TEACHING ENGLISH A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS by C. S. Bhandari Vv. A. Hinkley 8. K. Ram English Language Teaching Institute Allahabad ORIENT LONGMANS BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS NEW DELHIORIENT LONGMANS LTD. Reap. OFFICE’ 17 CHITTARANJAN AVENUE, CALCUTTA 13 Nico Roap, BALLARD Estate, Bompay 1 ‘36a Mount Roap, MADRAS 2 1/24 "ASAE ALI Rosp, New Deru 1 ]UNFOUNDRY ROAD, HYDERABAD 1 17 Nazimupnm Roap, Dacca LONGMANS, GREEN & CO LTD 48 Grosvenon Stneer, Lonpon W 1 AND AT New York, Toronto, Cars TOWN AND MeLBOURNE ‘© Orient Longmans Ltd. 1961 BY P K GHOSH AT TASTEND PRINTENS 3 DR SURESH SARKAR ROAD, CALCUTTA 14PREFACE THIS BOOK is intended manly for teachers of English in the Jumtor High School although teachers in the ugher classes will also find it useful It covers neatly all aspects of English teaching m our schools and aims at givmg concrete guidance instead of dealing m deta! with the theoretical aspects of teaching English as a foreign language It does not clam to be and should not be regarded as a comprehensive treatise on methods of teaching English. It 18 essentially a book of suggestions illustrating how sone of the difficult items in the syllabus for the first three years ae to be taught, how oral work, reading, writing, and composi- tion are to be handled and how tests and examination question papers are to be constructed. We feel confident that if teachers follow the suggestions offered in this book intelligently, they will be able to develop an effective technique and a rewarding method of teaching English In the wniting of some of the eather chapters of this book we received valuable help from Mr J. M Ure, British Council Educa- tion Officer for Northern India, and 8n D D Jostu, tutor at this Institute, and we are grateful to them We are also ptateful to Di J, A. Noonan of the University of London for some very useful suggestions and ius interest.and encouragement at all times, C S$ Bhandari ~ V. A, Hinkley 5 K RamCONTENTS PREFACE, i i ue i v INTRODUCTION / 1 THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE WII THE STRUCTURAL APPROACH . i 4 IIT THE SYLLABUS a 7 i : 10 IV GENERAL PLAN OF TEACHING IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS . . os i . i ™’V SPOKEN ENGLISH ae, 4 VITEACHING AIDS || hoa OS VIL PRESENTATION OF THE MATERIAL . 2D VII READING =, See tg TX COURSE BOOKs =, TT X SUPPLEMENTARY READING . oa Td XT WRITING AND WRITTEN EXERCISES - U6 “x TESTS AND EXAMINATIONS. , os oe 124INTRODUCTION In the past English was taught m India as a mother tongue and it was the medium of struction for the teaching of all other subjects There were ample opportunities for the pupils to use English outside the classroom; m these circumstances, the methods and techniques used im its teaching were not of great importance, since any method would bring at least some success, Even until recently, in spite of the fact that English was no longer the medium of instruction and that the time devoted to teaching it had been reduced, ihe old methods continued to be followed That, more than any other smgle factor, was responsible for the general deterio- ration im the standard of attamment. Many teachers continued to use old-fasluoned methods, concentrating on formal grammar and translation, because apparently no one realised that an entirely new approach was needed They rushed rapidly from one stage to another in a haphazard and unsystematic way without estab- lishing the essentials of the language. The child was neither given a chance to assimilate the material taught nor did he have time to develop a language sense. The UP. Government was among those who were concerned at the falling standards of English, and it made attempts to improve the situation with the financial aid of the Nuffield Trust and the technical assistance of the British Council. It set up an English Language Teaching Institute at Allahabad in December 1956 This Institute was the first of its kind in Asia. On its Diploma Courses of four months’ duration and its shorter Summer Courses, it has tramned a large number of teachers, headmasters, principals, lecturers of trainmg colleges and inspecting officers in modern techmques of teaching English as a foreign language, The majority of these teachers and officers have gone back to their institutions and areas considerably enlightened and have enthusiastically started to put these new ideas into practice The Institute has not contented itself only with training peisonnel, but has also tackled the problem of teaching English on other fronts It has produced a detailed giaded structural syllabus fo. the Jumor High School and helped the Intermediate Board and the Department of Education, U.P, to introduce somex INTRODUCTION much-needed reforms in the examination question-papers in English, In addition, it has produced course books, supplementary readers and a series of books of dulls and exercises in English for the guidance of teachers, a Pronouncing Vocabulary of English, wall pictures, flash cards and gramophone records. The reports of the teachers trained by the Institute who are applying the new techniques im the field are very encouraging, a fact which is corroborated by the inspecting officers. The improvement 1s now being felt. The Institute has also prepared a detailed draft syllabus for the High School classes, wluch 1s integrated with the Jumor High School syllabus and which includes the essentials of the language to form a sound basis for further study of English. Although the syllabus for the Jumor High School has set before the teachers a definite programme of work, they need some detailed guidance, We cannot expect an ill-equipped and poorly qualified teacher to teach the material in the syllabus effectively. In res- ponse to widespread demand, the Institute has, therefore, prepared this handbook for teachers of English. What follows 1s a collection of Junts and suggestions for the teaching of English, particularly in the early stages, because these are the most important stages in learning a second language. Tins should be 1ead in conjunction with the detarled syllabus for the Junior High School and also the teaching mateuals and eqmpment produced by the Institute, It 1s hoped that these suggestions will be adequate. Comments from teachers in the field will be welcome, and if thete appears a need for a more detailed treatment of the subject the Institute will gladly undertake it. In a book of tlus size it 18 only possible to give hints and outlines of the more technical aspects of language teaching and learnmg, but the reader 1s referred to standaid works on these points where necessary.I THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE What 1s language? Language 1s a system. A system is a ‘complex whole’; 1t 1s ‘a set of connected parts or thmgs’. Language 1s a complex whole hike the human body. The system of the body functions through different organs such as the heart, lungs, brain, eas and eyes ‘These various organs are interconnected and work in co-ordination. Simularly, the system of a language functions thiough sounds. words and structures These are integrated with one another and constitute the complex orgame whole which 1s language, When someone says, ‘My frend is reading a book,’ he uses language; that 1s, he uses sounds (m, ai, f,1, e,n, d, z,r, it, d,1, 9, 9, b,u, k ), words (my, friend, 1s, readmg, a, book) and an accepted sentence pal- tein (SVVO). He could not communicate if he were to use only one of the elements of language, that 1s, sounds or words or structures. Language 1s a system of symbols. The railway-guard uses certain symbols—the green flag, the green lamp, the red flag and the red lamp. The train does not start till the driver secs the guard showing the green flag or the green lamp, for they are symbols of ‘All clear. Go’. The train, however, stops or does not start if the guard shows the red flag or the red lamp, for they denote, ‘Danger. Stop’. This system wo1ks effectively because the symbols used arc known to both the guard and the driver. The system of language, similarly, works through symbols, the symbols bemg words. Langua ae functions effectively when the symbols used aie known to both the speaker and the listener, the writer and the reader. The symbols of language—words—are very varied and complex. These symbols have a two-fold aspect. They have sound, and they have meaning For communication it is necessai y that there should be 4 meanmg attached to the sound or sounds consti- tuting a symbol. For example, table, consisting of the sounds t, a1, b, |, as a symbol of English because the users of the language have given a meaning to 11, but batle, which consists of the same sounds, 1s not a symbol of Enghsh because no meaning has been given to it by the users of the language.2 TEACHING ENGLISH The English language, hke any other lving language, 1s not static, It 18 constantly changing and developing. New words are bemg comed (blurb; brunch); words from other languages are beng absorbed in it (blitz, sputnik); and forms are changing (whom 1s being replaced by who) From a study of language and its behaviour two important points emerge, which have a direct bearing on the teaching of English. -(@i) Language is a system and so it should be taught and learnt as a system. In the mital stages, however, the system has to be a limited one but it should admut of gradual and systematic expan- sion. This emphasizes the smportance of selection and grading. * Gi) Language 1s dynamuc, not static The grammar that 1s to be taught, therefore, should be one that describes the functioning of the language and not one that lays down mgid rules about its behaviour and use. How is meaning conveyed in English? The Englsh language uses three umportant devices to convey meaning, They are (a) the order of words, (b) the forms of words and. (c) function words In the sentence, Hari’s mother gave mangoes to my friends, it 1s the order of words that indicates that Haris mother was the Siver and my friends were the recipients and not vice versa. Again, it is the position of Hari’s before mother which shows that it was lus mother (not anyone else’s mother) who gave mangoes to my friends The’change in the physical form of give into gave denotes that the action was performed and completed in the past. The suffixes -es in mangoes and -s 1n friends show that there were more than one mango and more than one friend In the sentence, Hari’s mother will give mangoes to my friends, the“function word will performs the same function as gave in the ‘first sentence. Both indicate the time of the action—gave shows that the action was peiformed m the past and will shows that the action will be performed m the future. In the sentence, Hari’s mother may give mangoes to my friends, may expresses the notion of possibility or permission according to whether may or give 1s stressed. The symbols used in language have meaning but by themselves they do not convey the meanmg of an utterance. The meaning 1s in the situation m which those symbols are used. The word bear, for example, has a number of meanings, It means to endure,THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE 3 to suffer, to bring forth, and 1s also the name of a certam ammal. When the speaker says, ‘Does your lime tree bear much fiyt”” the listener ‘understands that bear means produce. The various meanings of the word bear do not confuse the listener nor do they hinder or delay the process of communication because the meaning qs denved from the context Sounds, words and structures convey meaning when they are used by speakers in a particular situation.’ This emphasizes the mportance of Situational Teaching.It THE STRUCTURAL APPROACH Language Learning The new technique of teaching Enghsh as a second language 13 based on sound linguistic principles. Linguistic science consideis language learning to be analogous to learnmg a trade The methods described here aim at teachig the pupils the essential tools of the language im the early stages of language learning The took can be mastered only by practising their use. An apprentice to a blacksmith does not waste time learmmng about the tools of his trade. The theory of this trade may be interesting to the learner but it 1s of no practical help to him at this stage. He learns the trade by using the tools through constant practice. Simularly, if we want to teach our pupils to use a language, wo shoul “give them practice n using tts tools, and we should realise that any theory we give them will be of no real assistance to them, however interesting it may be We must know what the tools of a language, in our case the tools of the English language, are so that we as teachers and the pupils as learners may use them and practise them. They aw sounds (and, from a wider point of view, stress, rhythm and into- nation), words and structures We develop certain skills in usmg these tools, and these skills are (a) ability to understand the spoken language, (6) ability to speak the language, (c) ability to 1ead the language with comprehension and (¢) ability to write the language, Structures Among the tools of a language the most important are its struc- tures. One of the great advances in the field of linguistic science (and of linguistic pedagogy) 1s the discovery that the word 1s much less important than the ways in which words are put together. Vocabulary thus assumes a secondary (although still important) position, while the structural pattern is the really important and fundamental thing We communicate with one another not by using isolated sounds and words but by using combinations of words, Words are not, however, grouped together at randomTHE STRUCIURAL APPROACH 5 while we speak or write They are arranged in certain different orders accoiding to the needs of the situation For example, if we want to make a statement, the airangement of words may be. SvV.. —The boy 1s running; that 1s, the verb will follow the noun element. But to put a question, the arrangement will be different —vSV. , the verb may precede the noun element, eg. Js the boy ruming? These different arrangements or patterns of words we call structures Structues may be complete uttciances or form part of a large pattern For the sake of convemence we may dis- tinguish the followmg: Sentence Patierns He went to school. He has finshed his breakfast. Did you go to school? Have you finshed your breakfast? Sit down Open the widow. Touch your nose. Phrase Patterns’ on the table; for six years, with a stick. Formulas (groups of words used regularly on certain occasions): Good evening. Excuse me. Thank you Idioms (groups of words that must be learnt as a whole because it 1s not always possible to understand the meanmg from a knowledge of the separate words). im spite of, wt order to, lve from hand to mouth Approach We accept the findings of modern research regarding these patterns or structures as fundamental in Janguage learning, and we consider that the approach to the problem should be though them. The approach involves selection and grading of the material to be taught. Commg back to our analogy of trade, we can say that although the apprentice will finally learn to use almost all the essential tools of lus trade, some of them will be taught to hum earlier and some later. In learning a language too, the learner will be 1aught some selected and graded material earlier and some later So what we mean by the Structural Approach to English is teaching the learner certain selected. structures in a certain order. It Would not be correct to call the Structural Approach a method of teaching It is not a method, it 1s an approach. Any method can be used with it. Methodology is concerned with the presenta- tion of the selected and graded material Teaching and learning are activities, and these processes will necessarily differ between one person and another, one place and another, one time and6 TEACHING ENGLISH another Theie 1s no one best method, although we present here suggestions which, 1n our experience, enable the selected material to be taught effectively Selection As has been said earher, the essential tools are selected, but the selection 1s not made m a haphazaid way. Selection involves an assessment of the ability of the average leaine: in average school conditions bearing in mind the age of the learner, the time given to the teaching of the subject, the capacity of the teachers and the availabilty of material. In the selection and grading of the structures account has to be taken of the fact that many struc- tures have more than one meanimg, that 1s, a structure can be ‘used in more than one different situation These meanings should also be selected and graded, as for example, the preposition of has more than one meanmg: Of,—the legs of a table (connection between a part and a whole) Of,—a box of chalk; a glass of milk (connection between a container and what it contains) Ofs—a friend of mine, a son of Ram’s (connection between two persons) We will have to select some or all of these for the earlier stages and then put them im a ceitain order In making the selection, we follow certain principles. These principles are’ 1. Usefulness The usefulness of a structuie depends partly on how frequently st occurs in both the spoken and the written language and partly on the basis it provides for the further building up of the language. 2. Simpherty The simpheity of a structure depends on its form and meaning For example, the structue, J’m walking, 1s not only simple im its form but also im its meanmg; whereas the structure, If J had gone to Agia, I would have seen the Taj, 1s simple neither m form nor mm meanmg, Naturally therefore, we prefer to teach the former before the latter 3 Teachabihty One structure 1s mote teachable than another if it can be moreTHE STRUCTURAL APPROACIT 7 easily demonstiated in a icalistic situation For example, I’m wallang is more easily teachable than I come to school at 10 every day because we can actually demonstrate it by performing the action in the class, whereas J come to school at 10 every day can- not be demonstiated in @ realistic situation We will have to build a verbal situation in order to teach it* I came to school at 10 yesterday. I came to school at 10 the day before yesteiday I came to school at 10 today. Yl come to school at 10 tomorrow I come to school at 10 every day. Grading Gradmg means putting the teaching material in a suitable order. A mathematician, for instance, docs not start with quadratic equations or the bimomial theorem. He starts with elementary thmgs In the same way, we cannot start teaching English with the Present Perfect tense We have to grade our material. The grading followed in the Junior High School syllabus 1s, in our expeiience, the best under the circumstances. It will be seen that this grading is gradual, and this 1s a very important principle of grading Although a gradual grading of this kind means a restric- tion of the amount of the material to be taught, it is surely better to teach @ comparatively small but useful amount of the language 1eally well than to attempt to teach a large: amount without much success To begin with, we first mentify thmgs and peisons. Then we Jocate them in space And, finally, we fix them mm time. Content and Content Words Some people wrongly think that the Structural Approach to the teaching of English does not attach any importance to content and content words, Teaching would become dull and uninspiring and even impossible if this were so Content words are very necessary to build up a useful yocabulary and also to practise the structures 1m which they can occur But what kind of content words should we teach? Content vocabulary will spring from the particular situations used by the teacher to teach the items in the syllabus, and the principles for its selection are essentially the same as those. for the selection of the structures—usefulness, simphcity and teach- ability, 28 TEACHING ENGLISH These pinciples have been followed in the selection of the content woids used in the Read and Learn, Drills and Exercises, Read and Tell and Read for Fun scries produced by the English Language Teachmg Institute, Allahabad. Situational Teaching A stiucture or a word becomes meaningful for the learner when it is used sn an appropriate situation. The teacher should use a particular situation in order (@) to practise the structure and to relate it to 1s meaning and (6) to build up a vocabulary of content words. In the early stage, for cxample, the everyday class- yoom situation should be used and in that situation such words as boy, girl, teacher, pupil, desk, table, pen, pencil, door, window would naturally suggest themselves. The teacher should build appropriate situations by the use of objects im the classroom or outside, by gestures and actions, by the use of pictures, and by drawing on the blackboard The teachei must take the greatesl care that the situation is in fact appropriate to a particular structure and that theic is no possible chance of confusion If, for example, the stiucture, ‘f am putting a book on the table, 1s being taught, the action demons tating this must be performed at the same time as the wouds are spoken To complete the action before saying the words would indicate a different situation—'I have put the book on the table,’ Situations can be built up im the following ways. 1, By Gestures and Actions Every and all the and puttmg . wito and takiwg out of can be taught in the following way: The teacher pomts to each of the four green books lying on tus table with the forefinger of his 1ight hand and as he points to a book he says, ‘This book 1s giecn,’ Then he points to each of the four books in the same way in quick succession and says, ‘Every book on my table is green.’ He makes a sweeping movement of the arm to encircle all the four books (without pointing to indi vidual books) and says, ‘All the books on my table are green.’ The teacher takes a pencil in his hand and as he puts it into his pocket he says, ‘I am puttmg my pencil into my pocket’; and as he takes it out of the pocket he says, ‘I am taking my pencil out of my pocket?THE STRUCTURAL APPROACH 9 2, By the Use of Pictures If the class consists of boys and the teacher has to teach she, het, etc., he can use a wall picture showing a boy and a gal, He can then point to the gill’and the boy in turn and say’ That 18 Sita, She is a gurl, That is Din, He 1s hor brother. 3 By Drawing on the Blackboard He is nding a horse can be shown by quickly drawing on the blackboard. . One of the essential fealures of Situational Teaching 1s the active paiticipation of the pupils in the lesson This 1s amply illustiated in Chapter VII. The Oral Approach Tn learning a language certain skills have to be developed The skills are. understanding what 1s said, speaking, readmg and writing It seems that reading with comprehension will eventually be the imost useful skull to develop for most loarneis, but almost all exputs agzec that proficiency in speech contributes to reading and wuling In the early stages gicater emphasis should be laid on onal teaching but this does not mean that reading and writing should be neglected ot postponed for too long,ut THE SYLLABUS Ir is a common thing for teachers to have to conform to a syllabus, This 3s due to a desne for uniformity, The cducaiton authorities have to face the problem of poouly dqupped teachers For such teachers detailed guidance 1s necessary. No two teachers can be expected to teach im exactly the same way. But although every individual teacher should have the opportunity of developing im his own way, some detailed guidance can be of considerable value, No teachei can go to his class without preparation and start teaching his pupils, The average teacher needs a detailed syllabus and guidance on how to use it. Such a syllabus has been in use in U.P. since 1956, As a result of research and experimentation and guided by the principles of usefulness, frequency, simplicity and teachability, the essential patterns of English have been selected and graded foi teaching and set out in this syllabus, The difference between this syllabus and those used before 1s that the present syllabus gives definite guidance as to what to teach and in what order to teach it. It is an answei to the questions what language items must be intyoduced im the first three years of teaching English and in what order should these items be taught. The content vocabulary suggests itself in the various stiuctuies and further suggestions are given al appropriate places, For ins- tance, the content vocabulary—lerter, lesson, postcard, wall, foo ball, hockey, etc, is suggested for teaching pomt No. 25 in the syllabus, which deals with action verbs For the teaching of the same point Read and Learn, Book One also suggesis suitable content words in lesson 7—Dinu m the Playground. Each item grows out of and recapitulates what has gone before and prepares the ground for what is coming next. For caample, the Simple Piesent tense is introduced after the Piesent Conlt- nuous, Simple Past and Simple Future, which in a sense it summa- rizes, have been taught. Statement and question patterns arc struc- turally very different and therefore, to avoid confusion, the teach- _ ug of question patteins 1s postponed to pomt No. 40 in the syllabus. Chapter VII gives concrete guidance im regard to the teaching of some of the :mportant pots im the syllabus.iV GENERAL PLAN OF TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS Sereci 1s the essence of language, and so the Oral Approach to the teaching of English is pedagogically sound, Whetever tried, it has proved effective and produced good results [t does not, however, prescribe a method of teaching a language; it emphasizes cial teaching m the early stages of language learnmg It is mamly by oral practice that correct language habits are formed and the Jeainer gains command of the structural basis of the language The Fust Year During the first three or fou months of English the teacher concentiates on oral teaching, gradually mutiating the pupils into the techniques of reading and writiig The teacher's aim 15 to teach the first forty structuies m different physical situations so that the pupils can reproduce them automatically and fluently. ‘These structures identify persons and objects in space and locate per- sons and objects, first in space and then in time. They include four different verb-forms, namely (a) the neutial form ai/is/are, (b) the Present Continuous, (c) the Simple Futuie, and (d) the Simple Past. The teacher demonstiates the use of a structure in diferent situations, and then guides the pupils to practue the stiucture When 1 has been learnt ul is written on the board, is read by the pupils and then copied by them Reading and writing (their leaching, as dealt with un Chapters VILL and XI) ate very useful ards for sem- forcing the language material already taught. The value of 1epe- tition cannot be exaggerated It 1s the key-note to the successful teaching and learmng of a foreign language. Duning the first three or four months of oral teaching the teacher does not merely ieach structures in isolation; he also imtroduces oral composition and helps pupils to produce three or four sentences in a sequence. For this purpose he uses wall pictures or burlds up appiopuate situations The teaching of 1eading does not begin with the teaching of the names of the Ietlers of the alphabet (as is explained in Chapter12 TEACHING ENGLISIL VIL), Preparatory reading during the first thice o1 fou months consists mainly of reading phrases and sentences from the blick- board and flash cards. Each word is taught as a complete whole and 1s not dissected into its component paits In the third and fourth months of oral teaching short picces consisting of three ox fou sentences aie written on the board and read by the class, This paves the way for the introduction of the Reader in the fourth or fifth month. ‘Writmg im the first three or four months is almost exclusively confined to copying from the blackboard To begin with, single sentences, and then longer pieces, are copied The teache1 must never forget the puoritics of the four linguistic skills: the ability to understand English, the ability to speak Enghsh, the ability to 1ead Enghsh and the ability to write English Pupils should first be taught how to produce the structures orally, then how to read them and, finally, how to witte them Pupils, m the mitral stages, must never be asked to read oi write words oF suuctures with which they are not familiai—they must never be asked to write what they have not learnt to say and read. The Reade: 1s introduced after the thud or fourth month of oral teaching when the pupils can use orally, in different situations, the first forty structures of the syllabus The first lesson of Read and Learn, Book One contains the first eight points of the syllabus, The pupils have already learnt to read all the words and stiuctures meluded in it Reading of the text should therefore be fluent and easy. The lessons also provide an excellent opporlumty for iein- foreng the points taught orally. Two periods a week should suffice for the Reader, the rest may be devoted to the teaching of the remaining points in the syllabus, Gradually, however, the gap between the pomts covered in the lessons of the Reader and the pomnts taught orally will be narrowed as several points ac dealt with in a single 1eading lesson. There will be no teaching of formal grammar in the first three years of English. At no stage will the pupils be given the definitions of any grammatical categories. They may, however, be told the names of the different parts of speech, and a few other grammatical te.ms, as this knowledge will help the teacher to frame suitable language exercises for the pupils without giving long explanations These names can be taught by refening to their equivalents in Hindi. The teacher should, however, explain to the pupils in ther motherGENERAL PLAN JN THE FIRST TIIREE YPARS 13 tongue, particularly in the first year, what they are required to do im each of the exercises given at the end of a lesson in the Readcr The Second Year During the first month or two, the teacher again concentrates on oral tcaching, but 1eading and writmg aie not ignored Pupils read groups of sentences fiom the board (from sets of substitution tables, etc.) and write short pieces of composition based on Exercises an Continuous Speech from Drills and Exercises nm English, Book Two The Reader is introduced in the second or turd month, and after its introduction reading fiom the course book 1s interspersed with oral teaching Towards the end of the fifth month, the supplementary seader 1s introduced to 1emfoice the language material already taught in different situations Dictation, the time-honoured exercise for teaching and testing spelling, should be used spaingly It should never be used before adequate preparation. The difficult words ac written on the board and studied by the pupils, The passage 1s read through once and then dictated slowly, Repetition is avoided, the teacher pauses at the end of meammgful word-groups only. Composition, at this stage, becomes longer Pupils describe situations and relate very short, simple stones but sill only afler adequate preparation and under detailed guidance, The Third Year The teaching m the third year will be on the same lines as in the second year. During the first month of oral teaching, different types of language exercises, both oral and written, will also be done (They may be based on Exeicises in Continuous Speech an Drills and Exercises in English, Book Three). The am throughout will be to drill the new pomts taught. The supplementary reader may be intioduced in the second month. Poetry A few simple poems may be taught in the second and third years of English These poems should, however, nol be taught for the sake of language, but for their rhythm and melody, The pupils should be taught how to read them. They should also memorize these poems and learn to recite them. Teachers should not give any language exercises on these pocmsVv SPOKEN ENGLISH Tue Oral Approach to the teachmg of a language demands that the teacher’s own pronunciation should be as accurate as possible, Pupils learn by imulating the teachei’s way of speaking. If he makes mistakes, they will copy them, and probably add others of their own. Many teachers in rutal a1cas have very little chance of hearing English accurately spoken They should take every opportunity of listenmg to the radio, gramophone records and tape recordings Above all, they should have a good knowledge of the organs of speech and how sounds are produced This information together with a description of ‘Received Pronunciation’, which is used widely by educated people and seives as the most useful model, js readily available in such works as: Paul Christopherson, An English Phonetics Course (Longmans), Damtel Jones, The Pronunctation af English (O.U.P.). Peter MacCarthy, Enghsh Pronunciation (Heffer). Ida Ward, The Phonetics of English (Heffe1), It is obviously too much to expect every teacher to speak im- peccably in the way described by phoneticians, But it 1s essential to aim at a standaid which will make for intelligibility m as wide a sphere as possible The foreign learner of Enghsh has to acquire certain entirely new speech habits. Frequently he 1s influenced by the highly developed habits of his own native language. This 1s partly why people with different mother tongues make different mustakes when learning Englsh. The aim in a country Ike India must be for a Bengali speaker, for example, to understand and be understood by a Tamil speaker or a Punjabi or an Assamese. Not only must this intelligibility exist within the country, but the Indian speaker of Enghsh must be able to undersiand and make himself understood by English speakers from other parts of the world. Learning to speak 1s largely a matter of habit, Bad habits once acquired are vety difficult to eradicate Therefore it as essential to instil comect speech habits from the very beginning,SPOKEN ENGLISH 15 However, correct pronunciation ts not meiely a matter of making the mdividual sounds correctly. ]t is how these sounds combine and change when used in words and sentences that 1s of the gueatest importance So, im addition, the teacher must master also the Stress. Rhythm_and Intonation_of Spoken English. These topics will be dealt with late: in more detail. One word of warning: this technical knowledge is requned by the teacher, but he will have no occasion to teach his pupils phonetics The Sounds of English Spelling can be confusing In English the same lette1s can stand for several different sounds (cough, enough, ought, thorough, though) and the same sound may be represented by different spellings (field, key, people, police, recetve, seat, seed, these). A set of un- ambiguous symbols 1s required so that we can identify, describe and discuss these sounds The same phonetic symbols are used here as will be found in An English Pronouncing Dictionary (Jones) and The Advanced Leatner’s Dictionary of Current English (Hornby, Gatenby and Wakefield) which the teacher is advised to consult when m difficulty and doubt The examples of English sounds given here have been taken as far as possible from Read and Learn, Book One, the remainder fiom Books Two and Three, Note the spelling varieties. Pure Vowels Phonetic Examples Symbol u feet, field, he, machine, please, people, priest, receipt, these 1 begin, build, busy, carried, city, houses, kitchen, ladies, market, women e any, get, head, said, says, friend, guest ® man, hand, have ar arm, aunt, clerk, guard, heart ° hot, gone, want ot broad, door, four, mote, ought, tall, taught u___ book, could, put, woman