cbse syllabus for class 11 Functional English 2014-2015

CBSE syllabus for class 11 Functional English 2014-2015

CLASS XI

One Paper                                                  3 Hours                                                 Marks: 100

Unitwise Weightage

Unit	Area of Learning	Marks
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.	Advanced Reading Skills (Unseen passages two) Effective Writing Skills Applied Grammar Literature Conversation Skills (Listening + Speaking) (5+5) Reading Project	20 20 15 25 10 10

Formative and Summative assessment to be included in all skills.

SECTION A

ADVANCED READING SKILLS                                           20 Marks     60 Periods

Two unseen passages (including poems) with a variety of questions including 04 marks for vocabulary such as word formation and inferring meaning. The total no. of words of the 2 passages should be between 650-1000 words.

1.      350-500 words in length-8 marks (for note-making and summarising)        08

2.      300-500 words in length-12 marks (04 marks for vocabulary and 08 marks  12

for reading comprehension)

The passages or poems could be of any of the following types a)           Factual passages e.g. instructions, descriptions, reports

b)     Discursive passages involving opinion e.g. argumentative, reflective persuasive etc.

c)      Literary texts e.g. poems, extracts from fiction, biography, autobiography, travelogue etc.

In the case of a poem, the text may be shorter than 200 words.

SECTION B

	EFFECTIVE WRITING SKILLS	20 Marks	50 Periods
	THREE writing tasks as indicated below:
3.	One out of two short writing tasks such as composing messages, notices, e-mails and factual description of people, arguing for or against a topic (50-80 words)	05
	Note: Though e-mail is included as one of the writing tasks, it is suggested that it may be tested as a part of formative assessment.

4.      Writing one out of two of the following kinds of letters on the basis of        07

given verbal or visual input:

a)      Official letter for making inquiries, suggesting changes/registering complaints, asking for & giving information, placing orders and sending replies (80-100 words)

b)     Letters to the editor on various social, national and international issues. (120-150 words)

5.      One out of two long and sustained writing tasks such as writing a speech    08

or writing an article based on a verbal or a visual input (150-200 words).

SECTION C

APPLIED GRAMMAR                                                                      15 Marks     30 Periods

A variety of questions may be asked to test grammar items in context (not as isolated sentences). Though only modals, determiners, voice and tense forms are being dealt with in Class XI, other grammar items such as prepositions, verb forms, connectors which have been learnt earlier would also be included.

6.	Drafting questions/questionnaires based on given input	4
7.	Composing a dialogue based on the given input	4
8.	Recognizing consonant and vowel values in pronunciation, stress and intonation	3
9.	Correction of errors in sentences	4

SECTION D

LITERATURE                                                                                       25 Marks     50 Periods

In the Literature Reader, questions will be asked to test local and global comprehension involving interpretative, inferential, evaluative and extrapolatory skills.

10.	One out of two extracts from different poems from the Literature Reader, each followed by two or three questions to test Local and Global comprehension of ideas and language used in the text.	3
11.	Two out of three short answer questions based on different poems to test theme, setting and literary devices. They may or may not be based on extracts. (80-100 words)	4
12	One out of two questions on the play from the Literature Reader to test comprehension of characters, actions and plot (80-100 words). An extract may or may not be used.	5
13.	Two out of three short answer questions based on different prose texts From the Literature Reader to test global comprehension, usage, lexis and meaning (80-100 words)	6
14.	One out of two extended questions based on one of the prose texts in the Literature Reader to test global comprehension and for extrapolation beyond the text (100-125 words)	7

Prescribed Books

1.      Language Skills book - Functional English published by Central Board of Secondary

Education, Delhi.

2.      Language Reader - Functional English published by Central Board of Secondary

Education, Delhi.

Conversation Skills                                                                               10 Marks     30 Periods

(Listening and Speaking)

Conversation Skills will be tested both as part of Formative & Summative Assessment. Out of the 10 marks allotted for Conversation, 05 marks may be used for testing listening and 05 marks for testing speaking. The Conversation Skills Assessment Scale may be used for evaluation.

Listening

The examiner will read aloud either a passage on a relevant theme or a short story. The passage may be factual or discursive. The length of the passage should be around 350 words. The examinees are expected to complete the listening comprehension tasks given in a separate sheet while listening to the teacher. The tasks set may be gap-filling, multiple choice, true or false or short answer questions. There may be ten different questions for half a mark each.

Speaking

Speaking shall be tested either through narration using a sequence of pictures or through description of a picture of people or places. It may also require speaking on a given topic involving a personal experience.

NOTE :-

•        The duration of the speaking test should not be less than 5 minutes.

•        At the start of the examination the examiner will give the candidate some time to prepare for the task.

•        Students can be asked to relate something from their personal experience such as a funny happening, the theme of a book, story of a movie seen recently etc.

•        Once the candidate has started speaking, the examiner should intervene as little as possible.

Conversation Skills Assessment ScaleListening

The learner

Listening

The learner;

Speaking

1.   Has general ability to understand words and phrases in a familiar context but cannot follow connected speech;

2.   Has ability to follow short connected utterances in a familiar context;

1.   shows ability to use only isolated words and phrases but cannot operate on connected speech level;

2.   in familiar situations, uses only short connected utterances with limited accuracy;

3.   Has ability to understand explicitly stated information in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts;

4.   Understands a range of longer spoken texts with reasonable accuracy, and is able to draw inferences;

5.   Shows ability to interpret complex discourse in terms of points of view; adapts listening strategies to suit purposes.

3.   shows ability to use more complex utterances with some fluency in longer discourse; still makes some errors which impede communication;

4.   organises and presents thoughts in a reasonably logical and fluent manner in unfamiliar situations; makes errors which do not interfere with communication;

5.   can spontaneously adapt style appropriate to purpose and audience; makes only negligible errors.

Reading Project                                                                                          10 Marks

Inculcating good reading habits in children has always been a concern for all stakeholders in education. The purpose is to create independent thinking individuals with the ability to not only create their own knowledge but also critically interpret, analyse and evaluate it with objectivity and fairness. This will also help students in learning and acquiring better language skills.

Creating learners for the 21st century involves making them independent learners who can 'learn, unlearn and relearn' and if our children are in the habit of reading they will learn to reinvent themselves and deal with the many challenges that lie ahead of them.

Reading is not merely decoding information or pronouncing words correctly, it is an interactive dialogue between the author and the reader in which the reader and author share their experiences and knowledge with each other which helps them to understand the text and impart meaning to the text other than what the author himself may have implied. Good readers are critical readers with an ability to arrive at a deeper understanding of not only the world presented in the book but also of the real world around them. They not only recall what they read but comprehend it too. Their critical reading and understanding of the text helps them create new understanding, solve problems, infer and make connections to other texts and experiences. Reading does not mean reading for leisure only but also for information, analysis and synthesis of knowledge. The child may be encouraged to read on topics as diverse as science and technology, politics and history. This will improve his/her critical thinking skills and also help in improving his/her concentration.

Reading any text should be done with the purpose of:-

1.         reading silently at varying speeds depending on the purpose of reading:

2.         adopting different strategies for different types of texts, both literary and non-literary:

3.         recognising the organisation of a text:

4.         identifying the main points of a text;

5.         understanding relations between different parts of a text through lexical and grammatical cohesion devices.

6.         anticipating and predicting what will come next.

7.         deducing the meaning of unfamiliar lexical items in a given context:

8.         consulting a dictionary to obtain information on the meaning and use of lexical items:

9.         analysing, interpreting, inferring (and evaluating) the ideas in the text:

10.       selecting and extracting from text information required for a specific purpose.

11.       retrieving and synthesising information from a range of reference material using study skills such as skimming and scanning:

12.       interpreting texts by relating them to other material on the same theme (and to their own experience and knowledge): and

13.       reading extensively on their own for pleasure.

A good reader is most often an independent learner and consequently an independent thinker capable of taking his/her own decisions in life rationally. Such a learner will most assuredly also be capable of critical thinking.

Reading a book should lead to creative and individual response to the author's ideas presented in the book in the form of:-

•           short review

•           dramatisation of the story

•           commentary on the characters

•           critical evaluation of the plot, story line and characters

•           comparing and contrasting the characters within the story and with other characters in stories by the same author or by the other authors

•           extrapolating about the story's ending or life of characters after the story ends

•           defending characters' actions in the story.

•           making an audio story out of the novel/text to be read out to younger children.

•           Interacting with the author

•           Holding a literature fest where various characters interact with each other

•           Acting like authors/poets/dramatists, to defend their works and characters.

•           Symposiums and seminars for introducing a book, an author, or a theme

•           Finding similar text in other languages, native or otherwise and looking at differences and similarities.

•           Creating graphic novels out of novels/short stories read

•           Dramatising incidents from a novel or a story

•           Creating their own stories

1.         A Reading Project of 10 marks has been introduced in class XI.

2.         Schools may use books of their own choice.

3.         Schools can vary the level but at least one book per term is to be read by every child.

Teachers may opt for:-

•           One book;

•           Books by one author; or

•           Books of one genre; to be read by the whole class.

The Project should lead to independent learning/ reading skills and hence the chosen book/selection should not be taught in class, but may be introduced through activities and be left for the students to read at their own pace. Teachers may, however, choose to assess a child's progress or success in reading the book by asking for verbal or written progress reports, looking at the diary entries of students, engaging in a discussion about the book, giving a short quiz or a worksheet about the book/ short story. The mode of intermittent assessment may be decided by the teacher as she/he sees fit.

These may be used for Formative Assessment (F1, F2, F3 and F4) only. Various modes of assessment such as conducting Reviews, Discussions, Open Houses, Exchanges, Interact with the Author, writing script for plays can be considered.