Tanzania Form 1 English Syllabus

This syllabus outlines the curriculum for Form 1 English, focusing on developing communicative competence through listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. It also introduces basic translation, interpretation, and literary appreciation. The syllabus emphasizes student-centered learning and encourages the use of various resources, including ICT tools.

Managing Information

Students learn to use ICT tools for information retrieval from various sources, preparing them for lifelong learning. This includes familiarization with different search engines and practicing using them to find and organize information.

Language Skills Development

This section focuses on building a strong foundation in English language skills.

• Listening: Students develop listening comprehension skills through activities like answering questions based on presentations, practicing pronunciation with tongue twisters and songs, and reproducing messages from oral presentations.
• Speaking: Students practice producing short, coherent oral messages with clear pronunciation and fluency. Activities include distinguishing words with minimal sound differences, practicing pronunciation with proper word stress and vowel sounds, and constructing sentences with newly acquired vocabulary.
• Vocabulary: Students expand their vocabulary through conversations, written texts, and games. They learn to write new vocabulary, construct sentences using acquired words, and engage in vocabulary-building activities using digital and non-digital resources.
• Grammar: Students learn to apply appropriate grammar and vocabulary in oral and written tasks. Activities include expressing ideas and opinions in various contexts, constructing sentences using specific grammatical structures (tenses, articles, pronouns, prepositions, etc.), and participating in debates.

Comprehension Skills

This section focuses on understanding both spoken and written English.

• Reading: Students develop reading comprehension skills through activities like sequencing events in stories, summarizing stories, retelling stories, and making inferences.
• Listening Comprehension: Students practice comprehending oral messages of increasing difficulty. Activities include paraphrasing oral messages, responding to oral messages in different contexts, and responding to questions about oral messages.
• Communication: Students practice responding appropriately in various communication contexts. Activities include expressing ideas and opinions in interpersonal communication, using non-verbal cues, using appropriate grammar and vocabulary in different interpersonal communication contexts, and using appropriate language with different age groups and social statuses.

Communicative Skills

This section focuses on using English effectively in different situations.

• Oral Communication: Students practice expressing daily routines, ongoing activities, family relationships and occupations, ownership/possession, and giving directions. They also learn to negotiate prices and request services using appropriate expressions.
• Creating Texts: Students learn the stages of writing and practice writing different types of texts, including friendly letters, invitations, dialogues, and weekly timetables.

Introduction to Language Services

This section provides a basic introduction to translation, interpretation, and editing.

• Editing and Proofreading: Students learn the basic principles and methods of editing and proofreading. They practice applying these skills to simple texts in a school context.
• Interpretation: Students learn the concept of interpretation and its principles. They practice interpreting short, simple texts in a school context.
• Translation: Students learn the concept of translation and its principles. They practice translating simple texts in a school context.

Literary Appreciation

This section introduces students to literary analysis and creation.

• Appreciating Literature: Students assess the language used in selected poems and plays, comparing their own values and perspectives with those implied in the texts.
• Evaluating Context: Students assess the socio-political and cultural contexts in which selected poems and plays were written and relate the context of the stories to real-life experiences.
• Analyzing Genres: Students describe different genres of written literature and their conventions, analyzing techniques for critiquing poems and plays based on their conventions.
• Creative Writing: Students compose free verse poems on various topics using literary language and publish their work.