4.2 Direct and reported speech

2.4 demonstrates a range of complex interaction skills by participating actively in group discussions, conversations, debates, group interviews and surveys;

2.5 gives oral presentations confidently and creatively, paying attention to:

pausing and variation in tempo and volume at key points;

purpose and audience;

posture, gesture, body language and facial expressions to engage audience interest;

variety in presentation modes;

register;

tone;

degree of formality;

different social and cultural conventions;

appropriate figurative devices such as climax; (climax, anti-climax, etc.).

LO 4

Writing

The learner will be able to write different kinds of factual and imaginative texts for a wide range of purposes.

We know this when the learner:

write a wide range of imaginative text:

4.1.1 to express imagination, ideas and feelings about self and others;

produces a wide range of factual written and multimedia texts for various purposes, using a wide range of visual and design elements where appropriate by means of e-mail, reports on current issues, advertisements, posters, book reviews, film reviews, eyewitness accounts, newspaper reports, curriculum vitae, agenda and minutes of meetings.

LO 6

Language Structure and Use

The learner will know and be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.

We know this when the learner:

works with words:

6.1.5 explains and uses word families and words of the same field to develop vocabulary in context;

6.5 develops critical language awareness, for example:

6.5.3 examines how language is used to construct gender, race, the environment, health, etc., and how the reader is positioned – suggests ways of rewriting texts to create other possibilities.

Memorandum

ACTIVITY 1

Learners should be well versed in this already so only a quick revision is necessary. Let them practise orally by asking learners to give sentences and letting others report that sentence to the rest of the class.

Memorandum:

1. Charles said that he had seen Rosemary the day before. (3)

2. Jannie shouted in pain that he had burnt himself. (4)

3. Mr Mbisi commanded Neil to come there. (1)

4. Ingrid asked why she couldn’t go then. (3)

5. Rafeeq said that he felt so tense that day. (3)

6. The girl shouted, “ Hurrah , I’ve won! ” (3)

7. Her mother asked her, “ Is this the truth?” (2)

8. Thandi said “ Heinrich, do your homework before tomorrow. ” (3)

9. The learner said, “ Thank you , Sir. ” (2)

ACTIVITY 2

This is an exercise which must be handled very carefully because learners may agree that certain “names” should not be used because they are discriminating or derogatory, they may begin to sling terms around and begin to find them very amusing. You need to first explain to them the serious affect that such words have on the person who is the victim of such abuse. Begin with words which are used in the school context – even words which seem innocent, such as ‘nerd’ or ‘babe’ or ‘geek’, etc. Then go to terms which are used to refer to different nationalities, such as ‘jewboy’, ‘redneck’, etc. Let them do the exercise and discuss their contributions. It is important to stress the effects of these words. Explain that this prejudice is undesirable in all contexts. Then, move onto a discussion regarding the “battle of the sexes”. It would be interesting to speak about the woman’s role in society throughout the ages, the emancipation of women, the

abuse of women, but also issues like women in the workplace, sexual harassment and the effects of all these changes on men.

One could even have informal forum discussions on this. Divide the class into groups of 5 with a chairman (chairperson) elected in each group and give each group a different aspect to discuss. They are then given 10 minutes to prepare. They discuss the topic for ten minutes and then the rest of the class may ask questions or add comments through the chairman. This is a good exercise to teach learners to give their opinion in an acceptable manner instead of just shouting and not listening.

Before looking at the exercise, remind the learners that it is sometimes difficult to find a suitable term to replace words which seem sexist. Tell learners that some extremist would possibly find some words unacceptable which we may not. Some words have to be used just to make life easier and are not intended to be sexist. For example, the word ‘history’ has nothing whatsoever to do with gender. The use of ‘he” in a sentence is also often used merely because it is obvious. For example, “A learner must do his work if he wishes to pass”. One could write “A learner must do his or her work if he or she wishes to pass”, but this is unnecessary. One could change the sentence to plural so that both sexes are included. “Learners must do their work, if they wish to pass”.

Memorandum:

• Personnel/ staff/ workers
• Journalist/ reporter
• Representative
• Diplomat/ politician
• Guard
• Humanity/ human-beings/ human race/ people
• Sales rep./ salesperson
• Chair/ (mention if woman, then often addressed as Madam chair)
• Soldiers
• Ancestors

ACTIVITY 3

You need to go through the different aspects of writing an essay thoroughly before the learners even consider putting pen to paper. Explain and illustrate how a mind map helps to create order in one’s thoughts. Once the basic outline has been done, stress that the introduction and conclusion needs to be done. The introduction must be effective and grab the reader’s attention.

Discuss possible ways to begin. For example, a quote, a rhetorical question, an anecdote, a brief dialogue, a description of a setting, etc. The conclusion must be relevant to the rest of the essay. It could refer to the introduction, summarise the thoughts or ideas in the essay, challenge the reader, contain a personal comment, etc.

Then, discuss the writing of paragraphs. It is important to teach the learners about ways of linking sentences by means of, for example, repeating the last words of the previous sentence, or using co-ordinate conjunctions such as ‘and’ or ‘but’ or using adverbs such as ‘however’ or ‘therefore’. One could also use ‘firstly’, ‘secondly’, etc. if you are giving examples to illustrate a point.

Then, explain about the variation of sentences and paragraphs as far as length is concerned so that the essay becomes more than just words on the page.

It is also important to stress the importance of editing. Discuss the rubric before the learner hands in the final product.