Objectives of Teaching English at Junior Level
Objectives of teaching English at Junior Level: A student, who has been learning English at the junior level should be at the end of the term, proficient in the following aspects:
1. He should be able to make simple sentences and statements in English so as to be able to express himself through speech and writing.
2. He should be able to speak the language with reasonably correct pronunciation and should have command over the phonemes of the language. He should also be able to speak English with due attention to stress and intonation.
3. He should be able to write English properly. That is, he should be able to use legible and coherent language with proper use of marks of punctuation and spelling.
4. He should be able to respond to short conversational questions and should be able to ask simple questions himself.
5. He should be able to read the material as may be suitable for his level.
6 He should be able to master vocabulary as should be available to him at his level.
7. He should be able to use English as and when he may require it in his social circle; as such he should be able to respond to calls, requests, greetings and other social interactions which he is likely to involve himself in his day-to-day activities.
8. He should be able to understand English as is expected of him in the class and society with fluency.
9. He should be able to acquire abilities as regards conversational English rather than mugging up only the text matter. The above objectives can be further analysed into the following headings:
(a) Listening:
The student should be able to understand simple English when spoken. He should be able to recognise the speech sounds, and sound units, distinguish sounds one from another, notice contrast in the sounds of English and Hindi, besides be able to understand the meaning conveyed including derivation of meaning from the stress and intonation of the speaker.
(b) Speaking:
The pupil should be able to express himself in simple and correct English, in that he produces correct speech sounds, makes use of proper stress and intonation, and uses appropriate diction and sentence structures; besides being able to use the right pauses at the right Interval with normalcy in speech and sequential expression of his ideas.
(c) Reading:
The student should be able to read simple English texts with a large part of understanding: He should be able to see through the structures, words and phrases being used in the context, get the central idea or theme of the text clear in his mind, and establish a relationship with the ideas that may spring from the reading of the text.
The most important aspect of reading is that he should be able to interpret the meaning and significance of the passage with due emphasis on the characteristic traits of the characters depicted in them.
(d) Writing:
The pupil at the end of the junior level should be able to write in simple and correct English, in that he uses correct structures and words, makes use of correct spelling, and understands the difference between various homonyms and other similar varieties.
He should be able to make use of correct marks of punctuation and capital letters wherever necessary, besides being able to synthesise sentences into small units. He should also be able to transform sentences from one tense to another and one form to another. He should be able to present the matter in a 'logical' sequence and effectively conclude.
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