just a bit: 0.75x is a common option, and the slowed-down audio still doesn’t sound too strange. Also, make sure to take breaks frequently to help you process what you’ve just heard.

Combine your senses: In many cases, you can combine types of input to help create a more learning environment: reading and listening to a text at the same time can help you improve your comprehension. For example, for TV shows and movies, turn on subtitles in the same language. Other options include:

• Radio news stories often have both audio and transcripts available online, especially for pieces that are a few days old.
• Amazon’s Kindle offers an “immersive reading” option that syncs audio books with text.
• TED talks come in many different languages, and often include an interactive transcript.
• If you’re an ESL student, the ESL Bits websitehas some great resources that link reading and listening, and it also has adjustable audio speeds!

Get hooked: To make this strategy as effective as possible, find a source that you really enjoy, and commit to experiencing it only in the language you’re learning. Having a go-to program that you love will help keep you motivated. For example, if you love podcast/radio story programs like “Radiolab” and are learning Spanish, check out “Radio Ambulante.”

Hold shadow conversations

A key part of learning a new language involves training your ear. Unlike written language, spoken language doesn’t have the same context clues that help you decipher and separate out words. Plus, in addition to using slang and idioms, native speakers tend to “smoosh” words together, which is even more confusing for language learners. In part, this is why listening to real-life sources can be so helpful (see the previous activity).

However, even beginning language learners can benefit from something called conversational shadowing. Basically, this means repeating a conversation word-for-word, even when you don’t know what all of the words mean. This helps you get used to the rhythm and patterns of the language, as well as learn to identify individual words and phrases from longer chunks of spoken language. Another great strategy involves holding practice conversations, where you create imaginary conversations and rehearse them multiple times.

Both of these strategies are great ways to help you learn and retain new vocabulary, and they also increase your language output in a low-stakes practice setting!

Example: If you’ve got a homework exercise that involves reviewing an audio or video clip, take a few extra steps to get the most benefit:

• After you’ve listened to the clip once, shadow the conversation in short sections (think ~20-30 seconds). Focus on reproducing the words as accurately as possible, paying close attention to rhythm, intonation, and pacing.
• Once you can accurately shadow the entire clip, then focus on understanding the meaning of the material, and answer any homework questions related to the clip.
• Now, use the same vocabulary to create a new conversation: think of what you would want to say in a real-life situation like this one, and practice it until you can respond confidently to any side of the exchange.

Become a collector

Since expanding your vocabulary is so important, identifying new words is a big priority. This is especially true when you’re in an immersion environment (studying abroad, etc), but it’s also something that you can do on a regular basis even when you’re at home.

Basically, you need to collect words: any time you encounter a new word, you want to capture it by recording it in some way. The easiest way to do this is in a small pocket notebook, but you could also put a note in your phone, send a text or email to yourself, or even record yourself saying it. The key point is to capture the word as quickly and easily as possible. Also, don’t worry too much about spelling or definitions in the moment: you’ll deal with those later.

Whatever your recording system is (notebook, phone, voice memo, etc), it’s only the first part of the collection process. Next, you’ll need to review each of the words you’ve recorded. This is something you’ll do on a regular basis, so that you can actually use the words you’ve recorded. Depending on how many new words you’re collecting, it might be every day, every few days, or once a week. This is the time when you find the correct spelling, write down the definition, maybe find an example, and so on.