General English (Grammar and Phonetics)

Unit I — Grammar and Usage

Sentence Structure- Subject and Predicate, Concord, Tenses, Use of Articles, Accurate Use of Prepositions, Making Questions (Wh- and yes-no questions and question tags), Use of Modal Auxiliary Verbs (making requests, suggestions, seeking permission etc.), Punctuation, Common Errors

• Grammar
• Verbs/Tenses — Activity

Unit II — Sentence Transformation

Active and Passive Voice, Types of Sentences (Statements, interrogative, exclamatory and imperative), Degrees of Comparison, Simple, Complex and Compound Sentences, Reported Speech (Direct and Indirect), Conditionals (‘IF’ clause)

• Active/ Passive — Activity
• Reported Speech — Activity
• Transformation of Sentences — Simple, Compound & Complex — Activity

Unit III — Vocabulary Development

Using the Dictionary and Thesaurus, Idioms and Phrases, Words Often Confused, One Word Substitution.

Unit IV — Phonetics and Spoken English

Mechanism of Speech Production, Organs of Speech, Phonetic Symbols, Articulation of Speech Sounds, Vowel and Consonant Sounds- Description and Classification, Phonetic Transcription

Unit V — Prescribed Literary Texts

The Merchant of Venice – William Shakespeare, Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

• The Merchant of Venice — William Shakespeare

Unit VI — Language Skills

Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, SQ3R (Survey Question Read Recite and Review), Reading: Types- Intensive and Extensive; Techniques- scanning, skimming and critical

• Listening Skills — Definition and tips for improvement — Activity
• Oral Communication

Unit VII — Composition Skills

Reading Comprehension (Principles and Practice), Note-Taking and Note-Making, Précis Writing, Paragraph Writing (Rearranging sentences into proper paragraphs, error analysis, expansion of an idea (outline), writing short paragraphs on specific topics)

• Precis Writing (New Addition)
• Paragraph Writing & Note Writing — Activity