Oll Y:>na3 :10 AI IW

0 downloads 0 Views 1MB Size Report
As was the case with the first batch of trainees last year, this Workbook was specially .... meaningful interaction between the reader and the text/author'. ..... It is Derek Soles (2010) who clairns that writing is one of the fundamental skills of an.
NOl!VJna3 A~VCNOJ3S CNV JISVS ::10 !N3V\l~Vd3C

OllY:>na3 :10 A

I IW

FOREWORD The English language is one of the enduring legacies of British colonialism over the territories now cOmprised in the Nigerian state. Its importance in the Nigerian state lies in the fact that it is the official language of the country for the purposes of governance, court proceedings, commercial transactions or business and the language of instruction in most educational institutions in the country from kindergarten to the University. Notably, a creditlevel pass in O'level High School Certificate Examinations is required for admission into most degree programmes in Nigerian Universities as well as in foreign English-speaking Universities that some Nigerians may wish to study. In fact, increasingly, some foreign universities additionally require Nigerian applicants to achieve a set minimum grade in the Test of English as a foreign Language (TOEFEL). Nevertheless, it is disturbing to observe in recent years the high level of failure in English language in public examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the JointAdmissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), particularly in public High Schools including the Federal Unity Colleges. Specifically, the Federal Ministry of Education has noted that 'a close look at students' results over the years shows that there had been a steady decline in the number of candidates who obtained five credits and above, including the English language and mathematics'. This situation is particularly 'worrisome' to the Ministry as these two key subjects are required 'for transition to higher education in the country' . It was against this backdrop that the Honourable Supervising Minister of Education, Chief (Barr.) Nyesom Wike, directed last year that a special training workshop should be held to train English language teachers in Federal Unity Colleges on modern English and teaching skills, among others. The key objective is to improve the performance of candidates in English language examinations. The first batch of trainees, drawn from Federal Unity Colleges located in the six geopolitical zones of the country, was trained for two weeks (29 April - 10 May, 2013) at the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja. The second batch of trainees will be drawn from other Unity Colleges which did not benefit last year and will also betrained for two weeks (6-19 July 2014), atthesamevenue. As was the case with the first batch of trainees last year, this Workbook was specially prepared by three experts who understand the present problem in the Unity Schools. The team is made up of seasoned academics, namely, Prof. Suzan Umoh of the University of Calabar, Dr Isaac Eyi Ngulube of the University of Port Harcourt, and Dr Patience Ebam who teaches English at the College of Education, Akamkpa, Cross River State, and has tremendous experience over the years in marking WAEC examinations. This Workbook reflects their expertise as well as their wealth of experience in training workshops. Hence, I commend it to all participants as an indispensable handbook in teaching the English language in their respective schools. Followed religiously, I verily believe that this Workbook would help to realize the objective of this workshop as envisioned by the Honourable Supervising Minister of Education. Professor Kaniye S.A. Ebeku LLB, LLM (LSE, London), PhD (Kent) Dean of the Faculty of Law University of Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

CONTENT

Chapter One: Vocabulary

Susan Umoh

Vocabulary Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Spelling References Oracy skill

4 12 15 17 22

Chapter Two: Elements of English Grammar

Patience Ebam

23

38

Introduction Nouns Pronouns Verbs Tenses Adjectives Prepositions Clauses Sentences References

39 44 47

50 54 56 60 62 72

Chapter Three: Teaching Reading Comprehension

lsaacNgulube

74

Elucidating the concept of reading Part One Pre-reading activities Activity 1 Part Two Read and annotate Read and question Read and make note Part Three Functional writing skills Part One Part Two Brainstorming and free writing Introduction References

75 75

76 78 78 79 80

82 83 84

86 88

89 92

, , _,1,~ le

JlliiDM

luud+ullma