DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

SYLLABI FOR

COMMON COURSE ENGLISH FOR

MODEL I, MODEL II, MODEL III, BCom AND BCA PROGRAMMES

UNDER CREDIT SEMESTER SYSTEM

(with effect from 2015 admissions)

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMON COURSES

On completing the four courses, the students are expected to brush up and fine-tune

their English grammar, and be prepared to use the language in all the four formats, LSRW.

COMMON COURSE ENGLISH FOR MODEL I PROGRAMMES

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The undergraduate General English programme of SB College (Autonomous) aims at

developing the four language skills, LSRW, in the students, with special emphasis on reading

and writing. Special focus is given to reading and writing because they are mutually

dependent on each other. And they are less difficult to develop in a large classroom setup. For

in large general English classes like ours (70-100 students on an average), developing

listening and speaking skills is an uphill task.

The programme opens with a course on Grammar. It introduces grammar in a

systematic way. The reason for this course on grammar is that a majority of our students lack

a reasonable grounding in grammar. We feel that a systematic knowledge of grammar is the

necessary foundation on which communication skills have to be built. And there is exposure

to phonetics as well.

The second course aims at developing reading and writing skills through a series of

essays. The reason for using essays for this purpose is the supposition that essays are more

convenient in designing appropriate tasks for developing these skills. Each lesson contains a

series of exercises aimed at developing these skills. Special attention is to be given to free

writing tasks, with the essays used as launch pads.

Courses three and four are intended to give the students a feel of literature per se. The

underlying belief is that there is no better way of developing language and communication

skills than immersing oneself in good literature. Therefore this course introduces good

literature to the students. The methodology of teaching and the mode of evaluation of these

courses would be conventional, i.e. writing-based and exam-oriented.

Course five aims at developing eco-social awareness and critical thinking in the

students. A collection of essays and a poem serve as the medium through which this course is

developed. The preeminent role of literature in developing these skills is recognized here.

The sixth and final course is designed to get the students ready for the job market. It

gives importance to soft skills, listening skills, speaking skills and business writing skills.

1

OUTLINE OF COMMON COURSE ENGLISH FOR MODEL I PROGRAMMES

Course Code Name of the Course Hours

/Week

Total

Hours Credit ISA ESA Total

Semester I

ACEN101 Grammar and Phonetics 5 90 4 20 80 100

ACEN102 Reading and Writing Skills 4 72 3 20 80 100

Semester II

ACEN203

Literary Appreciation and

Language Building: Novel and

Short Stories

5 90 4 20 80 100

ACEN204

Literary Appreciation and

Language Building: Poetry

and One-Act Plays

4 72 3 20 80 100

Semester III

ACEN305 Literature and Society 5 90 4 20 80 100

Semester IV

ACEN406 English for Employment 5 90 4 20 80 100

2

3

SEMESTER I

ACEN101: GRAMMAR AND PHONETICS

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To make sure that the students have a good grounding in basic grammar and phonetics

Objectives

1. To help students reinforce basic English grammar

2. To help students revise the main problem areas of English Grammar

3. To help students refer to the dictionary and understand the pronunciation and the

primary stress of English words

Grammar:

Unit 1

Verbs: Present Tense, Past Tense, The Future.

Unit 2

Words and Sentences, Clauses, Sentence types, Verbs: be, have, and do, Yes-No

Questions, Wh-questions, Question Tags, Negative statements, Modal Verbs, The

Passive

Unit3

Reported Speech, Nouns, Articles, Pronouns

Unit 4

Adjectives, Adverbs, Preposition

Unit 5

Prepositional Verbs, Phrasal Verbs, Conditionals, Links across sentences, Spelling of

Endings

Phonetics:

Phonemic Scripts, Syllables, Word Stress and Pronunciation

Recommended Text for Grammar:

1. Selections from Eastwood, John. Oxford Practice Grammar.

Recommended Text for Phonetics:

1. Balasubramanian, T. A Textbook of English Phonetics for Indian Students. Chennai:

Macmillan, 1981 Print.

4

ACEN102: READING AND WRITING SKILLS

Total Hours: 72

Credits: 3

Aim of the Course:

1. To develop the reading and the writing skills of students through literature

Objectives:

1. To introduce reading strategies such as skimming, scanning, extensive reading, and

intensive reading.

2. To introduce effective writing strategies with the given texts used as models

3. To help students convert their knowledge of grammar to write correctly and effectively

Unit 1

1. The Rat-race

2. Leisure

3. Killers

4. Population Explosion

Unit 2

1. Once Upon….

2. Polluting the World

3. Is there Life on Earth?

4. Puzzles in Nature

Unit 3

1. All about Coffee

2. A Layman Looks at Science

3. Computeracy

4. How to be Entertaining

Unit 4

1. Spoken English and Broken English”

2. Only and One

3. The Sporting Spirit

4. Who’s Who

Text: Selections from Krishnaswamy, N. and T. Sriraman. Current English for Colleges.

Chennai: Macmillan,1990. Print.

5

SEMESTER II

ACEN203: LITERARY APPRECIATION AND LANGUAGE

BUILDING: NOVEL AND SHORT STORIES

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the students develop the habit of reading good literature in English which will

help them acquire necessary English skills.

Objectives

1. To introduce the learners to standard literary texts in English

2. To inculcate in the students the habit of reading English

3. To develop writing skills in English through good reading

Unit 1

1. Guy De Maupassant: ‘The Diamond Necklace”

2. Anton Chekhov: “The Bet”

3. Henry: “The Last Leaf”

Unit 2

1. Oscar Wilde: “The Nightingale and the Rose”

2. John Galsworthy: “Quality”

3. Somerset Maugham: “The Verger”

Unit 3

1. Bhabani Bhattacharya: “Glory at Twilight”

2. R K Narayan: “A Hero”

3. Premchand: “Idgah”

Unit 4 &5

1. George Orwell: Animal Farm

Text: Farooqui, Abida, (ed). Reading for Pleasure: an Anthology of Short Stories. Chennai:

Main Spring Publishers, 2015. Print.

6

ACEN204: LITERARY APPRECIATION AND LANGUAGE BUILDING:

POETRY AND ONE ACT PLAYS

Total Hours: 72

Credits: 3

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the students develop the habit of reading good poetry and short plays in

English which will help them sharpen their oral and written skills in English.

Objectives:

1. To enable the students to appreciate poetry and drama

2. To encourage reading literature in English through an exposure to some widely-read

writers.

3. To develop writing skills through reading

Unit 1

1. William Shakespeare: “Sonnet 1”

2. John Milton: “On His Twenty Third Birthday”

3. William Blake: “The Tiger”

4. William Wordsworth: “Fidelity”

5. John Keats: “Ode to Autumn”

Unit 2

1. WB Yeats: “The Ballad of Fr. Gilligan”

2. TS Eliot: “The Journey of the Magi”

3. Robert Frost: “Stopping by the Woods…”

4. Kamala Das: “My Grandmother’s House”

5. K Satchidanadan: “The Mad”

Unit 3

1. Fritz Karinthy: “The Refund”

2. Langston Hughes “Soul Gone Home”

Unit 4

1. Anton Chekov: “The Anniversary”

2. W.W. Jacobs and H.C. Sargent: “The Boatswain’s Mate”

Texts:

Babu, C R Murukan, (ed). Golden Cadence. Chennai: Mainspring Publishers, 2015. Print.

Kamala K, Silpa Anand, and Teresa J Heloise, (ed). Curtain Raisers: An Anthology of Short

Plays. Chennai: Mainspring Publishers, 2015. Print.

7

SEMESTER III

ACEN305: LITERATURE AND SOCIETY

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the learners develop the qualities of critical consciousness and empathy vis-a-

vis social realities and acquire language skills through exposure to a variety of

writings.

Objectives

1. To encourage critical consciousness in the students through exposure to socially and

ecologically relevant issues

2. To make students empathize with and make interventions on behalf of others on

issues concerning our society.

3. To develop writing skills through an exposure to issues related to one’s own context

Unit 1: Respect for Womanhood, Rights of Children, and Old Age

1. Kailash Satyarthi “Let Us Globalise Compassion and Set Our Children Free” (Nobel

Lecture)

2. Kumud Pawde “The Story of My Sanskrit” (From Arjun Dangle, ed. Poisoned Bread.

Orient Blackswan, 2009. 110-122.)

3. Simon de Beauvoir “The Coming of Age.” (From Douglas Hunt, ed. The Dolphin

Reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. 829-35.)

Unit 2: Environment

1. Kallen Pokkudan. “My Story” (excerpts). (From The Oxford India Anthology of

Malayalam Dalit Writings. Ed. M Dasan et al. Oxford UP, 2012. 185-195)

2. Rachel Carson. “The Obligation to Endure.” (Ch.2 of Silent Spring. Penguin, 1962.

23-30.)

3. Ayyappa Panicker “Where are the Woods Children”

Unit 3: Social Harmony

1. B R Ambedkar. “Caste and Class.” (Ch.8 of Valerian Roderigues. Essential Writings

of BR Ambedkar, Oxford UP, 2002. 99-105.)

8

2. Bhagat Singh. “Letter to Father” (From D N Gupta, ed. Bhagat Singh: Select

Speeches and Writings. National Book Trust, 2007. 107-08.)

3. Shashi Tharoor. “The Invention of India.” (Ch.17 of The Elephant, the Tiger, and the

Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power. Penguin, 2007.

55-65.)

Unit 4: Civil Liberties

1. Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream.”

2. Jawaharlal Nehru. “Individual Civil Disobedience.” (From The Discovery of India.

Oxford UP, 1988. 439-42)

3. Charlie Chaplin “The Great Dictator’s Speech” (From The Great Dictator)

Unit 5: World Peace

1. Swami Vivekanada. “Response to Welcome,” “Why We Disagree,” “Address at the

Final Session.” (Select Addresses at the Parliament of Religions, September 1893.

From The Complete Works of Swami Vivekaknada.Vol.1. 18th Reprint. Mayavati

Memorial Edition. Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1991. 3-5, 23-24.)

2. Dalai Lama. “Ethics in Our Shared World.” (From Beyond Religion: Ethics for a

Whole World. Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 83-97)

3. Margaret Mead. “Warfare is Only an Invention—Not a Biological Necessity.” (From

Douglas Hunt, ed. The Dolphin Reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. 415-22.)

9

SEMESTER IV

ACEN406: ENGLISH FOR EMPLOYMENT

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To equip the students with the necessary soft skills and language skills for

employability

Objectives

1. To help the students develop their listening and speaking skills

2. To prepare the students for GD and Job Interview

3. To sharpen the students’ business writing skills

Unit 1: Listening Skills

1. Types of Listening: Listening to News, Listening to Announcements, Listening to

Stories, Talks and Descriptions, Academic Listening, Empathetic Listening, Intensive

and Extensive Listening.

2. Barriers to and Tips for Effective Listening

Unit 2: Speaking Skills (1)

1. Public Speaking Skills, Interview Skills, Group Discussion Skills.

Unit 3: Speaking Skills (2)

1. Conversation, Dialogues, Telephone Skills, Everyday Interactions, Debates.

Unit 4: Writing Skills (1)

1. Writing Precis, Paraphrase, Paragraph Writing and Essay Writing

Unit 5: Writing Skills (2)

1. Written communication skills: Letters, CV, Reports, Emails, and Copywriting

Evaluation Pattern:

10

Internal Assessment: In-Semester examinations, Assignment and Seminar in this

paper will be aural and oral. The students will be tested in their listening and speaking

skills in the various areas mentioned above.

End-Semester Exam will be in the written format in the usual pattern

Recommended Books:

1. Augustine, A E. Speak Better English: An Essential English Speaking Course.

Changanasserry: Surabhi Publications,1997. Print.

2. Dhanvel, S P. English and Soft Skills. Chennai: Orient Black Swan, 2005. Print

3. Kumar, Sanjay and Pushpa Lata. English for Effective Communication. New Delhi:

Oxford UP. 2013. Print

4. Peter, Francis. Soft Skills and Professional Communication. New Delhi: Tata

McGraw Hill.2012. Print.

11

OUTLINE OF COMMON COURSE ENGLISH FOR MODEL II PROGRAMMES

Course Code Name of the Course Hours

/Week

Total

Hours Credits ISA ESA Total

Semester I

ACEN101 Grammar and Phonetics 5 90 4 20 80 100

Semester II

ACEV201 Language Through Literature:

Poetry and One-Act Plays 5 90 4 20 80 100

Semester III

ACEN305 Literature and Society 5 90 4 20 80 100

Semester IV

ACEN406 English for Employment 5 90 4 20 80 100

12

13

SEMESTER I

ACEN101: GRAMMAR AND PHONETICS

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To make sure that the students have a good grounding in basic grammar and phonetics

Objectives

1. To help students reinforce basic English grammar

2. To help students revise the main problem areas of English Grammar

3. To help students refer to the dictionary and understand the pronunciation and the

primary stress of English words

Grammar:

Unit 1

Verbs: Present Tense, Past Tense, The Future.

Unit 2

Words and Sentences, Clauses, Sentence types, Verbs: be, have, and do, Yes-No

Questions, Wh-questions, Question Tags, Negative statements, Modal Verbs, The

Passive

Unit3

Reported Speech, Nouns, Articles, Pronouns

Unit 4

Adjectives, Adverbs, Preposition

Unit 5

Prepositional Verbs, Phrasal Verbs, Conditionals, Links across sentences, Spelling of

Endings

Phonetics:

Phonemic Scripts, Syllables, Word Stress and Pronunciation

Recommended Text for Grammar:

Selections from Eastwood, John. Oxford Practice Grammar.

Recommended Text for Phonetics:

Balasubramanian, T. A Textbook of English Phonetics for Indian Students. Chennai:

Macmillan,1981.Print.

14

15

SEMESTER II

ACEV201: LANGUAGE THROUGH LITERATURE: POETRY AND

ONE ACT PLAYS

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the students develop the habit of reading good poetry and short plays in

English which will help them sharpen their oral and written skills in English.

Objectives:

1. To enable the students to appreciate poetry and drama

2. To encourage reading literature in English through an exposure to some widely-

read writers.

3. To develop writing skills through reading

Unit 1

1. William Shakespeare: “Sonnet 1”

2. John Milton: “On His Twenty Third Birthday”

3. William Blake: “The Tiger”

4. William Wordsworth: “Fidelity”

5. John Keats: “Ode to Autumn”

Unit 2

1. WB Yeats: “The Ballad of Fr. Gilligan”

2. TS Eliot: “The Journey of the Magi”

3. Robert Frost: “Stopping by the Woods…”

4. Kamala Das: “My Grandmother’s House”

5. K Satchidanadan: “The Mad”

Unit 3

1. Fritz Karinthy: “The Refund”

2. Langston Hughes “Soul Gone Home”

Unit 4

1. Anton Chekov: “The Anniversary”

2. W.W. Jacobs and H.C. Sargent: “The Boatswain’s Mate”

16

Unit 5

1. August Strindberg: “The Stronger”

2. Harold Pinter: “The Dumb Waiter”

Texts:

Babu, C R Murukan, (ed). Golden Cadence. Chennai: MainspringPublishers, 2015. Print.

Kamala K, SilpaAnand, and Teresa J Heloise, (ed). Curtain Raisers: An Anthology of Short

Plays. Chennai: Mainspring Publishers, 2015. Print.

17

SEMESTER III

ACEN305: LITERATURE AND SOCIETY

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the learners develop the qualities of critical consciousness and empathy vis-a-

vis social realities and acquire language skills through exposure to a variety of writings.

Objectives

1. To encourage critical consciousness in the students through exposure to socially and

ecologically relevant issues

2. To make students empathize with and make interventions on behalf of others on

issues concerning our society.

3. To develop writing skills through an exposure to issues related to one’s own context

Unit 1: Respect for Womanhood, Rights of Children, and Old Age

1. Kailash Satyarthi “Let Us Globalise Compassion and Set Our Children Free” (Nobel

Lecture)

2. Kumud Pawde “The Story of My Sanskrit” (From Arjun Dangle, ed. Poisoned Bread.

Orient Blackswan, 2009. 110-122.)

3. Simon de Beauvoir “The Coming of Age.” (From Douglas Hunt, ed. The Dolphin

Reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. 829-35.)

Unit 2: Environment

1. Kallen Pokkudan. “My Story” (excerpts). (From The Oxford India Anthology of

Malayalam Dalit Writings. Ed. M Dasan et al. Oxford UP, 2012. 185-195)

2. Rachel Carson. “The Obligation to Endure.” (Ch.2 of Silent Spring. Penguin, 1962.

23-30.)

3. Ayyappa Panicker “Where are the Woods Children”

Unit 3: Social Harmony

1. B R Ambedkar. “Caste and Class.” (Ch.8 of Valerian Roderigues. Essential Writings

of BR Ambedkar, Oxford UP, 2002. 99-105.)

2. Bhagat Singh. “Letter to Father” (From D N Gupta, ed. Bhagat Singh: Select

Speeches and Writings. National Book Trust, 2007. 107-08.)

18

3. Shashi Tharoor. “The Invention of India.” (Ch.17 of The Elephant, the Tiger, and the

Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power. Penguin, 2007.

55-65.)

Unit 4: Civil Liberties

1. Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream.”

2. Jawaharlal Nehru. “Individual Civil Disobedience.” (From The Discovery of India.

Oxford UP, 1988. 439-42)

3. Charlie Chaplin.“The Great Dictator’s Speech” (From The Great Dictator)

Unit 5: World Peace

1. Swami Vivekanada. “Response to Welcome,” “Why We Disagree,” “Address at the

Final Session.” (Select Addresses at the Parliament of Religions, September 1893.

From The Complete Works of Swami Vivekaknada.Vol.1. 18th Reprint. Mayavati

Memorial Edition. Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1991. 3-5, 23-24.)

2. Dalai Lama. “Ethics in Our Shared World.” (From Beyond Religion: Ethics for a

Whole World. Houghton Mifflin, 2011. 83-97)

3. Margaret Mead. “Warfare is Only an Invention—Not a Biological Necessity.” (From

Douglas Hunt, ed. TheDolphin Reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. 415-22.)

19

SEMESTER IV

ACEN406: ENGLISH FOR EMPLOYMENT

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To equip the students with the necessary soft skills and language skills for

employability

Objectives

1. To help the students develop their listening and speaking skills

2. To prepare the students for GD and Job Interview

3. To sharpen the students’ business writing skills

Unit 1: Listening Skills

1. Types of Listening: Listening to News, Listening to Announcements, Listening to

Stories, Talks and Descriptions, Academic Listening, Empathetic Listening, Intensive

and Extensive Listening.

2. Barriers to and Tips for Effective Listening

Unit 2: Speaking Skills (1)

1. Public Speaking Skills, Interview Skills, Group Discussion Skills.

Unit 3: Speaking Skills (2)

1. Conversation, Dialogues, Telephone Skills, Everyday Interactions, Debates.

Unit 4: Writing Skills (1)

1. Writing Precis, Paraphrase, Paragraph Writing and Essay Writing

Unit 5: Writing Skills (2)

1. Written communication skills: Letters, CV, Reports, Emails, and Copywriting

20

Evaluation Pattern:

Internal Assessment: In-Semester examinations, Assignment and Seminar in this

paper will be aural and oral. The students will be tested in their listening and speaking

skills in the various areas mentioned above.

End-Semester Exam will be in the written format in the usual pattern

Recommended Books:

1. Augustine, A E. Speak Better English: An Essential English Speaking Course.

Changanasserry: Surabhi Publications,1997. Print.

2. Dhanvel, S P. English and Soft Skills. Chennai: Orient Black Swan, 2005. Print

3. Kumar, Sanjay and Pushpa Lata. English for Effective Communication. New

Delhi: Oxford UP. 2013. Print

4. Peter, Francis. Soft Skills and Professional Communication. New Delhi: Tata

McGraw Hill.2012. Print.

21

OUTLINE OF COMMON COURSE ENGLISH FOR BCom PROGRAMMES

Course Code Name of the Course Hours

/Week

Total

Hours Credit ISA ESA Total

Semester I

ACEN101 Grammar and Phonetics 5 90 3 20 80 100

Semester II

ACEN203

Literary Appreciation and

Language Building: Novel and

Short Stories

5 90 3 20 80 100

Semester III

ACEN306 Literature for Social

Awareness and Change 3 54 3 20 80 100

Semester IV

ACEN408 English for Developing Job

Skills 3 54 3 20 80 100

22

23

SEMESTER I

ACEN101: GRAMMAR AND PHONETICS

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 3

Aim of the Course:

1. To make sure that the students have a good grounding in basic grammar and phonetics

Objectives

1. To help students reinforce basic English grammar

2. To help students revise the main problem areas of English Grammar

3. To help students refer to the dictionary and understand the pronunciation and the

primary stress of English words

Grammar:

Unit 1

Verbs: Present Tense, Past Tense, The Future.

Unit 2

Words and Sentences, Clauses, Sentence types, Verbs: be, have, and do, Yes-No

Questions, Wh-questions, Question Tags, Negative statements, Modal Verbs, The

Passive

Unit3

Reported Speech, Nouns, Articles, Pronouns

Unit 4

Adjectives, Adverbs, Preposition

Unit 5

Prepositional Verbs, Phrasal Verbs, Conditionals, Links across sentences, Spelling of

Endings

Phonetics:

Phonemic Scripts, Syllables, Word Stress and Pronunciation

Recommended Text for Grammar:

Selections from Eastwood, John. Oxford Practice Grammar.

Recommended Text for Phonetics:

Balasubramanian, T. A Textbook of English Phonetics for Indian Students. Chennai:

Macmillan 1981.Print.

24

25

SEMESTER II

ACEN203: LITERARY APPRECIATION AND LANGUAGE

BUILDING: NOVEL AND SHORT STORIES

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 3

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the students develop the habit of reading good literature in English which will

help them acquire necessary English skills.

Objectives

1. To introduce the learners to standard literary texts in English

2. To inculcate in the students the habit of reading English

3. To develop writing skills in English through good reading

Unit 1

1. Guy De Maupassant: ‘The Diamond Necklace”

2. Anton Chekhov: “The Bet”

3. Henry: “The Last Leaf”

Unit 2

1. Oscar Wilde: “The Nightingale and the Rose”

2. John Galsworthy: “Quality”

3. Somerset Maugham: “The Verger”

Unit 3

1. Bhabani Bhattacharya: “Glory at Twilight”

2. R K Narayan: “A Hero”

3. Premchand: “Idgah”

Unit 4 &5

1. George Orwell: Animal Farm

Text: Farooqui, Abida, (ed). Reading for Pleasure: an Anthology of ShortStories. Chennai:

Main Spring Publishers, 2015. Print.

26

27

SEMESTER III

ACEN306: LITERATURE FOR SOCIAL AWARENESS AND CHANGE

Total Hours: 54

Credits: 3

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the learners develop the qualities of critical consciousness and empathy vis-a-

vis social realities and acquire language skills through exposure to a variety of writings.

Objectives

1. To encourage critical consciousness in the students through exposure to socially and

ecologically relevant issues

2. To make students empathize with and make interventions on behalf of others on

issues concerning our society.

3. To develop writing skills through an exposure to issues related to one’s own context

Unit 1: Respect for Womanhood, Rights of Children, and Old Age

1. Kailash Satyarthi “Let Us Globalise Compassion and Set Our Children Free” (Nobel

Lecture)

2. Kumud Pawde “The Story of My Sanskrit” (From Arjun Dangle, ed. Poisoned Bread.

Orient Blackswan, 2009. 110-122.)

3. Simon de Beauvoir “The Coming of Age.” (From Douglas Hunt, ed. The Dolphin

Reader. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. 829-35.)

Unit 2: Environment

1. Kallen Pokkudan. “My Story” (excerpts). (From The Oxford India Anthology of

Malayalam Dalit Writings. Ed. M Dasan et al. Oxford UP, 2012. 185-195)

2. Rachel Carson. “The Obligation to Endure.” (Ch.2 of Silent Spring. Penguin, 1962.

23-30.)

3. Ayyappa Panicker “Where are the Woods Children”

Unit 3: Social Harmony

1. B R Ambedkar. “Caste and Class.” (Ch.8 of Valerian Roderigues. Essential Writings

of BR Ambedkar, Oxford UP, 2002. 99-105.)

2. Bhagat Singh. “Letter to Father” (From D N Gupta, ed. Bhagat Singh: Select

Speeches and Writings. National Book Trust, 2007. 107-08.)

28

3. Shashi Tharoor. “The Invention of India.” (Ch.17 of The Elephant, the Tiger, and the

Cell Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power. Penguin, 2007.

55-65.)

29

SEMESTER IV

ACEN408: ENGLISH FOR DEVELOPING JOB SKILLS

Total Hours: 54

Credits: 3

Aim of the Course:

1. To equip the students with the necessary soft skills and language skills for

employability

Objectives

1. To help the students develop their listening and speaking skills

2. To prepare the students for GD and Job Interview

3. To sharpen the students’ business writing skills

Unit 1: Listening Skills

1. Types of Listening: Listening to News, Listening to Announcements, Listening to

Stories, Talks and Descriptions, Academic Listening, Empathetic Listening, Intensive

and Extensive Listening.

2. Barriers to and Tips for Effective Listening

Unit 2: Speaking Skills

1. Public Speaking Skills, Interview Skills, Group Discussion Skills.

Unit 3: Writing Skills

1. Written communication skills: Letters, CV, Reports, Emails, and Copywriting

Evaluation Pattern:

Internal Assessment: In-Semester examinations, Assignment and Seminar in this

paper will be aural and oral. The students will be tested in their listening and speaking

skills in the various areas mentioned above.

End-Semester Exam will be in the written format in the usual pattern

Recommended Books:

1. Augustine, A E. Speak Better English: An Essential English Speaking Course.

Changanasserry: Surabhi Publications,1997. Print.

2. Dhanvel, S P. English and Soft Skills. Chennai: Orient Black Swan, 2005. Print

3. Kumar, Sanjay and Pushpa Lata. English for Effective Communication. New Delhi:

Oxford UP. 2013. Print

4. Peter, Francis. Soft Skills and Professional Communication. New Delhi: Tata

McGraw Hill.2012. Print.

30

31

OUTLINE OF COMMON COURSE ENGLISH FOR MODEL III AND BCA

PROGRAMMES

Course Code Name of the Course Hours

/Week

Total

Hours Credit ISA ESA Total

Semester I

ACEN101 Grammar and Phonetics 5 90 4 20 80 100

Semester II

ACEN203

Literary Appreciation and

Language Building: Novel and

Short Stories

5 90 4 20 80 100

32

33

SEMESTER I

ACEN101: GRAMMAR AND PHONETICS

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To make sure that the students have a good grounding in basic grammar and phonetics

Objectives

1. To help students reinforce basic English grammar

2. To help students revise the main problem areas of English Grammar

3. To help students refer to the dictionary and understand the pronunciation and the

primary stress of English words

Grammar:

Unit 1

Verbs: Present Tense, Past Tense, The Future.

Unit 2

Words and Sentences, Clauses, Sentence types, Verbs: be, have, and do, Yes-No

Questions, Wh-questions, Question Tags, Negative statements, Modal Verbs, The

Passive

Unit3

Reported Speech, Nouns, Articles, Pronouns

Unit 4

Adjectives, Adverbs, Preposition

Unit 5

Prepositional Verbs, Phrasal Verbs, Conditionals, Links across sentences, Spelling of

Endings

Phonetics:

Phonemic Scripts, Syllables, Word Stress and Pronunciation

Recommended Text for Grammar:

1. Selections from Eastwood, John. Oxford Practice Grammar.

Recommended Text for Phonetics:

1. Balasubramanian, T. A Textbook of English Phonetics for Indian Students. Chennai:

Macmillan 1981.Print.

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SEMESTER II

ACEN203: LITERARY APPRECIATION AND LANGUAGE

BUILDING: NOVEL AND SHORT STORIES

Total Hours: 90

Credits: 4

Aim of the Course:

1. To help the students develop the habit of reading good literature in English which will

help them acquire necessary English skills.

Objectives

1. To introduce the learners to standard literary texts in English

2. To inculcate in the students the habit of reading English

3. To develop writing skills in English through good reading

Unit 1

1. Guy De Maupassant: ‘The Diamond Necklace”

2. Anton Chekhov: “The Bet”

3. Henry: “The Last Leaf”

Unit 2

1. Oscar Wilde: “The Nightingale and the Rose”

2. John Galsworthy: “Quality”

3. Somerset Maugham: “The Verger”

Unit 3

1. Bhabani Bhattacharya: “Glory at Twilight”

2. R K Narayan: “A Hero”

3. Premchand: “Idgah”

Unit 4 &5

1. George Orwell: Animal Farm

Text: Farooqui, Abida, (ed). Reading for Pleasure: an Anthology of Short Stories. Chennai:

Main Spring Publishers, 2015. Print.