A Mini Language Arts Programme For A Caribbean Student

A Mini Language Arts Programme for a Caribbean Student
A Mini Language Arts Programme for a Caribbean Student
Hassan Basarally
806007430
Principles, Approaches and Methods in Teaching English in the Caribbean- EDLA 3111
15th May, 2009
Semester 2, 2008-2009
Faculty of Humanities and Education
Department of Liberal Arts
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad
Table of Contents
Student Profile: a
Programme Outline: b (i) 1, 2 & 3

Hassan Basarally 806007430 EDLA 3111 Ms. D. Jaganauth
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Time Allocation, Teaching Points and Objectives: b (ii) 1 & 2
Rationale: c
Assessment Techniques: d
Lesson Plans: e
Appendix: Student Essay
a. Student Profile
The following profile is for Essay 28 (See Appendix):
From the information and indicators present in the student essay the
student age is estimated to be in the range of 17 years. The student is male

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and belongs to a lower middle class socio-economic background. The student
will now be referred to by the pseudonym ‘Ryan’. From the content of the
essay, the student comes from an extended family and is probably an only
child not living with either parent. The social network that comprises the
extended family is important. The child eagerly anticipates holidays, such as
Christmas, where the family can meet. Community and family oriented
activities such as visiting relatives and going to ‘treats’ are enjoyed and
anticipated by the student.
Ryan appears to occupy the mesolectal area of the Post Creole or
Creole Continuum. This is evidenced by his ability to code switch and code
mix between Standard English features and creole ones. This is seen in
Standard English statements such as “June waited while I got ready to go” in
the second paragraph and Creole constructions like “we go see everything
good from here” in the last sentence of the same paragraph. The English
structure can be explained in terms of fixed expressions that are learnt and
reproduced without change. These are learnt as a result of the existence of
two codes in the Anglophone Caribbean. The essay is well constructed with a
clear and coherent flow of events and has details and descriptions. In
addition, Ryan’s vocabulary consists of several words appropriate to his age
such as “delicious” and “luggage”; however the spelling of these words pose
a problem. The range of vocabulary also needs to expand to include
appropriate descriptions for a range of objects and events. There is also the
appearance of literary devices in the essay, there is a simile but the

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comparison used needs to be expanded to include comparisons for other
things and different types of figurative language should be introduced. From
these indicators, it can be assumed that the reading of the students is fair
but attention should be placed on grammar, spelling and mechanics of
writing.
The linguistic needs of the student stem from the need to differentiate
the Creole from English structures and use the English structures consistently
in writing. An area that needs attention is the mechanics of writing. Specific
concerns are punctuation, capitalisation, exclamations and the use of
quotation marks. Ryan has knowledge of the use of commas but needs to
extend the use from separating things on a list to separating different ideas
in a sentence. Reinforcement of this concept is needed. Capitalisation of
proper nouns and general placement of capitals also require attention.
Capitals are used at the beginning of sentence in most cases but are not
used for all proper nouns, such as ‘christmas’. Reinforcement in what
constitutes a proper noun is needed, Ryan knows that it is needed for names
of people and places but not for holidays and events, also some swords such
as ‘ham’ and ‘beef’ are capitalised incorrectly. The essay lacks dialogue and
direct speech. As such use of quotation marks and explanation marks require
attention. This would assist in the creole colloquialisms present such as
“what my ant could cook good”. This Creole structure, if placed in quotation
marks and an exclamation mark inserted at the end, would be accepted by

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the Caribbean standards of writing which allow Creole to be used as speech
and for emphasis.
The main area that needs to be improved in spelling is in that of words
with ‘silent letters’ e.g. aunt, delicious and four, which were among the
words misspelt in the essay. The misspellings can also stem from a deficient
knowledge of homophones as ‘ant’, ‘aunt’, ‘for’ and ‘four’ are similar in
pronunciation but not in meaning. The linguistic profile of Ryan also shows
some needs. These needs are due to the mixing of Creole and English
grammatical structures in the essay. Nouns are not inflected for number as
seen in ‘two bag’ and ‘for (four) slice’. As such, plurality is indicated, when
necessary by external markers such as ‘some apple’. The infinitive verb is
usually absent, e.g. ‘my father up there’. The preposition ‘by’ is used instead
of the phrase ‘at the home of’ in the phrase ‘by my ant (aunt)’. The
perfective aspect shows the unmarked verb or no inflection. There is some
attempt to inflect for the past tense as in ‘telled’, the problem is that one
form of past tense inflection is applied to many verbs. Even when a verb is
inflected for the past tense, Ryan assumes that the past tense context was
already established in the initial inflection and there will no need to reiterate
it in the rest of the sentence. The anterior or past used by the student is
indicated by ‘had’ as in ‘it had plenty’. It is also shown by the impersonal
construction ‘it had’. Adjectives are used as adverbs as in ‘could cook good’.
. In addition, several sentences contain subordinate clauses and significant

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sentence length. The structure of the essay shows some knowledge of
writing conventions such as paragraphing, introduction and conclusion.
Though the actual age may be approximately 17 years due to
reference to using a car, ‘I get a car from his friend, Huston’, the actual
competence level is lower. The actual level is about that of a 13year old due
to the inconsistencies in grammar and spelling. Ryan is in the process of
acquiring a second language as he uses some Standard English features. The
student is at the consolidation stage of writing. The writing reflects patterns
of spoken language, in this case Creole language. The student has not
arrived at the differentiation stage in which patterns and organisation of
forms not from speech is used.
b. (i) Programme Outline
Order Area Concepts, skills, strategies, procedures etc.

1. Mechanics of 1. Commas
Writing 2. Full stops
3. Capitalisation
4. Exclamation
5. Quotation marks
6. Direct Speech
7. Indirect Speech
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8. Past tense
9. Present tense
2. Tense 1. Present continuous tense
2. Future tense
3. Irregular verbs
3. Plurality 1. Singular nouns
2. Process of pluralisation in English

4. Adjectives 1. Adverbs
2. Adjectives for people, places and
emotions
5. Figurative 1. Similes
Language
6. Spelling 1. Words with consonant cluster
reduction
2. Homophones
Table 1: Table Showing Programme Outline
b. (ii) Time Allocation, Teaching Points and Objectives
Unit/ Area: 1. Mechanics of Writing
Time Allocation: Capital letters, full stops, commas and exclamation marks:
30 minute session, quotation marks and differentiation between direct and
indirect speech 15 minutes, present and past tense: 25 minutes
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that
punctuation provides clarity in sentences and separate them into meaningful
units.
Objectives: At the end of the lesson students will:

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i. State the appropriate places for capital letters, commas, full stops,
exclamation marks and quotation marks.
ii. Use capital letters, commas, full stops, exclamation marks and
quotation marks properly in writing.
iii. Change present tense to past tense.
iv. Differentiate between direct and indirect speech.
Content Objectives:
For objective i: Capital Letters are used in the following ways:
The first word of a sentence, or of a fragment, begins with a capital letter.
The names of the days of the week, and of the months of the year, are
written with a capital letter, not the name of seasons.
The names of languages are always written with a capital letter.
Words that express a connection with a particular place must be capitalized
when they have their literal meanings.
Words that identify nationalities or ethnic groups must be capitalized.
Proper names are always capitalized. A proper name is a name or a title that
refers to an individual person, an individual place, an individual institution or
an individual event.
The names of distinctive historical periods are capitalized.
The names of festivals and holy days are capitalized.
Many religious terms are capitalized, including the names of religions and of
their followers, the names or titles of divine beings, the titles of certain
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important figures, the names of important events and the names of sacred
books.
In the title or name of a book, a play, a poem, a film, a magazine, a
newspaper or a piece of music, a capital letter is used for the first word and
for every significant word (that is, a little word like the, of, and or in is not
capitalized unless it is the first word).
The first word of a direct quotation, repeating someone else's exact words, is
always capitalized if the quotation is a complete sentence.
The brand names of manufacturers and their products are capitalized.
Roman numerals are usually capitalized.
The pronoun I is always capitalized.
Commas are used in the following ways:
Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things),
including the last two.
Use a comma + a little conjunction (and, but, for, nor, yet, or, so) to connect
two independant clauses.
Use a comma to set off introductory elements.
Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements.
Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives.
Use a comma to set off quoted elements.
Use commas to set off phrases that express contrast.
Use a comma to avoid confusion and ambiguity.
Never use only one comma between a subject and its verb.
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Between a city and a state [Port of Spain, Trinidad], a date and the year [June
15, 1997], a name and a title when the title comes after the name [Bob
Downey, Professor of English], in long numbers [5,456,783 and $14,682],
etc.
Full Stops:
The full stop [.] (sometimes called the period) is a punctuation mark indicating a
strong pause. The only common exception to this rule occurs when the sentence is
a question or an exclamation.
The stop is also used following abbreviations: ibid. No. 1 ff. e.g.
The stop is not necessary following common titles which are shortened forms of a
word (technically, contractions)
Full stops are not necessary after the initial capital letters commonly used as
abbreviations for the titles of organisations and countries.
Exclamation Marks:
Use an exclamation mark to indicate strong feelings or a raised voice in speech.
Many interjections need an exclamation mark.
A non-question sentence beginning with "what" or "how" is often an exclamation
and requires an exclamation mark.
In very informal writing (personal letter or email), people sometimes use two or
more exclamation marks together.
Quotation Marks:
Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, even inside single quotes.
The placement of question marks with quotes follows logic. If a question is in
quotation marks, the question mark should be placed inside the quotation marks.
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When you have a question outside quoted material and inside quoted material, use
only one question mark and place it inside the quotation mark.
Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes. Note that the period goes
inside all quote marks.
Use quotation marks to set off a direct quotation only.
Direct Speech:
In direct speech, the original speaker's exact words are given and are indicated by
quotation marks.
Indirect Speech:
In indirect speech, the exact meaning of the speaker's words is given, but the exact
words are not directly quoted. To convert direct speech into indirect speech: If the
main verb is past tense, present tense verbs in the that clause must also be
changed to past tense and the first and second person pronouns must be changed
to third person pronouns.
For objective ii: Students will be able to add the punctuation correctly to the
following passages:
Capitalisation: Some of the words have incorrect capitalisation.
Write the correct answer in the box next to each word. If there is no
error write NE.
1. Dr. Goldberger traveled through the Southern part of trinidad to
get to the conference on caribbean poetry .

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2. Many of the students in the introduction to Microcomputers course at
the university of hartford last fall preferred using
macintosh Computers rather than the pc's provided in the
Lab .
3. My favorite uncle , my Father's brother, wrote a famous book on
the role of buddha in Herman Hesse's novel siddhartha .
4. "Wait," He said, "Until the Soca Worriors have won a few
games."
5. The secretary of the Society of Concerned Students
wrote to the Ambassador of south Africa .

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6. On the fourth of July , Americans celebrate the war of
Independence ; on labor Day , we celebrate the contributions of
Organized Labor to Trindadian life.
7. My mother asked Mayor Pete a question about guyanese
immigration.
8. I'll never forget reading the Last Of The Mohicans
when I was in Mrs. Turveydrop's high school English class.
9. Didwell somehow managed to get an A in his Physics course, but
he failed History 104.
10. I think that lake Superior is the largest and the most
Northern of the great lakes .
Full Stops: Rewrite the sentences using full stops where needed.
One is done for you.
1. Mrs. Cow wears a new saree She will go to the club

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Mrs. Cow wears a new saree. She will go to the club.
2. Miss Kitty picks up the bits of paper She will put them in the bin
3. Uncle Peng sits in his car His friend is also with him
4. King plays golf daily He plays it well
5. Piggy takes out her note-book She will do her homework
6. Bowbow has a new football He plays daily with his friends
7. Teddy goes to the shop She buys honey
8. Petu has painted the fence Bowbow helped him paint
9. Uncle Peng goes to the shop He will buy a newspaper
10. Miss Kitty is knitting a sweater She knits well
Commas: Insert the commas in the appropriate places in the sentences
below:
1. He left the scene of the accident and tried to forget that it had
happened.
2. After surviving this ordeal the trapper felt relieved.
3. Oil which is lighter than water rises to the surface.
4. Madame de Stael was an attractive gracious lady.
5. Nice is a word with many meanings and some of them are
contradictory.
6. The contractor testified that the house was completed and that the
work had been done properly.
7. Some people refuse to go to the zoo because of pity for creatures that
must live in small cages.

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8. Taxicabs that are dirty are illegal in some cities.
9. The closet contained worn clothes old shoes and dirty hats.
10.The uninvited guest wore a dark blue tweed suit.
Exclamation marks: Insert an exclamation mark or full stop in the
below sentences:
The film was really frightening I was really shocked by what I saw Rubbish
That is what you find on many city streets What a situation There must be
some way of dealing with it You hear it from all sources, "Swimming is so
good for you" The World Cup can bring out the best in sporting achievement
(what a pity somebody has to lose
Quotation marks: Insert the quotation marks where necessary in the
following sentences:
Ms. James announced, Starting in October we will be downsizing each
department to no more than six workers.
In the Second Coming of the American Small Town, that appeared in the
Winter 1992 edition of the Wilson Quarterly, the author states, The town
model of development [is] well suited to times of economic adversity.
We should not forget the words of one of the greatest American Presidents,
Ms. Graham exhorted. Theodore Roosevelt advised us to Speak softly and
carry a big stick, and that's the way we should carry out our foreign policy.
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Be quiet! the teacher shouted. I want everyone to open her book and read
the chapter entitled The Life and Times of a Chinese Dissident.
For objective iii:
To make the past tense of a verb –ed is added. There are irregular vrbs that
do not follow this pattern
Present tense to Past tense: Change the words in brackets to past
tense in the sentences below.
We (wait) there for more than half an hour by the time the show
began.
One clown was juggling while he (balance) a glass of wine on his
head.
I (love) the circus ever since I was a child.
Samantha (live) in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she
(live) there when the Berlin Wall came down.
I (watch) a mystery movie on TV when the electricity went out.
Now I am never going to find out how the movie ends.
For objective iv:

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Direct to Indirect Speech: Change the following sentences from
Direct speech to Indirect speech.
1. Mr Brown said:" I was watching TV last night."
Mr Brown said (that) .
2. Sandy explained:" I saw the accident at the corner of High Street."
Sandy explained (that) .
3. Bob said:" We had a wonderful time at Peter’s party."
Bob said (that) they .
4. The farmer said:" I didn’t see her."
The farmer said (that) .
5. Will and Tim said:" We were very happy about the present."
Will and Tim said (that) .

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6. Mr Jones said: As a young boy I collected stickers."
Mr Jones said (that) .
7. Peter reported:" We played a lot of tennis last year."
Peter reported (that) .
8. Mother said:" I have a headache."
Mother said (that) .
9. The Clarks told us:" We drove right down to Athens last summer."
The Clarks told us (that) .
10. Helen said:" I’m watching the late night show."
Helen said (that) .

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Unit/ Area: 2. Tense
Time Allocation: Irregular verbs: 35 minutes, present and present
continuous tense: 15 minutes, comparison between English and Creole tense
marking: 20 minutes,
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that tense
describes actions that occur in the present continuous and future and with
irregular verbs and are formed by inflection and marking.
Objectives: At the end of the lesson students will be able to:
i. Distinguish between the present continuous and future tense in
English.
ii. Distinguish between Creole and English marking for tense.
iii. Select the appropriate tense form when describing an event.
iv. Construct sentences in the present continuous and future tenses
v. Learn different irregular verbs.
vi. Use irregular verbs in the formation of the past tense.
Content Objectives
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For objective i:
Present continuous expresses the idea that something is happening now, at
this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not
happening now. E.g. You are learning English now. In English, "now" can
mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on.
Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process
of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing
it at this exact second. E.g. I am studying to become a doctor. Sometimes,
speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will
not happen in the near future. E.g. Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly"
expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. E.g.
She is always coming to class late. Present continuous has the following
structure: [am/is/are + present participle].
Future tense comprises of the following structures: [will + verb] , [am/is/are
+ going to + verb] "Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something
voluntarily. A voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone
else. Often, we use "will" to respond to someone else's complaint or request
for help. We also use "will" when we request that someone help us or
volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when
we refuse to voluntarily do something. E.g. I will send you the information
when I get it. "Will" is usually used in promises. E.g. I will call you when I
arrive. "Be going to" expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the
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idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter
whether the plan is realistic or not. E.g. He is going to spend his vacation in
Hawaii. Both "will" and "be going to" can express the idea of a general
prediction about the future. Predictions are guesses about what might
happen in the future. In "prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little
control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In the following
examples, there is no difference in meaning .E.g. The year 2222 will be a
very interesting year.
For objective ii:
Rewrite the following sentences in the present continuous tense:
1. I going to school now.
2. I does play football every lunch time.
3. You finish your report now.
4. I playing on the school cricket team.
Rewrite the following sentences in the future tense:
1. I go give you the homework later.
2. Next year go have plenty work in school.
3. I go win the Olypic gold medal next year.
4. Andra said she go be coming to the hike to Maracas.
For objective iii and iv:
Present continuous Tense: Change the words in brackets to show
the present continuous tense and future tense.

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1. Right now, I am watching TV. Tomorrow at this time, I
(watch) TV as well.
2. Tomorrow after school, I (go) to the beach.
3. I am going on a dream vacation to Tahiti. While you (do)
paperwork and (talk) to annoying customers on the phone,
I (lie) on a sunny, tropical beach. Are you jealous?
4. We (hide) when Tony (arrive) at his surprise
party. As soon as he opens the door, we (jump) out and
(scream) , "Surprise!"
5. We work out at the fitness centre every day after work. If you
(come) over while we (work) out, we will not be

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able to let you into the house. Just to be safe, we (leave) a
key under the welcome mat so you will not have to wait outside.
6. While you (study) at home, Magda (be) in
class.
7. When I (get) to the party, Sally and Doug
(dance) , John (make) drinks, Sue and Frank
(discuss) something controversial, and Mary
(complain) about something unimportant. They are
always doing the same things. They are so predictable.
8. When you (get) off the plane, I (wait) for
you.
9. I am sick of rain and bad weather! Hopefully, when we
(wake) up tomorrow morning, the sun (shine) .

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10. If you (need) to contact me sometime next week, I
(stay) at the Sheraton in San Francisco.
For objective v and vi:
Irregular verbs are past tense forms that do not use –ed endings. Some are:
arise arose arisen
awake awakened / awoke awakened / awoken
be was, were been
bear bore born / borne
beat beat beaten / beat
become became become
begin began begun
bend bent bent
bind bound bound
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
breed bred bred
bring brought brought
broadcast broadcast / broadcast /

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broadcasted broadcasted
browbeat browbeat browbeaten /
browbeat
build built built
burn burned / burnt burned / burnt
burst burst burst
bust busted / bust busted / bust
buy bought bought
cast cast cast
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
clothe clothed / clad clothed / clad
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
crossbreed crossbred crossbred
cut cut cut
deal dealt dealt
dig dug dug
disprove disproved disproved / disproven

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dive (jump head-first) dove / dived dived
dive (scuba diving) dived / dove dived
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamed / dreamt dreamed / dreamt
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
dwell dwelt / dwelled dwelt / dwelled
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
fit (tailor, change size) fitted / fit fitted / fit
fit (be right size) fit / fitted fit / fitted
flee fled fled
fling flung flung
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forecast forecast forecast

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get got gotten / got
give gave given
go went gone
grind ground ground
grow grew grown
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
hang hung hung
have had had
hear heard heard
keep kept kept
kneel knelt / kneeled knelt / kneeled
knit knitted / knit knitted / knit
know knew known
ay laid laid
lead led led
lean leaned / leant leaned / leant
leap leaped / leapt leaped / leapt
learn learned / learnt learned / learnt

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leave left Left
lend lent Lent
let let Let
lie lay Lain
lie (not tell truth) lied lied
REGULAR
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
miscast miscast miscast
misdeal misdealt misdealt
misdo misdid misdone
mishear misheard misheard
mislay mislaid mislaid
mislead misled misled
offset offset offset
outbid outbid outbid
outbreed outbred outbred
outdo outdid outdone
outrun outran outrun
outsell outsold outsold

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outshine outshined / outshone outshined / outshone
overshoot overshot Overshot
oversleep overslept Overslept
overspeak overspoke Overspoken
overspend overspent Overspent
partake partook Partaken
pay paid Paid
plead pleaded / pled pleaded / pled
prebuild prebuilt Prebuilt
predo predid Predone
premake premade Premade
prepay prepaid Prepaid
read read read
reawake reawoke Reawaken
rebid rebid Rebid
rebind rebound Rebound
rebroadcast rebroadcast / rebroadcast /
rebroadcasted rebroadcasted
rebuild rebuilt Rebuilt
recast recast Recast
recut recut Recut

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redeal redealt Redealt
redo redid Redone
redraw redrew Redrawn
resell resold Resold
resend resent Resent
reset reset Reset
resew resewed resewn / resewed
retake retook Retaken
saw sawed sawed / sawn
say said Said
see saw Seen
seek sought Sought
sell sold Sold
send sent Sent
set set Set
sew sewed sewn / sewed
shake shook Shaken
shave shaved shaved / shaven
shear sheared sheared / shorn
shed shed Shed
shine shined / shone shined / shone

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take took Taken
teach taught Taught
tear tore Torn
telecast telecast Telecast
tell told Told
understand understood Understood
undertake undertook Undertaken
underwrite underwrote Underwritten
undo undid Undone
wake woke / waked woken / waked
waylay waylaid Waylaid
wear wore Worn
weave wove / weaved woven / weaved
wed wed / wedded wed / wedded
weep wept Wept
wet wet / wetted wet / wetted
Irregular verbs: Fill in the correct form of the irregular verb and
make a sentence with each.
1. go went gone
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I went to the market, but there were no bananas for sale.
2. saw
3. had
4. break
5. sang
6. fly
7. did
8. become
9. won
10. threw
11. tell
33
12. rung
13. made
14. quit
15. heard
16. paid
17. run
18. worn
19. put
20. sold
21. thought
34
22. begun
23. read
24. met
25. left
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Unit/ Area: 3. Plurality
Time Allocation: distinguishing singular and plural: 20 minutes, rules in
plurality: 30 minutes, Creole and English plurality: 20 minutes
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that nouns
have both a singular and plural form and that pluralising a noun involves
specific rules.
Objectives: At the end of the lesson students will be able to:
i. Distinguish between singular and plural nouns.
ii. Understand how plurality is achieved in English.
iii. Distinguish between plurality in Creole and English.
iv. Formulate English plurals from given singular forms.
Content Objectives
For objective i:
English nouns can be classified as count (singular and plural) and non-count.
When a noun means one only, it is said to be singular. When a noun means
more than one, it is said to be plural.The singular form is used when
considering the noun as a single item (count) or entity (non-

36
count).The plural form is used when considering more than one of the same
item. Non-count nouns do not have a plural form. Most plurals are formed by
adding -s or -es to the singular noun.
Write singular of plural next to the following words:
Home
Cards
Tomatoes
Bridge
Plane
Staples
Printer
Watch
For objective ii and iv:
Plurals are formed in English in the following ways:
1. The plural of nouns is usually formed by adding s to a singular noun.
2. Nouns ending in s, z, x, sh, and ch form the plural by adding es.
3. Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant is formed into a plural
by changing y to ies.
4. Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel form their plurals by adding
s.
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5. Most nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant is formed into a
plural by adding es.
6. Some nouns ending in f or fe are made plural by changing f or fe to
ves.
Please write the plural next to the following words:
Storm
Door
Dish
Church
Army
City
Turkey
Play
Hero
Cargo
Calf
Thief
Wife
For objective iv:
Creoles use no inflection, generic countable nouns and external markers for
plurality.
Change the following sentences to show plurality in English:
1. Go upstairs and get two cup.
2. Take some orange when you go home.

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3. Use the insecticide in the room of mosquito will bite you.
4. Do you like apple and grapes.
5. There were many bottle left on the roadside after the party.
Unit/ Area: 4. Adjectives
Time Allocation: Vocabulary expansion: 25 minutes, description exercises:
45 minutes
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that adjectives
improve the character of an essay and can be used to describe people,
places and emotions
i. Know an expanded vocabulary of adjectives.
ii. Use appropriate adjectives in descriptions of people, places and
emotions.
Content Objectives:
For objective i:
Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs. You can recognize adverbs easily because many of them are formed
by adding -ly to an adjective. Adverbs can't modify nouns, as you can see
from the following incorrect sentences. On the other hand, it's sometimes
easy to make the mistake of using an adjective to modify a verb. An
adjective always follows a form of the verb to be when it modifies the noun
before the verb. Likewise, an adjective always follows a sense verb or a verb
39
of appearance -- feel, taste, smell, sound, look, appear, and seem -- when it
modifies the noun before the verb.
For objective ii:
Appearanc Appearanc Condition Condition Feelings Feelings
e e Contd. (Bad) (Bad)
Contd. Contd.
alive impossible
adorable glamorous annoying inexpensiv angry grumpy
adventurou gleaming bad e annoyed helpless
s gorgeous better innocent anxious homeless
aggressive graceful beautiful inquisitive arrogant hungry
alert grotesque brainy modern ashamed hurt
attractive handsome breakable mushy awful ill
average homely busy odd bad itchy
beautiful light careful open bewildered jealous
blue-eyed long cautious outstandin black jittery

40
bloody magnificen clever g blue lazy
blushing t clumsy poor bored lonely
bright misty concerned powerful clumsy mysterious
clean motionless crazy prickly combative nasty
clear muddy curious puzzled condemne naughty
cloudy old- dead real d nervous
colorful fashioned different rich confused nutty
crowded plain difficult shy crazy, obnoxious
cute poised doubtful sleepy flipped-out outrageou
dark precious easy stupid creepy s
drab quaint expensive super cruel panicky
distinct shiny famous talented dangerous repulsive
dull smoggy fragile tame defeated scary
elegant sparkling frail tender defiant selfish
excited spotless gifted tough depressed sore
fancy stormy helpful unintereste disgusted tense
filthy strange helpless d disturbed terrible
ugly horrible vast dizzy testy
ugliest important wandering dull thoughtles
unsightly wild embarrass s
unusual wrong ed tired
wide-eyed envious troubled
evil upset
41
fierce uptight
foolish weary
frantic wicked
frightened worried
grieving
Feelings Feelings Shape Size Sound Time
(Good) (Good)
Contd.
broad big cooing ancient
agreeable happy chubby colossal deafening brief
amused healthy crooked fat faint Early
brave helpful curved gigantic harsh fast
calm hilarious deep great high- late
charming jolly flat huge pitched long
cheerful joyous high immense hissing modern
comfortabl kind hollow large hushed old
e lively low little husky old-
cooperativ lovely narrow mammoth loud fashioned
e lucky round massive melodic quick
courageous nice shallow miniature moaning rapid
delightful obedient skinny petite mute short
determined perfect square puny noisy slow
eager pleasant steep scrawny purring swift
elated proud straight short quiet young

42
enchanting relieved wide small raspy
encouragin silly tall resonant
g smiling teeny screeching
energetic splendid teeny-tiny shrill
enthusiasti successful tiny silent
c thankful soft
excited thoughtful squealing
exuberant victorious thundering
fair vivacious voiceless
faithful witty whispering
fantastic wonderful
fine zealous
friendly zany
funny
gentle
glorious
good
Taste/Touch Taste/Touch Touch Quantity
Contd.
bitter melted boiling abundant
delicious nutritious breezy empty
fresh plastic broken few
juicy prickly bumpy heavy

43
ripe rainy chilly light
rotten rough cold many
salty scattered cool numerous
sour shaggy creepy substantial
spicy shaky crooked
stale sharp cuddly
sticky shivering curly
strong silky damaged
sweet slimy damp
tart slippery dirty
tasteless smooth dry
tasty soft dusty
thirsty solid filthy
fluttering steady flaky
fuzzy sticky fluffy
greasy tender freezing
grubby tight hot
hard uneven warm
hot weak wet
icy wet
loose wooden
yummy
44
Describe the following:
1. My best friend.
2. The worst day of my life.
3. The most terrifying place I have ever been to.
Unit/ Area: 5. Figurative Language
Time Allocation:Simile structure and analysis: 30 minutes, simile
construction and usage: 40 minutes
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that essays are
improved by the inclusion of figurative language and that similes can be
used to describe many things by comparing them to others.
i. Understand the structure of the simile and its use in comparison.

45
ii. Describe the element described in the simile and what it is being
compared to.
iii. Construct similes for different items.
iv. Use similes correctly in sentences.
Content objectives:
For objective i and ii:
Similes are comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways
are similar in one important way. Similes are a way to describe something. Authors
use them to make their writing more interesting or entertaining.
Similes use the words “as” or “like” to make the connection between the two things
that are being compared.
Similes: Underline the word or phrase that is being described by
each simile. Put parentheses around the word or phrase it is being
compared to. The first three have been done for you.
1. Mary frowned and said, “I believe that taking drugs is like (playing with
fire).”
2. I walked along the beach and listened to the ocean. My sadness was as
unending as the (waves).
3. Don’t tell Mother that her cookies taste like (lumps of sand).
4. Sam waited impatiently for his older brother to calm down. “Bill, I think
46
you are acting like a baby,” he said.
5. Karen was offended when I said that she was as flaky as a snowstorm.
6. Be careful when you go out. The sidewalk is as slippery as greased
glass.
7. I’m not comfortable about this situation. I feel like a bug sitting under a
magnifying glass.
8. I hoped our play would be a success and last for many performances.
However, I guess it will last as long as a balloon in a roomful of kittens.
9. I really like Patty. Her heart is as soft as a feather pillow.
10. Cheryl’s smile is as sweet as a lullaby.
Read each of the following similes carefully:
As light as a feather .
As blind as a dat.
He fights like a lion.
He swims as fast as a fish.
Daniel was trying to compliment Jaycee. "Your face is like a flower", he said.
47
Barb frowned and said, “I believe that taking drugs is like flushing your brain
down the toilet."
Now answer the following questions for each.
What's being described?
What's it being compared to?
For objective iii and iv:
Write a fresh simile for each of the topics below. Try to make your
similes relate to the senses and be appropriate to the subject.
Remember, a simile uses "like," "as," or "is similar to" in drawing
comparisons. Be sure to avoid cliches.
He/She had arms like...
He/She had a face as...
He/She had a mind like...
He/She had [adjective] teeth like...
His/Her smile was like...
His/Her mouth [verb] like...
Now take each simile and use it in a sentence of your choice.
e.g. He had arms like tree branches and help tightly to the
screaming child.
Unit/ Area: 6. Spelling
Time Allocation: Words with ‘silent letters’: 35 minutes, homophones: 35
minutes
48
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that words are
not always spelt the way they sound, they have letters that are not
pronounced but must be included in spelling
i. Spell correctly words that are pronounces with consonant cluster
reduction.
ii. Know to distinguish between homophones.
Content objective:
For objective i:
Words with consonant and vowel reduction.
a (in a digraph) aisle, team, spread, boat

e (in a digraph) great, heist, feud, pie, toe
e (ending vowel) pale, scene, lime, stove, fuse
i (in a digraph) pail, receive, believe, juice
o (in a digraph) people, jeopardy
u (in a digraph) gauge, laugh, guess, guide
b comb, tomb, bomb, debt
c black, scene, science
d fudge, bridge, ledge
f cliff, stuff, staff
g gnarl, gnaw, gnome, foreign, sign
h ghost, whistle; school, chord
k knee, knife, knowledge
l quill, swell, tall
m Mneumonics
n condemn, column, solemn
p pneumonia, receipt
49
s brass, fuss, press

t depot, potpourri, watch
w window, shadow, answer
z jazz, buzz
gh high, daughter
sign (silent letter g) signal, signature
bomb (silent letter b) bombard, bombardier
solemn (silent letter n) solemnity, solemnise
For objective ii:
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but
differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose (flower)
and rose (past tense of "rise"), or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot,
or to, two and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also
both homographs and homonyms.[1] The term "homophone" may also apply
to units longer than words, such as letters or groups of letters that are
pronounced the same as another letter or group of letters.
The following are some homophones in English:
acts/ax faze/phase pause/paws

50
ad/add feat/feet pea/pee
ads/adds/adz find/fined peace/piece
aid/aide fir/fur peak/peek/pique
ail/ale flair/flare peal/peel
air/heir/err flea/flee pearl/purl
aisle/isle/I'll flew/flu/flue pedal/peddle/petal
all/awl flour/flower peer/pier
all ready/already flocks/phlox per/purr
all together/altogether for/four/fore pi/pie
allowed/aloud foreword/forward plait/plate
alter/altar fort/forte plain/plane
ant/aunt forth/fourth pleas/please

51
arc/ark foul/fowl plum/plumb
assent/ascent friar/fryer pole/poll
assistance/assistants gait/gate pore/pour
ate/eight gene/jean pray/prey
aural/oral gild/guild presence/presents
away/aweigh gilt/guilt prince/prints
aye/eye gnu/knew/new principal/principle
bail/bale gored/gourd profit/prophet
bait/bate gorilla/guerilla rack/wrack
ball/bawl grate/great rain/reign/rein
band/banned grease/Greece raise/rays/raze

52
bard/barred groan/grown rap/wrap
bare/bear guessed/guest rapped/rapt/wrapped
baron/barren hail/hale read/red
base/bass hair/hare read/reed
bases/basis hall/haul real/reel
bazaar/bizarre halve/have reek/wreak
be/bee hangar/hanger rest/wrest
beach/beech hay/hey retch/wretch
beat/beet heal/heel/he'll review/revue
beau/bow hear/here right/rite/write
bell/belle heard/herd ring/wring
berry/bury heed/he'd road/rode/rowed

53
billed/build hertz/hurts roam/Rome
berth/birth hew/hue/Hugh roe/row
bite/byte hi/high role/roll
blew/blue higher/hire root/route
bloc/block him/hymn rose/rows
boar/bore hoard/horde rote/wrote
board/bored hoarse/horse rough/ruff
boarder/border hole/whole rung/wrung
bode/bowed holey/holy/wholly rye/wry
bolder/boulder hoes/hose sail/sale
born/borne hold/holed scene/seen

54
bough/bow hostel/hostile scull/skull
bouillon/bullion hour/our sea/see
boy/buoy idle/idol seam/seem
bread/bred illicit/elicit seas/sees/seize
brake/break in/inn serf/surf
brewed/brood insight/incite sew/so/sow
brews/bruise instance/instants shear/sheer
bridle/bridal intense/intents shoe/shoo
broach/brooch its/it's shone/shown
browse/brows jam/jamb side/sighed
but/butt colonel/kernel sighs/size
buy/by/bye knap/nap slay/sleigh

55
cache/cash knead/kneed/need sleight/slight
callous/callus knight/night slew/slue/slough
cannon/canon knit/nit soar/sore
canvas/canvass knot/not soared/sword
capital/capitol know/no sole/soul
carat/carrot/caret/karat knows/nose some/sum
carol/carrel laid/lade son/sun
cast/caste lain/lane staid/stayed
cede/seed lay/lei stair/stare
ceiling/sealing leach/leech stake/steak
cell/sell lead/led stationary/stationery

56
cellar/seller leak/leek steal/steel
censor/sensor lean/lien step/steppe
cent/scent/sent leased/least stile/style
cents/scents/sense lee/lea straight/strait
cereal/serial lessen/lesson suite/sweet
cession/session levee/levy surge/serge
chance/chants liar/lier/lyre tacks/tax
chased/chaste lichen/liken tail/tale
cheap/cheep lie/lye taught/taut
chews/choose lieu/Lou tea/tee
chic/sheik links/lynx team/teem
chilly/chili load/lode tear/tier

57
choral/coral loan/lone tern/turn
choir/quire locks/lox their/there/they're
chute/shoot loot/lute theirs/there's
chord/cord low/lo threw/through
cite/sight/site made/maid thrown/throne
clause/claws mail/male thyme/time
click/clique main/mane/Maine tic/tick
close/clothes/cloze maize/maze tide/tied
coal/cole mall/maul to/too/two
coarse/course manner/manor toad/towed
colonel/kernel mantel/mantle toe/tow

58
complement/compliment marry/merry/Mary told/tolled
coo/coup marshal/martial trussed/trust
coop/coupe massed/mast vain/vane/vein
core/corps maybe/may be vale/veil
correspondence/corresp meat/meet/mete vary/very
ondents
medal/metal/mettle/ vial/vile
council/counsel meddle
vice/vise
creak/creek might/mite
wade/weighed
crews/cruise mince/mints
wail/whale
cruel/crewel mind/mined
waist/waste
cue/queue miner/minor
wait/weight
currant/current missed/mist
waive/wave
59
curser/cursor moan/mown
want/wont
cymbal/symbol mode/mowed
ware/wear/where
dam/damn moose/mousse
way/weigh/whey
days/daze morn/mourn
ways/weighs
dear/deer muscle/mussel
we/wee
defused/diffused mustard/mustered
weak/week
desert naval/navel
(abandon)/dessert we'll/wheel
nay/neigh
dew/do/due weather/whether
none/nun
die/dye we'd/weed
oar/or/ore
disburse/disperse we've/weave
ode/owed
discreet/discrete wet/whet
oh/owe
60
doe/dough/do (musical which/witch
note) one/won
while/wile
done/dun overdo/overdue
whine/wine
draft/draught overseas/oversees
who's/whose
dual/duel pail/pale
wood/would
earn/urn pain/pane
yoke/yolk
ewe/you/yew pair/pare/pear
yore/your/you're
eye/I palate/palette/pallet
you'll/Yule
faint/feint passed/past
fair/fare patience/patients
faun/fawn
Homophones: Circle the correct word to complete the sentence.
Then
61
write the word on the line.
1. We usually go to bed at __________________.

(ate, eight)
2. My _________________ let us stay up late last night.
(ant, aunt)
3. We _______________ strawberries with chocolate sauce.
(ate, eight)
4. I have _____________ lunch today.
(no, know)
5. There is a ________________ in my jeans.
(hole, whole)
6. I won the game _____________ two points.
(by, buy)
7. I would like ______________ have cookies with my milk.
(to, two)
8. Billy _______________ the race.
(one, won)
9. Please make sure to _______________ a jacket outside.
(wear, where)
10. My favorite story is the “Tortoise and the _______________”.
(hair, hare)
c. Rationale
“We prefer one thing to another, we shift our attention from one event to
another, we praise one behavior and condemn another, we like and dislike,
and whenever we do it, we value” (Hart, 1971, p.29). This is the basis of
philosophy, methodology and language teaching principles, some ways are
preferred to other in specific situations. It must be recognized from the onset

62
that though a methodology and principles are needed to guide instruction,
there is no one method, approach or principle that can solely provide for the
learner’s needs. As such, a mixed approach is needed. The first thing that
the programme takes into consideration is the sociolinguistic reality of the
Caribbean student. Two codes that resemble each other exist in the region.
Creole is the first language and English is the target or second language.
Hence a second language approach must be taken. The two main theories of
second language development to be utilized in the programme are the
interlanguage theory and cognitive approaches. In this approach language
evaluation is not in terms of errors, it is viewed that the individual is moving
towards the target. This is important as there exist a Creole continuum in the
region with individuals moving form Creole to the target; English. In addition,
the closeness of the Creole to English removes motivation to learn the target
as it is assumed by the individual already speaks it. The cognitive approach
recognizes that language development requires time. The student may not
understand the lesson immediately. As such, reinforcement, by use
classroom activities such as drills, is utilized.
The aims of the programme are to attain different features of
communicative competence: grammatical and pragmatic. The grammatical
competence involves morphology and syntax, pragmatic competence
involves vocabulary, cohesion and organization. Sociolinguistic competence
is desired in the long term as after the student reaches an acceptable level
63
of grammatical and pragmatic competence, different codes would be used in
the appropriate contexts.
The approach to English language teaching will rely on the Grammar-
Translation method and incorporate aspects of the Direct method,
Audiolingualism, Cognitive Approach and the Affective Humanistic approach.
Thought the Grammar-Translation method uses little of the target language in
communication, both by teacher and student, there is a focus on
grammatical parsing. This means that focus on the form and inflection of
verbs. This is important as the student used many uninflected verb forms
and it is a main feature of Creoles. It also shows the differences between the
Creole and English. The Direct method incorporates conversation and
dialogue in the target language thus assisting in incorporating the four
features of language learning: reading, writing, speaking and listening. The
Audiolingual method included the teaching of sequenced grammatical
structures. The Cognitive Approach includes speaking and listening as of the
same importance as reading and writing and errors are used constructively in
the learning process. The Affective-Humanistic approach includes peer
interaction and the aim is meaningful communication in the target. The
aforementioned second language approaches combine to promote reading,
writing, listening and speaking in the student.
Unit 2: Tense relies on the Grammar-Translation method. Many exercise
focusing of rules are utilised. In addition, Creole sentences are changed to
English one so that the student would be aware of the difference. Unit 1:
64
Mechanics of writing incorporates many features of the audiolingualmethod.
Concepts are introduced in a sequential manner in which the previous lesson
is a base for the next. For example, the use of quotation marks is learnt
before direct speech which is followed by present and past tense learnt, then
indirect speech. The knowledge of tense is necessary as indirect speech
involves changing from present to past tense. The Affective-Humanistic
approach and the Direct method can be seen in Units 4, 5 and 6: Adjectives,
Figurative language and Spelling. The topics to be covered are best learnt
through usage in speech. As the units involve drill and learning words peer
co oporation would achieve student proficiency as students can attempt
lessons in groups.
65
d. Assessment Techniques
Assessments and tests are the primary methods of evaluation in the education system.
However the concepts of assessment, test and evaluation are not clearly understood by those in
the school system. A test “connotes the presentation of a standard set of questions to be
answered” (Mehrens & Lehmann, 1991, p. 4). Assessment is often used interchangeably with
test but according to Mehrens and Lehmann this is not the case. Assessment is the use of both
“formal and informal data-gathering procedures and the combining of the data in a global
fashion to reach an overall judgement” (1991, p. 4). Both tests and assessment are therefore used
to evaluate students. Evaluation is the process of making a value judgement based on
information from one or more sources. It must be noted that evaluation cannot exist truly of the
entire student but of a certain aspect such as academic performance, behaviour and attitude.
The two main areas of linguistic performance abilities to be assessed are
diversity of response and awareness of linguistic competence. Diversity of
response includes words fluency, ideational fluency, expressional facility and
oral speaking fluency. The awareness of linguistic competence includes the
awareness of the structure of the lexicon, grammatical sensitivity and writing
ability. The assessment strategies used will also be a mixed approach,

66
comprising of subjective and objective questions. The subjective questions
are essays and short responses. These types test higher level skill as the
students must achieve the cognitive and affective objectives to perform well.
Objective type questions are of two types, supply and selection type. The
supply type questions include completion exercises and short answers and
the selection types include matching exercises and multiple choice. It benefits
poor readers and allows a wide area of work to be covered, however like the multiple choice
question pupil’s scores “may be unduly influenced by good or poor luck in guessing” (Mehrens
& Lehmann, 1991, p. 123). The assessment strategies used are:
a) Essay writing.
b) Sentence correction exercises.
c) Sentence creation exercises.
d) Speech exercises.
67
e. Lesson Plans
Unit 1: Mechanics of Writing
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that
punctuation provides clarity in sentences and separate them into
meaningful units.
Previous Knowledge: Sentence construction
Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson students will:
1. State the appropriate places for capital letters, commas, full stops and
exclamation marks.
2. Use capital letters, commas, full stops and exclamation marks properly
in writing.
Introduction: The teacher places a large chart on the board with a
passage without any commas, capital letters, full stops or exclamation
marks. Students are invited to attempt to read the passage. The teacher
goes on to explain the difficulty of reading any piece of writing without
punctuation. [5 minutes]
Procedure:
1. The teacher will invite students to come to the board and insert
punctuation marks where they fell necessary.
2. The teacher will explain how capital letters are used in writing. (Refer
to p. 7)
68
3. The teacher will explain how commas are used in writing. (Refer to p.
8)
4. The teacher will explain how full stops are used in writing. (Refer to p.
9)
5. The teacher will explain how exclamation marks are used in writing.
(Refer to p.9)
6. The teacher will have students work independently in rewriting a group of sentences,
paying attention to capitalisation, full stops, commas and exclamation
marks.
7. Students will be guided and monitored by the teacher as they are
completing each assignment.
8. Each student’s independant work will be checked for understanding.
[20 minutes]
Closure: Students’ attention will be drawn to a new passage on the
board and invited to insert all the punctuation marks in the correct
places. [5 minutes]
Assessment: Worksheets will be given to students (Refer to p. 10-12) to
complete out of class and submitted for review to the teacher by the next
class.
69
Unit 2: Tense
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that tense
describes actions that occur in the present continuous and future and
with irregular verbs and are formed by inflection and marking.
Previous Knowledge: Simple past tense with the –ed inflection
Learning Objectives: At the end of this lesson students will:
1. Distinguish between Creole and English marking for tense.
2. Learn different irregular verbs.
3. Use irregular verbs in the formation of the past tense.

70
Introduction: The teacher will write three creole past tense sentences
on the board. The teacher will elicit student input in changing them to
past tense English sentences. [5 minutes]
Procedure:
1. Students will be reminded of the common method of changing a verb
to the past tense, i.e. adding –ed. (refer to p. 13)
2. Teacher will show students that there are irregular verbs that do not
conform to the pattern. (Refer to p. 19)
3. Students will read aloud a list of irregular verbs and the teacher will
explain the meanings of words where necessary.
4. Students will be placed in groups and asked to write the different
forms of different irregular verbs and use each in a sentence. (Refer to
p. 30)
5. Teacher will give feedback whether answers were correct or wrong.
[25]
Closure: Teacher will name an irregular verb and ask individual students
to give the past tense forms and complete sentences using the irregular
verbs. [5 minutes]
Assessment: Students will learn more irregular verbs from the list
provided and formulate sentences with them for teacher evaluation.

71
Unit 3: Plurality
Teaching Point: At the end of this lesson students will learn that nouns
have both a singular and plural form and that pluralising a noun involves
specific rules.
Previous Knowledge: Nouns
Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson students will:
1. Distinguish between singular and plural nouns.

72
2. Understand how plurality is achieved in English.
3. Distinguish between plurality in Creole and English.
4. Formulate English plurals from given singular forms.
Introduction: The teacher displays several photos of different objects,
both singular and plural, and asks students to name them. The students’
attention are drawn to several of the responses that show that the same
entity has a different name when it is singular and plural. [5 minutes]
Procedure:
1. The teacher explains the difference between singular and plural nouns.
2. Students are asked to provide singular and plural forms of different
nouns and the answers are written on the board.
3. Correction is made, when necessary, by the teacher when answers are
given.
4. The teacher lists the rules of pluralisation in English. (Refer to p. 34)
5. Students are provided with worksheets to work independently,
applying the rules learnt. (Refer to p. 35)
6. The sheets are peer corrected and the teacher will repeat the concepts
missed by the students.
7. The teacher will write three Creole plural sentences on the board and
ask the students to change them to English plural sentences.
8. The class will be divided into two groups; each will take turns providing
a Creole plural sentence and the English equivalent. [60 minutes]

73
Closure: The teacher will review the rules of pluralisation in English and
highlight the differences in creole (Refer to p. 35) [5 minutes]
Assessment: Students will prepare short speeches on selected topics
and present to the class in English. Teacher and peers will listen with
particular attention to plurality.
Works Cited
Hart, S. L. (1971, September). Axiology-Theory of Values. Philosophy and

Phenomenological Research, 32, 1, Retrieved November 15, 2007, from
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00318205%28197109%2932%3A1%3C29%3AAO
V%3E2.0.CO%3B2-X
74
Mehrens, A. W. & Lehmann J. I (1991). Measurement and Evaluation in Education and

Psychology (4th ed.). California: Wadsworth/Thomas learning.
75
Appendix A (Student Essay)

76

A Mini Language Arts Programme For A Caribbean Student

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A Mini Language Arts Programme for a Caribbean Student

A Mini Language Arts Programme for a Caribbean Student

15th May, 2009

Faculty of Humanities and Education

Department of Liberal Arts

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad

Programme Outline: b (i) 1, 2 & 3

Time Allocation, Teaching Points and Objectives: b (ii) 1 & 2

Appendix: Student Essay

The following profile is for Essay 28 (See Appendix):

student age is estimated to be in the range of 17 years. The student is male

and belongs to a lower middle class socio-economic background. The student

extended family is important. The child eagerly anticipates holidays, such as

anticipated by the student.

Ryan appears to occupy the mesolectal area of the Post Creole or

reproduced without change. These are learnt as a result of the existence of

addition, Ryan’s vocabulary consists of several words appropriate to his age

a problem. The range of vocabulary also needs to expand to include

appearance of literary devices in the essay, there is a simile but the

comparison used needs to be expanded to include comparisons for other

things and different types of figurative language should be introduced. From

but attention should be placed on grammar, spelling and mechanics of

in writing. An area that needs attention is the mechanics of writing. Specific

concerns are punctuation, capitalisation, exclamations and the use of

in a sentence. Reinforcement of this concept is needed. Capitalisation of

proper nouns and general placement of capitals also require attention.

used for all proper nouns, such as ‘christmas’. Reinforcement in what

attention. This would assist in the creole colloquialisms present such as

marks and an exclamation mark inserted at the end, would be accepted by

the Caribbean standards of writing which allow Creole to be used as speech

and for emphasis.

The main area that needs to be improved in spelling is in that of words

knowledge of homophones as ‘ant’, ‘aunt’, ‘for’ and ‘four’ are similar in

necessary by external markers such as ‘some apple’. The infinitive verb is

perfective aspect shows the unmarked verb or no inflection. There is some

indicated by ‘had’ as in ‘it had plenty’. It is also shown by the impersonal

. In addition, several sentences contain subordinate clauses and significant

sentence length. The structure of the essay shows some knowledge of

writing conventions such as paragraphing, introduction and conclusion.

Though the actual age may be approximately 17 years due to

to the inconsistencies in grammar and spelling. Ryan is in the process of

acquiring a second language as he uses some Standard English features. The

student is at the consolidation stage of writing. The writing reflects patterns

arrived at the differentiation stage in which patterns and organisation of

forms not from speech is used.

b. (i) Programme Outline

Order Area Concepts, skills, strategies, procedures etc.

Writing 2. Full stops

2. Process of pluralisation in English

2. Adjectives for people, places and

Table 1: Table Showing Programme Outline

b. (ii) Time Allocation, Teaching Points and Objectives

Unit/ Area: 1. Mechanics of Writing

30 minute session, quotation marks and differentiation between direct and

indirect speech 15 minutes, present and past tense: 25 minutes

punctuation provides clarity in sentences and separate them into meaningful

Objectives: At the end of the lesson students will:

exclamation marks and quotation marks.

quotation marks properly in writing.

iii. Change present tense to past tense.

iv. Differentiate between direct and indirect speech.

For objective i: Capital Letters are used in the following ways: