English interactive series
Welcome to the Form Two English interactive series. In this series, we have eighteen lessons covering the four essential skills of English. You are encouraged to navigate through this vital English learning resource and actively engage with the content. You will find many activities and exercises designed to help you grasp the concepts addressed in the lessons. As you embark on this exploratory journey through selected topics in English, it is hoped that you will both adventure and learn. Welcome!
Listening and Speaking
Stress and Intonation
In this lesson, we will discuss stress and intonation in the English language. Stress and intonation are critical to effective communication. Correct placement of stress and proper intonation in English ensure that speech is easy to understand and unambiguous.
Stress
Stress refers to the extra force given to a syllable in a word when articulating it.
Syllables
Syllables play a significant role in stress placement. What then is a syllable? A syllable is the part or parts into which a word is divided. Each part usually contains a vowel and one or more consonant sounds. Study the underlined units of the following words. These fragments are known as syllables.
Grammatical Function
Stress in a word is important because it affects grammatical function in a sentence. This, however, applies to some words. If we stress the first syllable, then the word is either a noun or an adjective. If stress is on the second syllable, then it is a verb. Listen carefully to these words as they are said. Note how the stress on different syllables brings out the differences in word class.
- His conduct was questionable (Noun)
- They conduct their business well (Verb)
- Mwangi is a frequent visitor to Mombasa (Adjective)
- The learners frequent the library during the school holidays (Verb)
Intonation
Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice when speaking, especially when a desired effect is aimed at in communication.
Application in Speech
In speech, stress and intonation are inseparable as they work together to make communication effective. Falling intonation is used in statements that have an air of finality, wh-questions, commands, and invitations. Rising intonation is used with questions requiring Yes or No answers and statements intended to be questions.
Dialogue
A dialogue is a formal discussion between two or more people. It is important for the people involved in a dialogue to be attentive to one another. This can be effective if the participants take turns to speak. Turn-taking ensures that effective communication takes place.
Examples:
Just like adverbs, adverb phrases state the degree, frequency, place, manner, or time of an action. For example:
The classroom is spotlessly clean. (degree)
He whispers all the time. (frequency)
The arrow fell on this spot. (place)
The baby laughed with a lot of glee. (manner)
The guest of honour arrived in the afternoon. (time)
Explanation
In sentence one, fast is an adverb modifying the verb is walking.
In sentence two, very is an adverb modifying the adjective handsome.
In sentence three, quite is an adverb modifying the adverb loudly.
Stress and Intonation
Stress and intonation are critical to effective communication. Correct placement of stress and proper intonation in English ensure that speech is easy to understand and unambiguous, thus avoiding confusion.
Objective:
By the end of the lesson, you should be able to use correct stress and intonation.
Background Information
Every community has ways of explaining their origin and heroic deeds of their people. This is usually done through myths and legends. The information is passed on from one generation to the next through word of mouth, such as songs, proverbs, and stories among others.
Objectives
By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
(a) Identify features of myths.
(b) Identify features of legends.
(c) Explain the differences and similarities between legends and myths.
Different communities have different stories to explain the creation of the world, origin of human beings, animals, and other natural and supernatural phenomena which are beyond human understanding. These stories are referred to as myths and are usually taken seriously in each community. Myths often sound like simple descriptions rather than stories.
Your knowledge of phrases will be useful in this lesson. As learned earlier, a phrase is a group of words that forms part of a sentence and does not make sense on its own. A quantifier is a word that shows amount or quantity. Some words that show quantity are:
Plenty
Few
Little
Many
Some
One
Two
Several
A phrasal quantifier is a group of words that express quantity in terms of amount or number.
Material – describes what something is made from, for example, a wooden spoon.
Size – tells you how big or small something is, for example, a large envelope.
Age – tells you how young or old something or someone is, for example, Fort Jesus is an ancient building.
Colour – describes the colour of something, for example, a blue dress.
Shape – describes how something looks, for example, a round-faced clock.
Origin – describes where something or someone comes from, for example, a Kenyan footballer.
Intensive Reading
In this lesson, we discuss comprehension and style in poetry and prose.
Public Writing
Myths and Legends
In this lesson, we will discuss myths and legends.
Do you have a story in your community where the chameleon or any other animal delayed delivering an important message to humanity?
Legends
Legends, like myths, are also specific to a group of people. They are stories about historical figures, characters, or events. They are specific to a particular community. The hero or heroine in a legend usually possesses superhuman qualities. The qualities of legendary figures are sometimes exaggerated and may sound like fantasy. For example, Lwanda Magere, a legendary character among the Luo community, had a body of rock and his strength was in his shadow.
Attention and Turn Taking
In this section, we shall explore the skills of attention and turn taking through the use of dialogue.
Watch the following video clip and listen carefully to the dialogue between a prefect and other students. Take note of the instances where effective communication does not take place.
insert here
Now listen to the same prefect and students. Take note of how they demonstrate better listening and speaking skills by paying attention and taking turns.
You will realize that there is a difference between the two dialogues. For effective communication to take place, one has to consider the following turn-taking features:
Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, we should be able to:
Communicate correctly, confidently, and appropriately.
Demonstrate acceptable communication skills.
Telephone Conversation
This lesson takes you through correct habits in ordinary face-to-face conversations and also telephone conversations. You will learn how to communicate correctly, confidently, and appropriately in telephone conversations.
Etiquette
Etiquette is a set of rules and conventions governing correct or polite behavior in society in general or in a specific social or professional group or situation. These rules form an important social code of interaction. They are applicable in various settings such as speaking, eating, dressing, and working among others. We will concentrate on the set of rules and conventions governing correct behavior in telephone conversations.
Listen to the telephone conversation and answer the following questions by typing in the correct answers.
Parent: Hallo, I want to speak to the principal.
Secretary: The principal is not in.
Parent: Can I leave a message?
Secretary: That is up to you.
Parent: When will he be back?
Secretary: How can I know? I am just a secretary.
Parent: Then tell him that Grace is sick and will not come to school.
Secretary: Which Grace? We have so many Graces in this school.
Parent: Your job is to take messages and not ask questions.
Secretary: If that is how you feel, then I cannot help you. Bye!
Parent: Good morning. Is that Jamii High School?
Secretary: Yes, it is. How may I help you?
Parent: My name is Peter Muli, the parent of Grace Muli of Form 2 North. May I speak to the principal, please?
Secretary: I am sorry, the principal is not in at the moment. Could you leave a message?
Parent: Please tell her that Grace is unwell and will not come to school tomorrow.
Secretary: I am very sorry to hear that, sir. I will inform the principal as soon as she comes in.
Parent: Thank you and have a nice day.
Secretary: Thank you, sir. We wish Grace a speedy recovery.
Let us summarize the points that will help you develop appropriate telephone etiquette.
A phrasal quantifier is a group of words that express quantity in terms of amount or number.
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- Identify phrasal quantifiers in sentences
- Use phrasal quantifiers in sentence construction
In Form 1, you were introduced to the correct use of rules in the construction of English sentences. In Form Two, we will further explore these rules. In this lesson, we will discuss phrasal quantifiers.
- Identify phrasal quantifiers in sentences.
- Use phrasal quantifiers in sentence construction.
