(HS 05231) ENGLISH

1. INTRODUCTION :
In view of the growing importance of English as a tool for global communication
and the consequent emphasis on training students to acquire communicative
competence, the syllabus has been designed to develop linguistic and
communicative competence of Engineering students. The prescribed books
and the exercises are meant to serve broadly as students’ handbooks, to
encourage them to develop their language skills. The two textbooks identified
by the Board of Studies serve the purpose of illustrating the conceptual framework
within which the syllabus is to be administered in the classroom. When a
textbook is prescribed content is generally paid attention to. However, the
stress in this syllabus is on language acquisition and skill development, calling
for both the teacher and the taught to go beyond the prescribed texts and
innovate exercises and tasks.
2. OBJECTIVES :
1. To promote the language proficiency of the students with emphasis on improving
their LSRW skills.
2. To impart training to the students through the syllabus and its theoretical and
practical components.
3. To improve communication skills in formal and informal situations.
3. SYLLABUS :
Listening Skills :
• Listening for general content
• Listening to fill up information gaps
• Intensive listening
• Listening for specific information
• Note-taking - guided and unguided
• Post-listening testing
Speaking Skills :
• Oral practice
• Developing confidence
• Introducing oneself/others
• Asking for/ giving information
• Describing objects/offering solutions
• Describing situations
• Role play
• Expressing agreement/disagreement
Reading Comprehension
• Skimming the text
• Understanding the gist of an argument
• Identifying the topic sentence
• Inferring lexical and contextual meaning
• Understanding discourse features
• Recognizing coherence/sequencing of sentences
NOTE : The student, through the training imparted to him/her by means
of the text-based approach, will be examined in answering questions
on an unseen passage.
Writing Skills :
• Writing a sentence
• Use of appropriate vocabulary
• Paragraph writing
• Coherence and cohesiveness
• Narration / description
• Interpreting data
• Formal and informal letter writing
• Sending e-mails
• Information transfer
• Editing a passage
4. TEXTBOOKS PRESCRIBED :
In order to improve the proficiency of the student in the acquisition of the four
skills mentioned above, the following texts and course content, divided into
Eight Units, are prescribed:
1. LEARNING ENGLISH: A Communicative Approach, Hyderabad: Orient
Longman, 2005.(Selected Lessons)
2. WINGS OF FIRE: An Autobiography – APJ Abdul Kalam, Abridged version
with Exercises, Hyderabad: Universities Press (India) Pvt. Ltd., 2004.
The following lessons from the prescribed texts are recommended for study
:
A. STUDY MATERIAL :
Unit – I
1. Astronomy from LEARNING ENGLISH: A Communicative Approach, Orient
Longman, 2005.
2. Chapters 1-4 from Wings of Fire: An Autobiography – APJ Abdul Kalam, an
abridged version with Exercises, Universities Press (India) Pvt. Ltd., 2004
Unit – II
3. Information Technology from LEARNING ENGLISH: A Communicative Approach,
Orient Longman, 2005.
4. Chapters 5-8 from Wings of Fire: An Autobiography – APJ Abdul Kalam, an
abridged version with Exercises, Universities Press (India) Pvt. Ltd., 2004
Unit – III
5. Humour from LEARNING ENGLISH: A Communicative Approach, Orient
Longman, 2005.
6. Chapters 9-12 from Wings of Fire: An Autobiography – APJ Abdul Kalam,
an abridged version with Exercises., Universities Press (India) Pvt. Ltd.,
2004
Unit – IV
7. Environment from LEARNING ENGLISH: A Communicative Approach, Orient
Longman, 2005.
8. Chapters 13-16 from Wings of Fire: An Autobiography – APJ Abdul Kalam,
an abridged version with Exercises, Universities Press (India) Pvt. Ltd.,
2004
Unit – V
9. Inspiration from LEARNING ENGLISH: A Communicative Approach, Orient
Longman, 2005.
10. Chapters 17-20 from Wings of Fire: An Autobiography – APJ Abdul Kalam,
an abridged version with Exercises, Universities Press (India) Pvt. Ltd.,
2004.
Unit – VI
11. Human Interest from LEARNING ENGLISH : A Communicative Approach,
Orient Longman, 2005.
12. Chapters 21-24 from Wings of Fire: An Autobiography – APJ Abdul Kalam,
an abridged version with Exercises, Universities Press (India) Pvt. Ltd.,
2004.
* Exercises from the lessons not prescribed shall also be used for classroom
tasks.
Unit – VII
Reading and Writing Skills
Reading Comprehension
Situational dialogues
Report writing
Letter writing
Essay writing
Information transfer
Unit – VIII
Remedial English
Common errors
Subject-Verb agreement
Use of Articles and Prepositions
Tense and aspect
Vocabulary – Synonyms & Antonyms, one-word substitutes, prefixes &
suffixes, Idioms & phrases, words often confused.
TEXT BOOKS
1. Effective Technical Communication, M Ashraf Rizvi, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing
Company Ltd.
2. Everyday Dialogues in English, Robert J Dixson, Prentice Hall of India Pvt
Ltd., New Delhi.
REFERENCES
1. Strengthen Your English, Bhaskaran & Horsburgh, Oxford University Press
2. English for Technical Communication, K R Lakshminarayana, SCITECH
3. Strategies for Engineering Communication, Susan Stevenson & Steve
Whitmore ( John Wiley and sons).
4. English for Engineers: With CD, Sirish Chaudhary, Vikas Publishing House
Pvt. Ltd. With CD.
5. Basic Communication Skills for Technology, Andrea J Rutherfoord, Pearson
Education Asia.
6. Murphy’s English Grammar with CD, Murphy, Cambridge University Press
7. A Practical Course in English Pronunciation, (with two Audio cassettes),
Sethi, Sadanand & Jindal , Prentice –Hall of India Pvt Ltd., New Delhi.
8. English for Professional Students, by S S Prabhakara Rao.
9. The Oxford Guide to Writing and Speaking, John Seely, Oxford.
10. Grammar Games, Renvolucri Mario, Cambridge University Press.