General English Language Skills-8 T-8

Syllabus topics (RTMNU)

• 1.1 Listening to pre-recorded audio/ YouTube Videos on Interviews/ Conversations/ Motivational Speech (Suggestion: Leena Kumar – I, me, myself realization, TEDx St Teresa College)
• 1.2 My Philosophy for a Happy Life (TEDx); Group Discussion (Human Intelligence vs Artificial Intelligence)
• 1.3 Introduction to Social Media and its Impact
• 1.4 Writing on Social Media Platforms: Dos and Don'ts

1.1 Listening to Pre-recorded Audio / YouTube Videos on Interviews, Conversations and Motivational Speeches

In this topic we practise listening to real talks, interviews and conversations. The syllabus suggests the TEDx talk "I, me, myself realization" by Leena Kumar (TEDx St Teresa College). Such self-realization talks usually ask the listener to know himself or herself, accept who they are and grow from inside. In the exam you may be asked about the skill of listening, not only about one talk.

Hearing vs listening

• Hearing is physical. Sound enters our ears without effort.
• Listening is mental. We pay attention, understand, remember and respond.

Steps of active listening

1. Prepare: read the title, guess the topic, keep a notebook ready.
2. Focus: remove distractions like the mobile phone.
3. Note key words: write main ideas, names, numbers and examples.
4. Find the message: ask "What does the speaker want me to learn?"
5. Respond: summarise the talk in 4-5 lines and give your opinion.

1.2 My Philosophy for a Happy Life (TEDx); Group Discussion: Human Intelligence vs Artificial Intelligence

My Philosophy for a Happy Life

The best-known TEDx talk with this title is by Sam Berns (TEDxMidAtlantic, 2013). Sam was an American teenager who had progeria, a rare disease that makes the body age very fast. He died in January 2014 at the age of 17. In spite of his illness, he spoke with humour and hope. His philosophy had these simple points:

1. Be OK with what you cannot do, because there is so much you can do. Focus on your abilities, not your limits.
2. Surround yourself with people you want to be with – family and friends who support you.
3. Keep moving forward. Always have something to look forward to.
4. Never miss a party if you can help it – enjoy life's small happy moments.

Message: Happiness does not depend on a perfect body or a perfect life. It depends on attitude, people and hope.

Group Discussion (GD)

A group discussion is a formal talk among 6-10 people on a given topic, usually for 10-20 minutes. It tests communication, knowledge, teamwork and leadership.

Topic: Human Intelligence vs Artificial Intelligence

Balanced conclusion: AI is a powerful tool, but it should support human intelligence, not replace human judgement.

GD tips: start or conclude if you can; speak clearly; give facts and examples; listen to others; do not shout or interrupt; invite quiet members to speak.

1.3 Introduction to Social Media and its Impact

Social media means websites and apps where people create, share and react to content and connect with others online. Examples: WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

Positive impact

• Quick communication with family and friends.
• Easy access to news, information and learning videos.
• A platform for talent, small business and job search (e.g. LinkedIn).
• Social awareness and help during emergencies.

Negative impact

• Addiction and waste of time; poor study habits.
• Fake news and rumours spread fast.
• Cyberbullying, online fraud and loss of privacy.
• Stress, anxiety and comparison with others' "perfect" lives.

1.4 Writing on Social Media Platforms: Dos and Don'ts

Sample post (LinkedIn): "Happy to share that I completed a 30-day spoken English course at our college. Thanks to my teachers for their guidance. Learning never stops! #Learning #EnglishSkills"

Likely exam questions

1. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) What did Sam Berns mean by his 'philosophy for a happy life'? Explain its main points.
2. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) Discuss the positive and negative impact of social media on students.
3. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) What is the difference between hearing and listening?
4. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) Write any two don'ts of writing on social media.
5. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) What is a group discussion?

Syllabus topics (RTMNU)

• 2.1 The Sermon at Benaras – Betty Renshaw
• 2.2 What is Courage? – William Issacs
• Applied Tenses and activities (Ref: Oxford Practice Grammar with Answers, 2nd ed., 1999, OUP)

2.1 The Sermon at Benaras – Betty Renshaw

About the lesson

This lesson is taken from The Buddha by Betty Renshaw. It tells how Prince Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha and how he gave his first sermon at Benares (Varanasi), the holy city on the Ganga. The main story is about Kisa Gotami and how the Buddha taught her the truth about death.

Summary (in our own words)

Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince in North India. At twelve he was sent away to study the sacred books. He came back, married a princess and lived in royal comfort, protected from all sorrow. One day, while out hunting, he saw a sick man, an old man, a funeral procession and a monk begging for alms. These sights showed him the suffering of life. He left the palace and went out in search of the truth.

He wandered for seven years. At last he sat under a peepal tree and decided to stay there until he found the truth. After seven days he was enlightened. He called the tree the Bodhi Tree (Tree of Wisdom) and became known as the Buddha (the Awakened or Enlightened one). He gave his first sermon at Benares.

Kisa Gotami had only one son, and he died. Mad with grief, she carried the dead child from house to house, asking for medicine to bring him back to life. People thought she had lost her senses. One man sent her to the Buddha. The Buddha asked her to bring a handful of mustard seed from a house where no one had lost a child, husband, parent or friend. She went from house to house. Everyone was ready to give mustard seed, but in every house someone had died. Tired and hopeless, she sat by the roadside and watched the lights of the city shine and go out. She understood that death is common to all, and that she had been selfish in her grief.

The Buddha's sermon (main ideas)

• Human life is short, troubled and full of pain.
• As ripe fruit is in danger of falling, and clay pots made by a potter end in being broken, so the life of every person ends in death.
• Young and old, wise and foolish – all are subject to death.
• Weeping does not bring back the dead; it only makes the mourner suffer more.
• The wise do not grieve. One who overcomes sorrow finds peace and is blessed.

Themes

Death is universal; acceptance of loss; selfishness of grief; wisdom brings peace; teaching through experience (the Buddha did not lecture first – he let Kisa Gotami discover the truth).

2.2 What is Courage? – William Issacs

This prose piece (author's name as printed in the syllabus: William Issacs) discusses the meaning of courage. The textbook text was not available to us, so read these notes on the idea of courage together with your textbook.

Meaning of courage

Courage is the strength to do what is right or necessary even when we are afraid. A brave person is not someone who feels no fear; he or she feels fear but still acts.

Kinds of courage

• Physical courage: facing danger or pain, e.g. a soldier or a firefighter.
• Moral courage: standing for truth and justice even when others disagree, e.g. refusing to cheat in an exam.
• Emotional courage: showing true feelings, accepting failure, asking for help.
• Everyday courage: speaking in class, trying something new, saying sorry.

Key points for the exam

• Courage is a choice, not a gift of birth.
• Courage grows with practice – small brave acts build confidence.
• True courage is guided by wisdom; it is different from rashness (careless risk).
• Honest speaking and listening in difficult conversations also needs courage.

Applied Tenses and Activities (Ref: Oxford Practice Grammar with Answers, 2nd ed., 1999, OUP)

A tense shows the time of an action. English has three main times – present, past and future – each with four forms.

Quick rules

• Simple present for habits and universal truths: The sun rises in the east.
• Present perfect with just, already, yet, since, for: I have just finished my work.
• Simple past with yesterday, ago, last year: The Buddha left the palace long ago.
• Past perfect for the earlier of two past actions: She had lost her son before she met the Buddha.
• Future continuous for an action going on at a future time: At 10 tomorrow I will be writing my exam.

Activity: Correct the sentence – "He is living here since 2020." Answer: He has been living here since 2020.

Likely exam questions

1. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) Narrate the story of Kisa Gotami. How did the Buddha teach her the truth about death?
2. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) What is courage? Explain different kinds of courage with examples.
3. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) Where did the Buddha preach his first sermon?
4. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) What did the Buddha ask Kisa Gotami to bring?
5. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) Change into present perfect continuous: 'She reads the book.'

Syllabus topics (RTMNU)

• 3.1 On Being Brought from Africa to America – Phillis Wheatley
• 3.2 The Epic Hero – Supantha Bhattacharya
• Poetic Devices: Fable Poem, Political Satire, Hyperbole
• Life Skills: Racial Equality, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, Coping with Loss and Grief, Creative Writing

3.1 On Being Brought from Africa to America – Phillis Wheatley

About the poet

Phillis Wheatley (c.1753–1784) was born in West Africa. As a small child she was captured and sold into slavery, and brought to Boston (America) in 1761. She was bought by the Wheatley family, who taught her to read and write. Her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) made her the first African American woman to publish a book of poems.

Summary (in our own words)

This is a short poem of eight lines. The speaker says that it was God's mercy that brought her from her "pagan" homeland. In America she learned about God and Christ, whom she had not known before. Then she turns to the people who look down on Black people and say their colour is evil. She reminds Christians that Black people too can be "refined" and can join the angels in heaven. In other words, all people are equal in the eyes of God.

Themes

• Racial equality: skin colour does not decide a person's soul or worth.
• Religion and salvation: Christianity is open to all.
• Criticism of prejudice: the poem quietly scolds "Christians" who are racist, which goes against their own faith.

Critical points and devices

• Form: heroic couplets (rhyming pairs of lines in iambic pentameter).
• Irony: she seems thankful, but she uses Christian values to attack racism.
• Allusion: to Cain from the Bible.
• Apostrophe/direct address: "Remember, Christians".
• The tone is calm and respectful, yet firm.

3.2 The Epic Hero – Supantha Bhattacharya

This poem by the Indian poet Supantha Bhattacharya is prescribed with the poetic devices fable poem, political satire and hyperbole. The poem's text was not available to us, so here we explain the background idea you need to read it well. Study the poem's actual story from your textbook.

What is an epic hero?

An epic is a long poem about great deeds. Its epic hero is larger than life: very brave, very strong, of noble birth, and he saves his people. Examples: Rama (Ramayana), Arjuna (Mahabharata), Achilles and Odysseus (Homer), Beowulf.

How to read a modern poem with this title

• A modern poet often uses the old idea of the "epic hero" to compare it with today's world.
• With satire and hyperbole, a poet can show how people praise false heroes, or how leaders boast of being great.
• Ask: Who is called a hero in the poem? Is the praise real or mocking? What is the poet really criticising?

Poetic Devices: Fable Poem, Political Satire, Hyperbole

• Fable poem: a short story in verse, often with animals that talk and act like humans, ending with a moral lesson. Example: Vikram Seth's Beastly Tales from Here and There; Aesop's fables.
• Political satire: using humour, irony and mockery to criticise politicians, governments or social systems. Example: George Orwell's Animal Farm (a prose fable that is also political satire).
• Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration for effect, not meant literally. Example: "I have told you a million times."

Life Skills: Racial Equality, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation, Coping with Loss and Grief, Creative Writing

• Racial equality: treating every person with equal respect regardless of race, colour, caste or religion (Wheatley's poem).
• Conflict resolution and negotiation: solving disagreements by talking, listening and finding a "win-win" solution.
• Coping with loss and grief: accepting loss, sharing feelings, taking support, and slowly returning to normal life (like Kisa Gotami).
• Creative writing: expressing ideas in an original way through poems, stories or short pieces. Tip: use images, the five senses and your own experience.

Coping with loss and grief – healthy steps

1. Accept that sadness is natural; do not hide all feelings.
2. Talk to family, friends or a counsellor.
3. Take care of sleep, food and health.
4. Remember the person or thing lost with gratitude.
5. Slowly return to daily work and goals.

Creative writing – a short sample (our own)

• The lamp went out at my neighbour's door,
• And then at the house across the lane;
• No home is spared, the rich, the poor –
• We share the dark, we share the pain.

This four-line verse is inspired by Kisa Gotami's story. It uses rhyme (door/poor, lane/pain) and the image of lamps for human lives.

Likely exam questions

1. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) How does Phillis Wheatley plead for racial equality in 'On Being Brought from Africa to America'?
2. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) What is political satire? How is a fable poem different from an ordinary poem?
3. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) Who wrote 'On Being Brought from Africa to America'?
4. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) Define hyperbole with an example.
5. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) What is an epic hero?

Syllabus topics (RTMNU)

• 4.1 Emotional Intelligence
• 4.2 Conflict Resolution

4.1 Emotional Intelligence

Meaning

Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ) is the ability to understand and manage our own emotions and to understand and handle the emotions of others. The term was used by psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer (1990) and made popular by Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence (1995).

Five components (Goleman)

1. Self-awareness: knowing your own feelings, strengths and weaknesses.
2. Self-regulation: controlling anger, stress and sudden reactions.
3. Motivation: working towards goals with inner drive, not only for rewards.
4. Empathy: understanding how others feel; seeing from their point of view.
5. Social skills: communicating well, building good relationships and teamwork.

IQ vs EQ

Importance

• Better relationships at home, college and work.
• Less stress and better mental health.
• Good leadership and teamwork.
• Calm decisions in difficult situations.

How to improve EI

• Pause and breathe before reacting.
• Name your feeling: "I am angry because…"
• Listen fully before answering.
• Accept feedback without getting defensive.
• Keep a daily diary of your feelings.

Example: Riya's friend gets better marks. Instead of feeling jealous, Riya congratulates her and asks for study tips. Riya shows self-regulation and social skill.

Signs of high and low emotional intelligence

EI at the workplace

Employers today look for people with good EI. A worker with high EI handles customers patiently, solves problems with colleagues, accepts change and keeps a positive attitude. A leader with high EI understands the team, motivates them and creates trust. That is why many interviews include questions like "Tell us about a time you handled a difficult person."

4.2 Conflict Resolution

Meaning

A conflict is a disagreement between two or more people because of different needs, ideas or interests. Conflict resolution means solving the disagreement peacefully so that the relationship is not damaged.

Why conflict resolution matters

Conflict is a normal part of life; it is not always bad. When it is handled well, it brings out new ideas, clears misunderstandings and makes relationships stronger. When it is handled badly, it leads to anger, broken friendships, poor teamwork and stress. In college, students face conflicts in group projects, hostels and clubs. At work, employees face conflicts over deadlines and duties. A person who can resolve conflicts calmly is trusted and respected by everyone.

Causes of conflict

• Poor communication or misunderstanding.
• Different values, opinions or goals.
• Competition for limited resources (money, time, marks, posts).
• Ego and personality clashes.

Five styles of handling conflict (Thomas–Kilmann model)

Steps to resolve a conflict

1. Stay calm and choose the right time and place.
2. Let each person speak; listen actively.
3. Find the real problem, not the person to blame.
4. Think of possible solutions together.
5. Agree on one solution and follow it up.

Negotiation

Negotiation is a discussion to reach an agreement. A good negotiator prepares, listens, respects the other side, focuses on interests, and looks for a fair deal.

Example: Two roommates fight about late-night lights. They agree to use a table lamp after 11 pm. Both are satisfied – a collaborative solution.

Sample dialogue (conflict resolved by collaborating)

• Amit: Your part of the project is still not ready. We may lose marks.
• Neha: I am sorry. I was ill last week, so I fell behind.
• Amit: I did not know that. How can I help?
• Neha: If you prepare the charts, I can finish the writing by Friday.
• Amit: Done. Let us meet on Thursday to check our progress.

Do's and don'ts in a conflict

• Do use "I" statements: "I feel upset when…" instead of "You always…".
• Do keep your voice low and your body language open.
• Don't bring up old fights or personal insults.
• Don't walk away in anger; take a short break and return.

Likely exam questions

1. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) What is emotional intelligence? Explain its five components.
2. (Long, SAQ (about 50 words, 5 marks)) What is conflict resolution? Explain the steps to resolve a conflict.
3. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) Who made the term 'emotional intelligence' popular?
4. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) What is empathy?
5. (Short, VSAQ (1 mark)) Name any two styles of handling conflict.