Zambia Grade 10 School Syllabus - English

This syllabus outlines the curriculum for English in Zambia Grade 10, encompassing both Language and Literature. It is designed to equip learners with the necessary knowledge, skills, and values to communicate effectively and appreciate literary works.

English Language

The English Language syllabus focuses on developing practical communication skills, covering listening, speaking, reading, writing, summary, and structure. Six periods per week are allocated to English Language. The syllabus recommends using the Communicative Approach and the Text-based, Integrated Approach concurrently.

Part 1: Listening and Speaking

This section emphasizes verbal communication skills in various social contexts. Learners are expected to participate in individual, pair, and group work, role-playing, and presentations. Key topics include:

• Imparting and seeking factual information (giving/receiving directions and instructions)
• Expressing and understanding emotional attitudes (sympathy, agreement/disagreement)
• Expressing and understanding intellectual attitudes (making agreements/disagreements)
• Getting things done (clarification, advising, warning, instructing)
• Using socially acceptable language in different situations (greetings, invitations, offers, initiating conversations)

Part 2: Reading and Comprehension

This section aims to develop reading skills for various materials, both inside and outside of school. It includes:

• Intensive Reading: Focuses on efficient reading and follow-up activities, including skimming, scanning, answering factual and inference questions, retelling details, deducing meanings of unfamiliar words, drawing inferences, and character analysis.
• Extensive Reading: Encourages reading a wide variety of unabridged materials like newspapers, magazines, and journals, with a focus on critical reading and making discriminating judgments.

Part 3: Composition

This section covers various writing styles and their application in different contexts:

• Descriptive Writing (people, objects, places, events)
• Narrative Writing (retelling experiences, events)
• Essay Writing (topics from other subjects, autobiographies, biographies)
• Article Writing (newspaper and magazine articles)
• Report Writing (simple reports on given topics)
• Book Reviews
• Minute Writing (meeting minutes)
• Speech Writing (speeches of introduction)

Part 4: Summary

This section develops skills in summarizing information from different sources:

• Choosing and composing concise titles
• Identifying key sentences and paragraphs for summaries
• Tabulating information
• Using abbreviations

Part 5: Structure

This section focuses on grammar and correct usage of English structures:

• Tenses (future tense, emphatic form of 'shall')
• Parts of Speech (verbs and expressions followed by -ing)
• Determiners (adjectives of quantity)
• Noun Phrases and Clauses (infinitive phrases, 'that' clauses, possessive adjectives with -ing phrases, noun phrases in apposition)
• Relative Clauses (defining and non-defining clauses, relative pronouns)
• Comparison (parallel increase)
• Reason (now that, seeing that, participial phrases)
• Time (conjunctions with participial phrases, no sooner...than, phrases with perfect participle)
• Contrast (structures and phrases expressing contrast)
• Condition (conditional sentences with but for, provided/providing, supposing/suppose, if only, inverted forms)
• Question Tags
• Active and Passive Voice

Literature in English

The Literature in English syllabus introduces learners to literary concepts and different genres. Four periods per week are allocated to Literature in English.

Grade 10 Topics:

• Introduction to Literature: Definition and functions of literature, types of literature (oral and written), forms of oral literature (folktales, songs, proverbs, riddles, praises, narratives), forms of written literature (prose, drama, poetry), types of biographies (autobiography and biography), literary genres (comedy, tragedy, satire), and distinguishing fact from fiction.
• The Story: Elements of setting (time and place), plot (introduction, exposition, conflict, climax, resolution), characterization (major/minor, protagonist/antagonist, round/flat, dynamic/static), identifying and describing characters, comparing and contrasting characters, identifying and explaining themes, and distinguishing themes from titles.
• Drama: Elements of drama (plot, characterization, dialogue, staging, theme, symbolism, irony), and dramatizing events or episodes from plays.
• Poetry: Elements of poetry (voice, speaker, tone, diction, imagery, symbolism, allegory, syntax, sound devices, structure), figures of speech (simile, metaphor, irony, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia), reciting poems, and composing poems.

This comprehensive syllabus aims to provide a well-rounded education in English, preparing students for further academic pursuits and practical application in various life contexts.