ZIMBABWE

MINISTRY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

CATCH-UP PROGRAMME
Compressed secondary English Language syllabuses:
Level 1: Forms 1-2
Level 2: Forms 3-4

7.1 SKILL 1: LISTENING/OBSERVING

ASPECTS LEVEL 1 Level 2

Listening • Questions • Narration
comprehension • Stories • Note taking
• Note taking • Summary
• Summary • Inference
• Evaluation
Oral • Simple directions • Complex directions
instructions • Announcements • Announcements
• Messages • Messages
Conversations • Dialogues • Dialogues
• Interviews
Purposeful • Dictation • Dictation
listening • Directed listening • Directed listening
• Tone and intonation • Selective listening
• Pronunciation

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7.2 SKILL 2: SPEAKING/SIGNING

ASPECTS Level 1 Level 2

Pronunciation • Eight cardinal vowels • Intonation and stress
and their forms(weak patterns
and strong) • Tone and mood
• Consonant clusters, • Triphthongs
blends and digraphs
• Diphthongs
• Silent consonants

Registers • Introductions • Degree of formality

• Greetings and informality
• Requests • Expressing opinion
• Invitations and gratitude
• Complaints, apologies • Condolences
and compliments • Interviews
• Telephone • Advising
conversations • Discussing topical
• Announcements issues
• Persuasion

Descriptions • People and scenes • Processes

• Environment • Events
• Objects
• Processes
Debates • Topical issues – local • Topical issues –
• Selected cross- national and
cutting issues international

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 ASPECTS Level 1 Level 2
• Cross-cutting themes
Speeches • Impromptu • Impromptu
• Prepared • Prepared

7.3 SKILL 3: READING/SIGNING

ASPECTS Level 1 Level 2

Intensive • Recall questions • Recall questions
reading • Skimming • Skimming
• Scanning • Scanning
• Inference • Inference
• Word meanings • Word meanings
• Note making • Note making
• Evaluation • Evaluation
• Summary • Summary
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Paraphrasing
Extensive • Summary • Characterisation
reading • Characters • Plot
• Setting • Setting
• Themes • Style
• Plot • Themes

Referencing • Reference sources • Reference sources

• Sections of a book • Sections of a book
• The Internet • Encyclopaedia
• Journals
• The Internet

7.4 SKILL 4: WRITING

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 ASPECTS Level 1 Level 2

Aspects of • Basic sentence

composition construction rules
• Types of sentences • Registers
writing • Paragraph unity
• Elements of a
paragraph • Discourse markers
• Registers • Amplification of notes
• Linking devices • Figurative language
Free • Narrative • Narrative
compositions • Descriptive • Descriptive
• Creative writing • Informative
• Informative • Argumentative
• Discursive • Discursive
• Creative writing
Guided • Letters • Memos
compositions • Reports • Letters
• Speeches • Articles
• Curriculum vitae
• Reports
• Speeches

7.5 TOPIC 5: SUPPORTING LANGUAGE STRUCTURES

The following supporting language structures should be taught

from Levels 1-2. Teachers are to select what is appropriate to the level
of their learners and bear in mind that the structures should be taught in
context and spread across all the language skills.

SUB TOPIC Level 1 Level 2

Nouns • Types of nouns • Noun formation
• Plural forms • Prefixes
• Opposites • Suffixes
• Gender
Verbs • Types of tenses
• Subject-verb
agreement • Active and passive
• Sequence of tenses forms
• Auxiliaries and modals

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 SUB TOPIC Level 1 Level 2
• Phrasal verbs
Pronouns • Personal • Relative
• Relative • Possessive
• Possessive • Reflexive

Adjectives • Formation • Order when more than

• Comparatives one follow each other
• Superlatives • Non-gradable
• Opposites
• Prefixes and suffixes
Adverbs • Formation • Adverbial phrases and
• Adverbials of time, clauses
place and manner
Spelling and • Consonant-vowel • Derivative words
word combinations • Homonyms
formation • Words with unusual • Homophones
vowel combinations • Homographs
• Spelling rules
• Prefixes and suffixes
in word formation
Sentence • Simple and • Simple, compound and
construction compound complex
• Conjunctions • Clauses
• Phrases • Determiners
• Punctuation • Punctuation and
• Articles meaning
• Determiners • Question tags
• Prepositions • Commands
• Questions • Exclamations
• Commands • Discourse markers
• Exclamations • Sentence modifiers
Direct and • Punctuation • Punctuation
Indirect • Switching • Switching
speech

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