AI en Translation, Pages 176-200
Page 176
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN INTERMEDIATE
AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS (15)
INSTRUCTIONS TO TEACHERS OF ENGLISH No. (8)
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
(GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE)
THE CROSSWORD PUZZLES.
The different books in the English Syllabus are chosen for different purposes:
The Oxford English Course is for the basic study of the language. The Writing
Books are for the teaching of handwriting. In the Intermediate Classes, the
Supplementary Readers are to widen the students' knowledge of English. Each
of these books must be used for its proper purpose. The time spent on each must
be decided according to its importance in the whole scheme. In planning their
work, teachers should remember that the basic language teaching of the Oxford
English Course is more important than any other part of the work; the Oxford
book has priority over all other Books.
The Crossword Puzzles must not be taught like the Oxford Book or the
Writing Books. They must not take up more than a very small part of the time
allowed for English. Crossword Puzzles should never take up the whole of
a lesson period.
Crossword Puzzles are not easy to make, but there can be great pleasure in
solving them. Many teachers of English have not had this pleasure in their own
language. In the Teacher's Notes to Book One of the Oxford English Course
for Iraq (Western Asia), pages 168 to 170, explanations are given of the making
and solving of Crossword Puzzles. Teachers of English who will use Puzzles
should study these pages.
Crossword Puzzles can be very difficult. In the Western world, large prizes
are often given by newspapers for the winners of Crossword Competitions. The
Crosswords in use in our schools, however, are very simple. Their purpose is to
give the pupils an opportunity of revising, in a fresh and interesting way, what
they have already learnt. They are a means of revising language knowledge, not
of teaching it. In the Crossword books used in schools, the vocabulary of the
puzzles is carefully graded; so is the difficulty of the clues and the amount of work
in each .
⟦42/9/25⟧
Page 177
7. Abbreviations, e. g.
In the morning (a. m.) 17
December (Dec.) 17
Number (No.) 17
8. The use of Prepositions, e. g.
The teacher is -- the room. (in) 3
Go -- the window. (to) 3
The cat is lying ⟦line⟧ the table. (under) 12
The cup is -- the table. (on) 6
⟦No⟧
9. The use of Articles, e. g.
Open --- door, please. (the) 3
Give me -- orange, please. (an) 16
A boy; -- apple; a cat. (an) 8
She is eating -- egg. (an) 17
10. Practice in Sentence Patterns, e. g.
Go to bed, -- you are tired. (if) 22
Don't stand up; please --- down. (sit) 23
We go to the doctor when we are ---. (ill) 24
John is happy; -- is Jack. (so) 25
Is today Monday -- Tuesday? (or) 26
11. Elementary Conversation and Question Forms, e. g.
"Have you a pen ?"
"Yes, I ---- ." (have) 2
"What's your ---- ?" (name)
"Jill." 6
"⟦line⟧ the time, please ?" (What's)
"It's five o'clock." 11
"How --- are you ?" (old)
"I'm twelve." 30
(3)
Page 178
25
728
Directorate of Education of Baghdad Province / Center
Number / 2420
Certificates
Date / 26 / 1 / 957
Administrations of official, private, and foreign intermediate and secondary schools
for boys and girls all belonging to this directorate.
We send you enclosed a two-page copy regarding the ⟦Cambridge⟧ exam for the purpose of displaying it
to the students of your school.
Director of Education of Baghdad Province
The Center
Copy to :-
General Directorate of Education / Examinations. - Reference to your letter numbered 3336 on
22 / 1 / 957 for your kind information.
Certificates Observation
Kadhim / 24
Page 179
Circular for Teachers of English in
Secondary Schools (Government & Private )
⟦line⟧
The Cambridge Lower Certificate
⟦line⟧
in England
⟦line⟧
1. In the last school year ,an encouraging number of students of the
fifth Secondary Class passed the Lower Cambridge Certificate examination,
either in language or in literature, or in both. This was a good beginning.
It is hoped that this year, good students of the Fifth Class will again
enter for the examination, and that the number of full passes will be even
greater.
2. It is now recognised in Iraq that the Cambridge Lower Certificate is
a valuable qualification for students of English to have. The Certificate is
taken into account by the Ministry of Education in recommending students to
Universities in England, (letter No. 40939 dated 2,10.56) and by the English
Departments of the Higher Institutions in Baghdad in selecting candidates
for entry.
3. A good student is stimulated to harder study if he is working for an
external examination like the Cambridge Lower Certificate. Only the best
students of English should be allowed to enter for the examination; but all
the best students should be encouraged to do so.
4. Preparation. Students are prepared for the LANGUAGE paper in the
examination by their work in the secondary school on comprehension, precis
and composition, and by all the language study which they do in connection
with the literature books.
In the LITERATURE part of the examination ("Prescribed Books"),
the arrangements are slightly different from last year. Students will be
asked to answer questions on at least two books from the list. They may answer
questions from more than two books if they wish. One of the books set in 1957
is "Louis Pasteur". Students who are going to take the Cambridge examination
will have to study at least one other book from the list, privately outside
school.
The list of prescribed Books for 1957 is as follows. The first two
books on the list are specially recommended to Iraqi students. The first book
is suitable for girls.
(i) Shirley Darbishire, Young Nurse Carter (Chatto & Windus )
(ii) Rudolph Besier, The Barretts of Wimpole Street (Longmans, Essential
English Library.)
(iii) George Eliot, Mary Garth (O.U.P., The English-Readers' Library)
(iv) Sir Arthur Quiller Couch, Harry Revel (Dent, Kings Treasuries)
(v) Sanger, Seventy Years a Showman (Dent, Kings Treasuries)
(vi) A.G. Street, Farmer's Glory (Faber)
(vii) Evelyn Attwood, Louis Pasteur (Longmans, Lives of Achievement)
(viii) On the Air (Selections from "The Listener") (O.U.P.)
(The first, fourth and sixth books will be set also for 1958).
5. Dates of the examination. 25th June and 10th December, 1957.
The oral examination will be taken on another day, near to the date
of the written papers.
6. Entry. Entry forms should be obtained by post from the nearest
British Centre (see list below), during January. Candidates will then be
told the last date for sending in the completed forms, and the amount of
the fee to be sent with the forms (about one dinar). The fee cannot be
returned; but a candidate who for a good reason (e.g. moving to another
part of Iraq) does not sit for the examination on the date for which he
entered may, if he gives at least three weeks notice that he will not be
sitting, be given a voucher towards the cost of sitting at a later date.
7. Past question papers can be bought, and any further information
about the examination can be obtained, from the British Council, P.O. Box
No. 298, Baghdad .
8. The British Council Centres in Iraq are:-
Page 180
Central - The British Council, P.O. Box 298, Baghdad.
North - The British Council Centre, Mosul,
South - The British Council Centre, P.O. Box No. 10, Basrah.
C.W. Morris
Specialist Inspector of English
15. 11 . 56
S.KH/20
⟦illegible⟧
Page 181
Mr. ⟦Mc⟧⟦...⟧ Riding , Mr. ⟦Muir⟧
I attach ⟦...⟧ a copy of instructions ⟦...⟧ of English sent by the Ministry of
Education. You are requested to read the ⟦...⟧ carefully & keep your copy for which
please sign at the bottom of this letter. 16/1/57
Directorate of Education of Baghdad Province / Center
Personnel Department
Number / 1178
Date / 14 / 1 / 1957
Very Urgent
To /
Administrations of all official, private, and foreign secondary and intermediate schools for boys and girls
We send you herewith a copy of Directive No. 15, requesting its distribution to the male and female teachers
of the English language in your schools, provided that the signature of the teacher is taken upon receipt of the copy
assigned to them, and the signature is to be kept by the school administration.
⟦line⟧
Director of Education of Baghdad Province
Center
A copy to /
General Inspectorate of Education / Your letter No. 84 dated 10 / 1 / 1957
Secondary Education Personnel / For follow-up
Signatures
Mr. ⟦Mc⟧⟦...⟧ : ⟦...⟧
Mr. Riding : ⟦...⟧
Mr. ⟦Muir⟧ : ⟦...⟧
Entry / 13 of it
Page 182
Directorate of Education of Baghdad District / Center
Personnel Department
Number / 1178
Date / 14 / 1 / 1957
Very Urgent
⟦line⟧
To /
Administrations of all public, private, and foreign secondary and intermediate
schools for boys and girls ⟦line⟧
We send you herewith a copy of Directive No. 15, requesting its distribution to the English
language teachers in your schools, provided that the signature of the teacher is taken upon
receiving their copy and the signature is kept by the school administration.
⟦signature⟧
Director of Education of Baghdad District
Center
A copy to /
General Inspectorate of Education / Your letter No. 84 dated 10 / 1 / 1957
Secondary Education Personnel / For follow-up
Qais / 13th of it
Page 183
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN INTERMEDIATE
AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS (15)
INSTRUCTIONS TO TEACHERS OF ENGLISH No. (8)
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
(GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE)
THE CROSSWORD PUZZLES.
The different books in the English Syllabus are chosen for different purposes:
The Oxford English Course is for the basic study of the language. The Writing
Books are for the teaching of handwriting. In the Intermediate Classes, the
Supplementary Readers are to widen the students' knowledge of English. Each
of these books must be used for its proper purpose. The time spent on each must
be decided according to its importance in the whole scheme. In planning their
work, teachers should remember that the basic language teaching of the Oxford
English Course is more important than any other part of the work; the Oxford
book has priority over all other Books.
The Crossword Puzzles must not be taught like the Oxford Book or the
Writing Books. They must not take up more than a very small part of the time
allowed for English. Crossword Puzzles should never take up the whole of
a lesson period.
Crossword Puzzles are not easy to make, but there can be great pleasure in
solving them. Many teachers of English have not had this pleasure in their own
language. In the Teacher's Notes to Book One of the Oxford English Course
for Iraq (Western Asia), pages 168 to 170, explanations are given of the making
and solving of Crossword Puzzles. Teachers of English who will use Puzzles
should study these pages.
Crossword Puzzles can be very difficult. In the Western world, large prizes
are often given by newspapers for the winners of Crossword Competitions. The
Crosswords in use in our schools, however, are very simple. Their purpose is to
give the pupils an opportunity of revising, in a fresh and interesting way, what
they have already learnt. They are a means of revising language knowledge, not
of teaching it. In the Crossword books used in schools, the vocabulary of the
puzzles is carefully graded; so is the difficulty of the clues and the amount of work
in each .
Page 184
The clues in the Crossword books are based on exercises in Books One and
Two of the Oxford English Course for Iraq (Western Asia). Most of these
exercises are discussed in Chapter III ("Classroom Exercises") of The Teacher's
Guide (Pages 147 to 204). The following types of exercises are to be found
represented in the clues. Reference is made here to puzzle numbers in
Progressive Crossword ⟦Puzzles⟧ for Iraq, Part One, used in the 6th year Primary:
1. Meaning of words, e. g.
Paper, Pencil; blackboard, ⟦line⟧. (chalk) 15
Sun, dry; rain, ⟦line⟧, (wet) 19
2. Opposites, e. g.
Black, white; wet, ⟦line⟧. (dry) 21
3. Consecutive Words, e. g.
a. Numbers: One, ⟦line⟧, three. (two) 1
b. Days: Sunday, ⟦line⟧, Tuesday. (Monday) 19
c. Pronouns: I, my, mine; ⟦line⟧, our, ours. (we) 26
d. Adjectives: New, newer, ⟦line⟧. (newest) 26
4. Sounds, e. g.
Hat, at; hit, ⟦line⟧. (it) 16
5. Different Words with the same Sound, e. g.
To, ⟦line⟧, two. (too) 10
New, knew; no, ⟦line⟧. (know) 25
6. Grammatical Differences, e. g.
a. Singular and Plural: I, we; he, ⟦line⟧. (they) 1
b. Masculine and Feminine:
Mother, father; daughter, ⟦line⟧. (son) 30
c. Short Forms: He is, he's; I am, ⟦line⟧. (I'm) 6
d. Verbs: Cutting, cut; running, ⟦line⟧. (run) 3
I draw, he ⟦line⟧. (draws) 3
come, came; ⟦line⟧, went. (go) 13
(2)
7. Abbreviations, e. g.
In the morning (a. m.) | 17
December (Dec.) | 17
Number (No.) | 17
8. The use of Prepositions, e. g.
The teacher is -- the room. (in) | 3
Go -- the window. (to) | 3
The cat is lying ⟦line⟧ the table. (under) | 12
The cup is -- the table. (on) | 6
9. The use of Articles, e. g.
Open --- door, please. (the) | 3
⟦G⟧ive me -- orange, please. (an) | 16
A boy; -- apple; a cat. (an) | 8
She is eating -- egg. (an) | 17
10. Practice in Sentence Patterns, e. g.
Go to bed, -- you are tired. (if) | 22
Don't stand up; please --- down. (sit) | 23
We go to the doctor when we are ---. (ill) | 24
John is happy; -- is Jack. (so) | 25
Is today Monday -- Tuesday? (or) | 26
11. Elementary Conversation and Question Forms, e. g.
"Have you a pen ?" |
"Yes, I ⟦line⟧. " (have) | 2
"What's your ⟦line⟧ ?" (name) |
"Jill." | 6
"⟦line⟧ the time, please ?" (What's) |
"It's five o'clock." | 11
"How --- are you ?" (old) |
"I'm twelve." | 30
(3)
Page 185
254
10/28
8087
10/25/1956
Directorate of Education of Baghdad Province / Center
Textbook Warehouse
Number -
Issue /:
Date /:
All Directorates of Secondary and Intermediate Schools
The Directorate of Education informed us in its letter No. 42706 dated 10/15/1956 that the two
English books mentioned below, which have been taught for years, can be utilized as
additional exercises to be solved by students according to the instructions that the inspectors will provide you with. Please distribute what you have of them
as follows, with the priority given to other textbooks, and inform us if you need additional quantities.
⟦signature⟧
Acting Director of Education of Baghdad Province
Center
1- The book "Word Puzzles Part 1" / To be distributed to second-grade intermediate students
2- The book "Word Puzzles Part 2" / To be distributed to third-grade intermediate students
A copy to:-
Textbook Warehouse Supervisor / Secondary
Qais / 22nd of it
Page 186
Directorate of Education of Baghdad Province / Center
Secondary Warehouse
Number / 27925
Date / 22 / 10 / 1956
⟦illegible⟧ 258
⟦illegible⟧
To all administrations of secondary and intermediate schools in the province
Subject / Cancellation of Golden Earth books
The Directorate of General Education informed us in its letter numbered 4246 and dated
14 / 10 / 1956 that the book (The Golden Earth) scheduled to be taught
in the first intermediate grade will be cancelled in the next school year
Therefore, please return the surplus of your needs to the secondary book
warehouse immediately.
⟦signature⟧
And Director of Education of Baghdad Province
The Center
Copy to :-
Directorate of General Education / Supplies - reference to your letter above.
Secondary Warehouse
Kadhim / A
50
Page 188
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
ENGLISH INSPECTORATE
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH No. (16),
"COMPANIONS" TO THE ENGLISH BOOKS.
The new Oxford English course for Iraq is planned according to modern
methods of teaching English as a foreign language. Therefore it is essential that
teacher's should follow exactly the methods of the Oxford Books, as set out in the
Teacher's Notes.
In the Fifth Secondary class, students are required to read real, living
English. This is an important part of their studies.
One of the most important points of the modern method used in the Oxford
Books is that all the words and sentences are learnt in English only. This is done
so that there shall not be any confusion between English and the mother-tongue
of the pupils. This method may seem rather slow at first, but if it is properly
carried out (as explained in detail in the Teacher's Notes), it leads to better results
than any other way. Correct English words and sentences are impressed on the
pupils' memories by constant practice and repetition. The pupils begin to express
their thoughts directly in English. If this were well done, then we should no
longer hear so many of the common mistakes which are due to translation from
Arabic. The pupils must work hard to memorise the English words and sentences,
but as a result they will speak and write correct English.
Unfortunately, some teachers have been so misguided that they have
privately published books, called "Companions" or "Guides" or "Assistants"
which destroy the work of the good teachers and hold back the pupils from
learning English well. The teachers who publish these books cannot be thinking
of the good of the pupils or the improvement of English teaching. They have
some selfish motive for their bad work. No one who wishes to improve English
teaching in Iraq can think well of them.
The first bad thing about these "Companions", "Guides" or "Assistants"
is that they translate the English words of the Oxford Books into Arabic. These
translations are not always correct, but even if they were correct, they would still
be bad, because they encourage the pupils not to learn English, but to try to speak
and write English by first expressing their thoughts in Arabic and then translating.
The two languages Arabic and English are so different that only advanced scholars
can attempt translation, and if pupils try to translate, they will make many common
errors.
The second bad thing about these "Guides" is that some of them give the
answers to the exercises. The answers to the exercises are printed in the Teacher's
Notes, but not in the pupils' Book. The whole purpose of an exercise is that the
pupil must think about what he has learnt and make an effort to remember it
correctly. By this thought and effort his knowledge grows, just as the muscles of
the body grow by physical exercise. If the pupils find the answers to the exercises
without any effort, then they are of no value to them.
The third bad thing is that these books usually contain mistakes in English,
so that pupils who study them will learn wrong things. In one "Assistant"
one hundred and thirteen mistakes in English have been counted. Forty-one
of these are mistakes in spelling and punctuation, of which twenty-nine are perhaps
printers' errors—but pupils will learn wrong spelling from printers' errors just as
easily as they learn right spelling from their teacher and their books. Much more
serious: the remaining 72 mistakes are examples of bad or incorrect English. Some
may be called correct grammatically, but they are seldom or never used in spoken
English. Some go exactly against what is taught in the Oxford Books. The
worst are serious grammatical mistakes. No one can have confidence in a book
which contains such mistakes..
There are very few teachers in the world who can write a textbook in a
foreign language and be sure that it is entirely correct. And a book that is not
entirely correct, and is in the best interests of the pupils and the schools,
ought not to be published.
"Companions" of all kinds are forbidden in schools, and pupils should be
discouraged from buying them, for their own good. This matter is referred to in
"The Teaching of English in Iraq: Aims and Methods" (Notes for Teachers of
English No. 14), in Section 5—Vocabulary, and Section 6—The Use of Arabic;
and in Ministry of Education Circular No. 10/2/S/800 dated 13/4/1955.
C. W. MORRIS
Specialist Inspector of English
12. 12. 1955
⟦red mark⟧
Page 189
Ministry of Education
General Inspectorate of Education
Inspection Excellence
Number 431
Date 27 / 4 / 1955
Subject: Regarding textbook summaries
To all specialist inspectors
We list below a copy of the letter from the Directorate of General Education (Directorate of Curricula and Textbooks)
Numbered 10/2/S/800 and dated 13 / 4 / 1955 regarding the subject indicated above, requesting
review of it and taking the necessary measures to monitor this matter.
General Inspector of Education
Copy to:-
Directorate of General Education / Directorate of Curricula and Textbooks
Inspectors and inspectorates of education in the provinces and those in charge of inspection / for review and action
accordingly.
Copy of the letter
Recently, many summaries of prescribed textbooks have appeared, which
have been prepared by official and non-official teachers for the purpose of selling them to students as a supplementary book alongside
the prescribed textbook. Since the primary goal of these summaries is material profit, unfortunately,
without regard for the scientific, cultural, and educational needs of the students, and since purchasing them is a financial burden
on the students that is unjustified, they will also lead to encouraging a spirit of dependency among
students and narrowing their scientific horizons.
We have noticed that these summaries are often devoid of pictures, maps,
and illustrations that are essential for understanding and fully absorbing the material.
Furthermore, these brief summaries inevitably encourage students to memorize and recite the material
without understanding.
Accordingly, a circular must be issued to all primary, intermediate, and secondary schools in your province
prohibiting their entry into schools or encouraging students to acquire and promote them, provided that the teacher
of the subject himself carries out monitoring and enforcement.
Director General of Education
Signature
Page 190
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
ENGLISH INSPECTORATE
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH (18).
TESTS AND EXAMINATIONS.
1. Testing is an important part of the teacher's duty, and teachers should take
great care over it. As each portion of the work is taught, the teacher should
devise tests, oral or written, to discover, as exactly as possible, how much each
student has learnt. Such tests need not be long, but they should be exact. Only
in this way can the teacher know (a) what progress each student is making and
(b) whether his own teaching is successful or not. By this means he can decide
which parts of the work have been properly understood, and which parts have
to be repeated.
2. The examinations at the end of each half-year are the most important, and
the longest, of these tests. Teachers should study examination techniques in
order to make sure that their examination papers are good. Some important
points in a good examination paper are :-
(i) The questions must be clear and exact, so that the students know without
any doubt what they have to answer. In an English paper, the language of the
questions must be correct.
(ii) The different questions must test different parts of the work which the
students have been told to learn. The paper must be balanced, so that most of
the work is briefly covered, and every student is given a chance to show what he
can do. In setting an English language paper, the teacher must make sure that
it is knowledge of the language he is testing. This is not always easy.
(iii) The questions must be arranged to fit exactly into a marking scheme, so
that each answer receives a fair proportion of the marks, according to its correctness.
A teacher should not set an examination without (a) writing the answers, to make
sure that there is no doubt about what answer is required, and (b) making a marking
scheme, so that the questions can be planned to fit it. For example, if a question
has blank spaces to be filled, and is to receive a maximum of 20 marks, then (if each
space is of equal importance) there should be 5 or 10 or 20 spaces, according to
the difficulty of the question, so that each answer may be awarded the same
number of marks. When the marking scheme has been prepared, the teacher
should decide how many marks (or half- or quarter-marks) are to be deducted for
each mistake, always remembering that even the most careless student should be
left with some marks for what he has got right.
3. Further notes on classroom tests may be found in The Teachers' Guide
by Miller and Hakim, Chapter III. If copies of this book are not available in
the school library, teachers are recommended to write and ask for a copy.
4. A number of English examination papers set for the recent half-yearly
examinations have been studied by the English Inspectorate. Some appear to
have been carefully set, others not. In some of them, mistakes in English have
been found, including some serious mistakes in grammar. Such mistakes are
most likely to occur when teachers write passages for comprehension, instead of
taking them from a book; but they are also to be found in questions consisting of
single sentences. The bad effect of such mistakes on the students is obvious.
A serious view is taken of them, and teachers are advised to take the greatest care
to avoid them. The English Inspectorate is ready to give advice about sentences
or phrases which teachers propose to use in examination questions.
The examination papers which have been studied will be filed in the
Inspectorate. In future, papers containing mistakes may be corrected and referred
back officially to the teacher who set them.
C. W. Morris
Specialist Inspector of English
7. 3. 56
Page 191
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
ENGLISH INSPECTORATE.
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH No. (19).
THE OXFORD ENGLISH COURSE FOR IRAQ, BOOK FOUR:
PREPARATORY WORK.
In the school year 1956-7 the new Book Four of the Oxford English Course for Iraq will be used in the Second and Third Intermediate Classes. The new Book Five will be used in the following year in the Third and Fourth Classes. Therefore the work of Book Four must all be completed in both the Second and the Third Classes in 1956-7.
It may be that the new pupils' Book Four will reach some schools late, after the school year has begun. The teaching of English in the Second and Third Classes must not be delayed because of this.
Each Intermediate and Secondary School will receive two copies of the Teacher's Notes to Book Four, so that teachers of the Second and Third Classes can prepare their plan for the year, and can study all the work thoroughly before beginning to teach it.
Teachers of the Second and Third Classes should also have copies of both the pupils' Book Three and Teacher's Notes to Book Three. By using them in class before beginning the work of Book Four they can prepare their pupils to begin on Book Four, so that the work of the year will be covered much more quickly and easily when the books arrive.
There are two main teaching tasks to be carried out at the beginning of each school year. They are :—
1. Revision of the chief points of the previous year's work: recalling into the pupils' active memories the Verb Tenses and the important patterns studied in the previous year.
2. Preparing the pupils for studying the new patterns and words in the new Book.
The first of these tasks leads to the second; the second grows out of the first. The pupils' Book is not essential for either of them. The teacher can do all that is necessary with the aid of his voice and the blackboard; and by getting the pupils to talk. The teacher needs only one copy of Book Three and the Teacher's Notes to Books Three and Four.
Before beginning on the work of Book Four, the teacher should teach the following, orally:—
1. Pronunciation Drill. (5 or 10 minutes). Drill the pupils in the consonant and vowel sounds (given on pages v and vi of the Teacher's Notes to Book Two), especially those which give most difficulty. Practice the pronunciation of words in Book Three.
2. Spelling Drill. (5 or 10 minutes instead of Pronunciation). Drill the pupils in the spelling of words from Book Three which give difficulty.
3. Revision: (a) Seasons, days, months, the date, adverbs and phrases of time, degrees of comparison, some, any, much, many etc.
(b) "For Study" sections in Book Three, especially pages 12, 20, 28-9, 39, 40-1, 50, 52, 54, 76, 86-7, 94, 104, 105, 116, 118, 126, 127, 128, 145-8, 158-160, 167, 179-180.
(c) Verb Forms, pages 183 to 187 in Book Three.
4. Preparation for Reading-text One of Book Four. When the above work has been completed, the teacher may begin to introduce orally the new words and patterns given on pages 1 to 7 of the Teacher's Notes to Book Four.
5. Supplementary Reader. Advantage should be taken of any delay in receiving the pupils' Book Four to start them on the reading of the supplementary reader (the story book). As far as possible, pupils should read this book by themselves, with a minimum of help from the teacher. From time to time, the teacher should check, by means of oral questions, that they are getting on with the reading. Some pupils who find special difficulty may need special help; but this help should not discourage them from making the effort to understand the story by themselves.
6. Dictionary. In the Third Intermediate Class the pupils should begin to learn to use an English-English Dictionary. The class will need one or two preliminary lessons, explaining how the words are set out, what the different signs and abbreviations mean, and how to select the right meaning when several different meanings are given. These lessons should be given before they begin reading the story book, so that they can use their Dictionaries with it.
Specialist Inspector of English
C. W. Morris
10. 7. 56
Page 192
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
ENGLISH INSPECTORATE.
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH No. (20)
THE OXFORD ENGLISH COURSE FOR IRAQ
BOOK FOUR:
CONTENTS
The following notes on this Book are based on material provided by the publisher.
The first three books of this Course have given the learner a vocabulary that includes the important structural words of the language, and a useful general purpose vocabulary. They have introduced all the important verb tenses and the commonest sentence patterns. Suggestions for oral work (in the Teacher's Notes) and oral and written exercises (in the Pupil's Book) provide material that helps pupils to use the new language as well as to understand it.
Book Four aims at (i) revising and fixing in the memory what was studied in the first three books, and (ii) extending the vocabulary. There is little new grammatical material. A small number of new patterns and phrases is introduced, for example, according to, at first, at last, by means of, by this (that) means, would rather, in turn. Much attention is given to the formation of derivatives, and to changes in stress and pronunciation, as in cultivate, cultivation; photograph, photographer; irrigate, irrigation. There are notes on prefixes and suffixes, so that the learner is helped to recognize and understand words that begin with un-, in-, im-, ir-, dis-, or end with -ly, -ment, -tion, without a dictionary. Much attention is given, too, to pairs or groups of words that are known to be confused by some Arabic-speaking learners, for example, climate and weather; rob and steal; invent, discover and find out.
In the Teacher's Notes to Book Four the methods suggested for classroom work are, in general, the same as those suggested in Book Three. New material is to be taught orally, as a preparation for meeting it in the reading-text, before the text is read. Reading is almost always silent reading. More and more of the new words are explained in footnotes (when they are not illustrated), in order to make the pupils less dependent on the teacher. (The teacher should insist that the pupils make use of these footnotes, instead of asking for "meanings" or "synonyms".) In the "For Study" sections, pupils can see how the new words and constructions are used; and they learn how to use them themselves when they are doing the exercises. Throughout the Book, there is frequent, systematic revision.
The subject-matter of the first three books was necessarily simple. For young children with only a small vocabulary, there were simple stories and short pieces of descriptive writing dealing with activities likely to hold their interest. In Book Four it becomes possible to provide reading-texts of a more advanced kind. Iraq has made fast progress in many branches of commerce and industry, and her agriculture is becoming more mechanized each year. Most pupils studying English in the Intermediate classes will probably use the new language in order to train as engineers and technicians, as members of the Civil Service, and for posts in trade and industry. It would have been easy to compile a textbook filled largely with adaptations of Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare, stories of Robin Hood, or the Arabian Nights. But such stories would not provide the kind of vocabulary needed by boys who are more likely to study technical books and reports than to make a serious study of English literature. For those who want to read fiction in English there are graded supplementary readers.
A few stories and pieces of descriptive writing, such as the account of the climbing of Everest, have been included, but many of the texts deal with such practical matters as road building, irrigation, and hydro-electric power. Iraqi children see or hear of new roads and bridges, irrigation works and power stations being constructed throughout their country. Texts on these subjects will, it is hoped, interest them. They need to learn about such activities and to be introduced to the kind of technical vocabulary required.
The Vocabulary of Book Four, therefore, includes many technical, and in some cases long, words. But excavator, radio-telephone, runway, barrage, air-conditioned and bulldozer are much easier to understand and learn than many words that occur with greater frequency. Bulldozer has only one meaning, easily
Page 193
— 2 —
understood. The verb set requires many columns of explanation in any large
dictionary, but except for its use in "The sun has set" and in few common phrasal
verbs such as set out, meaning "start", it is a difficult and not an essential word.
Long and technical words are not necessarily "hard" words. It should be borne
in mind, too, that most of these technical words will form part of the learner's
passive, not active, vocabulary. They will not be among the words that the learner
will be required to use in written work.
The interests of girls have not been neglected. The texts on Elizabeth Fry
and Florence Nightingale will help to interest girls in social service. Other texts
deal with life in an English village, with a girls' school in England, and with
extracts from an English newspaper.
In the written exercises provision is made for first attempts at composition.
This is guided composition. Pupils first write answers to a series of questions
and, after discussing the answers, put them together to make a few paragraphs.
It is not useful at this stage for pupils to attempt free composition.
Before the year's work begins, the teacher should make a plan, estimating
how many lesson periods are to be given to the material connected with each
reading-text. The proportion of the year's lesson periods given to each piece of
work should depend, not on the length of the reading-text, but on the amount of new
material, or important revision which has to be dealt with. Once it has been
decided, this plan should be carried out, with only slight alterations, if any, so that
all the work of Book Four is properly completed during the year, and the pupils
are ready to go on to the next Book in the following school year.
C. W. Morris
Specialist Inspector of English.
11.7.56
Page 194
ENGLISH BOOKLIST 1956_ 1957.
PRIMARY
Fifth Year
1- Oxford English Course for Iraq Book1.
2- Teacher's Notes to Book 1.( for teachers only)
3- Progressive Writing Book1.
4- " " " BookII
5- Crosswords for Beginners 1.
Sixth Year
1- Oxford English Course for Iraq, BookII
2- Teacher's Notes to BookII( for teachers only)
3- Progressive Writing Book III
4- Progressive Crosswords 1. (Revised).
INTERMEDIATE
First Year
1- Oxford English Course for Iraq. bookIII(All)
2- Teacher's Notes to BookIII(for teachers only)
3- The golden Earth.
4- Crosswords for Beginners Book II.
5- Progressive Writing BookIV.
Second Year
1- Oxford English Course for Iraq, Book IV(All)
2- Teacher's Notes to Book IV( for teachers only)
3- Stories from Near East.
Third Year
1- Oxford English course for Iraq, Book IV(All)
2- Teacher's Notes to Book IV( for teachers only)
3- Emil and the ⟦D22222222⟧ Detectives.
4- English - Reader's Dictionary
SECONDARY
Fourth Year
1- Oxford Alternative Book V(All)
2- Teacher's Notesto BookV( for teachers only)
3- Oliver Twist. tales Retold.
4- English-Reader's Dictionary
Fifth Year
1- Hill. Comprehension&Precis Pieces.
2- Louis Pasteur(Lives of Achievement).
3- The Stories of Shakespear's Plays,1 Tales Retold.
⟦line⟧
Page 195
Directorate of Education of Baghdad Province / Center
Records
Number / 5760
Date / 12 / 7 / 1955
950
27 / 7
Administrations of Official Secondary, Intermediate, and Primary Schools
and Private and Foreign Schools
We attach herewith one copy of the list of English books
prescribed for the current academic year (1955 - 1956 AD) and a second copy of
the instructions
The Teaching of English in Iraq
Aims and Methods
Hoping that English language teachers (male and female) will review them to act accordingly
with all care and attention.
⟦signature⟧
Director of Education of Baghdad Province
Center
Attachments / 1 List
1 Instructions
A copy to:-
General Inspectorate / Specialist Inspection for English Language - Mr.
Selim Hakim - for your kind information
Provincial Inspectors / with the two copies of instructions and the list of books, please review
Records Clerk
Khalid / M / 18
Page 196
« English Books Prescribed for Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary Schools for the 1955 - 1956 Academic Year »
PRIMARY | Primary Education
Fifth Year:
1. Oxford English Course for Western Asia (or IRAQ), Book One.
(Teachers' Notes for Book One).
2. Progressive Writing Books, One and Two.
3. Crosswords for Beginners, Book One.
Sixth Year:
1. Oxford English Course for Western Asia (or IRAQ) Book Two.
(Teachers' Notes for Book Two).
2. Progressive Crosswords for Iraq, Book One.
3. Progressive Writing Books, Three.
INTERMEDIATE | Intermediate Education
First Year:
1. Oxford English Course for Iraq, Book Three (All)
(Teacher should have Teachers' Notes)
2. The Golden Earth, etc.
3. Crosswords for Beginners, Book Two.
Second Year:
1. Oxford English Course for Iraq, Book Three (All)
(Teacher should have Teachers' Notes)
2. Stories from the Near East.
Third Year:
1. Oxford Alternative Book Four (All)
2. Children of the New Forest.
3. Dictionary.
SECONDARY | Secondary Education
Fourth Year:
1. Oxford Alternative Book Five (All).
2. Lorna Doone.
3. Dictionary.
Fifth Year:
1. Hill : Comprehension & Precis Pieces.
2. Don Quixote, Trans. Hornby. O. U. P.
3. The Country of the Blind, etc.
4. Dictionary.
Note: The Books Underlined will not be used again.
Page 197
947
11 / 17
Directorate of Education of Baghdad Province / Center
Records
Number / 7446
Date / 16 / 11 / 1955
Principals of Official, Private, and Foreign Secondary and Intermediate Schools
Reference to the letter of the General Inspectorate of Education No. 1692 dated
9 / 10 / 1955.
We attach herewith (5) five copies of Instructions (No. 13) regarding the teachers
of the English language in your school, requesting that one copy be handed to each of them to act accordingly
and to confirm receipt to us in accordance with the regulations.
⟦illegible⟧
Director of Education of Baghdad Province
Center
Attachments) - Five copies of instructions
A copy to:
General Inspectorate of Education / Specialized Inspection for English Language - Mr. Salim Hakim
For your kind information ⟦line⟧
Records Clerk / For follow-up
Khalid / M / 5
Page 198
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH (13)
The First and Second Intermediate Classes
THE OXFORD ENGLISH COURSE FOR IRAQ BOOK THREE
1. This new Book is being used for the first time in the
School year 1955-6. It is the new textbook for the First Inter-
mediate Class; but in 1955-6 only, it is being used in the Second
Intermediate Class also. It is hoped that after 1955-6, a new
Book Four will be used in the Second Intermediate Class. There-
fore, it is necessary for the whole of this Book Three to be
completed in the First Intermediate Class. It follows imme-
diately upon Book Two, the textbook of the Sixth Primary Class.
2. The pupils' Book is for the use of the pupils. The impor-
tant book for the teacher is the Teacher's Notes. Every teacher
of English in the First and Second Intermediate Classes should
have a copy. Please go on asking until you get one. The
Ministry of Education has sufficient copies for all teachers of the
First and Second Intermediate Classes.
3. Before beginning to prepare your lessons on Book Three,
you should carefully study the Teacher's Notes to Book Two.
(If you have been teaching the First Intermediate Class in 1954-5
you should know them well. There should be a copy in every
school library). In the Teacher's Notes to Book Two, you should
study especially pages (v) to (x) and the General Introduction
(pages 1 to 3), and the Word Lists and the Index (pages 160 to
178), so that you will know what words and sentence patterns
your pupils have been taught — though they may not remember
them all.
4. After studying the Teacher's Notes to Book Two, you
should carefully read the General Introduction to the Teacher's
Notes to Book Three (pages v to x). This will help you a great
deal in using the book in your teaching.
5. The most important sections in the General Introduction
are those about:—
(a) the "For Study" Sections (page v)
(b) planning the year's work (page vi)
(c) planning each lesson (page vii)
(d) revision (Important Teaching Notes 1, page viii)
(e) teaching new material orally before reading (Note 2)
(f) question and answer work (Notes 3 and 4)
(g) guided composition (page ix)
(h) making experiments in your teaching (page ix)
(i) using the Word Lists and Index in the Teacher's
Notes (page x).
6. Preparing the Lesson. When you have studied the
General Introduction, you will understand the plan and purpose
of Book Three. In order that this plan may be fully realised,
it is essential that, however experienced you are as a teacher,
you should use the Teacher's Notes in preparing and teaching
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2
each lesson. The Teacher's Notes contain a lot of material to
be taught which is not found in the pupils' book. The purpose
of the pupils' book is to provide reading, study and exercise
material for the pupils. It does NOT contain all the work for
the year, because a great deal of the work must be introduced
orally by the teacher, according to the suggestions set out in
the Teacher's Notes. If the pupils' book is well used, it will
give the pupils plenty of practice in speaking, reading and
writing the new material; but before the pupils can use their
book, the teacher must teach them the new material.
If you will please do this, your pupils will have a better
knowledge of English, and — more important — will be able
to speak and write it better, than if you go on with the old way
of teaching them a book instead of teaching them English.
Please keep always in mind:
TEACHING BEFORE READING.
7. Notice that at the end of the Teacher's Notes there are
useful Word Lists as follows: General, Proper Names and
grammatical terms; and an Index. All those should be used.
8. Revision of the previous year's work. Reading-texts One
and Two in the pupils' book, and the exercises, (pages 1 to 14)
contain revision of some of the most important work done in
Book Two. As your pupils work through these pages, you
will find out what they remember of the previous year's work.
No doubt you will have to recall much of it to their memories.
They must know this work thoroughly before they go on with
Book Three. The first important new material presented in
Book Three is in Reading-text Three: Relative Pronouns and
Relative Clauses.
9. The use of Arabic. The reading-texts should never be
translated into Arabic, either by the pupils or by the teacher.
In several places, the Teacher's Notes say: "Translate this word
into Arabic", or "Explain in Arabic". When the Notes say
this, you should do it; but you should not use Arabic otherwise,
and your pupils should not speak or write Arabic during an
English lesson. (The same rules for a restricted use of Arabic
apply to the reading of the Supplementary Readers; their pur-
pose is that the pupils should keep trying until they understand
them in English).
10. Written work. The exercises provide almost all the
written work required in the First and Second Intermediate
Classes. They should usually be prepared orally first, but when
the pupils write them they should do so without further help.
They should not be copied from the blackboard. Their purpose
is to make the pupils exercise their brains and use what they
have learned. Copying is not a useful exercise at the Inter-
mediate stage. Pupils should be given an opportunity of correct-
ing their mistakes after they have written the exercises. Some
exercises may be used as a test of what the pupils have learned.
As stated on page vii of the Teacher's Notes, Dictation may
occasionally be given to test the pupils' ability to undertand
spoken English and to spell the words they know: Dictation
should deal with familiar material, and should be given at a
reasonable speed, that is, not too slowly.
Page 200
NOTES FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH (13)
The First and Second Intermediate Classes
THE OXFORD ENGLISH COURSE FOR IRAQ BOOK THREE
1. This new Book is being used for the first time in the
School year 1955-6. It is the new textbook for the First Inter-
mediate Class; but in 1955-6 only, it is being used in the Second
Intermediate Class also. It is hoped that after 1955-6, a new
Book Four will be used in the Second Intermediate Class. There-
fore, it is necessary for the whole of this Book Three to be
completed in the First Intermediate Class. It follows imme-
diately upon Book Two, the textbook of the Sixth Primary Class.
2. The pupils' Book is for the use of the pupils. The impor-
tant book for the teacher is the Teacher's Notes. Every teacher
of English in the First and Second Intermediate Classes should
have a copy. Please go on asking until you get one. The
Ministry of Education has sufficient copies for all teachers of the
First and Second Intermediate Classes.
3. Before beginning to prepare your lessons on Book Three,
you should carefully study the Teacher's Notes to Book Two.
(If you have been teaching the First Intermediate Class in 1954-5
you should know them well. There should be a copy in every
school library). In the Teacher's Notes to Book Two, you should
study especially pages (v) to (x) and the General Introduction
(pages 1 to 3), and the Word Lists and the Index (pages 160 to
178), so that you will know what words and sentence patterns
your pupils have been taught — though they may not remember
them all.
4. After studying the Teacher's Notes to Book Two, you
should carefully read the General Introduction to the Teacher's
Notes to Book Three (pages v to x). This will help you a great
deal in using the book in your teaching.
5. The most important sections in the General Introduction
are those about:—
(a) the "For Study" Sections (page v)
(b) planning the year's work (page vi)
(c) planning each lesson (page vii)
(d) revision (Important Teaching Notes 1, page viii)
(e) teaching new material orally before reading (Note 2)
(f) question and answer work (Notes 3 and 4)
(g) guided composition (page ix)
(h) making experiments in your teaching (page ix)
(i) using the Word Lists and Index in the Teacher's
Notes (page x).
6. Preparing the Lesson. When you have studied the
General Introduction, you will understand the plan and purpose
of Book Three. In order that this plan may be fully realised,
it is essential that, however experienced you are as a teacher,
you should use the Teacher's Notes in preparing and teaching