LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, students should be able to

1. Speech work: Syllables Continued.
2. Grammar- Statements and Tag questions
3. Composition- Argumentative essay. Topic- Tribalism is a better evil than cultism 
4. Literature-in-English- Myths/ Legends 

KEY VOCABULARY WORDS:

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: Wall charts, Pictures, Related Online Video, Flash Cards

CONTENT:

Syllables with great muscular energy are refer to as “stressed” while those produced with less effort are “unstressed” 

A stress syllable is indicated by placing a stroke at the beginning of the syllable.

RULES GUIDING STRESS PATTERN

There is no rule guiding the stress pattern of words in English, but if a word consists of two syllables, the first syllable is a prefix, the second syllable attracts stress, while the first syllable is unstressed. Examples:

HOstile             ConTAIN

EAting PreTEND

PIllow UnKNOWN

NEver UnTILL

DOCtor reMAIN

HOStel             exCEED

TAble beHIND

WINdow canTEEN

More examples of stress patterns. The meaning and the classes of the following words can also be affected by a change in stress pattern.

NOUN VERB

OBject obJECT

CONtest conTEST

TRANSport transPORT

REbel reBEL

CONtrast conTRAST

PROtest proTEST

EScort esCORT

REcord             reCORD

IMport imPORT

Assignment

Indicate the stressed syllable in each of the following words by writing it in capital letters. E.g. Subject (n) – SUBject

WORD STRESS SYLLABLE IN CAPITAL LETTER

Insult (n)

Suspect (v)

Desert (n)

Export (v)

Digest (v)

Project (n)

LESSON TWO

TOPIC: Statement/ Tag Questions and Responses

CONTENT:

You speak English, don’t you?

A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. We use tag questions to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: “Is that right?” or “Do you agree?” They are very common in English.

The basic structure of a tag question is:

• Positive statement = negative tag

Snow is white, isn’t it?

• Negative statement = positive tag

You don’t like me, do you?

Notice that the tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement and changes it to negative or positive.

Positive Statement Tag Questions

Look at these examples with positive statements. You will see that most of the time, the auxiliary verb from the positive statement is repeated in the tag and changed to negative.

EXAMPLES

1. You are coming, aren’t you?
2. We have finished, haven’t you?
3. You do like coffee, don’t you?
4. You like coffee, don’t you?
5. I can come, can’t I?
6. He should try harder, shouldn’t he?
7. You are English, aren’t you?
8. John was there, wasn’t he?

NOTE:

The use of ‘do’ in the two coffee questions. Remember that in Present Simple, do is optional in positive statements (You like coffee/You do like coffee). But the ‘do’ must appear in the tag. The same applies to Past Simple did.

In last two questions, no auxiliary for main verb be in Present Simple and Past Simple. The tag repeats the main verb.

Negative Statement Tag Questions

Look at these examples with negative statements . Notice that the negative verb in the original statement is changed to positive in the tag.

Negative Statement

Examples:

1. It is n’t raining, is it?
2. We have never seen that, have you?
3. You don’t like coffee, do you?
4. They will not help, will they?
5. They won’t report us, will they?
6. I can never do it. Can I?
7. We mustn’t tell her, must we?
8. He shouldn’t drive so, should he?
9. You won’t be late, will you?
10. You aren’t English, are you?

NOTE:

“Won’t” is the contracted form of will not

The tag repeats the auxiliary verb, not the main verb. Except, of course, for the verb be in the Present Simple and Past Simple.

Answering Tag Questions

How do we answer a tag question? Often, we just say Yes or No . Sometimes we may repeat the tag and reverse it (They don’t live here, do they? Yes, they do ). Be very careful about answering tag questions. In some languages, an opposite system of answering is used, and non-native English speakers sometimes answer in the wrong way. This can lead to a lot of confusion!

EVALUATION:

1. Make five statements, put the tag question and answer before them.
2. Write the correct tag question and responses for the following statements.
   1. I can never do it.
   2. We mustn’t tell her.
   3. He shouldn’t drive so.
   4. You won’t be late.
   5. You aren’t English.

GENERAL EVALUATION

• Make ten statements, put the tag question and answer before them.

• English Workbook Unit 8 No 4 page 21

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. Effective English. Study the grammar lesson in page 44, then do practice 4 in page 45
2. Write on the Argumentative essay title:  Tribalism is a better evil than cultism

TOPIC: COMPREHENSION

TOPIC: FEATURES OF DRAMA

CONTENT:

Drama is a genre of literature that creates or recreates human experiences through acting; it is the representation of human action.

FEATURES OF DRAMA

Dialogue: It refers to the exchange of ideas and opinions in a play between two or more characters.

Characterization:  It is the process of creating characters and adorning them with certain attributes or vices.

Conflict: This term refers to the bone of contention, the point of difference and so the basis of action, between characters in a play.

Plot: This is the sequential arrangement of events in a creative work.

Cast:  It is a list of selected participants for performance with specific roles to play.

Comparing Myths and Legends

A myth is a story from ancient times, especially one that was told to explain natural events or to describe the early history of a people while a legend could also be a story from ancient times that describes early history and feats accomplished by some specific persons. A myth might have no real scientific proof, but a legend could be traced.

EVALUATION:  Identify the features of drama in your recommended text.

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY ON TRIBALISM IS A BETTER EVIL THAN CULTISM

Tribalism means man supporting his people to who he belongs whether they are right or wrong, oppressing or oppressed; belonging to this group can be due to kith and kin, ethnicity, color, birth place, citizenship, school of thought, or a group of people with common interests.

Tribalism is the feeling of being better than others, and that others are of lower class. Like in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where we are exposed to the thought that all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. So, that person that has this feeling of tribalism thinks so highly of himself and of those to whom he belongs. This is not to say that such feeling of brotherhood is totally off base. Not at all. But where such fraternity becomes detrimental to unity of the whole, then it becomes corrupt.
In Nigeria, tribalism has become a force that is more ascendant than nuclear bombs. The emergence of Boko Haram in our present day society is rooted in it. Militancy in the Niger Delta is informed by tribal sentiments, the same with the OPC and Bakassi. Tribalism nourishes terrorism. We don’t need to look far, that is the root.

The selection of public office holders that have plunged the country into darkness is a twin brother of tribalism in the government circle. In Nigeria, you will find people in high places dolling out contracts to inept contractors because of tribal affinity instead of genuine qualification and competence. The present administration at some point had to face the problem of ‘how can a minority group rule over us?’ ( Note: them, us)

A country should not make some to work extra-ordinarily hard just to get by while some are virtually given the key to the government coffers to enrich themselves at will in the name of ‘we are born to rule’. This is one of the major reasons why Nigeria is yet to achieve a true “one Nigeria.”

It was tribalism that indirectly engendered the Nigerian civil war and indirectly gives birth to the present evil called “quota system” and step brother called “state of origin.” These are direct products, consciously or unconsciously designed out of mediocrity to model the ruin of Nigeria. This fuelled the growth of National inequality and anger of perceived injustice. One of the unfortunate characteristics of tribalism is this unnecessary competition with other tribes.

The Yoruba becomes “us” and the Igbo’s and Hausa become “them”. The North says power must return to the region as if any tribe has a sole right to occupy the Nigerian seat of power. A Niger Deltan is elected and hell is let loose because he is not from ‘our region’.

This in truth is what led to most of our problems and in turn it leads to the most evil of Nigeria traits – religious clashes and most recently terrorism.

The belief in the superiority of one tribe and the weakness of others has led to various untold number of wars in Nigeria.
To prove superiority and to consider other tribes as low-grades is actually wicked. The Igbo man is equal to the Northerner and a Yoruba man is equal to both. That is who we are, people of equal rights and status.

If the Boko Haram insurgence must come to an end, if ethnic clashes must be eradicated from amongst us and if Nigeria must progress beyond what we see, we must deliberately toll the path of being our brothers’ keepers. First by realizing that we are brothers. That is if such realization will ever exist. We must move from this thwarted thought line of enthroning evil by our actions and inactions.

We all have a common destiny whether from the north, the south, the east or the west. So it seems. The realization of the fact that we are all victims of economic imperialism and foreign vested interests should prompt and persuade us to educate ourselves by all means of the need for oneness of Nigeria, and realize that geography is no barrier to national cooperation and mutual understanding.

Only in this can we successfully bring to an end the evil of terrorism, militancy, ethnic and religious hostilities.
We are all Nigerians.

ANSWER:

Tribalism is a form of exclusive belief and can be compared to racism and similar ethnic and national prejudices. We can see how tribalism has led to terrible conflicts in Africa, like Rwanda and now Ethiopia. Pride in one’s place, tribe and ethnic origin is not in itself a bad thing, as long as it does not lead to discrimination, hatred, misunderstanding, rejection or conflict with others.

Strong family ties and the “clan mentality” of a close-knit family is a form of tribalism, especially when their moral, cultural, and political values ​​are aligned. This is an automatic advantage as long as the family focuses on developing together.

Cultism is no worse in my opinion as long as it doesn’t lead to denial of other beliefs, intolerance or discrimination against others in general. Obviously, extremely isolated, exclusive and narrow-minded forms of cultism can be dangerous for individuals and communities. My point is that neither is necessarily better.

The fact that cults tend to simulate a family structure while attracting new members of their actual family is an automatic deception for traditionalists who value the nuclear family, but there are exceptions on both sides. There are dysfunctional families and generally benign cults.

There are certain qualities that an organization must have before it can be considered a cult. Most of them involve coercion or manipulation, so an organization positive enough to be considered benign probably shouldn’t be called a cult.

Perhaps tribalism is only better as it creates a sense of a shared community that works together, shares and cares for one another. This can be commendable as long as it doesn’t become a “cult” and threatens to harm others.

So while cults are generally bad, simply by definition of what they are, family units are natural and can be good or bad. Political tribalism and cultism are the same concepts on a larger scale.

TOPIC: VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

CONTENT:  WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH SICK BAY

Treatment

Medicine

Bed

First aid box

Iodine

Fridge

Plaster

Spirit

EVALUATION: Study the passage thoroughly and use your dictionary for unfamiliar words

GENERAL EVALUATION

• Write on the following features of drama: theme, costumes, audience, stage and 

playwright

• Write a composition on the title “ The Most Memorable Day of My Life

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

• Write an argumentative essay on the title: ‘ A Male Child is more useful than a Female 

Child”

1. Identify moral lessons learnt from a myth or legend you know

Words of the week: embarrassment, drunkenness, calendar, acquaintance, precede, proceed, gauge, leisure