Form 3 English Language

Chapter 1: Act Of Kindness

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1.1. Introduction
1.2. Bleak future
1.3. Making persuasions
1.4. Acts of kindness
1.5. Creative writing
1.6. Noun – formation
1.7. Summary
1.8. Expected/Possible answers

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1.1. Introduction

Have you ever heard of the saying, “a blessing in disguise?” What kind of situations in life are said to be a blessing in disguise? These are situations or events which seem as if they will have a bad result but eventually the opposite happens. In this chapter, you shall read about a mistake that turned into a fortune. It is essential that you read and understand the story well. You will be introduced to use of appropriate register when persuading people and passing condolences. You will also listen to a short story about marriage and answer questions guided by the instructions given therein. The chapter exposes you to a paragraph as a chapter in an essay. You will learn about how to develop a paragraph. Lastly, you shall learn about the formation of nouns.

Objectives

After going through this chapter, you should be able to

• make a report on news and events from different media.
• make notes as you read through a passage.
• draw morals from stories and passages read and listened to.
• use appropriate persuasive vocabulary effectively in various situations.
• read and answer comprehension questions.
• produce a coherent paragraph.
• create topic, developers and transitional sentences.
• form different types of nouns.

Key terms

Attentive listening – Listening to get specific information.
Prefixes – A letter or group of letters placed before a word or a root to form a new word.
Purposeful listening – Paying attention in order to hear the message that is being communicated.
Register – It is the use of appropriate language in different situations.
Selective listening – When you listen to a text in order to get certain information, you listen only to pick what you want to hear. You also filter information and get what you want from a story.

Time

You should not spend more than 8 hours in this chapter.

Study skills

Make use of the following skills for this chapter.

• Attentive listening – Pay attention to every detail you read so that you understand everything.
• Concentration – Keeping focused so that you don’t miss any details
• Note-making – Write down notes through each exercise to record what you learnt.
• Recall – Try to remember what you learnt in this module
• Scanning – Quickly go through the passage identifying the main points.

1.2. Bleak future

Listening/ observing is one of the major skills in English Language which you ought to master and practice. This skill is not new to you because you have always listened to people speaking to you; maybe on the radio or television and have also listened to voice messages on social media and other sources of information. You will be expected to listen to various types of texts which may include audiovisual texts that may be played through a DVD player or a phone so as to give you enough practice in listening. Make sure you follow the given instructions in each exercise so that you achieve the objectives.

The type of listening which we expect you to be familiar with in this chapter is purposeful and selective listening. Refer to the key terms for the definition. You listen with a purpose.

For example, you always scroll from one television channel to the other listening briefly to what is presented and if you do not like it you quickly change to another channel. You keep selecting until you get what you want. Do you realise how important listening and observing are to you? Some totally fail to hear messages that are conveyed in English not because their ears have a problem, No! But this is because they would never have practiced listening to sources of material in English language. A listening exercise has been designed for you.

Exercise 1.1.

Try to find someone who can read the following short passage to you clearly. Listen attentively as s/he reads the following paragraph because you will also need this information in the next exercise. It shall be read twice. In the first reading listen for general information and meaning. After the first reading, go quickly through the questions to understand them. During the second reading, make notes that you will use to answer the questions you read. Make sure you do not miss important information. Write down answers to the given questions. Then when you have finished writing your answers refer to the answers at the end of the chapter.

If you do not have anyone to read the passage for you, find a phone or a gadget which you can use to record your voice. Read the passage aloud as the phone records. Make sure you are fluent and clear enough. It is better you record the passage in your second reading when you have had a feel of what it is like during your skimming session. After recording you can then play it. You first make notes as you listen. Notes are mainly major points. Secondly, browse through the questions then play it for the last time making notes that can help you in answering questions. When you have finished write your answers down.

Now study the following pictures carefully. What comes to your mind about the girl child? Write your thoughts down before listening to your friend read the passage to you.

It is very dark and here I am in this darkness lonely like a whirling little dot that has to hold its own to stay alive. Pain is my name, if you look into my eyes you will know what pain is. I also had hopes and dreams for a brighter future but who knew fate had already planned my life for me. The only thing that keeps me going are my mother’s words as she took her last breath, “My daughter courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it, if you want to live like a king then work like a slave.”

Those moments have tortured me all my life. I was sleeping alone in my room. The air trembled with roaring thunder and the earth shook vigorously. “Ruvimbo! Ruvimbo wake up!” Grandmother shouted helplessly because she knew the Rhodesian forces had come. Immediately I heard two gunshots, there was total silence and I stayed in my room. Many things were happening at the same time, enough to make my head snap and spin. After an hour of total silence, I saw grandmother weeping. There was blood everywhere. I felt my heart sink and my mind stretch with agony. Even today I still cannot understand why God took away my parents from me.

Being alive became a burden for me. Those days no one talked to anyone. There were hiccups in the family. The death of my parents stressed my grandmother a lot although she tried to hide it from me. She had to be strong for me. One afternoon when I came back from school, I saw grandmother lying on the ground. She had died of a heart attack. I felt pain sink slowly into my nervous system. The thought of losing almost the whole family disheartened me. Although it was a bit shocking, we all knew that grandmother had never accepted my parents’ death and it had now affected her mentally.

I was now left with my young brother and my grandfather. What worried me the most was who was going to look after us because grandfather was too old that he could die at any time. There was so much burden on my shoulders as I had to take care of my grandfather and young brother.

The situation worsened when I was sent away from school because I had not paid school fees. Grandfather had no choice but to force me to get married to his friend Baba Ndlovu. I remember the day I left home for marriage. I could see pain in my brother’s eyes. I could not hold back my tears but I had to be strong for the sake of my young brother.

The end.

Now that you have listened to the passage read to you, attempt the following questions. Remember you have to skim through after the first reading then answer them during the second reading. Write your final answers in the spaces provided.

1. Who called Ruvimbo?   [1]
2. Why was grandmother weeping?   [1]
3. State any two feelings that Ruvimbo had in the passage.   [2]
4. Which word means the same as hurt in the passage?   [1]
5. “What worried me the most was who was to look after us...” Why was Ruvimbo so worried in this story? Give two reasons.   [2]
6. Why is the story ending on sad note?   [1]
7. In what ways can a girl child who experiences circumstances such as Ruvimbo’s be assisted in your community?   [2]

Now that you have finished answering questions, you can now mark. Answers to this exercise are there at the end of this chapter. What is your mark? Are you satisfied with your mark or you feel it is too low? If you scored four and above that is very good. But if you scored three and below, do not worry yourself much remember this was your first practise exercise, it was not a test or an examination. You still have a chance to correct and improve your skill. Practice makes perfect! So, give yourself more practice in listening in the coming chapters and with other materials we mentioned in the introduction to listening. You will see yourself improving and becoming a good listener. Refer to the end of the chapter for answers to each question.

Vocabulary extension

Identify new words in the passage. Use your dictionary to find their meanings and write them in your book. Try to use them in speaking and writing where they fit so that you improve your language.

Note: You must make it a point that you use passages and short stories to enrich your vocabulary. Remember you can only acquire language through imitation. So, take this research seriously it will help improve your grammar.

Exercise 1.2.

Referring to the passage you listened to write the underlined words and sentences on separate pieces of paper. Turn each paper upside down. You will have to use your phone again to record if you have no one to read these to you. Say each word or sentence twice pausing significantly between each word. Test the recording to check if it is clear enough. Do this until all the underlined words and sentences have been recorded. Then you pause briefly to prepare for writing. Play the audio recording. Pause after each complete sentence to write. If your friend is competent she/he can read them to you then you write. Each word must be read twice.

Assess your work after this. Check for errors in spelling and punctuation. Any grammatical error means loss of mark.

We hope you enjoyed this exercise. Keep practising listening in English language.

1.3. Making persuasions

In the key words section we defined the word register for you. Do you remember? Refer to the key words if you have forgotten the definition. Read and understand before you continue with this section. You will realise in this section that the way you use language determines the response you get. It is important that you use appropriate language in each situation to successfully communicate what you intend to.

For example; if you want some money for something you know your parents will not easily approve such as going for a movie night with your friends: If you just ask them anyhow without using proper language you may not get it. If you just say, “Daddy give me money to go for a movie night with my friends,” do you think he can just say “yes, here you have it?” Definitely no! You have to find a polite and respectful way of expressing yourself to your father so that you get what you want but you must never lie! You can say, “Daddy, may I kindly have money to go for a movie night with friends. I promise to be back before midnight.” This statement shows that you respect your father; you are well mannered and polite.

Therefore, the various situations you experience in life demand a variety of language from us. Make sure you always use polite language that is fitting and acceptable.

Making persuasions is one type of register you must be familiar with because almost daily you get involved with someone in an argument. Once this happens you are expected to use your persuasive skills to win over your supposed opponent. This part aims at equipping you with such skills.

You have persuaded your friends once, how did you do it? Try to remember. Persuading someone who has a different view from yours means you will engage in an argument with that person. Have you ever thought about why people fail to convince others? For example, some politicians fail to convince people in rallies. Some pastors fail to convince people to go to church. What do you think is the problem?

Think about the conversations you engage in with your family and friends during your leisure moments. Do they usually accept everything you say or believe in? Take a moment to think about situations where you might need to convince your family then attempt the exercise below.

Exercise 1.3.

One student wrote the following paragraph on the topic: Early marriage a threat to girls’ future.

It goes without saying that in as much as men are given the right to choose who they want to marry, girls also deserve the freedom of choice in our community. Before the 21st century, our fathers may have dictated without our mothers’ consent but life has changed. It is my strong contention that girl children must be given a chance to pursue their future instead of being traded into marriage like unfeeling objects. My appeal to all people is that we stand against the practice of girl children being given away in marriage before they turn eighteen and against their own will.

This is an example of persuasive writing. What aspects of the student’s language make her writing convincing? For example, the opening linking word ‘It goes without saying that...” makes those who are listening feel that they have to agree with her or else their point is wrong.

Exercise 1.4.

The words you use each time you speak are very important as we have indicated in above. The words used by the speaker in the speech above were well selected so as to convince the audience. Identify and explain five words and phrases that were used by the student to convince the audience to accept his opinion. The first one has been given to you as an example:

“May have dictated...” This phrase expresses strongly that the fathers had ability to control long ago but nowadays those powers have been stripped.

Refer to answers given at the end of the chapter. After comparing the answers read the paragraph again now with understanding of the links and phrases explained to check if you will understand the paragraph even better.

Exercise 1.5.

In this exercise we want you to be very imaginative and believe that what you are doing is real. Imagine you are a teachers’ representative in a school which has produced the best results in the province for ten consecutive years. Teachers in this school feel that their managers letting them down by not supporting them with any incentives yet they work extra hard and produce excellent results every year. You have a different opinion from the rest of the teachers because you think the management is trying its best by offering free accommodation, water, electricity, food, education for biological children, transport on pay days opening and closing days, internet services and many other benefits. Write a short but effective piece which you shall present to an imaginary audience persuading your fellow workmates to appreciate what they get before they complain. Do this exercise and when you are done, present it to an imaginary audience.

Research work

People have various issues that they talk about daily in life and you also are part of those conversations. Identify issues that people talk about more often among local residents, your neighbors and friends. Write down the issues and points that they raise as they talk and discuss. From the issues identified in your research choose one that you like most. Write at least four paragraphs convincing your supposed opponents to accept your opinion about what they were discussing.

How was your presentation? Did you feel confident? In your imagination, do you think you will change as a result of what you said to them?

Keep practicing this by using polite and respectful statements instead of shouting at people. Choose words wisely which will bring you a good result.

Passing condolences

Still on register, there are situations where we have to pass a condolence message. In this part you shall look at appropriate register that is you can use when passing a condolence message.

As a reminder register is the use of language and condolence means showing pity, comfort and sympathy towards someone. It is important to support our friends, family and others during difficult times for example, when they are bereaved. One way of doing this is by passing a condolence message. In our culture if someone we know is bereaved there are acceptable ways of passing a condolence message.

The language that we use must console and comfort the bereaved. Think about situations when people sent condolence message to someone who was bereaved. What did they say? Now look at the following examples.

Example: “I am so sorry for the loss of Themba,” Jan said.

I hope you noticed that the speaker is polite. Words such as “sorry” convey the speaker’s sympathy. This is the type of register you must use when passing condolences. You must be polite and use language that shows that you sympathise.

Exercise 1.6.

Here are some examples in the form of cards and messages. Read and analyse them. What is the tone in each message?

Exercise 1.7.

Now that you understand how condolences are conveyed, design any model that you can use to convey a condolence message. It may be a card, or anything which you think can be used to send such a message. Remember you do not always have to write to send a message. Icons and pictures may effectively convey a message more than words can do. So, in designing this model be creative and think widely, be innovative in order to produce something striking and unique.

Exercise 1.8.

What do you think makes them unacceptable? Bear in mind that the speaker must be polite and sympathetic as s/he passes condolences. Now, from the following list of statements choose the appropriate ways of passing condolences. Mark by placing a tick at the end of each correct statement and an X for a wrong statement. When you are done refer to answers at the end of the chapter to check your work. After checking your answers you are encouraged to read the statements which are unacceptable again so that you reinforce your understanding of ways of passing condolences.

Statements

“We are so sorry for your loss.”
“Oh! Shame. I heard about your loss”
“I’m going to miss her too.”
“I hope you feel surrounded by much love.”
“there was no way he could have survived.”
“Sharing in your sadness as you remember Dan.”
“Oh, that one who used to steal from us? Good riddance.”
“it was long overdue. He had been sick for a longtime.”
“With deepest sympathy as you remember Robert.”
“I was saddened to hear that your grandfather passed away.”

1.4. Acts of kindness

From your knowledge of reading at Level 1, you must remember that not all texts can be read in the same way. You may need to skim, scan or closely study a text depending on purpose that you are reading for. Type of text being read may also influence the way you read. You need to understand which reading style is suitable for your text and purpose for reading. Let us look at the types of reading.

The first one is skimming. What comes to your mind when you think of skimming? This is a type of reading where you quickly go through a text to get a general idea of the story. We usually skim through a newspaper or magazine to get the general picture of the stories and to just know what generally happened.

The second type of reading style is called scanning. Here you quickly go through a text to locate a particular piece of information that you need. If you are scanning through a text you, may look at the headings and sub-headings.

The third type is called close reading. This is when you read a text to understand and remember what you read. For example, you do close reading of your notes, comprehension passages because you want to understand and retain information. Now that you know these three types of reading, attempt the following exercise.

Please do not forget the definitions of these three underlined words because we will always use them in the coming chapters especially under the reading sections.

Exercise 1.9.

Have you ever received a present from a stranger? How did you feel? The following story is based on a mistake that eventually brought a fortune for Warren. As you read the story, underline the main idea in each paragraph. The underlined ideas shall help you in the next exercise of this chapter. Now skim through the passage below and hear what happened to Warren.

(Adapted from Reader’s Digest March 27, 2018.)

The passage was fairly short. I hope you understood. Pause briefly and ask yourself what it was all about. If you did not understand it, you may read it for the second time.

Exercise 1.10.

To check if you comprehended the passage well, try to answer the following questions. You have been given guiding hints to help you through.

1. What evidence in paragraph one shows that Cassandra was in a hurry?   [1]
   Hint: Evidence is one of the key words in this question. What does it mean? Before you attempt any question identify the words which express the demands of the question. This will help you to give a specific answer.
2. The writer describes one of the characters as a “kind stranger”. Why does the writer describe the stranger as “kind.”   [1]
   Hint: Why questions want you to give a reason. Usually, this reason might not be in the passage. You have to use information in the passage to suggest the probable reason.
3. Do you think Cassandra was grateful for the gift? What does she say to prove this?   [2]
4. How did Cassandra feel when she received the invitation back? Give a reason for your answer.   [2]
5. “Cassandra was at a bit of professional crossroads” line 10. Explain the meaning of the underlined phrase.   [2]
6. Explain the following words as they are used in the passage.
   1. Overwhelmed (line 1)   [1]
   2. Hurriedly (line 3)   [1]
   3. Venting (line 11)   [1]
   4. Scribbled (line 17)   [1]
   5. Frustrations (line 13)   [1]

1.5. Creative writing

Components of a paragraph

Have you ever bothered to look at what comprises a paragraph? In this part of the chapter let us explore a paragraph and try to understand how it is formed.

A paragraph is made up of a topic sentence, which is a usually the first sentence that states the main idea to be expanded in that particular paragraph.

The second type of sentences is called supporting or developing sentences. These expand the main idea.

The last type is called concluding sentences. As the name suggests, they conclude a paragraph. They are also transitional because they prepare the reader for the next paragraph. Look at the following example to help you understand these definitions.

• Topic sentence - Shanty played very well in the provincial soccer competitions.
• Developing sentence(s) - She is likely to be selected for the youth games this year. If the coaches leave her, we will contact the technical director and advise him to consider her.
• Concluding/transitional sentence - This may go a long way in reducing biased selection of players that is usually done by youth games coaches.

These three sentences make up a paragraph. Read them continuously, omitting the sentence descriptions that are on the left hand side of the sentences to have a feel of the complete paragraph. Note down the idea that is introduced and developed.

Does the last sentence prepare you for the next paragraph?

Exercise 1.11.

Look at the following paragraph extracted from the passage you read before.

“Cassandra was at a bit of a professional crossroads and had been having a tough day. In fact, she’d been in “mid-meltdown,” venting to her then-fiancé, Justice, about her frustrations just as she opened the misdirected envelope. Then she read the note.” Identify a topic sentence and the main idea; developing sentence and a concluding sentence in this paragraph. Write your answer in the spaces provided below.

Topic sentence -

Developing sentence(s) -

Concluding sentence -

Exercise 1.12.

Write a complete paragraph on each of the following subjects. We have provided you with space for one topic. Choose your best paragraph from the ones you composed and write it in the space provided below the exercise. Make sure your topic sentences contain the main idea which is then developed and concluded. Refer to the model example given above. Keep your work safe for future reference and also revisit it and edit to get rid of errors and mistakes.

1. A place you love
2. The person I would like to meet
3. The best moment of my life
4. Computers
5. Primary school

1.6. Noun - formation

You studied nouns at Level 1. Can you still remember what a noun is? Remember it is very important for you to know this part of speech so that you construct grammatically correct sentences. At this level you will learn about the formation of nouns. Below is the definition of a noun.

A noun is a word that names anything. For example, names of places or people. Nouns can be formed by adding prefixes. What is a prefix? A prefix is one or more syllables placed in front of a root word to change the meaning of the root. What do you think makes the meaning of the word to change? Meaning of the word changes because a prefix has its own meaning. Therefore, when a prefix is added to a word, the new word or noun takes the meaning of the prefix.

Exercise 1.13.

Fill in the table below by creating nouns using the given prefixes. We did the first two for you and I want you to take note of the following from the two examples I gave you; when you add a prefix to an original or complete word the spelling of the complete word does not change. Now continue and form nouns by adding the given prefixes to original words.

Exercise 1.14.

Choose ten of the nouns you formed and create meaningful sentences that show your understanding of the noun. Proof read your sentences and correct all errors that you find. Refer to your dictionary for any spelling.

The first example has been done for you.

1. Bokani played a long counterattack which resulted in the only goal we scored in our semi-final last week.
2. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
3. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
4. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
5. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
6. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
7. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
8. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
9. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
10. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

Research work

Now that you have knowledge on prefixes refresh your memory by identifying five more new prefixes to demonstrate your knowledge on prefixes. There are many prefixes in the English language that can be used to create different parts of speech. So, you must keep this information for use later when you study adjectives.

Reflection

You have successfully come to the end of chapter 1. You need to applaud yourself for the hard work. Remember this was your introductory chapter to English. Did you find it interesting? Challenging? Take a few moments to think about the activities you did in this chapter then answer the following questions. Write down your responses to each question in a separate book.

1. What have you learnt about listening?
2. What difficulties did you experience as you were reading the passage?
3. Did you manage to add new prefixes to the list we gave you?
4. Which parts of the chapter did you find most challenging? Why?

1.7. Summary

Now that you have reflected on what you did, below you have been given a summary of the chapter to help you remember. In this chapter you listened attentively to a passage being read and attempted questions. Remember to continue practising listening to different texts to improve your listening skills. You also learnt a lot about using appropriate language when passing condolences and persuading someone. I hope you will continue creating new statements at your own leisure time. As a continuation on register, you will look at giving oral instructions in chapter two.

Writing coherent paragraphs is one aspect of writing you learnt in this chapter. We hope that you can now create complete and meaningful paragraphs. If you have any problems with this aspect or any other in the chapter, revisit the section for practise.

Noun formation is what we went through under supporting Language structures. Please be sure that you understood every part. Don’t forget to write down all the difficulties you encountered so that you may revisit the sections later for more revision.

1.8. Expected/Possible answers

Exercise 1.1.

As you check your answers also check your grammar. It must be correct. Wrong spelling and other errors in grammar may result in loss of marks especially where meaning is totally different.

1. Grandmother.
2. Ruvimbo’s parents had been shot dead.
3. Agony and pain.
4. Disheartened.
5. She was worried by the burden of looking after the family since grandfather was too old.
6. She was also worried by the welfare of her young brothers.
7. She was worried by her fees which had not been paid.
8. Ruvimbo is given away in marriage without her consent.
9. Social welfare organisations can be called in to help support family.

Organisations that pay fees for orphans can also be contacted for assistance.

Community projects run by the traditional leadership can generate funds for orphans.

Exercise 1.4.

Here are the five words and phrases that were used in the paragraph above to convince people. If you managed to identify all of them then you are a star! If you have at least three then you did well. If you have less than three do not give up but revisit the paragraph and read again with understanding, remember this was not a test we wanted you to practise.

“But” - the disqualifier eliminates all possible control of men over women.

“It’s my strong contention that...” the linking term expresses the strong belief that the speaker has through the underlined words

“Instead of being traded...” exaggerates the way they are married off to man as ‘objects’ to evoke sympathy and support.

“My appeal to all...” affectionately uses this phrase to encourage all people to join her.

Exercise 1.8: Condolences

Here are the correct ways of passing condolences. After checking your work revisit the exercise.

“We are so sorry for your loss.”
“I’m going to miss her too.”
“I hope you feel surrounded by much love.”
“Sharing in your sadness as you remember Dan.”
“With deepest sympathy as you remember Robert.”
“I was saddened to hear that your grandfather passed away.”

Exercise 1.10.

1. She hurriedly addressed the letter.
2. He sent $20 gift to someone he did not know.
3. Yes, she was very grateful. She said it had come at the right time and she was grateful for it.
4. Happy/ecstatic/excited. She confessed and went on to spend the money with Justice.
5. She was having a difficult time/overburdened/overwhelmed
6. Word meanings:
   1. Overwhelmed – devastated, overpowered.
   2. Hurriedly - quickly.
   3. Venting - releasing, expressing.
   4. Scribbled – wrote something quickly.
   5. Frustrations – disappointments, resentments, failures.

Exercise 1.11.

• Topic sentence - Cassandra was at a bit of a professional crossroads and had been having a tough day.
• Developing sentence - In fact, she’d been in “mid-meltdown,” venting to her then fiancé, Justice, about her frustrations just as she opened the misdirected envelope.
• Concluding sentence - Then she read the note.

Exercise 1.13.