Class 11 English Unit 1: Education First: Malala Yousafzai Language Development Section

 

Complete guidelines to readings, writings and grammatical exercises. 

Unit 1 ‘Education and Humanity’

Click for Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkH83ipU1wQ

Reading: Education First by Malala Yousafzai

Reflection of the Personal Narrative

This is the speech delivered by Malala at the United Nations Youth Assembly on 12 July 2013. This chapter's keynote address emphasizes the need to ensure equality and freedom for all children and adults in the country and provide them with access to a free and high-quality education. All countries should be aware of the situation and act together to resolve it. Children are the future of the country. Unless they are educated, the country would not be able to exist. Our constitution protects every child's access to education, including the right to receive a free secondary education. 

Unfortunately, many children and teenagers in our country do not have access to this basic right. To thrive in the twenty-first century, the government and parents must work together to ensure that children attend school and get a good educational experience. We need safe, friendly schools with competent teachers who are committed to providing a high-quality education. Many rural schools, on the other hand, lack the necessary facilities and teaching staff to prepare enough financial resources. The government must provide school leaders and teachers with the authority and resources they need to set high expectations for students and fully support them in their endeavours.

Parents are responsible for providing for their children's basic needs. They don't send their children to school and blame it on poverty, even though education is provided free of charge. Instead, they are willing to squander their resources. By providing basic learning materials, they may help to create a pleasant learning environment at home for their children. Children should be encouraged to learn daily. Parents are actively involved in school events as well as activities at home.

(Source:https://www.tsz.com.np/2021/05/class-11-english-note-unit-1-education.html)

Ways with words (Unit – 1, Page 7)

A.    Find the words from the text that mean the following.

a.      a messenger or representative, especially one on a diplomatic mission –

b.     the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect –

c.      harm done to someone in response to harm –

d.     a person who holds extreme views in political or religious matters –

e.      sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others –

f.       a person who is believed to speak for god –

g.     the study of the nature of knowledge, reality, and existence –

h.     the use of physical force to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy –

i.       an unreasonable dislike of a particular group of people or things –

(Answers: a. envoy, b. honourable, c. revenge, d. extremist e. compassion f. prophet g. philosophy h. violence i. hate)

B.    Match the words on the left with their opposite meanings on the right.

Answers:

Column A                      Column B

a.      honour                                i. disagree

b.     innocent                              ii. guilty

c.      brutality                              iii. kindness 

d.     forgiveness                          iv. punishment

e.      illiteracy                              v. literacy

C.   Using dictionary

A dictionary contains at least three forms of information about a word: pronunciation, word class and meaning.

Look at the following dictionary entry of the words ‘humanity’ and ‘humanize’ (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 9th edition):

humanity/hjuːˈmænəti/ noun1 [U] people in general: He was found guilty of crimes against humanity.

 

2 [U] the state of being a person rather than a god, an animal or a machine: The story was used to emphasize the humanity of Jesus united by a sense of common humanity.

 

3 [U] the quality of being kind to people and animals by making sure that they do not suffer more than is necessary; the quality of being humane: The judge was praised for his courage and humanity. OPP inhumanity

 

4(the) humanities [pl.] the subjects of study that are about the way people think and behave, for example literature, language, history and philosophy: The college offers a wide range of courses in the arts and humanities.

 

humanize (BrE also -ise) /ˈhjuːmənaɪz/ verb~sth to make sth more pleasant or suitable for people; to make sth more HUMANE: These measures are intended to humanize the prison system.

a.     Study the dictionary entry above and answer these questions.

i.       What is the headword in the first entry?

ii.     How many meanings of the word ‘humanity’ are given?

iii.  What do the abbreviations U, OPP, pl, and sth stand for?

iv.   What is the British English spelling of ‘humanize’?

v.     How is the word ‘humanize’ pronounced?

vi.   If we say ‘Every person should have a sense of humanity’, which meaning of ‘humanity’ is applied?

Answers:

i.       The head word in the first entry is ‘humanity’.

ii.     The word ‘humanity’ has four meanings given in the dictionary entry.

iii.  The abbreviation ‘U’ stands for ‘Uncountable, ‘OPP’ for ‘Opposite’, ‘pl’ for ‘plural’ and ‘sth’ for ‘something’.

iv.   The British English spelling of ‘humanize’ is ‘humanise’.

v.     The word ‘humanize’ is pronounced as /ˈhjuːmənaɪz/ .

vi.   The second meaning of ‘humanity’ is applied if we say ‘Every person should have a sense of humanity’.

b.     Arrange the following words in alphabetical order.

i.       advance analysis amuse assure allergy attain aid anxiety acute agreement

Answer: acute advance agreement aid allergy amuse analysis anxiety assure attain 

ii.     smoke small smart speaking smelling smoothly smuggler smashed smearing smallpox

Answer: small smallpox smart smashed smearing smelling smoke smoothly smuggler speaking   

iii.  terminal terminate terminology termite terms terrace terrible terribly territory terror

Answer: terminal  terminate  terminology  termite  terms  terrace  terrible  terribly  territory  terror

 

How to Use Dictionary:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3niYWh7ul7Q

Exercises for you

Make a list of five new words from the reading text. Using a dictionary, write their meanings and use the words in sentences of your own.

Comprehension

Answer the following questions. (p.8)

a.       Why did the speaker receive thousands of good-wishing cards and gifts from all over the world?

The speaker received thousands of good-wishing cards and gifts from all over the world because she got a new life.

b.      According to the speaker, what are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers struggling for?

According to the speaker, the hundreds of human rights activists and social workers are struggling to achieve the goals of education, peace and equality.

c.       What has she learnt from Gandhi?

She has learnt to follow the non-violence movement from Gandhi to attain the aim of life.

d.      In what sense is peace necessary for education?

Wars and conflicts stop children from going to school so peace is necessary for education.

e.       According to the speaker, what are the main problems faced by both men and women?

The main problems faced by both men and women are poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights.

f.        What is Malala calling upon all governments?

Malala is calling upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education to world children and fight against terrorist violence to protect children from brutality and harm.

g.      What is the main message of this speech?

Books and pens are the mightiest weapons in the world which is the main message of this speech. 

 

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