TSC Model Question Set 1 (Lower Secondary English)

This is the Second Part  from Cognitive Section

 6.      Define grammar and explain the parts of speech.                                     2+8

Answer:

Grammar is the way we arrange words to make proper sentences. Word level grammar covers verbs and tenses, nouns, adverbs etc. Sentence level grammar covers phrases, clauses, reported speech etc. Grammar is known as the skeleton of language. It is also the foundation for language. All of our productive skills like speaking and writing will become meaningful and unambiguous because of grammar. It makes our language easier and clear. We can also achieve fluency from grammar too.

In English grammar, there are eight parts of speech which are noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection

 

1.  Nouns:

Generally, noun is the naming word. The easy way to remember nouns is that they refer to people, places, animals, or things. Noun can be used as subject or object of the verb. Even intangible or abstract concepts like ideas or thoughts are also nouns. The underlined words in the following sentences are nouns.

Ram is an honest boy.

The earth moves round the sun.

2.  Pronouns:

The words which are used instead of noun are generally known as pronouns or pronouns are words that replace nouns. I, we, you, he, she it, they, me, us, her, him, who, that, yours, his, her etc. are some of the examples of pronoun. Pronouns need antecedents. That means that the thing (or person, or place) that the pronoun refers to needs to have been mentioned already by name somewhere earlier in the sentence or paragraph. If it's not clear which thing the pronoun refers to, the reader can get quite confused. There are three basic types of pronouns. They are personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns and relative pronouns. The underlined words in the sentences are pronouns.

He called me.

I am writing a letter to her.

She can do it herself.

3.  Adjectives:

Describing words are adjectives in general. Adjectives are descriptive words that add detail to a sentence. They can give important or necessary information. They describe nouns or pronouns. They give more information about noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be the part of noun phrase too. The sequence of adjectives can be opinion+ size+ shape+ age+ colour+ origin+ material+ Noun.

The underlined word in the sentences are adjectives.

Please pass me that blue T-shirt.

The weather is hot and humid.

This is an attractive round brown table.

4.  Adverbs:

An adverb is a word that describes or add to the meaning of a verb or it is used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs show frequency, manner, time, position etc. Adverbs can have three positions in a sentence. They can be used at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of a sentence.

The underlined word in the sentences are adjectives.

Ramesh swims quickly.

Obviously, she can speak English well.

Mohanita will come tomorrow.

The dog is barking loudly.

The lion never eats grass.

5.  Verbs:

Verbs are action words: that's a rather simplified explanation, but it's the clearest one. Verbs tell you what the subject of the sentence is up to. They are used in describing an action, experience or state. Verb is the most important part of a sentence.

The underlined word in the sentences are nouns.

He is climbing up the tree.

The dog ran along the street.

Merina gave me a nice present.

 

6.  Prepositions:

Prepositions are the words which are used to show the way in which other words are connected. They are the words that tell the relationship of the noun. They tell where or when (among other things) something is. Prepositions express time and spatial relationships between words. Prepositions usually come before a noun, pronoun or noun phrase.

The underlined word in the sentences are adjectives.

There is a whiteboard on the wall.

The river flows down the hill.

The pen is on the table.

7.  Conjunctions

Connective words are known as conjunctions. Conjunctions join or connect words, phrases, clauses or sentences. There are several different types of conjunctions that do various jobs within sentence structures. These include:

1. Subordinating conjunctions - Also known as subordinators, these conjunctions join dependent clauses to independent clauses.

2. Coordinating conjunction - Also known as coordinators, these conjunctions coordinate or join two or more sentences, main clauses, words, or other parts of speech which are of the same syntactic importance.

3. Correlative conjunction - These conjunctions correlate, working in pairs to join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence.

4. Conjunctive adverbs – While some instructors do not teach conjunctive adverbs alongside conjunctions, these important parts of speech are worth a mention here. These adverbs always connect one clause to another, and are used to show sequence contrast, cause and effect, and other relationships.

The underlined word in the sentences are conjunctions.

Ram and Hari are reading.

He didn’t go to market because it was raining heavily.

The doctor came after the patient had died.

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8.  Interjections:

Interjections are the words which express joy, surprise, wonder, happiness, sorrow etc. They're used to express extreme emotion or to create emphasis when we're talking, sometimes when we can't think of good way to express ourselves. The problem with interjections is that they require a deal of context to be understood.

The underlined word in the sentences are adjectives.

Hey! Don’t you have eyes? You bumped on to me.

Wow! Your creations are impressive.

Hurrah! We have won the match.

 

7.   7. What is an informal letter? Write the different components of an informal letter? 3+7

Answer:

An informal letter a written piece of composition. It is the type of letter which is written to someone whom we know, for example a friend or family member. They're written in a style that is friendlier and more familiar. Generally informal letters don’t follow strict rules about layout and style like formal letters. An informal letter also referred to as a friendly letter, personal letter which is written to friends or relatives.

 

In informal letter some components are essential with a clear format. or relatives. It is written in personal interest and style. It can be written it to anyone with whom we have a non-professional relationship, although this doesn't exclude business partners or workers whom we're friendly with either. It is the most common type of letter too. An informal letter may be on different topics. It can have an endless variety of subjects. Therefore, the content of the letter varies from one level to another. These letters can be used for some reasons like conveying message, news, giving advice, congratulate recipient, request information, asking questions, and so on. It is a personal letter written to whom you are familiar with, like friends, siblings, parents or any other closed one While writing an informal letter, one can afford to be friendly, and make use of personal or emotional tone.

 

There is no rigid format when writing an informal letter. There is no hard and fast rule for it but we use a general format or pattern which the people usually follow. There are fewer formatting rules for informal letters.

 

Format of an informal letter:

Generally, there are mainly five parts in an informal letter. They are:

1.     Heading (Address and date of the sender)

2.     Salutation (Dear friend/ mom)

3.     The Body,

4.     Subscription (your best friend, loving yours)

5.     Signature

 

1. Heading

At the beginning we should write the address of the sender on the top corner of right/left hand side. Under it we have to write the date. Address and date come under heading.

2. Salutation

After writing the address and date we have to write salutation like Dear friend, Dear father etc. In the salutation we have to address or call the receiver stating dear. It is known as greeting also.

3. Body

This is the main part of the letter. It may be written in three parts like opening, main message and closing. In the opening part we can express thanks and wellbeing of both parties. In the second paragraph we can express the main message. It is the main body of the letter. There may be more paragraphs in this part. The last part is closing. The paragraphs should be well connected. we can expand the body according to our level or class.

Opening: Thanks for the previous letter as well as normal message can be written. In the same way we can write other sentences about the recent activities and physical condition in this paragraph.

Main message: The subject matter of the topic is explained as much as possible.

Closing: It is the final paragraph of the letter. We can close the letter formally in this paragraph.

4. Subscription

Subscription is generally written at the bottom of right-hand side. We can write yours, your best friend, loving yours etc. in this part.

5. Signature

Generally, we write the name of the sender here. It is written under subscription.

 

8.   8.  Introduce language and explain the characteristics of language.                                2+8

Answer:

Language is a voluntary, vocal system of human communication. Only human beings use language. It is also the expressions of human thought feelings and so on using vocal speech sounds. In general, it means system of sounds, words patterns used by humans to thoughts and feelings So, language is the source of expression of thought by means of speech sounds. Language is the most powerful, convenient and permanent means and form of communication.

There are some characteristics of language. They are given below.

 

a.     a. Language is verbal, vocal sound

Language is learnt from vocal sounds. The first step or skill is listening. In this skill the learners hear the vocal sounds. Language is primarily made up of vocal sounds only produced by a physiological articulatory mechanism in the human body. It is the organization of sounds. There are some languages in the world not having written form.

 

b.     b. Language is a means of communication

Language is a means of communication. Language is also a means of communication which are non-linguistic symbols such as signals of various kinds, traffic lights, road signs, etc. but they cannot be used to express feelings, thoughts etc. Language is the best means of self-expression. With the help of language human beings express their thoughts, desires, emotions, feeling happiness, sadness. They don’t only produce but also they store knowledge, transmit message, transfer of knowledge and experience from one person to another, from one place to another place from one generation to another generation. 

c.     c. Language is a social phenomenon

Language is a set of conventional communicative signals used by humans for communication in a community. Language is social phenomenon. There is nobody using the language alone. Human beings express their thoughts, feelings and knowledge through language. Language is the first source of communication. For better communication system it is necessary that language should be used in a good manner. Language has to play a good role in mass communication. With the help of language human beings interact with each other. Language is a social institution. Language is a means of nourishing and developing culture and establishing human relation. From the birth of human being the evolution of language was started. Man feels the necessity of language from the very first day. It is worthwhile to mention here if a language is not used in any society, it dies out and on the other hand if language is used in society, it alive

d.     d. Language is arbitrary

There is no hard and fast rule which can be applied universally. There is arbitrariness in language. It means that there is no inherent or logical relation or similarity between any given feature of language and its meaning. That is entirely arbitrary, that there is no direct, necessary connection between the nature of things or ideas in language. There is variation in different languages of the world and have so uniformity.

 

e.     e.  Language is non-instinctive, conventional

Every language is the gift of evolution and convention. Each and every generation transmits this convention on to the next generation. Languages change and die, grow and expand just like the other human institutions. Nobody gets a language in heritage, man acquires it and he has been provided with an innate ability to acquire language.

f.       f. Language is symbolic

The symbolism of language is necessary. A symbol stands for something else. It is something that serves as a substitute. We have sounds and words as symbols Language consists of various sound symbols and their graphological counterparts that are employed to denote some objects, occurrences or meaning. These symbols are arbitrarily chosen and conventionally accepted and employed Words in a language are not mere signs or figures, but symbols of meaning. The intelligibility of a language depends on a correct interpretation of these symbols.

g.    g.  Language is systematic

Although language is symbolic, yet its symbols are arranged in a particular system. All languages have their system of arrangements. Language is system of systems. Such as sounds are arranged to make word. In the same way words are arranged to make sentences. Sentences are arranged to make paragraph. There is a system of arranging the words. In the same way there is system of arranging the words to make meaningful correct sentences. Therefore, language has the characteristics of system of systems.

h.    h.  Language is unique, creative, complex and modifiable

The structural elements of human language can be combined to produce new utterances, which neither the speaker nor his hearers may ever have made or heard before any, listener, yet which both sides understand without difficulty. Human beings can produce the sentences which they have never heard and produced. 

i.        i. Language is Productive:

Language has the characteristics of productivity. From a single structure, human beings can produce innumerable sentences. The structural elements of human language can be combined to produce new utterances, which neither the speaker nor his hearers may ever have made or heard before any, listener, yet which both sides understand without difficulty.

j.       j. Language is Complete for its Native Speakers:

Language is used to express human culture. A language is regarded as system of symbol. It can be used constitutive, cognitive, expressive, and evaluative symbols. Primary uses of Language are informative, expressive, and directive in nature, it is used to reason, express ideas, argue a point, provide direction and much more. Language Competence is a person’s underlying (subconscious) linguistic ability to create and understand sentences, including sentences they have never heard before. Language Performance is the real-world linguistic output. Performance may be flawed because of memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, and errors (random or characteristic) or other psychological factors.

9.    9. What are different literary genres? Explain them in brief.                                       2+8

The word Genre is derived from French language which means type or kind. Genre is the organization and classification of writing too. Genre has the categories like poetry, drama, prose, fiction, and nonfiction. The works are divided based on their form, content, and style. While there are subcategories to each of these genres, these are the main categories in which literature is divided. All of the genres have particular features and functions that distinguish them from one another. A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique such as tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length.

Generally, there are five different types of genre in literature. They are given below:

a.     Poetry:

Poetry is a major literary genre that can take many forms. Some common characteristics that poetry shares are that it is written in lines that have meter and rhythm. These lines are put together to form stanza in contrast to other writings that utilize sentences that are divided into paragraphs. Poetry often relies heavily on figurative language such as metaphors and similes in order to convey meanings and create images for the reader.

b.     Drama:

This literary genre is often also referred to as a play and is performed in front of an audience. Dramas are written through dialogue and include stage directions for the actors to follow.

c.      Prose:

Prose is a type of writing that is written through the use of sentences. These sentences are combined to form paragraphs. This type of writing is broad and includes both fiction and non-fiction.

d.     Fiction:

Fiction is a type of prose that is not real. Authors have the freedom to create a story based on characters or events that are products of their imaginations. While fiction can be based on true events, the stories they tell are imaginative in nature.

e.      Nonfiction:

Nonfiction is another type of prose that is factual rather than imaginative in nature. Because it is more factual and less imaginative, it may use less figurative language. Nonfiction varies however from piece to piece. It may tell a story through a memoir or it could be strictly factual in nature like a history textbook.

 

10. 10. What is motivation and write the factors that influence students' motivation in education?                                                                                                                     3+7

Answer:

Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It encourages to do the action well. Motivation inspires to learn attentively, successfully and actively. It is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge. Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces that activate behavior. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behavior. Motivation in learning a language can have a dramatic impact on students’ performance. Motivation helps students direct their attention toward activities that need to be learnt. Students can get better result because of motivation. It is positive reinforcement that’s why parents and teachers will be happy. The learners can do better in school.

The factors that influence students' motivation in education are presented below:

 

a.     a. Class and Curriculum Structure

Students can learn better if there is structure and they struggle when there is chaos. If the class size is too big, it is difficult to bring motivation because there is more chance of disturbances. If the classes follow a structure, and the curriculum, the students feel more secure. In the same way if class materials are prepared beforehand, it provides them with a greater sense of security. To bring motivation to the students or to help students feel more secure, educators need to plan classes and curriculums. Class and curriculum structure are one of the factors that influence students, motivation.

b.     b. Teacher Behavior and Personality

Teachers behavior and personality of the teacher also influences the motivation to the learners. If teacher uses derogatory and humiliating language to the students, that can lower their motivation in education. On the other hand, kindness, optimism, positive feedback, and encouragement can positively affect students’ motivation to learn. Teachers should maintain good personality to arouse motivation.

c.      c. Teaching Methods

If the methods which are effective and student centered, at that time students are more likely to retain their motivation in education. Therefore, the teachers should use different teaching methods while facilitating the students. That creates diversity and prevents students from getting bored. Giving room for certain choices such as which partner they'd like to work with can be beneficial too. Students in a single class are likely to have different styles of learning. Thus, a teacher is more likely to meet these needs by applying different teaching methods.

d.     d. Parental Habits and Involvement

Like the behavior of teachers and their personality, parents should have good habits. Parents should involve in their activities. Parental habits and involvement are also very important factors to influence motivation.

e.      e. Peer Relationships

As children grow older, the peers influence has upon them increases as well. Therefore, problems and conflicts with peers can make students feel less secure about their social status among peers, increase their stress levels, and lower motivation in education Keeping an eye on any conflicts, bullying, and other peer issues can prevent serious problems.

f.      f. Learning Environment

School’s learning environment is another factor that affects motivation in education. If the environment is not good, certainly the students won’t try to get more ideas. School environment refers to different norms and regulations that determine the overall climate in the school. Positive school environment makes students feel safe and secure. The students meet their general needs like library, lab, canteen, playground and so on in positive learning environment.

g.     g. Assessment

Assessment is also another factor that affects motivation in education. Standardized assessment increases the standards of attainment so that leaners will be motivated to learn much. If there is not standardized assessment, it can negatively influence students' motivation in education, especially at a younger age. It is also common for students to lose motivation if tests are continuously too challenging. This does not provide a sense of achievement and lowers motivation in education over time. Thus, it’s important for educators to experiment with and apply different testing methods which would be able to address the different learning needs of students.

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