Zambia Grade 10 School Syllabus - Zambian Languages

This syllabus outlines the curriculum for Zambian Languages at the Grade 10 level, based on the 2013 Zambian Education Curriculum Framework (ZECF). The curriculum aims to develop well-rounded learners proficient in communication, cultural heritage, and practical life skills. It emphasizes an Outcomes Based Education (OBE) approach, linking learning to real-life experiences.

General Outcomes:

• Enhanced reading comprehension skills.
• Appreciation and integration of positive Zambian cultural heritage elements with contemporary values.
• Effective expression of feelings, thoughts, and experiences through speech and writing.
• Acquisition of diverse linguistic aspects and knowledge.
• Development of entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and values.

Components of the Syllabus:

The syllabus is structured around several key components, each with specific topics and learning outcomes:

1. Making Assessments:

• Judging Implications and Inferences: Learners will analyze conversations to judge implications and inferences.
• Making Assessments: Learners will critically assess meetings, debates, conversations, and speeches, focusing on issues, challenges, conclusions, resolutions, and recommendations.
• Drama: Learners will create and perform one-act plays, applying learned content and demonstrating creative thinking.
• Praises and Poems: Learners will recite praises and poems, focusing on rhythm, enunciation, and emphasis.
• Quiz: Learners will participate in brain trust activities, including puzzles, quizzes, and riddles, to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Story-telling: Learners will narrate various types of stories, including legends, dilemma stories, and anecdotes, to enhance communication skills.
• Modern Life and its Effects: Learners will discuss the impact of modern life on Zambian culture, covering topics such as gender issues, HIV/AIDS, human rights, and corruption.
• Beliefs, Myths, and Ideologies: Learners will analyze beliefs, myths, and ideologies in societies, developing analytical and communication skills.
• Proverbs and Sayings: Learners will discuss the use of proverbs and sayings, applying learned content and critical thinking.

2. Reading:

• Intensive Reading: Learners will identify main themes and discuss characters in selected literary works, applying learned content and analyzing characters. They will also answer different types of questions on given texts.
• Reading Aloud: Learners will practice reading passages fluently and expressively, applying intonation, stress, and punctuation marks.
• Study Skills: Learners will identify required information from given texts and apply study skills.
• Research: Learners will utilize appropriate research techniques, including skimming and scanning, to find information.

3. Writing:

• Composition: Learners will write descriptive, narrative, and situational essays, applying learned content and demonstrating creative thinking. They will also create stories using visual aids and write informal letters and articles for magazines.
• Summary: Learners will compile facts on selected topics and apply summary skills.
• Other Writing Forms: Learners will develop skills in writing captions, keeping diaries, composing emails and memoranda, writing prose summaries, paragraphing, and ensuring coherence and cohesion in their writing. They will also practice note-taking, write poems, praises, and songs, compose stories with personified animals, use indirect speech, write dialogues and narratives, and create reports.

4. Language Structure:

This component focuses on various aspects of Zambian language grammar, including locatives, affixes, prefixes, word building, verbal extensions, compound words, concords, parts of a sentence, verb forms, idiophones, direct and indirect speech, and other figures of speech like allegory and kenning. Learners will develop knowledge and application skills in these areas.

5. Translation:

Learners will explore the importance of translation, demonstrate proficiency in source and target languages, identify subject matter, and understand the relationship between reading comprehension and translation. They will apply translation techniques and develop effective communication skills.

6. Literature in Zambian Languages:

This component covers various aspects of Zambian literature, including different forms of literature (novels, short stories, poems, etc.), oral and written literature, language use in literature, literary elements (character, setting, plot, theme), writing play scripts, visual interpretation of texts, character identification, book reviews, forms of poetry, figures of speech (symbolism, similes, metaphors, irony, hyperbole, etc.), and critiquing texts. Learners will develop knowledge, analytical skills, and critical thinking in these areas.