ENGLISH NOTES FOR ORDINARY LEVEL – Form 1, 2, 3, 4

ENGLISH NOTES FOR ORDINARY LEVEL

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HOW TO BE BETTER IN ENGLISH

1.
Speak, speak, speak

Let’s
start right off by saying that there isn’t a magic pill for better speaking.
That would be too easy, right? Basically, the best way to speak better is to,
well – speak! Commit to practicing often and with as many different people as
possible. Do you already live or study overseas? Take advantage of the
thousands of native speakers in your immediate community, such as your friends,
their families, your co-workers, classmates, employees at the coffee shops,
supermarket, post-office and other places you visit.

2.
Immerse yourself in English language news

Try
to sample a broad range of English language newspapers, including broadsheets
as well as magazines and tabloids. As well as helping you keep up to date with
current affairs, this range of news sources will also expand your vocabulary.
Another advantage is that you will also become more comfortable with how words
are spelt and the contexts in which they are used.

3.
Watching TV Shows, Cartoon Shows, and Movies

Nowadays,
kids are more into mobile phones, television, laptops, and other electronic
gadgets in their free time. Most of them are busy watching TV shows, cartoon
shows, web series, movies, motivational videos, etc. Being a parent or a guide,
we can take the best advantage of it by helping them utilize their time. Children
can listen and read alongside, which will help in understanding them better and
improving their listening skills.

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Dictionary

Using Dictionaries Effectively to Obtain the Meaning and Spelling of Words

Use dictionaries effectively for obtaining meanings and spellings of words

Dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often arranged in alphabetical order. We often use dictionaries to look up difficult words; when we do not know the meaning of a word. Dictionaries are organised to help us look up words easily.

For example, to look up the word ‘dormitory’ in the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 2005, do the following:

1. Find the section for letter D, it starts on page 336.
2. Go through the pages of letter D slowly, as you turn the page look at the word written at the top of each page.
3. Study the word, noting the alphabetical order. For example: page 369 has “dark” which starts with DA, Page 406 has “dig” which starts with DI; Page 430 has DO.

Finally, we reach page 436 which has “doormat.” On this page, in the right hand column the 7^th entry is dormitory.

Each word defined in the dictionary is called a Head word. Head words are written in bold or using a different colour. They are followed by information about the word. Dictionaries show the pronunciation and meaning of a word. They also show how the word is used and give examples of sentences using a word; in some cases the plural form is given.

Abbreviation words

N-noun

V- Verb

Pt- past tense

Pl -plural

Sign- singular

C –countable

Un-uncountable

Prep-preposition

BrE-British English

AmE-American English

Sth-something

Conj-conjunction

Expressing Personal Routines/Habits

Talking about One’s Home Routines/Habits

Talk about his/her home routine/habits

My name is Gabriel. I’m a 12 year old Tanzanian living in Bunda town. I wake up early, at about 6 am, then I brush my teeth and take a bath before quickly having some breakfast.

I usually have tea with chapati before riding my bicycle to school at 8 am. I go straight to the assembly ground to hear the morning speech, news and announcements from teachers. After this I go into class before break time at 11am. The school day finishes at 2pm. When I reach home, I have my lunch and rest at 4 until 6. At 7:30, I have my supper before revising my school work. Then at 10 pm, I wish my mother and my father a goodnight before going to sleep.

Activity 1

Write a short description of any of the following:

1. How you prepare for school each day?
2. What you do over the weekend?
3. What you do on public holidays?

My daily routine

My name is Julie and I live in Ilemela with my aunt. I work as an assistant manager at an electric power company. I normally wake up at 6 am, brush my teeth and take a bath quickly before having tea and vitumbua. Then I go to work, have lunch around noon and continue with work. At 4 pm, I leave work and head back home. When I reach home, I usually find my aunt busy watering the garden. I greet her, have a little rest until 6 when I prepare dinner. We eat at 7:30 and watch some news before going to sleep at 10pm.

Exercise 1

Answer the following questions according to the text above:

1. What time does Julie wake up?
2. Who does Julie stay with?
3. What does Julie works as?
4. What time does Julie have lunch?

Talking about Class Routines/Habits

Talk about class routine/habits

St. Theresa Secondary School is in the Kilimanjaro region. Students wake up at 4.30 am, brush their teeth and at 11 they go for prayers before bathing and prepare for breakfast at 6. At 7.30 am all students go to their classrooms. Break time is at 10.30 until 11 am until 2:30 pm when the bell rings and they all go back to their dormitories to freshen up. At 3 , they have their lunch after which all students carry out their personal routines. At 5 pm, students go for prayer and go to the dinning hall for supper at 6pm. At 7 pm, all students go to their classes for self studies until 10 pm, when they go back to their dormitories to prepare for sleep. All lights are switched off atAt 10.15

Likes and Dislikes

Express likes and dislikes

To talk about your likes and dislikes, you can use these expressions.

Expressing likes:

I like…

I love…

I adore…

I’m crazy about…

I’m mad about…

I enjoy…

I’m keen on…

Expressing dislikes:

I don’t like…

I dislike…

I hate…

I abhor…

I can’t bear…

I can’t stand…

I detest…

I loathe…

Example 5

Examples of likes and dislikes:

I’m mad about basketball, but I can’t bear ice hockey.

I adore reading poetry, but I loathe doing the housework.

Things to remember about likes and dislikes:

When these expressions are followed by a verb, the latter is put in -ing form. Examples:”I like listening to music.””I hate wearing sun glasses.”

Note that” very much” & “a lot” always come after the things you like.Examples:”I like basketball very much/a lot. NOT “I like very much/a lot basketball.”

Be careful when you use “I don’t mind…”Examples:”Do you mind playing football?””No, I don’t mind.”(Although it’s in a negative form, it means that it’s ok for me. I neither love it nor hate it.)

Dialogue:Amiri is at home. His girlfriend comes in…Notice how they express their likes and dislikes.

Talking about the Occupations of Family Members

The Occupation(s) of Family Members

Mention the occupation(s) of family members

Study the following occupations: Farmer, teacher, carpenter, secretary, gardener, driver, electrician, police, nurse, messenger and technician.

My name is Frank. My father is a teacher at Mtambile Secondary School and lives in Uweleni Street with my mother, who is a housewife. My grandfather who’s a farmer owns a big farm at Micheweni village. I have a brother who works at a bank and my sister is a policewoman. My other sister lives in Malapa town and is an electrician.

Activity 1

1. Write about the occupations of your family members.
2. Write a composition about occupations you like and express why you like it/them.
3. Mention various occupations of people in your school.

Exercise 1

Fill in the blank space provided

1. A woman or man who cares for patients is a ……….
2. A person who works in/on gardens is a………
3. Someone who drives a car is a ……….
4. My uncle flies airplanes. He is a………..
5. My mother sells fruits. She is a……..
6. Juma teaches at our school. He is a…….
7. Jane works in a bank. She is a…………

Talking about Ownership or Possession

Statement about Ownership

Make statement about ownership

These are groups of words that show/express possession. Possession is indicated by apostrophe [ ‘ ] s. For instance; Zuena’s father, Zueka’s family.

NB:If the nouns end with [s] the apostrophe is placed after the [s] in the noun. For instance; Puppies’ Girls’ ball, etc.

Different pronouns are used to indicate possession; these usually come at the end of the sentence or clause.

Example 5

1. This is my pen. It belongs to me. It is mine.
2. Our school has a big playground.
3. My sister has a car. It is her car. It belongs to her. It is hers.
4. I have a new bag. My bag is big.
5. I own a new car.
6. It is his boat.
7. My brother owns a big house.

Exercise 1

Complete these sentences using possessive pronouns.

1. Neither Bahati nor Rebecca had met……… cousin
2. My father owns a boat. It is………boat.
3. There are many buildings near………school
4. Shabani, please comb………..hair.
5. My brother has a chair. It is……….chair
6. I built………house when I was studying in Tabora.

Describing Character

Describing One’s Own Character

Describe his/her character

Study the following descriptions:

I am a kind person.

I am a good-hearted man.

I am a gentle boy.

I am a generous person.

Read the text below:

My name is Juma. I am a good-hearted person, I am sincere and generous to people with problems, but I am sometimes careless with other people’s internal or personal issues.

Describing People’s Character

Describe people’s character

Read the text below:

I have two friends at school; One is called Ionia and the other is Natal. Natal is a kindhearted person and is very generous with a charming and welcoming face. She is also silent and gentle. Ionia is more careless and often gets into trouble.

Exercise 1

1. Give the meaning of the following words; Cruel, Rude, Generous, Greedy, Rough, Gentle.
2. In a single paragraph, describe the character of your friends.
3. Describe the character of your family members.

Activity 1

Use the expressions in the chart below to describe the appearance of well-known people to your partner.

Listening to and Understanding Various Simple Oral Texts on Various Issues

Answering Questions on Simple Oral Texts

Answer questions on simple oral texts

Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. When we learn a language, there are four skills that we need for complete communication. When we learn our native language, we usually learn to listen first, then to speak, then to read, and finally to write. These are called the four “language skills”.

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

As you can see, listening is the first language skill. It is perhaps the most important skill of all, and forms the basis for the other three. Listening is key for all effective communication; without the ability to listen effectively, messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. If there is one communication skill you should aim to master, listening is it.

When you are listening to text read by a teacher or anyone else, in order to understand, the following must be done.

Figure out the purpose of the text. Activate background knowledge of the topic in order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate listening strategies.

Attend to the parts of the listening input that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the rest. This selectivity enables you as students to focus on specific items in the input and reduces the amount of information you have to hold in short-term memory in order to recognise it.

Listen for the main idea.

Predict the content.

Listen for specific details.

Recognise word-order patterns.

Check for comprehension while listening and when the listening task is over.

Draw a conclusion.

Summarise.

Example 5

Listen to the following text and answer the questions that follow:

The HIV is Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. It destroys the human immune system. This virus causes AIDS – Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome – an incurable disease. This disease is caused by the virus which prevents the formation of WBCs, White Blood Corpuscles – a constituent of blood which is responsible for immunity. Destroying the WBCs and preventing their formation, natural immunity which fights against diseases, is reduced making the body prone to various diseases.

A person infected with HIV becomes carrier and can infect other persons. This communicable disease is sexually transmitted; it is also passed through body fluid and infected syringes and blood transmission.

This disease has spread rapidly worldwide, especially in poor and developing nations, and poses a serious threat to human existence. Africa, Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world have large populations who are infected with the disease. In 2000 about thirty-five million people were infected with HIV, of which about 29 million are in the sub-Saharan region.

African and Asian countries have highest spread of HIV, South Africa being the largest HIV infected land while the largest number of HIV patients are in India . About 3 million people die every year due to HIV/Aids.

No drugs or treatments have been proved effective to cure it, even some primary stage treatments are very costly.

Reasons for its spread in poor countries:

1. These countries have most of the population living under poor conditions and lacking proper nutrition, which makes them more prone to the disease.
2. Lack of awareness about preventative steps has resulted in the wide spread of HIV.
3. Some traditions and customs of such countries have led to practices polygamy, multi-partner sex, prostitution, which have spread the disease.
4. No or little policy implementation to create awareness and prevention of the disease in poor countries.

Exercise 1

Answer the following questions:

1. What is HIV?
2. How is HIV transmitted?
3. What causes HIV?
4. In Africa which country has the highest number of HIV victims?
5. What are the reasons for the higher spread of HIV in poor countries?

Talking about Celebrations

Narrating what took place in a Given Celebration

Narrate what took place in a given celebration

When you are talking about an event, you have to know what took place in that event. The events took place either at home, in your street, school or nation wise. The event might be a celebration, an accident, elections or a sport match or game. When you want to talk about an event you have to note the following:

The place where the event took place.

The date and time of an event.

Participants of that event; examples are the president, vice president, teachers, students and other people.

Important information and things that which took place like, awards, songs, deaths, winners, losers etc.

Read different stories to learn more.

Example 3

TALKING ABOUT A GRADUATION DAY CEREMONY AT OUR SCHOOL

My name is Jane and I am a form one student at James Sangu secondary school in Mbeya region at Mbozi district. On the 12^thof September there was a form four graduation ceremony at our school. The ceremony started early at 8:00 am, the school bell rang and all student gathered in the assembly ground. After that, the teacher on duty gave all class leaders the event timetable, and told all of us to go to the assembly hall and seat as we were arranged the day before. Students had their rows, teachers sat on the time table and parents sat adjacent to the students.

At 9:00 am teachers entered in the assembly hall and all students and parents who came earlier stood to show respect. The headmistress then entered with the guest of honour; the Mbeya regional commissioner Mr Abass Kandoro. After their entrance all students, teachers and others sat down. The headmistress introduced the guest of honour to the audience, then introduced teachers and the audience to the guest of honour. After the introductions there was a short speech from the headmistress welcoming all to the event. After this form two, and form four students sand farewell songs. A speech from a form four student head prefect followed , after which there was a speech from the school head and a closing speech by the guest of honour Mr Kandoro.

After the speech Mr Kandoro handed out leaving certificates to form four students and awards to the best students of the year from form one to form four and I was among of them! I received a gift of Sh 50000 as the best form one student and leading in seven subjects. I was so happy and surprised by the money, which I’m planning to use to buy review books for my form two national examinations.

After the awards all students and parents went to the dining hall for lunch at 3:00. Mr Kandoro and the remaining staff had lunch in the teachers’ staff room. At 4:22 the graduation ceremony was delayed.

Exercise 1

1. What is the date of the event?
2. Who was the guest of honor?
3. What was the aim of the event?
4. What is the name of the school which Jane is studying?
5. What is Jane planning to do with the money?

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Ways to Laearn any Language

1. Conversation, Conversation, Conversation

If there’s a “secret” or “hack” to learning a foreign language, it’s this: hours and hours of awkward and strenuous conversation with people better than you in that language.¹ An hour of conversation (with corrections and a dictionary for reference) is as good as five hours in a classroom and 10 hours with a language course by yourself.

There are a few reasons for this. The first is motivation.² I don’t care how cool your study guide is, you’re going to be far more invested and motivated to communicate with a live person in front of you than a book or audio program on your computer.

The second reason is that language is something that needs to be processed, not memorized. I’m no linguistics professor, but in my experience, staring and memorizing a word in a book or with flashcards 100 times simply does not stick the same way as being forced to use a word in conversation a mere two or three times.³

I believe the reason is that our minds place more priority on memories which involve actual human and social experiences, memories which have emotions tied to them.

So, for instance, if I look up the verb for “to complain” and use it in a sentence with a new friend, chances are I’m always going to associate that word with that specific interaction and conversation I was having with her. Whereas I can blow by that same word 20 times with flashcards, and even though I may get it right, I haven’t actually practiced implementing it. It means nothing to me, so it is less likely to stick with me.

2. Intensity of Study Trumps Length of Study

What I mean by this is that studying a language four hours a day for two weeks will be more beneficial for you than studying one hour a day for two months. This is one reason why so many people take language classes in school and never remember anything. It’s because they only study 3-4 hours per week and often the classes are separated by multiple days.

Language requires a lot of repetition, a lot of reference experiences, and a consistent commitment and investment. It’s better to allot a particular period of your life, even if it’s only 1-2 weeks, and really go at it 100%, than to half-ass it over the course of months or even years.

3. Classes Suck and Are an Inefficient Use of Time and Money

All things considered, you get a really poor return for your time and effort in group classes.

There are two problems. The first is that the class moves at the pace of its slowest student. The second is that learning a foreign language is a fairly personal process—everyone naturally learns some words or topics easier than others, therefore a class is not going to be able to address each student’s personal needs as well or in a timely fashion.

For instance, when I took Russian classes I found verb conjugations to be simple because I had already learned Spanish. But an English classmate struggled quite a bit with them. As a result, I spent a lot of my class time waiting around for him to catch up.

I also had a German classmate who had already been exposed to cases, whereas I had no clue what they were. I’m sure he ended up waiting around for me to figure it out as well. The larger the classroom, the less efficient it’s going to be. Anyone who had to take a foreign language in school and retained absolutely none of it can tell you this.

4. Know Your Motivation for Learning a New Language

It’s silly to even have to say this, but knowing why you’re learning a foreign language is key to mastering it.

Many people start learning a language with no idea of what they’ll use it for. And, sure enough, they fail. You can know all the tips and tricks there are to learning a language, but if you don’t know the why behind it all, how it’s going to enrich your life, chances are you’re going to lose motivation and the learning will fizzle out like an engine sputtering out of gas.

Are you looking to start a new life in a different country? Are you learning a foreign language because you’re fascinated by the culture and want to dive in at the deep end? Are you planning a trip to a foreign land and simply wanting to be able to order street food and tell the taxi driver where you’re going in the local language?

These are all good motivations to learn a foreign language.

And yes, there are bad ones too. If you want to learn Russian simply to impress that cute Russian you met at the bar, if you’re thinking of picking up French phrases to impress people and look smart, well, I have bad news for you.

Motivation is a tricky thing. You can will yourself to learn something difficult for a short period of time. But in the long run, you need to be reaping some practical benefit from your efforts. Without that, you’ll eventually burn out.

5. Set Learning Goals to Learn a Foreign Language

Language-learning goals are best if they are short, simple and easily measurable. Many of us embark on studying a language by saying, “I want to be fluent in Japanese in six months!”

The problem is, what is fluency? Fluent in what way? Casual conversation? Reading and writing? Discussing legal issues for your business?

Instead, it’s better to set clearly defined goals. Start with something like, “By the end of today, I will know how to greet someone and introduce myself. In two days, I will learn how to ask someone what they do for a living and explain to them what I do. By the end of the week, I will know how to procure food and avoid starvation.”

And to get you started, I’ll give you the goal of all goals, the milestone that will take you furthest on the path to fluency: “Master the 100 most common words in X weeks/months.”

6. Start With the 100 Most Common Words

Not all vocabulary is created equal. Some gives you a better return on investment than others.⁴

For instance, when I lived in Buenos Aires, I met a guy who had been studying with Rosetta Stone for months (not recommended). I had been working on and off with a tutor for a few weeks, but I was surprised by how he could not follow even the most basic of conversations despite months of study and living there.

It turns out, much of the vocabulary he had been studying was for kitchen utensils, family members, clothing and rooms in a house. But if he wanted to ask someone which part of town they lived in, he had no idea what to say.

Start with the 100 most common words and then make sentences with them over and over again. Learn just enough grammar to be able to do this and do it until you feel pretty comfortable with all of them.

7. Carry a Pocket Dictionary

This made a much bigger difference than I expected.

I carry an English-Spanish dictionary app on my phone and I used it all the time when I lived in Spanish-speaking countries. My first two weeks in Brazil, I was lazy and kept forgetting to download an English-Portuguese application. I struggled in my conversations A LOT during those two weeks, despite knowing basic Portuguese.

Once I downloaded the dictionary, there was an immediate difference. Having it on your phone is great, because it takes two seconds to look something up in the middle of conversation. And because you’re using it in conversation, you’re that much more likely to recall it later.

Even something that simple affected my conversations and ability to interact with locals a great deal.