English

You will develop these skills

• Use formal and informal language.

• State the vocabulary of politeness: describing people, safe sex.

Human beings are social creatures. This means that we like to be in groups and to relate to each other. Our relationships are important to us. We have many different kinds of relationships, for example those between family, friends and people whom we work or study with. Friendships are among the most important relationships in our lives. Many of our favourite memories include times we have spent with friends. Research has recently shown that having friends increases our chances of being happy and healthy.

What do we mean by friendship?

Of all the things that wisdom provides to help one live one’s entire life in happiness, the greatest by far is the possession of friendship.(Epicurus 306 B.C.)

Friendship is a relationship between two people who care about each other and who are not related. Some friendships last a lifetime, but it is possible that friendship can exist between two people at one stage of life and not at another.

Many qualities are necessary for a good friendship, including honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty and unconditional acceptance. A friendship should make both people in the relationship happy. Both people should have fun when they spend time together.

Read about being a good friend

To have good friends, you must be a good friend. Here are some of the ways good friends treat each other:

• Remember important things (what the other person likes, birthdays, accomplishments, etc.)

• Be reliable.

• Do kind things for one another and use kind language.

• Help out when a friend is sad or has a problem.

• Enjoy spending time together.

• Have fun with one another.

unconditional something that does not have conditions under which it will change

Activity 1: Describe being a good friend

1. Do you agree or disagree with the statement: ‘To have good friends, you must be a good friend’?

2. Think of ways that good friends treat each other. Write your answers in your exercise book.

Grammar focus

Writing descriptions of people

When we write descriptions of people, we need to make them so vivid that the person reading our description can picture the person clearly in their mind. We need to use descriptive words. For example, here are some descriptive words for face shape:

When someone is being described to us, we want to be given certain information such as their age, their sex, their height and what colour their eyes are. This helps us to picture the other person in our minds.

Activity 2: Describe a face

Activity 3: Describe someone using a photo

You will need to bring a photo of yourself in to school before doing this activity.

In your groups, look at photos of each other. Take turns in describing each other from the photos. Try to describe as many aspects, such as age, height and appearance, as you can.

Read a description of a friend

My best friend Anitha

I want to tell you about my best friend Anitha. I am so lucky to have her as a friend. Without her, I would not be as happy as I am now. We have the same hobbies and sometimes share the same opinions. We are really close to each other; she can tell if I'm lying, even if I am keeping a straight face! I don't know how she does it.

I have known Anitha for my whole life. We live next door to each other, so I see her often. She is small and slim, with an oval face with dark brown eyes and a big mouth. She has long, black, wavy hair, which she usually wears in a ponytail. She is quite beautiful, especially when she smiles.

Anitha is like a part of my family. I trust her as much as I trust my family members. She is very honest and she always says what she thinks. This can be very useful. For example, when we go shopping, she always tells me truthfully what suits me and what does not. Anitha always seems to be in a good mood. She always brings out the best in me by being positive and cheerful.

I don't know how it is possible, but I am never bored with her. We have never argued, but sometimes she can be stubborn. She never admits her faults. I hope our friendship will last and never end.

Activity 4: Use words to describe appearance

1. Write down all the words used to describe Anitha’s appearance.

2. Write down as many similar words as you can.

Activity 5: Describe your friends

1. In pairs, take turns to talk to each other about a friend. Think about what you want to say before you start speaking, and then speak for about a minute.

2. While the other person is describing their friend, make notes about what they have said.

Activity 6: Write about another person

Write a description of a friend. You can use about 200–250 words.

Grammar focus

Recounting events and activities

When we recount an activity, we are telling another person about an activity or event that has happened. It is important to structure the story in a way that makes sense, while using language that matches the same purpose. Consider the following before you start:

• Are the events in the correct time order?

• Is your recount in the past tense?

• Is it in the first or third person?

• Does it use time connectives such as next, meanwhile, within hours, soon afterwards, weeks later?

Example:

Last Thursday, Aimable and I played a game of football. After we had finished playing, I went with him to his house for a snack. Soon after we had finished eating our snacks, we decided to go and see a movie.

Activity 7: Recount an activity at school

Write a paragraph recounting something that has happened at school in the past week.

Listen and recount

Listen while your teacher recounts the following story.

Why the Warthog is on his knees

Warthog had made himself a lovely spacious home in an old termite mound that an aardvark had cleared out. He had built it up and made a wide entrance. He thought it was the most magnificent home in Africa, and would often stand at the entrance of his dwelling, with his snout in the air, as the giraffe, wildebeest and zebra passed to the watering hole.

Hah,” he thought to himself. “No one else has such a fine home!”

One day, as he looked out from the entrance of his cave, he was horrified to see a huge lion stealthily stalking towards him. He started to back away, but because he had made the entrance to his place so grand, the lion would have no difficulty in following Warthog right in.

“Ahhhh,” panicked Warthog. “Bhubesi will eat me in my own lounge! What will I do?”

Warthog decided to use an old trick he’d heard Jackal bragging about. Warthog pretended to be supporting the roof of his hole with his strong back, pushing it up with his tusks.

“Help!” he cried to the lion. “I am going to be crushed! The roof is caving in! Flee, oh mighty Bhubesi, before you are crushed along with me!”

Now Lion was no fool. He recognised Jackal’s old ploy straight away and he wasn’t going to be caught out again. He roared so fiercely that Warthog dropped to his knees, trembling.

Warthog begged for mercy. Luckily for him, Lion was not too hungry, and so he pardoned the warthog and left, saying: “Stay on your knees, you foolish beast.

” Lion laughed to himself and shook his shaggy head as we walked away. Imagine, slow-witted Warthog trying to copy Jackal’s trick!

Warthog took Lion’s order to heart. That is why, to this day, you will see Warthog feeding on his knees, in a very undignifiedposition, with his bottom up in the air and his snout snuffling in the dust.

Activity 8: Recount a story to another person

Recount the story of Warthog and Lion to each other then check to see if you got the events in the right order.

Grammar focus

Reported speech

We use reported speech when we want to repeat what someone has previously said. There is a difference between direct speech and reported speech: in direct speech, the talking is actually happening, and in reported speech, we are telling someone else about what was said.

Example:

• Dinah said, “I am tired.” (direct speech)The following are some of the important verb changes we use when making reported speech.

Activity 9: Change from direct to reported speech

Change the following sentences form direct speech to reported speech.

1. John said, “I can ride a horse.

”2. John said, “My mother does the cleaning.

”3. “I’m going to the cinema,” he said.

4. “My name is Lela,” she said.

5. She said, “What shall we learn today?”

Activity 10: Practise using reported speech

Getting on with other people

If we want to get on with other people and have friends, we need to speak to them politely and respectfully. If we are rude, people will not enjoy being with us.

Grammar focus

Making offers and requests

When we are making polite offers and requests, we make use of the verbs would, could, may, will and can. To ask questions in a very polite way, we use ‘would you’ or ‘could you please’ plus the simple tense of the verb.

Examples:

• Could you help me for a moment, please?

• Would you please forward me that message?

• Could I borrow a pen, please, teacher?

• Could you explain again, Sir?

• Would you mind coming with me to town in the afternoon?

Don’t use ‘may’ in polite question when ‘you’ is the subject.This is incorrect: May you please close the window?

‘May’ goes best with ‘I’ and ‘we’ in polite questions.This is correct: May I help you with the washing?

The word ‘please’ makes the request more polite and less direct.

For example:

• Please would you return the book you borrowed last week.We can express an offer using ‘would’, ‘could’ and ‘may’.

For example:

• Would you like a cup of tea?

• May I serve you some fruit?

• Could I give you one of my beautiful suits?

• Would I serve hot milk and bread for dinner?

Activity 11: Role play being polite

In your groups, make up a role play about a situation where you use polite offers and requests, for example dinner with your family.

Grammar focus

Direct speech

When we use direct speech, we are reporting something that was said exactly as it was spoken.

We use quotation marks to enclose the words that were spoken. For example: June said, “It is going to rain today.

”We can use direct speech to report things as they are said (the present tense) or as they were said some time ago (the past tense)

.Examples:

• He says, “I am happy.” (present tense)

• He said, “I am happy.” (past tense)

Activity 12: Practise direct speech

Change the examples of polite offers into direct speech:

1. Would you like a cup of tea?

2. May I serve you some fruit?

3. Could I give you one of my beautiful suits?

4. Would I serve hot milk and bread for dinner?

Grammar focus

Formal and informal ways of asking and offering

‘Could’ and ‘would’ are used to make requests in a formal way. They soften requests and make them more polite.

Examples:

• Would/could you please serve me a cup of tea? (But not: Serve me a cup of tea, please.)

• Would/could you please repeat what you said? (But not: Repeat what you said, please.)

• Do/would you mind closing that window?

When talking to friends, we may want to be less formal. Using ‘can’ and ‘will’ is less formal, but still polite.

Examples:

• Can I borrow your ruler, please?

• Will you stop shouting, please?

Activity 13: Make informal requests

Change the following sentences into informal requests:

1. Would you please pass me a cup of tea?

2. Could you help me with my homework?

3. Would you tidy the house for me?

4. Would you like me to pass you a banana?

5. Would you like to come to the cinema with me?

Activity 14: Plan an outing

1. In your group, plan an outing to somewhere nice.

2. Write down your plan.

3. Now pretend that you have been on the outing and write a report telling your friends what happened.

4. Read over your report and notice any grammar changes that happened when you wrote about it.

Activity 15: Read a dialogue

In pairs, read the following dialogue.

Peter: Would you mind if I served you a glass of juice, Rhonah?

Rhonah: No, I wouldn’t mind. I am rather grateful. Could I help you with the cooking, Peter?

Peter: Yes, please. Thank you very much. Would you like another set of clothes to work in?

Rhonah: Well, thank you. I could still work in these. By the way, do you mind if I clean the kitchen?

Peter: Before you do that, may I give you another glass of juice or will that one do?

Rhonah: This will do. Would you like to play tennis with me later?

Peter: Wonderful! I would like that.

Talking about boyfriends and girlfriends

Read about romantic relationships

We have all experienced love. We have been loved by our parents, brothers, sisters, friends, even by our pets.

Loving and being loved adds richness to our lives. When people feel close to others they are happier and even healthier. Love helps us feel important, understood and secure.

Each kind of love has its own distinctive feel. The kind of love we feel for a parent is different from our love for a baby brother or best friend. Romantic love is different. It is the love we feel for a boyfriend or girlfriend. Our ability to feel romantic love develops during adolescence. Developing romantic feelings and sexual attractions for others is a natural part of growing up. These new feelings can be exciting — or even confusing at first.

Love is such a powerful human emotion that experts are constantly studying it. They’ve discovered that love has three main qualities:

• Attraction is the ‘chemistry’ part of love. It’s all about the physical – even sexual – interest that two people have in each other. Attraction is responsible for the desire we feel to kiss and hold the object of our affection. Attraction is also responsible for the flushed, nervous-but-excited way we feel when that person is near.

• Closeness is the bond that develops when we share thoughts and feelings that we don’t share with anyone else. When you have this feeling of closeness with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you feel supported, cared for, understood and accepted for who you are. Trust is a big part of this.

• Commitment is the promise or decision to stick by the other person through the ups and downs of the relationship.These three qualities of love can be combined in different ways to make different kinds of relationships. For example, closeness without attraction is the kind of love we feel for best friends. We share secrets and personal stuff with them, we support them, and they stand by us. But we are not romantically interested in them.

Activity 16: Comprehension

1. List some of the ways that love can make us feel.

2. Define romantic love.

3. Analyse the ‘chemistry’ of love.

4. Discuss the meaning of commitment and how it applies to romantic love.

Activity 17: Talk about relationships

In your group, discuss what is good or not good in relationships between the sexes.

Read about being ready for sex

Young people can feel a lot of pressure to have sex. Friends may tell you they’re all doing it (sometimes even if they’re not). You see it on the TV and in the movies. You might also feel pressured by a particular person. Or you might feel that it’s expected of you from a girlfriend or boyfriend. When we love someone, we respect them and we do not try to make them do something they feel uncomfortable about.

Sex is never an obligation – each partner has the right to say no. If your partner asks you to stop, you must respect this.

It’s important to know about the physical and emotional dangers of early sex and it’s also important to be able to identify the benefits of saving sex for when you are really ready.

What is safer sex?

Safer sex means sexual contact that does not involve any blood, semen or vaginal fluids being passed between partners. We say ‘safer sex’ rather than ‘safe sex’ because sex can’t be guaranteed 100% safe.

HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a big danger if you have multiple partners. It is better to wait until you are in a monogamous relationship with someone who is faithful to you. Even when using condoms for protection, some STDs, such as genital warts and genital herpes, can be passed on because the condom does not always cover the affected area.

The best way to have safe sex is to be in a relationship where neither of you has sex outside the relationship, and where you are both free of any STDs. You should also use contraception if you are not ready to have a child. Some people say the only form of safe sex is to abstain totally (not have sex at all), but most people would see this as being unrealistic.

Activity 18: Give advice to friends

Writing and understanding

Activity 19: Write about romantic relationships

Write a short text (250–300 words) about relationships between the sexes.

Talking about HIV and Aids

In Rwanda, it is estimated that 3.1% of adults in the 15–49 age group are HIV-positive. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and is an illness that alters the immune system, making people vulnerable to illnesses and infections. HIV leads to Aids (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). People can live with the virus in their bodies for many years before they develop Aids, but Aids cannot be cured and eventually leads to death.

The virus is passed from one person to another through contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person. The main ways in which people contract HIV are:

• having unprotected sex with an infected person

• multiple sexual partners; polygamy can spread the disease

• babies drinking the breast milk of an infected person

• infected blood transfusions

• infection from mother to foetus during pregnancy

Activity 20: Share your HIV/Aids knowledge

Activity 21: Match words and their meanings

Look up the words in the left-hand column and then match to the correct meaning in the right-hand column. Make sure that you can pronounce the words correctly.

1. Discuss the ways that HIV can be contracted.

2. Talk about how to have a romantic relationship and avoid contracting HIV.

3. Discuss the impact of HIV/Aids on society. How does it affect the family, the community and the economy of Rwanda?

Assessment

1. Change the following sentences into reported speech. They have been started for you.

a) “Don’t waste your money,” she said.She told the boys________________________ .

b) “What have you decided to do?” she asked him.She asked him __________________________ .

c) “I always wake up early,” he said.He said __________________________________ .

d) “You should revise your lessons,” he said.He advised the students ____________________ .

e) “Where have you been?” he asked me.He wanted to know __________________________ . (5 marks)

2. Change the following sentences into direct speech.

a) Carene said that she might come.

b) Jean-Paul said that he could fail.

c) Olive said that David should stay in bed.

d) Thierry said that he used to have a car.

e) Josiane said that she wished they were in South Africa. (5 marks)

3. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below to make them into formal requests.

a) _________ I speak to Mr Mugabo, please?

b) ___________ you open the window, please? It’s hot in here.

c) Would you mind if I _________ come to your party?

d) Would you mind if I _________ your dictionary for an hour or so?

e) Could I stay here for a while? Yes, you __________ . (5 marks)

4. Write a short report explaining the dangers of teenage sex. (5 marks)Total (20)

• drug users sharing dirty needles.