ENGLISH NOTES FOR FORM TWO – ALL TOPICS

B) SHORT STORIES

Click Here to read the Short Stories seen below:

Mabala The Farmer

Hawa The Bus Driver

Kalulu The Hare

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IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING ENGLISH – PART 2

5. Many scientific papers are written in English

In the last century, the number of scientific papers
written in English has started to outweigh the number of papers written in the
native language of the researcher. In the Netherlands, for example, the
ratio is a surprising 40 to 1. For this reason, having a knowledge of English
is incredibly important to those working in the scientific field.

6. English makes it easier to travel

As highlighted before, since English is spoken as a
first language in 53 countries and as a second language in over 118 countries,
learning the language makes it much easier to travel anywhere. Indeed, airport
announcements, train timetables, emergency information and street signs are
often available in English, including in countries where the native language
uses a different type of alphabet. It goes without saying that, when travelling
to a country where you don’t speak the language, you are practically guaranteed
to find someone who understands at least some English.

7. English is the languages for business, especially
if you want to be successful in the global market.

There is no doubt that English is the language of
business. In today’s increasingly globalized economy, English has become the
language of international business. As a result, those who can effectively
communicate in English will have a significant advantage in the job market.
However, it is important to note that the use of English in business is not
limited to spoken communication. To be truly effective, one must also be able
to write and understand written English. This skill is essential for everything
from reading corporate reports to writing emails and memos. Therefore, anyone
looking to succeed in today’s business world must commit to mastering the
English language.

8. English Allows You to Make More Friends

Because English is the most widely used language
online and offline, you are likely to meet English speakers when you are
traveling or using chat apps like WhatsApp.

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Making Telephone Calls

Making Telephone Calls Using Appropriate Language

Make telephone calls using appropriate language

Services: The supplying or supplier of utilities or commodities such as water, transport, telephone, electricity, or gas, required or demanded by the public.

Asking for services is the need of that service. Services are intangible commodities. When you go for services you pay money but not all services are seen in physical form, if you buy a voucher for telephone calls, you just get minutes to speak, or if you go to the hospital the commodity you get is the medicine to cure your health. In this topic we will talk more about making telephone calls, reservation, and shopping.

Making telephone calls

The Telephone is an electronic device used for communicating with someone who is far and who also has a phone. We have land line technology and mobile technology.

Landline is the earliest technology used almost all over the world. Landline uses set of wires and cables that carry telephone signals under or over the ground . This system uses an analog technology which cannot save numbers or receive written messages, it saves only one function of calling by dialing a number from the phone book to make a call. In this form of communication you need to introduce yourself very well before you start speaking.

Example 3

FRANK: My name is frank, I am calling from Moshi and I need to speak with Mr Juma Rajabu from your company.

RESPONSE: Okay Mr. Frank, Mr. Juma is in a meeting, I am his secretary can you leave a message?

FRANK: Just tell him Mr Frank called.

Things to Consider When Making Phone Calls

1. Have the number to call.
2. The name of the person you need to speak to.
3. Have all of your personal info at hand (if you are speaking to person who is new to you) when you introduce yourself prefer your last name or the popular name you are using.
4. Be precise (go straight to the point do not beat around the bush).
5. Use simple words and phrases; avoid using complex vocabularies an vague words.
6. Always check your line to see if its on air.
7. Consider the relationship you have with the person you are speaking to.
8. Telephone calls pass through a number of processes and systems of communication before they reach the intended person. You may for instance, call Grace and begin insulting her, and later on you come to know that you are not speaking to Grace but her mother. Cheating and other misconducts are not allowed when making telephone calls.
9. Avoid monologue, allow the second party to listen and respond to what you are telling him or her.
10. After finishing talking make sure you hang up the call to save your money and avoid misunderstanding with the second party.

Importance of Telephone

Emergency Purposes: One of the most important contributions the telephone has brought to the lives of people is the ability to call during emergencies. There are over hundreds of emergency calls made every day in every country across the globe.

Telephones are very helpful during emergency situations because they are able to connect to the office or department you are calling instead of going to the place yourself. When calling for emergency help it is important for you to speak slowly and clearly. This will help the authorities understand you clearly. State your name, the location of the incident, important phone numbers and the type of emergency you have, this allows fora faster response by the authorities.

Business Purposes:Another great use for telephones is for business. Telephones are a very important tool for handling business. Without telephones most company’s production growth would slow down causing loss in money.Telephones are used by businessmen to call their fellow businessman or their partners in business. Businessmen also use telephones to call for meetings.

Home Purposes:Finally, the most common use of the telephone is in the home . Most families and homes in the Tanzania have a telephone or two. Families are using telephones to call their relatives and friends.

Having a telephone at home also saves a lot of money for the family. For example, if you want to talk to your relative who is living far, you could simply use your telephone to talk to that relative instead of travelling to them and spending huge amounts of cash. Aside from saving money, having a phone also saves you precious time from travelling and lets you stay at home.

Telephones should not be taken for granted and should be valued. Even though there are new technologies today, like cell phones, internet, and email, let’s not forget that telephones are still great to use especially if there is no electricity or during blackouts.

Talking about Reservations

Using Appropriate Expression for making Reservations

Use appropriate expressions for reservations

Reservations are required for all services of public transport travelling for a long journey of more than 60 kilometers in Tanzania. This is the process of obtaining a ticket to travel before the time or day of departure.

The processof making a reservation

1. Make sure you know the date of your journey.
2. You have a fare to travel.
3. You know the kind of transport you will use to travel.
4. You know the office that can help you with the process.

Example 4

Mary is a student from Sangu secondary school in Mbeya, School is closed and she wants to travel by bus to Mwanza. Let us see how she is going to do a bus reservation at the Mbeya bus stand.

Mary:Good evening.

Customer care: Good evening, can I help you?

Mary:My name is Mary; I would like to travel to Mwanza on the 9^th of December.

Customer care:It is 60 000TSH per person.

Mary:I am a student, are students not allowed to pay half price for long journeys?

Customer care:Okay Mary you can pay 30,000TSH.

Mary:I am paying as we speak (prepare the ticket for me please).

Customer care:Don’t worry (she is writing a ticket for Mary, and after two minutes the ticket is ready)

Mary:Thank you!

Customer care: You are welcome!

Expressing the Location of Important Places

Express the location of important places

When you are locating places you have to use certain prepositions to locate them. These prepositions are: At, in and on.

The prepositions at in and on can be confusing sometimes. The following is an explanation of how to use these prepositions. These are at, on and in.

At is used to locate something at a certain point:

Example 5

At the bus station

At the entrance

At the crossroads

At the junction

At the top of the mountain

At John’s house

We were waiting at the bus stop when it started to rain. He was at the entrance of the theatre when he heard the noise.

In is used to locate something enclosed in a space:

Example 7

In a box

In a car

In a building

In my pocket

In my bag

In New York

In Spain

They found a lot of money in his pocket. I’ve lived in London for two years

On is used to indicate position above and in contact with the surface of something.

Example 9

On the wall

On the door

On the table

On the ceiling

On the carpet

On the page

On the cover

The picture on the wall is fantastic.You’ll find more information about the camp on this page.

For direction of important places we use words like, front, back, beside, adjacent, opposite, top.

1. Front directions express something which you face.
2. Back/ behind direction express things which is in the side of your back
3. Beside/adjacent explain something which is next to, closer or nearby
4. Opposite explain something which face another thing

Identifying Factual Information from the Media

Facts from the Media

Identify facts from the media

Analysing information from the media is the process of putting together information and being able to answer factual and non factual questions.

Factual Information is usually brief. It gives indisputable answers to specific questions. No explanation or analysis is needed. Examples of sources for factual information are the encyclopedia, statistical compilations and almanacs.

Example 4

DAR ASSURED OF QUALITY, MODERN TRANSPORTATION

By The guardian reporter

7^th December,2015

Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, Jumanne Sagini. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) interim service providers have assured the government and Tanzanians at large that preparations for commencement of operations were going on well.

It is expected that the BRT system will start by January 10, next year. The assurance came during a tour of the Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, Jumanne Sagini to inspect the buses that will offer transportation services. Few days ago, Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa called for a speedy implementation of the project. “We wanted to satisfy ourselves if the buses are ready to offer the service,” Sagini who led other government officials told journalists. UDA-RT Company owns the 140 brand new articulated buses that will be used in the BRT system. The buses will use top-notch Information and Technology (IT) system in fare collection, information, entertainments and other services. There will also be special areas for disabled and elders. “The Prime Minister’s directives should be implemented as soon as possible,” Sagini told UDA-RT officials.The chairperson, UDA-RT, Robert Kisena urged citizens to take care of the buses once operations start. “Dar es Salaam dwellers and drivers of the buses will have to take care of the buses once we start operations,” he said. He noted that destroying the buses will be self defeating because the service is meant to facilitate transportation in the country’s commercial city.He noted that installation of gadgets to be used in the buses has started and was ongoing for the rest of the buses. The spokesperson of UDA-RT, Said Mabruk said all required buses needed in the interim service were already in the country and that it was his hope that the new transportation system will commence on time. The drivers who will operate the buses have already been trained.

Also, the project’s contractor is finalizing the infrastructure needed, especially bus stations and terminals, on time.The BRT project includes construction of 20.9 kilometre special trunk road froKimara terminal to Kivukoni area, Msimbazi road from Fire to Kariakoo-Gerezani area and a part of Kawawa Road from Magomeni to Morocco junction.It is anticipated that by 2025, Dar es Salaam will have 11.5 million citizens and this according to experts calls for serious infrastructure improvement. On-going phase one works of the project envisions reducing traffic jams and congestion at Dar es Salaam.

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Ways to Learn a Language

Use the New Language Daily

Unless you have superhuman abilities, you’re not going to become fluent in a language if you don’t use it often and consistently. And the best way to ensure you hit both marks is simply to use it daily.

Keep having those mental monologues. Go over those 100 words and conversational phrases you learned so they stick.

Better yet, immerse yourself in the new language. Changing the operating language on your browser or phone will leave you disoriented for a few days, but it will get you used to seeing the language in your daily life. Listen to podcasts or the radio in your target language on your commute.

Watch YouTube videos in the language you’re trying to learn. A lot of foreign-language videos will have English subtitles. And if you’re feeling bold, you can even watch them without the subtitles! The Internet is your friend. Let it help you melt your brain every day.

“How Do You Say X?” Is the Most Important Sentence You Can Possibly Learn

Learn it early and use it often.

One-on-One Tutoring Is the Best and Most Efficient Use of Time

It’s also usually the most expensive use of time, depending on the language and country.

But if you have the money, grabbing a solid tutor and sitting with him or her for a few hours every day is the fastest way to learn a foreign language that I’ve found.

A mere two hours a day for a few weeks with a tutor in Brazil got me to at least a respectable conversational level—i.e., I could go on a date with a girl who spoke no English and maintain conversation throughout the night without making too much of a fool of myself.

Speaking of which…

Date Someone Who Speaks the Target Language and Not Your Native Language

Talk about investment and motivation. You’ll be fluent in a month. And best of all, if you make them mad or do something wrong, you can claim that it was lost in translation.

If You Can’t Find Someone Cute Who Will Put Up With You, Find a Language Buddy Online

There is a number of websites of foreigners who want to learn English who would be willing to trade practice time in their native language for practice in yours.

Here is an overview of language exchange websites and apps. (The reviews are written by Bilingua, which is itself one of the apps reviewed, so take their bias into account.)

Facebook Chat + Google Translate = Winning

Seriously, technology is amazing.

When You Learn a New Word, Try to Use It a Few Times Right Away

When you stop and look up a new word in conversation, make a point to use it in the next two or three sentences you say.

Language learning studies show that you need to hit a certain amount of repetitions of saying a word within one minute of learning it, one hour of learning it, one day, etc.⁸

Try to use it immediately a few times and then use it again later in the day. Chances are it’ll stick.

TV Shows, Movies, Newspapers and Magazines Are Good Supplements

But they should not be mistaken or replacements for legitimate practice.

When I was getting good at Spanish, I made a point to watch a couple movies each week and read an article on El País each day. It was helpful for keeping me fresh, but I don’t believe it was as helpful as my time spent in conversations.

Most People Are Helpful, Let Them Help

If you’re in a foreign country and making a complete ass out of yourself trying to buy something at the grocery store, ask random people for help. Point to something and ask how to say it. Ask them questions.

Most people are friendly and willing to help you out. Learning a foreign language is not for shy people.

There Will Be a Lot of Ambiguity and Miscommunication

Fact of the matter is that for many, many words, the translations are not direct.

“Gustar” may roughly mean “to like” in Spanish, but in usage, it’s more nuanced than that. It’s used for particular situations and contexts, whereas in English we use “like” as a blanket verb covering anything we enjoy or care about.

These subtle differences can add up, particularly in serious or emotional conversations. Intentions can be easily misconstrued. Nuanced conversations over important matters will likely require double the effort to nail down the exact meaning for each person than it would between two native speakers.

No matter how good you are in your new language, you’re not likely to have a complete grasp over the slight intuitive differences between each word, phrase or idiom that a native speaker does without living in the country for years.

These Are the Phases You Go Through to Learn a Foreign Language

First, you’re able to speak a little and understand nothing. Then you’re able to understand far more than you speak. Then you become conversational, but it requires quite a bit of mental effort. After that, you’re able to speak and understand without conscious mental effort (i.e., you don’t have to translate words into your native tongue in your mind).

Once you’re able to speak and listen without thinking about it, you’ll begin to actually think in the foreign language itself without effort. Once this happens, you’re really hitting a high level.

And the final level? Believe it or not, being able to follow a conversation between a large group of native speakers is the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place. Or at least it was for me.

Once that happens, and you’re able to interject, come in and out of the conversation at will, you’re pretty set. After that, there’s not really anywhere else to go without living in the country for at least a year or two and reaching complete fluency.

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Things in Terms of their Quality

Describe things in terms of their quality

In English we use adjectives to describe things. An adjective is a word which is used to express the quality, quantity and point out the person or things. This is the word which is used to explain more about the noun or pronoun. In this lesson we are going to learn to describe things according to their quality and quantity. Adjective of quality; is an adjective used to talk about the quality of a person or thing. These adjectives answer the question ‘of what kind?’

Example 3

Greta is a good girl. (Ask the question ‘what kind of girl?’ and you get the answer ‘good’.)

Rashid is hard working. (Ask the question ‘Rashid is of what kind?’ and you get the answer ‘hard working’.)

Tanzanian tea is famous all over the world. (Ask the question ‘what kind of tea?’ and you get the answer ‘Tanzanian ’.)

He is a gifted footballer. (Ask the question ‘what kind of footballer?’ and you get the answer ‘gifted’.)

Exercise 1

Point out quantity and quality description words:

1. There were some plates on the table.
2. Miss Kitty wore black shoes.
3. Peter helped the old man.
4. There were no biscuits in the tin.
5. King lifts the heavy box.
6. All members of Siyame family went to the theatre.
7. There is sufficient food for you.
8. Mrs. Cow has a blue purse.
9. Baraka has enough money to buy the bat.
10. Piggy has a long rope.

Talking about Games

How a Game Familiar to Oneself is Played

Explain how a game familiar to him/her is played

Cultural activities are activities which are done according to the culture of a certain place. In Tanzania we have different cultural activities like marriages, funerals, harvesting celebrations, ritual celebrations and games.

Games are physical or mental competitions that have rules and have participants in direct opposition to each other. There are different types of games, for example, football, basketball, handball, baseball, rugby, cricket, tennis and netball.

Football or soccer is a game played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball; it is played in a rectangular field with two goals at the end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into a goal. The goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands while it is in play and only in their penalty area. Outfield players mostly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, but can also use their heads or torsos. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the game wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/ or a penalty shoot out depending on the format of the competition.

Marriage Activities

Describe marriage activities

Marriage is a relationship between husband and wife or a ceremony in which two people are married to each other. The type, function, and characteristics of marriages vary from culture to culture, and can change over time. In general, there are two types: civil marriage and religious marriage, and typically marriages employ a combination of both (religious marriages must often be licensed and recognised by the state, and conversely civil marriages, while not sanctioned under religious law, are nevertheless respected).

Types of marriage relationships

Monogamy is a marriage to one partner.

Polygamy when a man is married to more than one wife at a time.

Polyandry when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time.

Marriage terms

Groom is a man who is getting married.

Bride groomis a woman who is getting married.

Wedding ring is a ring worn by a man and woman who are getting married

Wedding cake is a cake prepared for the wedding cerebration.

Exercise 1

Identify and explain marriage activities.

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You can learn any language by learning simple words used daily like names of persons father, mother, names of animals, vegetables, fruits, colours , things, seasons, months , days of week , numbers. Then slowly learn small sentences like my name is , your name is , i am this many years old , i live in , my city is , my mother/father/brother/sister name is , i like this colour/food , then secondly try to make sentences like , i , you , they . Then slowly make the present, past , future tense. Noun , verb usages.

Watch that language movies or small YouTube videos in that language, best way is to watch and hear the pronounciation in that language based cartoons which will be very basic understandable small kids.

Try to enroll for online classes and interact with others in this language. Don’t be sacred or heisistant to speak and even if you are wrong no problem and it will be corrected.

Get that language basic survival hand book which will have daily conversation with people, in bus station, train station, Airport, directions inside city , asking weather, time , restaurant details, food and clothing related like that…regularly read this book and wherever you go outside take this book with you.

Important way of learning is reciting in front of mirror as if you are having a conversation with someone for a topic like weather forecast in next weeks or planning a trip… so you ask questions and you answer them , this way you imagine the situation and will try to put in more words and learn more.

It’s always to be noted , when you are in Rome be a Roman. So if you are speaking some words in your native language then just think about how can I tell this in the other language you are learning and by this the structure of sentences, position of nouns , verbs you will try to put together that will make you learn faster.

Any new language you have to learn like a small children and slowly you get experience.

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In this case, let’s say that I’m learning German

1. Read: Read some texts or books in German. What I did: Usually, If my friend or relatives is traveling to Germany, I would ask them to keep a newspaper or magazine for me. I would read it and underline words I couldn’t understand.
2. Hear: Hear some musics in German. I mean German songs. What I did: I listens to it’s national anthems, folk musics, and especially children musics. When we learn a certain language, our brain works kinda the way of when we first understand and speak our native language as an infant.
3. Watch: Watch some German movies. What I did: I watched German movies almost every weeks. I used an English subtitles as a helper, or sometimes vice versa, English films using German. So far, it’s the most helpful technique for me at least.
4. Write: We all remember better when we wrote something down. Try making a book or translating texts to German or vice versa. What I did: I write random German words (or sentences) on my book every time I was bored in my classroom.
5. Speak: I LOVED shouting random German words to my friends! I liked to call my friend Arschloch, Wurst, Bröt, etc. I know right, so random. My friends even said that I’m being too lofty for knowing German, but no. It’s a part of the learning steps. What I did: I shouted some curse words to my school friends since they did not know German, lol.
6. Interact: Speak or chat with their natives. One of the most helpful technique I’ve always done.

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Many of us dream about learning to speak a second language (or, if we’re lucky and work hard, potentially a third). But the ability to speak more than three languages is so rare that it seems almost impossibly out of reach.

Yet there are people among us, known as polyglots, who serve as walking, talking evidence that teaching yourself how to speak five, six, seven, and even eight languages is not only possible – it’s more achievable than you might think.

If learning another language will help you reach specific goals – like getting a job in a competitive international market or moving abroad – then you need to progress as fast as possible. While we don’t have a way to download new languages to our brains just yet, you can become pretty fluent in a new language faster than you’d imagine.

In a recent webinar, we spoke to the renowned polyglot Olly Richards to learn some practical tips on how to learn a new language fast based on his personal experience. In addition to speaking eight languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Thai, Arabic, Cantonese, and Italian), Richards is well known online for being the creator of the StoryLearning® method.

Tips

1. Learn one language at a time

As a polyglot who has taught himself to speak eight languages, Richards always gets this question: “How can I learn more than one language at the same time?”

His advice? “Don’t do it. Let’s face it: learning one language by itself is hard enough, right? And there’s a direct correlation between focus and the amount you learn,” Richards explains. Adding a second language just divides your time and attention. But focusing your attention on one language means you’ll spend more time in that language, so you’ll learn it much faster.

That being said, if you really want to learn two languages at the same time and you’re not as focused on speed, Richards says to go for it as long as you understand that it will slow you down. If you are committed to learning two languages at once, try to choose languages that are very different (such as Spanish and Japanese) to avoid confusing new vocabulary and grammar rules.

2. Start with short, simple dialogues

Richards believes that it’s possible to become conversational in a language in just 90 days – as he did with Italian – by starting with reading and listening to stories. But how can you do that when you’re so new to the language that you barely understand a thing? Well, Richards says, “At the beginning, you need to use material that’s really, really simple.”

In the first week or so, stick to reading the short, simple dialogues you might find in a beginner language learning textbook, such as “I go to the grocery store” or “I like to run and watch movies.” Although these phrases might seem too basic, you’ll learn more than you think.

“What most people don’t realize is if you are just reading those dialogues at the beginning, they will contain the 100 or 200 most common words in the language, which are used over 50% of the time,” explains Richards.

You can start by making your own simple dialogues with these tips to start speaking a new language fast or use these phrase lists as inspiration.

3. Study pronunciation very early on

With languages, you can always learn vocabulary and grammar as you go along. But it’s essential to avoid building bad habits at the beginning of your language learning journey.

“I’m a big believer that one of the first things you should do with a new language is really study pronunciation,” says Richards. “It’s much easier to get it right at the beginning than it is to try and fix it later on.”

How can you practice pronunciation? The best way is to learn by listening to audio recordings or watching videos of native speakers so you can hear how they pronounce things. Then copy them by repeating the same sounds over and over until they begin to feel natural in your mouth. You can also use pronunciation apps like Glossika, where you listen to a native speaker, record yourself repeating what they said, and then compare your version to the native speaker’s.

To improve your pronunciation even faster, you can work with a private tutor who’s a native speaker of your target language. They’ll notice exactly what words you’re mispronouncing, demonstrate how they say them, and help you practice until you get it right.