PRE-UNIVERSITY REMEDIAL PROGRAM FOR THE 2014
E.C. ESSLCE EXAMINEES
ENGLISH MODULE
Total Credit Hours :96 hrs.
PREPARED BY:
1. Dr. Getachew Baye, Kotebe University of Education
2. Dr. Hailu Gutema, Addis Ababa University
3. Ato Getachew Ayen , Unity University
January 31,2023
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
1
Introduction
The module outline is initiated by the current move of the Federal Ministry of Education to
accommodate the huge number of students who have not been able to score the minimum results
required of them in the Ethiopian Schools Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE).
The many target students are placed into the forthcoming remedial courses based on their scores
in the ESLCE which is said to be very poor. The Ministry of Education has a uniform standard
for cut scores for University entrance. The target students are apparently underprepared students
who completed the regular high school /secondary schools English course works .They are to be
encouraged and motivated to achieve better if not greater academic success through a
completion of remedial coursework so that they advance to a college level course in their stream
_ Natural Science and Social sciences.
Remedial teaching is an integral part of the teaching –learning program, also known as
compensatory or corrective teaching in the general literature. The objective of remedial teaching
is to give additional help to learners who have fallen behind the rest of other students from
any part of the country ,any type of school or any subject. It is the process of identifying
underachieving or poor performing learners and providing them with the necessary help and
guidance to overcome their problems.
The purpose of remedial teaching we have kept in mind in suggesting the current module outline
is to eliminate ineffective habits and crippling practices ,to make learners learn better by giving
additional help, to teach again the language items and skills not properly learned and practiced
as much as possible, to raise learners’ interest in learning and attending classes with
stimulating approaches given the possibly low self-esteem of the students with very low
Ethiopian School leaving certificate examination and to transmit practical experiences to
learners according to their diverse needs.
Therefore, the proposed material integrates basic skills at macro and micro levels with relatively
varied and interesting topics and higher-level contents. The remedial education helps students to
provide knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in university. This scheme reduces the
students’ low self-esteem while at the same time offering hopes and flexibility to develop
their knowledge and skills towards becoming University students. This is to be achieved through
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interpersonal communication and interaction among students or between students and the teacher
in the English language teaching classroom.
In a nut shell, the main objective of this module is to give learners an opportunity to have it
as an accessible remedial resource material. The contents selected are determined to be
representative ones from grades 9-12.An attempt has been made, in this respect, to select all
the four macro skills along with grammar and vocabulary based on their abundance of
occurrence throughout the four grade levels( from 48 Units) and their relevance in helping
students become competent not only to be successful in their university entrance exam ,but
also for their university education.
Mostly, the contents have been selected from the grade 9-12 English textbooks .As no
textbook is self-sufficient and perfect on its own right ,in this outline an attempt has been
made to also incorporate other important elements which the material is believed to be
lacking.
The planned structure and organization of the course module
The overall structure of this module is topic-based on the basis of the English language
teaching syllabus (Grades 9 -12) of the Federal Ministry of Education for Ethiopian
Secondary Schools published in 2003 E.C.
Topics:
Hobbies and Crafts,
Moral Education and Personal Responsibility,
Education,
Water,
Family Life and
United Nations.
Macro-Skills
Listening Skills,
Speaking Skills,
Reading Skills, and
Writing Skills
Micro-Skills
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Vocabulary
-Words in context
- building word power
Grammar
Wide number of Topics on Grammar are carefully collected from the four textbooks. They are
Basic tenses in English- Simple present tense, Present progressive tense, Present perfect tense,
Simple Future tense((-be + going to, present continuous, will + infinitive) , Simple past tense,
Past continuous tense and Past perfect tense. Sentence Types(Simple sentences, compound
sentences, Complex sentences, Compound-complex sentences),Varieties of Conditional
sentences , Modal auxiliaries( Expressing ability, Expressing Obligation, Expressing Necessity
,Suggestions/advice), Degrees of Comparison( Positive, comparative and superlative degrees of
comparison), Quantifiers(Many, much, few, a few, little, a little , some, any ,a lot),Articles ( a,
the, an), Linking words(coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions), Relative
clauses, Verb forms and patterns, Question types( Wh- questions, Yes/No questions, Tag
questions and Indirect questions) and Adverbs(Frequency, Manner, Time, Degree) will be
covered. , Adjectives and prepositions, Reported Speech, Expressing Purpose (with to, so as to,
in order to, for, so that) are also included.
Unit One: Hobbies and Crafts (16 hrs.)
1.1. Listening Skills
- My favorite free -time activity
- Listening for details
1.2. Grammar
1.2.1. Simple present tense
- Active and passive forms
1.2.2. Present progressive tense
-Active and passive forms
1.2.3. Present perfect tense
-Active and passive forms
1.2.4. Simple Future tense
1.2.5. Verb forms
1.2.5.1. Regular verbs
1.2.5.2. Irregular verbs
1.2.6. Asking questions
1.2.6.1. Wh- questions
1.2.6.2. Yes/No questions
1.2.6.3. Tag questions
4
1.2.6.4. Indirect questions
1.3. Reading Comprehension
1.3.1. Reading for details
1.3.2. Vocabulary in context
1.4. Speaking
-What I like doing in my free time?
-Classroom survey
-Agreeing and Disagreeing
1.5. Writing
-Descriptive writing
-Keeping a diary
Assessment
- Speaking
- Writing
Revision Questions
Unit Two: Moral Education and Personal Responsibility (16 hrs.)
2.1. Listening Skills
- The Story of an Orphan
- Listening for details
2.2. Grammar
2.2.1. Simple past tense
- Active and passive forms
2.2.2. Past continuous tense
-Active and passive forms
2.2.3. Past perfect tense
-Active and passive forms
2.2.4. Conditional sentences
2.2.4.1. Type I : Likely/ Probable condition
2.2.4.2. Type II: Unlikely and imaginary condition
2.2.4.3. Type III : Impossible condition
2.2.4.4. Type IV: Zero-condition
2.2.5. Modal auxiliaries
2.2.5.1. Expressing ability
2.2.5.2. Expressing Obligation
2.2.5.3. Expressing Necessity
2.2.5.4. Suggestions/advice
2.3. Speaking
2.3.1. Using so and neither
2.3.2. Apologizing
2.4. Reading Comprehension
-A Difficult situation
5
2.4.1. Reading for details
2.4.2. Reading for main ideas
2.4.3. Vocabulary in context
2.4.4. Referencing and information packaging
2.5. Writing
-Warnings
Assessment
-Speaking
-Reading
Revision Questions
Unit Three: Education ( 16 Hrs.)
3.1. Listening Skills
- The Education System in Ethiopia
- Listening for details
3.2. Grammar
3.2.1. Degrees of Comparison: Positive, comparative and superlative degrees of comparison
3.2.2. Relative clauses
3.2.3. Adverbs
-Frequency, Manner, Time, Degree
3.2.4. Adjectives and prepositions
3.2.5. Reported Speech
3.3. Speaking
-The Education system: Present, past and future
-Comparing Schools
3.4. Reading Comprehension
-Barriers to Learning
-Oweka Learns a lesson
3.4.1. Detailed reading
3.4.2. Reading for the main idea
3.5. Writing
- Letter Writing
Assessment
- Writing
- Reading
Revision Questions
Unit Four: Water ( 16 Hrs.)
4.1. Listening Skills
- The Water Cycle
- Listening for details
-Extracting main ideas
6
4.2. Reading Comprehension
- The Tale of a Tap
4.4.1. Detailed reading
4.4.2. Extracting the main idea
4.4.3. Vocabulary in Context
4.3. Speaking
- All about Water
- Water shortage: Describing cause and effect
-Expressing regrets (Wish)
-May I Interrupt?
4.4. Grammar
4.2.1. Like and as
4.2.2. Quantifiers
-Many, much, few, a few, little, a little , some, any ,a lot
4.2.3. Articles
-a, the, an
4.2.4. Linking words
-coordinating conjunctions
-subordinating conjunctions
4.5. Writing
- Saving Water in Ethiopia (Paragraph writing)
Assessment
- Speaking
- Reading
Revision Questions
Unit Five: Family Life ( 16 Hrs.)
5.1. Listening Skills
- A Father’s Voice
- Listening for details
- Note Taking
-Vocabulary in context
5.2. Grammar
5.2.1.Talking about the future
-be + going to
-present continuous
- will + infinitive
5.2.2.Sentence Types
-Simple sentences
- Compound sentences
-Complex sentences
-Compound-complex sentences
5.2.3.Verb patterns
-verbs followed by gerund and infinitives
7
5.3. Reading Comprehension
- My Family
- A Childhood Memory
5.3.1. Detailed reading
5.3.2. Extracting the main idea
5.3.3. Vocabulary in Context
5.4. Speaking
- Expressing Opinion
- Agreeing and Disagreeing
- A Happy Family Life
5.5. Writing
- Memories
- A Formal Letter
Assessment
-Speaking
-Listening
Revision Questions
Unit Six: United Nations ( 16 Hrs.)
6.1. Listening Skills
- A Lecture on the UN
- Listening for details
- Note completion
-Identifying main ideas
6.2. Speaking
- Facts about the UN
- Information gap activity
-A Happy Family Life
6.3. Reading Comprehension
- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
6.3.1. Skimming
6.3.2. Detailed reading
6.3.3. Extracting the main idea
6.3.4. Vocabulary
- acronyms
- adjectives to describe leaders
6.4. Grammar
6.4.1. Expressing Purpose
-with to, so as to, in order to, for, so that
6.4.2. Expressing Probability and Certainty
-Can- could, may-might, must
6.5. Writing
- Writing a report
Assessment
8
- Speaking
- Writing
Revision Questions
Mode of delivery
Combined
Hence a technique of pyramiding
Individual work
Pair work
Small group work
Assessment Modalities
Quizzes
Tests
Model Exam
Centralized Exam
References
Brown ,H.D.(2001). Teaching By Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language
Pedagogy. San Francisco: San Francisco State University.
Brown ,S.(2006). Teaching Listening .Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Murphy ,R. (2019).English Grammar in use( fifth Edition) .Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
English for Ethiopia .Grade 9 Student Textbook Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ministry of Education 2003.
English for Ethiopia .Grade 10 Student Textbook Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ministry of Education 2003.
English for Ethiopia .Grade 11 Student Textbook Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ministry of Education 2003.
English for Ethiopia .Grade 12 Student Textbook Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ministry of Education 2003.
Tibbitts,E.L.( 1976 ).Exercises in Reading Comprehension. Longman, London.
