Ability Enhancement Course (AEC)

Introduction

This Course aims at providing students familiarity with all components of language learning;
listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary which will eventually help in
development of communication skills. This is an activity-based, goal-oriented, functional
course, which aims to make the students able and efficient communicators by helping them to
be self-reflexive about English. This course has a predefined context of being supportive and
complementary to the core courses in various disciplines. Therefore, unlike most other
courses in English Communication on offer, it does not seek to build facile fluency that
passes off as communicative competence. Rather, it intends to equip the students with the
relevant skills of presentation and expression needed in the academic as well as in the
professional domains. While reading skills exercises are meant to promote the acquisition of
analytical and comprehension skills, writing skills exercises are centred on sentence
construction, paragraph development and précis writing. In this course there is ample scope
to build the speaking and listening skills of students with an emphasis on interactive learning
and articulation.

Course Objectives

 Develop in students the required knowledge, skills, and judgement around human
communication that facilitate their ability to work collaboratively with others.
 Enable the students to understand and practise different techniques of communication.
Through this course, they will familiarise themselves with different types of
communication. Enhance the employability of students by developing in them the
required skills of communication in English, so as to enable them to: 2 i. Speak
correctly, intelligibly and fluently as well as to listen and comprehend accurately
when spoken to, so as to be able to communicate effectively and with confidence in a
variety of social, academic and work-related situations; ii. Read and comprehend
accurately the various kinds of written texts which they may be expected to deal with;
iii. Write effectively in a number of different genres (forms) of writing, relevant to
social, academic and work-related needs;
 Develop interpersonal skills and the attitudes required for effective functioning in
different social and work-related situations.
 Provide cognitive and cultural enrichment through exposure to a variety of humanistic
learning experiences. General Pedagogical Principles 1. Instruction will essentially be
activity-based. Each session will provide a variety and range of activities, pitched at
different levels of linguistic competence. Group activities will be encouraged. The
links between theory and practice will constantly be exemplified and highlighted.
Theoretical inputs will be provided, as far as possible, in a non-technical manner. 2.
Periodical tests may be conducted to assess skills and application of theoretical
principles and not recalling information from memory. The skills of Listening and
Speaking may be tested through oral examinations in the classes, depending on time
and scope. 3. An inventory of available software, including audio/ audio-visual
materials should be made, and the use of such materials be standardised across all
colleges. If necessary, software tailored to the requirements of the program should be
produced in collaboration with appropriate agencies. 4. Although portions of selected
texts will be used to develop the skills, a teacher is free to use material recommended
by the experts. 5. The course cannot be effectively implemented unless all instructors
are properly oriented. It should be ensured that orientation programs are organised
before the curriculum is implemented. Handbooks must be produced and made
available to all instructors. 3 6. Workshops for the development of instructional
materials by members of college faculties should be organised periodically, as a part
of on-going orientation.

Attention

The course drives away the myth that communicative competence in a language is
honed, built and effectively practiced by learning and mastering the grammar,
phonetics of a language or appropriating the accent and structures of the native tongue.
Rather it is an adaptation with equal blend of the first language and the context in
collaboration with the foreign tongue achieved by suitable use of texts from literature.
So the teachers as well as students are advised to use as much literary texts as possible
from the texts prescribed and other sources for providing an exposure to the students to
be aware of the truth that literature enables skilful communication. The examination
questions will be set according to the texts and topics prescribed.

Unit-I

English Language and Communication: Introduction (9 hours)

I. Communication, its importance and factors that determine communication (sender,

receiver, channel, code, topic, message, context, feedback, barriers) models of
communication, the information gap principle: given and new information;
information overload, redundancy and cliches, the importance of audience and
purpose ii. Types of communication: horizontal, vertical, interpersonal, lateral and
grapevine iii. Verbal and nonverbal communication, body language and its
manifestations in different cultures, written and oral communication, bias-free
communication, political correctness. iv. Styles of Communication: formal, informal
and semi formal Note: The topics listed above should be introduced briefly in the
theory classes. The reflections of the students’ understanding may be assessed by the
facilitator through exercises. The teacher/facilitator can refer to the books
recommended under ‘prescribed readings’ for teaching and exercise purposes. He/she
can refer to valid and recognised web-resources and additional titles from renowned
publishing houses for the same purpose.
Texts

 Communicative English OSHEC Publication. Chapters: Unit-I

 Literature and Art of Communication by Asima Ranjan Parhi, Madhusmita Pati,
Subhra Prakash Das and Shakina Mohol, Cambridge University Press, 2019.
 The International Encyclopedia of Communication. Malden, MA: Blackwell
Publishing. (ebook) 4

Suggested Readings

 A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford University Press Donsbach,

Wolfgang. (2008).
 ‘Prospect of Electronic Media as Curriculum in Non-Native Contexts’, by Parhi and
Dutta in I-Manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 4(2)2014.
https://files.eric.ed.gov. pdf
 21st CenturyCommunication: A Reference Handbook. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE
Reference. (e-book)
 Written and Spoken Communication in English published by Orient Blackswan
 Indian English through Newspapers, A R Parhi, Concept, New Delhi, 2008.
 An Introduction to Professional English and Soft Skills by Das et al
 Communicative Competence. T T Panigrahi, Notion Press, India, Singapore
and Malaysia
 Soft Skills for Your Career, by Kalyani Samantaray. OUP
 An Anthology of English Prose 1400–1900 Cambridge University Press 2015.

Unit-II

English Language and Communication: Listening and Speaking (9 hours)

I. Types of listening (active and passive), listening to respond (how, when and why),
empathic listening and interactive listening ii. Speaking to communicate
effectively: fluency, accuracy. intelligibility and clarity iii. Style of speaking in
various situations:formal, informal and semi-formal, tentative and cautionary,
simple and plain English iv. English pronunciation: vowel and consonant sounds,
diphthong, IPA, syllable division and primary stress in words, stress shift,
sentence rhythm and weak forms, contrastive stress in sentences, intonation:
falling and rising tones, varieties of spoken Englishes: Standard Indian, American
and British (R.P.); ‘Neutral English’ , newspapers, ad captions and their
contribution to the shaping of Indian English as a standard language

Note: This unit does not go deep into phonetics. The objective is to train students
to refer to a Learners’ Dictionary to find out the correct pronunciation of words.
Students will be introduced to phonemic transcription using IPA symbols in
theory classes and further practice will be provided during exercises/practices.
The teacher/facilitator will include simple questions on phonemic transcription
and the marking of stress in words and sentences. The teacher/facilitator can refer
to the books recommended under both ‘Texts’ and ‘Suggested Readings’ for
teaching and exercise purposes. He/she can refer to valid and recognised
webresources and additional titles from renowned publishing houses for the same
purpose.
Texts
 Communicative English OSHEC publication. Chapter-Unit I
 The Sound of English by www.pronunciationstudio.com
 ‘Towards the Anti-Canon: A Brief Focus on Newspaper English in India’, SHSS
(Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, UGC Care), Ed. T.R. Sharma, IIAS
(Indian Institute of Advanced Study), Shimla, Vol. XIII, No.1, Summer 2006, pp.143-
155. http://14.139.58.200, iias.ac.in.journals Asima Ranjan Parhi.

Suggested Readings
 The Sounds of English Around the World: An Introduction to Phonetics and
Phonology Cambridge University Press
 “Listening in the Language Classroom”, pp. 58 - 76 DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511575945.006, Cambridge University Press, Print
publication year: 2009
 An Introduction to Professional English and Soft Skills by Das et al.
 Teaching the Spoken Language. Cambridge University Press Speaking. Oxford
University Press
 Communicative Competence.Notion Press, India, Singapore and Malaysia
 Exploring Spoken English. Cambridge University Press English Conversation. Oxford
University Press
 The English Language in India: From Racial-Colonial to Democratic”,
EJBS (The European Journal of Behavioural Sciences) 3 (1): page:8-16, Dec.
2020. DOI-10.33422/ejbs.v3i1.302

Unit-III
English Language and Communication: Reading and Writing (9 hours)

I. Reading methods and techniques: fluency, accessing meaning, levels of

competence, skimming and scanning, global and local reading, silent reading and
reading aloud ii. Reading texts to understand literal, metaphorical and suggested
meanings (essays, poems and stories), identifying the tone (admiring, accusatory,
ironical, sympathetic, ambiguous and neutral etc.) of the writer iii. Writing
process: brainstorming, pre-writing, writing and post writing, coherence,
cohesion, style, iv. Writing short texts: paragraph writing; writing longer texts:
literary writing, academic writing and media writing
Note: This unit will focus on the basic principles of reading and writing as forms
of communication. The teacher/facilitator may use reading material from literary
texts, media writings, non-fiction prose and other written discourses. He/she needs
to adopt caution in selecting the reading materials. Reading and writing are related
activities. The insights gained through training in reading can be utilised for
effective writing. The teacher/facilitator must refer to the chapters and topics from
the books recommended under ‘Prescribed Texts’ for teaching and exercise
purposes. From which questions will be set for the examination. He/she can refer
to valid and recognised web-resources and additional titles from renowned
publishing houses for the same purpose.

Prescribed Pieces/Texts
 Communicative English OSHEC Publication. Chapters:Unit-III
 From The Winged Word, David Greene, Macmillan.1974 and Melodious Songs and
Memorable Tales, 2015:
 ‘Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth, ‘When we two Parted’ by Lord Byron, ‘The Last
Ride Together’ by Robert Browning, “Self Portrait” by A K Ramanujan.
 From The Widening Arc. Kitab Bhavan, 2016, A R Parhi, S Deepika, P Jani :
 ‘No Learning without Feeling’ by Claire Needell Hollander and ‘The Empty Page’ by
Steven Harvey, ‘George V High School’ by Dinanath Pathy

Suggested Readings
 The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing Oxford University Press 2000.
 An Introduction to Professional English and Soft Skills Das et al
 The Classic Guide to Better Writing: Step-by-Step Techniques and Exercises to Write
Simply, Clearly and Correctly Oxford University Press, 1996
 Ways of Reading: Advanced Reading Skills for Students of Literature Routledge.
2007.
 ‘Semantic Excess or New Canons? Exploring the Print Media’, Journal of Media and
Communication, 2010. Research Gate https://www.researchgate.net.237. A R Parhi
 An Anthology of English Prose 1400–1900Cambridge University Press 2015

Unit-IV
I. English Language and Communication: Grammar and Vocabulary (9hours) i.
Grammar for meaning, multiplicity of meaning, grammar in communication ii.
Stative and dynamic verbs, modals and auxiliaries, tense and time reference,
aspect,voice, modality, negation, interrogation; reported questions and tag
questions, complex noun phrases, concord phrasal verbs. iii. Sentence structure:
simple, compound and complex, clauses, types of sentences:statement, questions,
exclamations,commands iv. Functions of language,usage-oriented vocabulary,
neutral vocabulary Note: The teaching of grammar and vocabulary in this unit
need to be connected to communication teaching. Teachers/Instructors may select
other areas of grammar for review depending on the needs. They will identify the
grammatical errors commonly made by their students in speech as well as writing.
The remediation of these errors may require some explanations of grammar.
Instructors should use many grammar and vocabulary related exercises and
through them will provide all the grammatical information needed to explain the
errors that are identified. The teacher/facilitator can refer to the books
recommended under ‘suggested readings’ for teaching and exercise purposes.
He/she can refer to valid and recognised web-resources and additional titles from
renowned publishing houses for the same purpose.

Texts
 Communicative English OSHEC publication. Chapters: Unit-III Communicative
Grammar of English by Geoffrey Leech. Routledge publications, 2002
 Oxford Practical English Usage (International Edition 2016) by Michael Swan
Suggested Readings
 The Widening Arc, Kitab Bhavan, Asima R Parhi, S Deepika, P Jani, 2016.
 Writing Skills Remapping: An Anthology for Degree Classes Orient Blackswan
 An Anthology of English Prose 1400–1900 Cambridge University Press 2015
Scheme of Evaluation
 Midterm test: 20 marks

5x1=5 (short answer, short notes, comprehension questions)

5x1=5 (Analytical, perspective-based and critical-analysis questions)
5x2=10 (activity/practice/reports/case studies/response papers/assignments etc.)

The teacher will have the flexibility of conducting internal examinations or assess
the students’ learning outcomes through activities, short projects, case studies
etc. from all 20 marks/ in parts
______________________________________________

Final Examination: 80 marks

Unit1: 1 long answer question+ 1 short note/analysis (15+05) =20 marks

Unit 2: 1 long answer question+ 1 short note/analysis (15+05) =20 marks

Unit 3: 1 long answer question+ 1 short note/analysis (15+05) =20 marks

Unit 4: 1 long answer question+ 1 short note/analysis (15+05) =20 marks