JSS ONE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR JSS ONE

WEEK ONE, LESSON ONE: INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS  A SUBJECT

English language as a subject is divided into five main parts. They are:

a)      Grammar

b)      Reading comprehension

c)      Phonetics (Oral English)

d)      Composition writing

e)      Literature

GRAMMAR

This aspect of English language deals with the correct spelling and usage of words.

It consist of lexis and structure, parts of speech, register , etc.

One can not write with out knowing the correct combination of letters and words.

The English alphabet is made up of twenty-six letters and this letters are combined to form words.

The letters can be written in two forms. namely:  a) capital letters or upper case form

                                                                        b) small letters or lower case form      

                                                CAPITAL LETTERS

A   B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

                                                SMALL LETTERS

a  b  c  d  e  f  g  h  I  j  k  l  m  n  o  p  q  r  s  t  u  v  w  x  y  z

A word can be made of one or more letters.

Examples of one lettered words: I and A

Examples of two letter words: Am, an, be in,etc

Examples of three letter words: Are, bin, cat dog, etc

Each word in English language is classified according to its function in a sentence. This classification is called parts of speech.

We have eight parts of speech, they are: a) nouns

                                                            b)  pronouns

                                                            c)  adjectives

                                                            d)  verbs

                                                            e)  adverbs

                                                            f)  prepositions

                                                            g)  conjunctions

                                                            i)  interjections

Register in English language refers to a group of words peculiar to to a given subject or profession.

Examples: medicine, teaching, music,etc. A clear understanding of English grammar will go a long way in improving our communication skills.

Assignment.

1)      How many parts is English language divided into?

2)      Define grammar.

3)      List five parts of speech.

LESSON TWO: READING COMPREHENSION

To read is to look at a written symbol or figure and understand what it means.

Comprehension on the other hand, means understanding.

Reading comprehension refers to a written passage on a particular topic or subject aimed at improving the reading skills of the students.

The passage could be a story on some of the common happenings in our society, folktales, etc. It could be on a subject matter such as: health, education, entertainment, science, etc.

The passage is usually short and written in clear language.

Difficult words are written in italics or written in a colour different to the rest of the text in the passage.

At the end of each passage, a set question is set to test the students’ understanding on the subject matter.

The teacher assist the students in searching for the meaning of difficult words and the students are asked to give a brief summary of the passage.

Knowledge gained in a comprehension passage could be of great use to the students in their day-to-day use of English language.

Assignment

1)      What does it mean to read?

2)      Mention two ways by which difficult words are identified in a passage.

3)      How useful are knowledge gained from a comprehension passage to the reader?

LESSON THREE: Phonetics ( test of oral)

This aspect of English language deals with the correct production of speech sounds in English.

Speech sounds are sounds produced when we speak.

Speech sounds in English language are forty-four in number. These sounds are divided into :

a)      Vowel sounds

b)      Consonant sounds.

VOWELS

These are sounds produced without obstruction in the air passage. There are twenty vowel sounds and these sounds are further divided into: a) pure vowels (monothongs), they are twelve in number

b) they are eight in number

                                    CONSONANT SOUNDS

These are sounds produced with obstruction in the flow of air through the air passage during its production. There are twenty-four consonant sounds.

A word can consist of a vowel sound alone e.g I /ai/, A/a:/,etc

It can be made up of both vowels and consonant sounds e.g take /teik/, make /meik/,etc

But consonant sounds alone cannot form a word. When we know how to produce the speech sounds, we will be able to speak English better.

Assignment

1)      What are speech sounds?

2)      How many speech sounds are there in English language?

3)      What are the two division of speech sounds?

LESSON FOUR: COMPOSITION WRITING

The word composition is derived from the word compose which means “put together” or “made up of different parts”

Composition writing is the act of putting words together to express ones feelings, ideas, opinion, etc on a particular topic or subject. It is also a way of passing across information to educate, entertain, and inform the readers.

Another name for composition wring is essay writing.

                                    TYPES OF ESSAYS

1)      Narrative essay

2)      Descriptive essay

3)      Argumentative essay

4)      Expository essay

Essays are arranged in paragraphs. Each paragraph contains a topic sentence.

A topic sentence is the sentence that contains the main idea or points in the paragraph. It could be at the beginning, middle or at the end of a paragraph.

Assignment

1)      What is composition writing?

2)      Mention two types of essay

3)      What is a topic sentence?

            LESSON FIVE: LITERATURE

This aspect of English language deals with all litrary works of art. Literature is described as a mirror of life. This is so because through its various branches or genres it portrays the things happening around us in our various communities.

Literature is divided into three genres or branches.

a)      Prose or novel

b)      Play or drama

c)      Poetry or poem

Prose or novel

A work of prose involves the continuous narration of a story. The writer of a prose is called a novelist.

Prose or novel is arranged in chapters. The story could be a true life story or a work of imagination.

                                                            Play or drama

A play is story written and meant to be performed by actors and actresses for an audience. The writer of  a play is called a playwright. A play is arranged in acts and scenes.

When a play is performed it is called a drama. Drama therefore is described as a story told in actions.

                                                Poetry or poem

This branch of literature deals with the expression of the writer’s personal feelings, ideas or opinion on things happening around him or her.

The writer of a poem is called a poet. Poems are arranged in verses and stanzas.

Assignment

1)      Define literature.

2)      List the three genres of literature.

3)      Explain one out of the three genres mentioned above.

4)      Give an example each for types of literature books you have read before.