Teaching Module

B.A. LL.B. (5 years)

Communication skills (code BL 301 )

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

# growing needs of learning Communication Skills for Law students and acquiring proficiency

In the changing global scenario when professional studies are changing .

# TO improve one’s effectiveness and making self analysis of reading and listening skills.

# To guide the teacher in his /her approach to the delivery of content and assessment that focuses on what the students will be able to do as a result of the learning lecture wise.

# To have an outline sketch of lectures required to complete the syllabus with in time frame in accordance with their usage in legal studies.

Total no of lectures required for semester : 45

1 .0 STRUCTURE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

MODULE NO.-1.2 Phonetics , Phonology , phonetic Transcription

MODULE NO – 1.3 Phonetic symbols, Consonants, Vowels

MODULE NO – 1 .4 – Syllables, Division of word into syllables, structure or Type of syllables

1.5 - SOME USEFUL BOOKS

1. 6 - CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

UNIT—1

Introduction to phonetics

Phonetics is the study of speech sounds .Every language uses a limited number of speech sounds and makes its own selection out of large number of different sounds of human vocal organs can produce. It is concerned with physical properties of speech sounds, their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory perception and neuro-physiological status.

PHONOLOGY: It is concerned with how a particular language organizes its sounds into distinctive units called phonemes, how phonemes are combined into syllables and how the prosodic texture of length, stress and pitch are organized into pattern.

History

Phonetics was studied in 2500 years ago in ancient India but ancient Greeks are credited as the first to base a writing system.

Application of Phonetics

1. Forensic phonetics – legal purpose2. Speech recognition

Speech mechanism

A speech event involves a number of consecutive operations . First a concept is formulated in the brain of the speaker , then the nerves transmit the linguistic codification of it to the speech organs . The speech organs are set in motion and the movements set up disturbances in the air and the listener receives the sound waves . his or her nervous system then carries the message to the brain where it is interpreted in linguistic terms and the communication takes place. To speak we use a special mechanism to produce sound with the help of an energizer, a vibrator and resonators. The energizer is the exhaled breath , the vocal cords act as vibrators and the resonators are the passages of the throat, mouth and nose. The air stream passes through wind pipe from lungs to the mouth or nose produces sound. when the air stream passes through the mouth or oral passage oral sounds are produced; when it passes through the nose or

nasal passage the nasal sounds are produced. when the air passes through nasal passage as well as oral passage nasalized sounds are produced.

PRODUCTION OF SPEECH

The use of spoken language involves a series of complicated operations. The concept in the speaker’s brain is given a linguistic form , which is communicated by the nerves to speech organs. As a result of the movement of these organs, disturbances are created in the airstream, and these sound waves are received by the listener’s ear. The nerves carry the sensation to the brain where the sounds are perceived and their meaning is interpreted.

For the production of sound, energy is required as source, and the air steam coming out of lungs provide this energy.

The wind pipe carrying the air stream from lungs is known as the trachea. At the top of trachea is the Larynx , which contains the vocal cords . The vocal cords can be brought together to close the air passage completely. This is what we do when we cough , for eg; the air from the lungs is first held and suddenly released by separating the vocal cords. When we breathe out , the vocal cords are wide apart, the opening between them is called glottis . If the vocal cords are held loosely , they vibrate when the air from the lungs passes between them. This vibration that is the closing and opening of the glottis at a fast rate, produces a musical note called voice. Speech sounds can be voiced or voiceless .You can feel the difference by touching the neck near the larynx : while saying /s/ and /z/ alternately /sssszzzzssss/ .

The shape of mouth cavity depends on positions of the tongue and the lips.

The roof of mouth is divided into three parts ; the teeth ridge just behind the upper teeth , the hard palate , and the soft palate.The soft palate can be lowered so that the air from the lungs can come out through the nose.The lips can assume various positions. The tongue can be said to have three sections – the part outside the teeth ridge is called blade and its end is called tip. The part opposite the hard palate is called the front and the opposite the soft palate is called the back. Various parts of the tongue can be raised towards the roof of the mouth to produce different sounds.

Phonetic Transcription

It is a system of transcribing sound that occurs in spoken language, popularly known a IP ( IPA ) International phonetic Alphabet uses one to one mapping between phones and written symbols. Daniel Jones used this particular type of pronunciation and in 1926 he called RP. It gives us a uniform international medium of studying and transcribing the sounds of all languages of the world.

Phoneme

Is a smallest, distinctive unit of sound of a language. . These are created by various sounds organs including tongue, soft and hard palate, lips, pharynx larynx . There are 26 alphabets and 44 phonemes in English language.

Allophone: Different varients of the same phoneme are known as Allophones. For eg , in words pin and spin , the phoneme / p / has two different allophones, [ ph]and [ p ].

Modern English alphabet

PHONETIC DESCRIPTION OF SPEECH SOUNDS

We can divide the speech sounds into two broad catagories- Vowels and Consonants.

When we produce a vowel sound , the air from the lungs comes out freely through the mouth and vocal cords vibrate to produce voice. There is no closure of the air passage in the mouth , nor any narrowing that would cause audible friction.

A vowel sound whose quality doesn't change over the duration of the vowel is called a monophthong. Monophthongs are sometimes called "pure" or "stable" vowels. A vowel sound that glides from one quality to another is called a diphthong, and a vowel sound that glides successively through three qualities is a triphthong.

All languages have monophthongs and many languages have diphthongs, but triphthongs or vowel sounds with even more target qualities are relatively rare cross-linguistically. English has all three types: the vowel sound in hit is a monophthong /ɪ/, the vowel sound in boy is in most dialects a diphthong /ɔɪ/, and the vowel sounds of flower, /aʊər/, form a triphthong or disyllable, depending on dialect. Long vowels are /i: /, / a: / , / u: / , / ɔ: / , / ɜ: / and rest seven are short vowels.

Description of Vowels

The quality of a vowel depends on the shape of the mouth cavity , and that depends on the position of tongue and lips.

1) For most vowels either front, or the back , or the centre of the tongue is raised to certain height. Depending on which part of the tongue is the highest, we can classify vowels as front vowels, back vowels, and central vowels.

Examples:

Front vowels: as in English words sheep, ship, bed, bad

Back Vowels: as in English words calm, pot, caught

Central Vowels: as in English words cut, bird, father

2) Depending on the height to which the tongue is raised , we can classify vowels as Close , or Open or half- close or half- Open

Examples:

Close vowels : as in English words sheep and boot

Open vowels: as in English words calm and pot

Consonants

When we describe a Consonant ,we have to indicate that speech sounds that involve a momentary or partial obstruction of air flow.there are twenty four consonants among them are

Eight are the explodents , i.e. / p /, / b / ./ t / , / d/ , / k / , / g / , / ʧ / , / ʤ /;

eight are continuants, i.e. / f / , / v / , / s / , / z /, / θ / , / ð / , / ʃ / , / ʒ / ;

three are nasal,i.e. / m / , / n / , /ŋ / ;

two are liquids, i.e. /l / , / r / ,

two are coalescents or semi –vowels, i. e. / w / , / j / and

last one is aspirate, i. e. / h / .

1) whether the sound is voiced or voiceless , that is whether the vocal cords vibrate or not

Examples ; voiced : / b, d, g, v, z, m, n, l / etc

Voiceless : / p , t , k , f , s , ʃ /etc

2) Whether the soft palate is lowered or raised , that is whether the air stream passes through mouth only (as for oral sounds like / p , k , t , d , k , g , f , v , s , z , l , / or through the nose only ( as for Nasal sounds like / m , n , ŋ /

3) the manner of articulation, that is the kind of closure or narrowing , and the nature of sound produced.

4) The place of articulation , that is ,where in the mouth the closure or narrowing takes place.

Place of Articulation

Bilabial : the closure and narrowing is between the two lips , as in / p , b , m /

Labio Dental: the narrowing is between the lower lip and upper teeth , as in / f , v /

Dental : the closure or narrowing is between the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth, as in / θ , ð /

Alveolar : the closure or narrowing is between the blade of the tongue and the teeth- ridge , as in / t , d , s , z , n , l /

Palate- alveolar: the closure or narrowing is betweenthe blade of tongue and teeth ridge with the front of tongue also raised towards hard palate, as in / ʧ , ʤ , ʃ /

Velar : the closure or narrowing is betweentheback of the tongue and the soft palate, as in / k , g /

Glottal: the narrowing is between the vocal cords, as in / h /

IPA chart

single vowelsɪ i: ʊ u:

ship sheep book shoote ɜ: ə ɔ:

left her teacher dooræ ʌ ɒ ɑ:

hat up on far

diphthongseɪ ɔɪ aɪ

wait coin likeeə ɪə ʊə

hair here touristəʊ aʊ /

show mouth  unvoiced consonants

p f θ t s ʃ ʧ kpea free thing tree see sheep cheese coin

voiced consonantsb v ð d z ʒ ʤ g

boat video this dog zoo television joke gom n ŋ h w l r j

mouse now thing hope we love run you↗ ↘ . ˈ ˌ : ʔ ˑ

Consonant Cluster: Sometimes two or more consonants occur together either at the beginning or end of a syllable, this sequence of two or more consonants is called consonant cluster. For eg: in word play the consonant cluster is / pl /which is called two consonant cluster and in word spring the consonant cluster is / spr / which is called three consonant cluster. In word attempts the consonant cluster is / mpts / which is called four consonant cluster.

Syllable

One or more phonemes form the next higher unit called the Syllable. The muscles of chest contract and relax alternately. This movement called a chest pulse corresponds to a syllable. In each Syllable there is one sound that is more prominent than the rest which is usually a vowel. eg: / l: / in beat. A Syllable also corresponds to a chest pulse( usually five times per second) – a muscular movement pushing the air out of lungs . vowel generally takes a central position in the syllable. It forms its nucleus.A consonant that begins a syllable is called the releasing consonant and the one at the end is called arresting consonant. In word check having five letters but three sounds and may be represented cvc- ʧek.

There are many patterns of syllables . They could be V, VC, CV, VCC,CVC, CVCC, CCCVCC, CCCVCCC where C stands for Consonant and V stands for Vowel. for eg: the word cat has syllabic pattern ( cvc ) and the word are has pattern( v ).

Syllable Division Rules

1. Separate prefixes and suffixes from root   words .o examples:  pre-view, work-ing, re-do, end-less, & out-ing

2. Are two (or more) consonants next to each other?o Divide between the 1st and 2nd consonants.

examples:  buf-fet, des-sert, ob-ject, ber-ry, & pil-grimo Never split 2 consonants that make only 1 sound when pronounced together and

aren't the same letter (i.e., 'ff'). examples:  th, sh, ph, th, ch, & wh

3. Is the consonant surrounded by vowels?o Does the vowel have a long sound?  (Like the 'i' in line)

Divide before the consonant. examples:  ba-by, re-sult, i-vy, fro-zen, & Cu-pid

o Does the vowel have a short sound?  (Like the 'i' in mill) Divide after the consonant. examples:  met-al, riv-er, mod-el, val-ue, & rav-age

4. Does the word end with 'ckle'?o Divide right before the 'le.'o examples:  tack-le, freck-le, tick-le, & buck-le

5. Does the word end with 'le' (not 'ckle')?o Is the letter before the 'le' a consonant?

Divide 1 letter before the 'le.' examples:  ap-ple, rum-ble, fa-ble, & ta-ble

o Is the letter before the 'le' a vowel? Do nothing. examples:  ale, scale, sale, file, & tile

Syllable Rules

Examples

little:   lit - tle petal:   pet - al turtle:   tur - tle ankle:   an - kle riddle:   rid - dle arrow:   ar - row nickle:   nick - le cotton:   cot - ton student:   stu - dent teacher:   teach - er children:   chil - dren pottery:   pot - ter - y learning:   learn - ing textbook:   text - book watching:   watch - ing

Tips for Dividing a Word into Syllables

There are five types of syllables in English:

1. Open Syllables - include a single-letter vowel which occurs at the end of the syllable. This syllable pattern follows the spelling rules: A E O U usually say their names at the end of the syllalble, and I and Y may say their long or short sound at the end of the syllable. For example: me, cry, ta-ble, pro-tect.

2. Closed Syllables - A closed syllable includes a single-letter vowel but the syllable ends in a consonant. In this case the single letter vowel says its short sound. For example: duck, patch, hap-pen, din-ner

3. Multi-Letter Vowel Syllables - Multi-letter vowels are two or more letters working together to form a single vowel phonogram. (igh, ea, ui, oa, etc.) For example: night, read, fruit, boat.

4. Consonant + le Syllables (or Consonant + re) - These words have a final syllable with a silent final E. They follow the spelling rule: Every syllable must have a written vowel. For example: ti-tle, puz-zle, un-cle, drib-ble, a-cre, mas-sa-cre.

5. Vowel + R Syllables - The consonant R often distorts the vowel sound of the preceeding vowel. These syallables include the phonograms: ar, er, ir, or, ur, ear, wor. For example: car, her, bird, born, surface, early, word.

Tips to divide a word into syllables:

1. Divide off any compound words - For example: book-end, car-pool, class-room.2. Divide the prefixes and suffixes from the baseword - For example: re-move, jump-

er, price-less, un-sharp-en.3. Underline the vowels in the baseword - Remember, syllables are formed by the

vowels. Every syllable has one and only one vowel sound. Though many vowels are written with two or more letters: For example: igh, au, ough, ay.

4. Examine the base word for:o A silent final E needed for the syllable - Count back two consonants from

the silent final E and divide the syllable. For example:  ti-tle, lit-tle, puz-zle, a-cre.

o Two vowels on either side of a double consonant - Divide the syllable between the consonants. For example: din-ner, hap-py, rub-ber, but-ter,  ap-proach.

o Two vowels on either side of two single-letter consonants - Usually divide the syllable between the consonants - For example: un-der, bas-ket, tem-per,

o A single consonant in the middle of the word - Usually divide the syllable before the consonant. These words follow the spelling rules: A E O U usually say their names at the end of the syllable; and I and Y may say either their long or short sounds at the end of a syllable. For example: o-pen, ro-tate, ba-by, me-ter.

UNIT -2

MODULE NO - 2.1 Word Stress, Sentence Stress: Their use and importance

MODULE NO – 2.2 Pitch and Intonation

MODULE NO – 2 .3 variety of the use of English: Register ,Style , Situation

Stress and word accent is an important feature of English. In words of more than one syllable not all syllables are spoken with equal emphasis. The word stress means a greater breath force, greater muscular effort and greater vibration of vocal cords in producing certain sounds.. The total effect is that the stressed syllable seems louder than others. The location of word accent is indicated in that syllable. The relative prominence is due to stress. The word stress is responsible for accent. It is greater articulatory effort and by putting stress on particular segment we give prominence.

Primary or Tonic Accent : The syllables on which a pitch movement begins is called primary or Tonic accent. It is marked with ( ‘ ) . The primary accent is always on a particular syllable for a given word. The stress may be on any of its syllable. For eg. In the word (action ) the stress is on first syllable /action / , in word about the stress is on second syllable a-bout ,in word cigarette the stress is on the third syllable ci-ga-rette,and in word examination the stress is on the fourth syllable e-xa-mi-nation.

Types of Stress

1) Primary Stress or Tonic Accent2) Secondary Stress or Non-Tonic Accent

In a polysyllabic word the syllable on which a pitch movement takes place is said to receive primary stress or tonic accent . the syllable that has next degree of prominence in the same word is said to receive secondary stress or Non-tonic accent. Primary stress is marked with vertical bar above and in front of the syllable to which it refers. Secondary stress is marked with a vertical bar below and in front of the syllable to which it refers.

Sentence Stress

In a sentence there are some words which we speak more loudly than others. However , this loudness changes from situation to situation , context to context or utterance to utterance conveying the mood of the speaker . Stressing a word in place of another changes the meaning .The function of sentence stress are to convey new information , to convey contradictions and to convey contrast or selection . The more important a word , the stronger is

the stress. The nouns, adjectives, principal verbs known as content words are generally stressed whereas the articles , relative pronouns, auxiliary verbs, prepositions and conjunctions, known as structural words, are not stressed

INTONATION

Intonation is a term used to refer to the distinctive use of different patterns of pitch that carry meaningful information .there are different intonation patterns in different languages The type of utterance and also the speaker’s mood, emotions and his attitude determines the intonation pattern. Stress and intonation are linked to each other . The intonation depends on on the tone of the speaker.

AND IT’S FUNCTION

Foe example: Say Hello to- a friend

• A friend you meet regularly

• A friend you have not met for long time

• A neighbour you don’t like

• To a 6- month old baby

• To someone doing what he should not

• To know if someone is listening

• The same but on phone In linguistics

• ,Intonation is the variation of pitch when speaking.

Intonation and stress are two main elements of linguistic prosody.

Intonation is a part of supra segmental phonology. Intonation helps to recognize the language that you hear in the same way as the melody of a song helps to recognise the song that you hear. stress is used for pitch pattern s which are parts of structure of words and the term intonation refers to pitch patterns that are part of the structure of a sentence.

Key Componants of Intonation

1. pitch: is the degree of height of our voice in speech.Normal speaking pitch is at mid level. Intonation is formed by certain pitch.

2. Sentence stress: It makes utterance understandable to the listener by making important words in sentence stressed , clear and higher in pitch.

3. Rhythm : Sentence stress provides rhythm in connected speech.

Tone: a combination of stress on syllable and change in pitch range produces tone. There are two types of tone.

1. Static tone: A syllable pronounced on a level tone of unvarying pitch .2. Kinetic tone: A syllable pronounced in the change in pitch contour. It is marked with

a slanting bar ( / )

TYPES OF INTONATION

There are three kinds

1. The rising tone: is used # in incomplete utterances, i.e. the first clause of a sentence like/ Luckily , you are saved.# In questions which demand( YES) OR (N0 ) like / Can you come ? # In polite requests and invitations; like/ Do / sit, down.

2. The fallings tone: the falling tone is used in # ordinary statements made without implications ; like( I am `going.)# questions beginning with a question-word ; like (what is your `name?)# In commands; like (`go and `post it.)# in exclamations; (What lovely` roses.)

3. The falling –rising tone: is used for special implications not verbally expressed .like When a teacher says to a school boy( your essay is ( v) good ), it carries the meaning that it is good but not interesting. It adds couurful meaning to the expression.

4. The rising- falling: is used to make listeners understand it by interpreting it in more than one literal meaning.

# In insult , satire , mockery, apology and doubt like Your ( v )brother will come?

Tone group : When we talk , we talk in group of words . We have to pause in order to take breath. that’s why these tone groups are known as breath- groups. A sentence may contain one tone group , or it may contain two or more tone groups. A tone group may consist of one word only or a sequence of words. Eg: When I went to see her ,/ she was ill.The oblique marks a tone group boundary. the breath pauses that decide the division of an utterance into groups and also dependent upon punctuation and distribution of meaning a.for e.g.

What’s the matter ? aren’t you feeling so good.

we can divide the sentence into tone groups like this

//what’s the matter / aren’t you feeling so good. //

A full stop or semi colon always indicate the end of a tone unit. A comma also indicate a tone unit boundary but in racy dialogue often gets obliterated. The pause between clauses often mark the Tone unit boundaries eg .

Monday / not Tuesday.

Division into groups:

1) The absolute limits in the length of a group are physiologicalally conditioned, in that no speaker can prolong a group for longer than seems comfortable. Division into groups is therefore linked with breath control.

When I went to see them / they were out.

When I went to see them they were out, / so I went back home.

Or

When I went to see them / they were out, / so I went home.

2).Punctuation , which also co-relates fairly closely with breath pauses, is a useful though not infallible guide to the beginning and ends of group. A full stop, colon , or semi colon will always mark the end of a group. And a commausually will.

Even though I have never met him, / I feel I know all about him.

3) Many groups however, can not be divided precisely according to punctuation marks , then the learner must look for clues in the distribution of meaning in the utterance ,or in its grammatical structure .eg.There ‘s a city in south India / called hyderabad . /

Tone is a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit, etc.: It can be a literary compound of composition, which shows the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or many other possible attitudes. Tone and mood are not the same, although they are frequently confused. The mood of a piece of literature is the feeling or atmosphere created by the work, or, said slightly differently, how the work makes the reader feel. Mood is produced most effectively through the use of setting, theme, voice and tone. While tone is how the author feels about something. The term tone was originally applied solely to music. This appropriated word has come to represent attitudes and feelings a speaker (in poetry), a narrator (in fiction), or an author (in non-literary prose) has towards the subject, situation, and/or the intended audience. It is important to recognize that the speaker, or narrator is not to be confused with the author and that attitudes and feelings of the speaker or narrator should not be confused with those of the author. In general, the tone of a piece only refers to attitude of the author if writing is non-literary in nature.

In many cases, the tone of a work may change and shift as the speaker or narrator’s perspective on a particular subject alters throughout the piece. Official and technical documentation tends to employ a formal tone throughout the piece.

In Linguistics. a musical pitch or movement in pitch serving to distinguish two words otherwise composed of the same sounds, as in Chinese.

The general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc. trust us to lower the tone .Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning – that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called intonation, but not all languages use tones to distinguish words or their inflections, analogously to consonants and vowels. Languages that do have this feature are called tonal languages; the distinctive tone patterns made by such tonal phoneme of such a language are sometimes called tonemes (tō′nēm). Any of the phonemes of a tone language by which tone conveys differences in lexical meaning. In many African languages , Chinese, south asian languages or intonation is changed the meaning also changes. For eg: ( ma: )------ said with level pitch means mother and -------said with rising pitch means a horse In Thai language ( kha: ) spoken with falling tone means servant and spoken with rising tone means leg

Tonality is an organized system of tones (e.g., the tones of a major or minor scale) in which one tone (the tonic) becomes the central point for the remaining tones. In tonality, the tonic (tonal center) is the the , sound of distinct pitch and quality:

Rhythm: stressed syllable tend to occur at regular intervals of time . l for eg. ( stressed syllables - unstressed syllable - stressed syllable). It is this regularity of occurence of stressed syllables that gives English a characteristic rhythm.

Register: a register is a variety of language used for particular purpose or in a particular social setting . For eg: an English speaker may adhere more closely to prescribed grammar , pronounce words ending in ( ing ) eg. Walking not walkin and choose more formal words ( for eg. Father vs dad, child vs kid ) and refrain from using the word ain’t when speaking in a formal setting.

The term register was first used by the linguist Thomas Bertram reid in 1956 who wanted to distinguish between variation in language according to the user. R. Hasan interprets Register as a linguistic feature which are typically associated with a configuration of situational feature with particular value of field , mode and tenor.

Style: “ a man’s style is his mind ‘s voice “. A good style has accuracy, ease and grace. It means clear expression. words that are synonyms have fine shades of difference ,so , a good writer shows constant concern for selection of right words. One has to be careful in selecting complicated terminology which may display verbosity.

Field ; it is total event in which text is functioning together with purposive activity of the speaker or writer who includes subject matter as one of the elements.

Mode; is the function of text in the event, including both the channels taken by the language spoken or written, extempore or prepared its genre, rhetorical mode , narrative or didactic etc.

Tenor:

Situation: is often used in contexts in which it is redundant or imprecise. Typical examples are: the company is in a crisis situation or people in a job situation. In the first example, situation does not add to the meaning and should be omitted. In the second example, it would be clearer and more concise to substitute a phrase such as people at work

UNIT- 3

MODULE NO.-3.1 Note Taking and Note Making

MODULE NO – 3.2 Bibliography

MODULE NO – 3 .3 Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopaedia

Note-taking and Note-making

Note-taking (sometimes written as notetaking or note taking) is the practice of recording information captured from another source. By taking notes, the writer records the essence of the information, freeing their mind from having to recall everything.] Notes are commonly drawn from a transient source, such as an oral discussion at a meeting, or a lecture (notes of a meeting are usually called minutes), in which case the notes may be the only record of the event. Note taking is a form of self disciplineThis involves actively concentrating and paying attention to what is being said and how it is being said. Listen beyond words to the lecturers body language.

1. Listening for repetition: When a lecturer repeats a phrase or idea, this is a signal that it is important and you should take note of it.

2. Watch the board or overhead projector: If the lecturer takes time to write something down, consider that as another sign that the material is important.

3. Listen for introductory, concluding and transition words and phrases. For example: o "The following three factors" o "In conclusion" o "The most important consideration" o "In addition to"

4. Highlight obvious clues: Often your lecturer will blatantly point out what information is likely to appear in the exam - make a note of this - don t rely on memory.

Notice the lecturer s interest level: When the lecturer seems excited a1.

methods of Note taking from reading

1. Summarizing or summary writing2. Paraphrasing3. Précis writing4. Quotation5. The Cornell format

On each page of your notes, draw a vertical line, top to bottom, 5cm from the left side of the paper. Write your notes on the right of this line and leave the area to the left of the line for key word clues and sample questions.

Establish lecturer s interest

Attend all lectures

Attend last lecture

Note-taking (the Cornell format)

Home truths about lecturers:

1. Try to establish what topics of research or advanced study your lecturers are part of, especially if these also relate to your syllabus. Also be aware of any articles or books written by your lecturers and their areas of specialisation.

2. Try to attend all lectures - apart from the obvious academic advantage, it also creates an impression of you as a dilligent student which may be to your advantage at some point in the course.

3. Attend the last lecture of every course - usually exam tips are given and lecturers tend to notice who is in the lecture.

To get the best out of your lecturers, establish their interests, attend all lectures, specifically the last lecture.

Mind-maps

Advantages: Visual; contains lists and sequences and shows causes, is often easier to recall; uses both left and right brain functioning; helps one think from general to specific and puts subjects in perspective.

Outline system

You can use a standard Roman numeral outline or free-form, indented outline to organise the information from a lecture. The outline form illustrates major points and supporting ideas. It has the major advantage of being an active process of organising incoming information.

General note-taking tips

1. Give yourself plenty of space. 2. Label, number and date all your notes. 3. Develop your own system of shorthand and abbreviations 4. Use colour, pictures or diagrams to make notes more visual. 5. Keep your own thoughts separate - this ensures that you don t mistake your own idea for

that of the lecturers. 6. Use a lost signal - when you find yourself lost in a lecture, make a note of it using a

specific symbol and leave space to fill in this later. 7. Write legibly: Many people feel that they have no control over their handwriting and

resign themselves to writing illegibly for the rest of their lives.

However, if you put your mind to it and make it a point to write more legibly, your handwriting will improve. This has implications not only for note-taking but for writing exams as well.

Thus, therefore - Because Equals/same as Does not equal / not the same asGreater than / more than Less thanNot greater than / not more thanNot less thanAndImportant / importance ofExample / for exampleHoweverCompare/contrast withWithout-ion (e.g. proposition becomes proposit n)usuallybetweenordefinitionconclusionregarding / with regard toAs against / contrast withBeforeEspeciallyNamely / that is to say-ment (e.g. agreement becomes agreem t)It is/ that isTransfer agreem t)It is/ that isTransfer

NOTE-MAKING

Note making follows taking notes and happens when:Students review their notes and organize them in a way that makes more sense or leads to more obvious connections between points. When students attempt to produce this type of note in the first place, particularly as they read. Mind-map summaries can be made to give you an overall picture of the topic.

How to make notes:

Title1.Main point1.1 sub point1.2 sub point

2 main point2.1 sub point

Abbreviation:a.b. How to make notes: abbreviation example:

1.eg. U.N. for United nation2. taking the first two letters of the words: pract- practical , edu- Education3. taking first and the last two letters of the word: admn---Administration, pds – periods Symbols e.g. for example, % - Percentage, +ve — positive, < .>--for greater than and less than

The notes you make are personal to you , so they should be in style and format that suits the way you learn. Some people prefer linear notes , and other people like spider grams or pattern notes

1.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY ( Bib-li-og- ra- phy) is derived from a Greek word Bibliographia means book writing and Greeks used in 3rd cent.

Definition :It is an academic study of books , physical and cultural objects. It is also a systematic list of books and other such works as journals, articles, works cited at the end of books .It also covers work in other formats including recordings motion pictures, videos, graphic objects , database C-D Rom and websites.It is not related with literary content.

The quantative study of bibliography is known as bibliometrics.

Aims of Bibliography

1. To show from where you obtained information and acknowledge your source.2. To allow the readers to find information 3. It saves us from possible violation of copyright laws4. It is an expression of gratitude to person whose work we have benefitted from.5. It ensures that work is free from plagiarism .

points to keep in mindwhile preparing bibliography1. It is placed after appendix.2. Main heading bibliography is usually typed in solid capitals.[ BIBLIOGRAPHY]

3. The author’s name is written in reverse order- surname first

4. Keep in mind name , surname , sequence of details, punctuation marks ,layout etc When no author is mentioned on publication, the title of publisher is alphabetized.

5. Underline or italicize the title of books, periodicals and newspaper

6. The title of article are mentioned in the quotation marks. Title of magazine “ “

7. Use separate sheet of paper and last page of your report for bibliography . Each information should be followed by a comma.[ , ]

8. AFTER PLACE OF PUBLICATION A COLON IS USED[ : ]

9. Ed. MEANS ( EDITED OR EDITOR OR eds. Means EDITORS ).THIS TERM IS ADDED AFTER THE NAME.

10. SOURCES THAT DON’T HAVE AUTHORS LIKE ENCYCLOPEDIAS, MOVIES SHOULD BE ALPHABETIZED BY TITLE.

11. If there is more than one auther , use an ampersand( & ) before the name of last author.

12. If there are more than six authors, list only the first one and use et al. for the rest

BIBLIOGRAPHY FORMATS of BOOK WITH ONE AUTHOR

LAST NAME, FIRST NAME, TITLE ( UNDERLINED ), PLACE OF PUBLICATION , PUBLISHER ,COPYRIGHT, DATE

e.g.- Dahl,ROALD,The BFG, NewYork: farrow,1982

e.g. - Woulf, Lois, USING the ABC’s, Toronto: Sanders Books, 1997

Format of Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia title ,edition date vol.no,``Article Title” page no.

E.g.-TheEncyclopedia Britanica,1997,vol.7,``gorillas”,p.p. 50-52

Format of Magazine/Newspaper

Lastname,first name``Article title,nameofMagazine,day,month.year: page no.

e.g.- Jorden,Jenifer,``Filming at the top of world”,Museum of Science Magazine,vol47,no.1,( winter 1998):p.11

Author(last name first), article title”, name of newspaper , city, state of publication(date): edition if available,section,page nos.

Power ,Ann,``New Tune for material girl” , The NewYork Times,New York,NY(3/1/98): Atlantic region, sec-2, p.no34

Format for unpublished work

Mohan,Krishna, some problems of teaching English as a Foreign Language in India at the University Level and a few suggestions for solving them . associate –ship Report ,Institute of Education , university of London . Unpublished . 1965

e.g. Rafter, John, ``Changing The Way we teach” ,Education and Evaluation, http://www. Education information, Halifax .ca( 12 Dec.1999)

Format for Films

Title , director, distributor, Year

e.g Braveheart, Dir. Mel Gibson , Icon productions, 1995

Consulting Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia

TOOLS FOR LEARNING

#DICTIONARY

#ENCYCLOPAEDIA

# ATLASES

THESAURUS ( the-sau-rus ) / thi-sawr-uhs /

Thesaurus is a Latin word which means treasure store. It is a reference work that lists words together according to the similarity of meaning. It is also called a store house ,repository or treasury It is not a substitute for dictionary . It is used for more elegant expression. The largest Thesaurus is HISTORICAL THESAURUS OF OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIOARY. It is a word finder. It is also a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms. ROGETS THESAURUS is published and it has about 9,20,000 enteries which are conceptual rather than alphabetical.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA ( EN-CY-CLO-PAE-DI-A ) /EN-SAHY-KLUH-PEE-DEE-UH /

It is a Greek word which means general education. It is a book or set of books containing facts about many subjects . It is a type of reference work , a compendium holding a summary of information. It is a set of articles or enteries covering all branches of knowledge less commonly the aspect of subject. Information is based on facts. The purpose of Encyclopaedia is to transmit the work to the proceeding generation. In America, it is called WORLD BOOK published in 1950 and 1960.e.g.

DICTIONARY ( DIC-TION-AR-Y ) [ DIK-SHUN-NER-EE ]

One of the important things in learning is to learn how to learn. Some of the tools are Dictionary, Encyclopedias, atlases etc. Dictionary is a treasure house. It is a book containing a selection of words of a language usually arranged alphabetically giving information about their meanings , pronunciation, etymologies, inflected forms etc. expressed in either the same or another Language, lexicon, glossary.

Types of Dictionary

Monolingual eg. English –English----- # oxford advanced learner’s dictionary #chamber concise usage Dictionary #Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English #Cambridge International Dictionary of English Bilingual e.g. English – Hindi or urdu - Spanish

Encyclopaediac dictionary provides historic information and it is a good friend in the quest to increase command.

POINTS TO BE NOTED:

1. Biggest is not the best.2. Largest dictionary is NEW OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY with 20 volumes of small print.19 pages on the verb forms ,tell why, when, and by whom a particular word was first used, variant spellings used by 15 th centuary Poets.

2. Ask yourself what do you need in dictionary.3. English language is changing. 1000 words are being added every year. Make sure

dictionary is revised with in last 10 years.4. If you are British –go for British dictionary.5. Check out the definition- if it makes you scratch your head. Dictionary is not for

you.6. Are there labels indicating that the word is obsolete, old fashioned or restricted

to a particular country or region. For e.g. red-eye n. 1 U.S. slang . Whisky of inferior brand.

7. It should give etymologies -- the history of each word ; by knowing the origin of the word we can spell it correct. for e.g. berserk means bear shirt. Some people dressed as savage animals to increase their courage in battle.

8. There is usually a key to browse to show stress pattern , It is required for pronunciation.

9. Supplementary material like musical symbols, mathematical and Millitary ranks, charts of weight and measure.Dictionaries have following uses :

1 . Knowing correct spellings--- All Dictionaries list the words in alphabetical order, so it is to locate a word When you open Dictionary, you observe two words given at the top of every page in the Dictionary-one on the top left extreme of the left page and other on top right extreme of the right page. For e.g. while locating the word` parmanent’ you open a page in the dictionary the two guide words ` permit’ and ` personality’. The word is printed with thick and bold letters and according to the syllables with space in between syllables.

2. pronunciation of words --3 . understanding the meaning of words4. Use of Examples—Example is given for each meaning , by using the word in a phrase, clause or sentence. The meaning of words are numbered as 1,2,3,4. Immidiately after the numbers you find the meaning in normal print and at the end of each meaning one or more examples are given in italics. Examples show you the words with which you can combine the given word.

5. Use of Synonyms of words- - e.g. Immaterial ( adj.)(1) not important in a particular situation; irrelevant;IRRELEVANT; written in small capital letters printed at the end of the meaning.6 . Using the Explanations in Brackets—All the standard dictionaries use a defining vocabulary. When the definition s contain words outside list of defining vocabulary, they are immediately explained in brackets in normal type . for e.g. black and blue (adj.) skin that is black and blue has bruises(=dark marks) on it as a result of being hit.7 . Using grammatical information in Dictionary—It gives us three main catagories of information. Parts of speech : Dictioary tells us the class that eachheadword belongs to. It tells us whether a word is adjective or adverb or verb etc.This information is given immediately after the pronunciation of the word using abbreviations such as adj. for adjective.ii) Grammar code --It also uses a number of codes . for e.g. (s) for singular,(T) for transitiveiii) Word –Inflections--- They are the changes that are made to the form of a word according to its function in a sentence.

8 . Idiomatic expressions9 . other useful information

Head Word is printed in Bold letters

Labelling starts with bullet.

Etymology is in square brackets.

Cross reference as bold head word

Use of synonym BOLD ( SMALL CAPITAL LETTERS )

Ragister……………………..#formal, Colloq. Slang

# coarse slang, offensive ( used by ethnic or res

UNIT—IV

MODULE NO.-4.1 Communication : meaning, importance , process types

MODULE NO – 4.2 Non-verbal Communication

MODULE NO – 4 .3 Barriers to communication

Module No – oral presentation , group discussion, Interview

Communication : meaning, importance , process types

The word Communication is of Latin origin, derived from the Latin word communicare, which means to share or exchange information, news, views etc.

Definition: Communication can be defined as the exchange of information, ideas, and knowledge between sender and receiver through an accepted code of symbols. It is termed effective only when the receiver receives the message intended by the sender in the same perspective.It is ,therefore ,essentially a social affair.It is deployment of codes consisting of arbitrarily evolved symbols determing the appropriateness of their use pertaining to situations.

ESSENCES OF COMMUNICATION:

personal process occurs between people involves change in behaviour means to influence others expression of thoughts and emotions through words & actions. tools for controlling and motivating people. it is a social and emotional process

MEDIA OF COMMUNICATION

• Written

• Oral

• Visual

• Audio-Visual

• Computer based

Types of Communication

• Interpersonal Communication

• Intrapersonal Communication

• Extra Personal Communication

• Group Communication

• Mass and Media Communication

Interpersonal Communication: This happens between two (or more than that) people.

When one person communicates with another using words and symbols we call it interpersonal communication.

The success of this communication depends on the familiarity of knowledge, background and experience of the individuals involved.

Intrapersonal Communication

‘Intra’ means ‘within’

It is talking to one’s own self without the involvement of a second person or party.

Electrochemical and electro technical activities of bodily sense are involved.

Eyes: transmitter, Central nervous system: medium, brain: receiver and activation of muscles gives feedback.

Extra Personal Communication

Communication between human beings and animals, inanimate objects and their surroundings.

The sender may use words but may receive response in the form of gestures.

Group Communication

It is an extension of interpersonal communication where more than two individuals are involved in exchange of ideas, skills and interests. 

A group is a number of people with a common goal who interact with one another to accomplish their goals, recognize one another’s existence and see themselves as part of the group

Mass and Media Communication

This mode is followed when we communicate with large groups.Electrical/mechanical devices can be used to send the message.The channel could be newspaper, radio, TV, video, internet etc.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is a process whereby information is encoded, channelled, and sent by a sender to a receiver via a medium.

The communication process is cyclic in case of a two way interaction. The cycle of communication includes:

1. Sender and idea

2. encoding the idea into a message

3. Transmission of the message

4. Decoding of the message by the receiver

5. Receiver’s feedback

OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNICATION

• Information

• Advice

• order

• Suggestion

• Persuasion

• Education

• Warning

• Motivation

• Raising morale

• To be understood

• To be accepted

• To get something done

• To understand others

PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION --The 7 Cs

• Clarity of thought and expression

• Completeness

• Conciseness

• Consideration

• Courtesy

• Correctness

• Concreteness

Types of Communication

Communication can be divided in many ways:--

1. Purpose a. Personal

b. Professional

I. Informal: i Grapevine

II. Formal : i Internal operational

ii External operational

2. Movement a. Upward

b. Downward

c. Lateral or Horizontal

d. Diagonal

3. Number of persons a. Single

b. A specific group

c. Masses

4. Media a. Verbal

i. Oral

ii written

b. Non verbal

i. sign language

ii. Body language or Kinesics

iii. Proxemics

iv. Chronemics

Informal Communication

Grapevine - The term grapevine communication is often used interchangeably with the term informal communication. Grapevine is an informal network through which communication travels in an organization.

Advantages of Grapevine

In general Grapevine is –

– Not expensive

– Rapid

– Multidirectional

– if carefully cultivated , is capable of resolving conflicts

– voluntary and unforced

Disadvantages of Grapevine

If information is blindly accepted it may-

• reveal some degree of error

• be harmful in case it is baseless and imaginary

• lead to misunderstanding because it is imaginary.

• Cause damage to the organization because of its excessive swiftness at time

Formal Communication

• Internal Operational Communication

The communication that takes place within an organisation at various levels for the effective functioning of the organisation is termed as Internal Operational Communication

• External Operational Communication

• Communication that takes place between a manager and external groups such as - suppliers, vendors, banks, financial institutes etc. For instance - To raise capital the Managing director would interact with the Bank Manager.

Flow of Communication

• Downward Communication

• Upward Communications

• Lateral or Horizontal Communication

• Diagonal Communication

Upward Communication

• Flows to a higher level in an organization

• Provides feedback on how well the organization is functioning

• Non-directive in nature

• Examples: Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction surveys etc.

Downward Communication

• Flows from a higher level in an organization

• In other words, it is the communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of commands/instructions.

•  Used by the managers to transmit work-related information to the employees at lower levels

• Directive in nature

Lateral/Horizontal Communication

• It takes place among people at the same level.  

• It is time saving.

• It facilitates co-ordination of the task.

•  It facilitates co-operation among team members.

•  It provides emotional and social assistance to the organizational members.

•  It helps in solving various organizational problems.

• It is a means of information sharing.

•  It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a department with other department or conflicts within a department.

Diagonal Communication

• Communication that takes place between a manager and employees of other workgroups.

• For instance - To design a training module a training manager interacts with an Operations personnel to enquire about the way they perform their task.

Kinds of Verbal Communication

Face to face

Telephonic conversation

Video conference

Meetings

Conferences

Interviews, etc.

Non Verbal Communication

i. Sign Language

ii. Body language or Kinesics

A. Posture

B. Gestures

C. Eye Contact

D. Facial Expressions

E. Appearance

iii Proxemics

iv Chronemics

Non Verbal Communication: Kinesics

Definition: Study of body’s physical movement While speaking, listening, reading, or writing, we consciously use words to receive or send ideas.

Why do we use word?

We use words because they are the primary symbolic forms that convey our thought. On paper, words remain static: punctuation marks are used to convey pauses, expressions, emotions, etc.But in face to face communication the message is conveyed on two levels simultaneously!

One is verbal and the other is non verbal. For example, you are congratulating two of your friends on their success in their interviews. If you extend your hand to them with a big smile on your face along with your utterance, ‘congrats’, your appreciation has more impact on them than the word in isolation. Your smile and handshake are non verbal means of communication.

Some remarkable quotes on body language

It is believed that a charming person has a pleasant voice, a dynamic person has a vibrant voice and a confident person an assured voice!

“ He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent he chats with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore” Sigmund Freud

“ Nobility and dignity; self abasement and servility, insolence and vulgarity, are reflected in the face and in the attitudes of the body whether still or in motion” Socrates

Kinesics as part of Non Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication refers to all communication that occurs without the use of words either spoken or written. The non-verbal part of an oral presentation is not as deliberate and conscious as verbal communication. Rather, it is subtle and instinctive. kinesics is part of this non-verbal communication. Kinesics is the study of the body’s physical movements. In other words, it is the way the body communicates without words, i.e., through various movements of its parts. As is well said by Watzlawick and his associates, “you cannot not communicate”. You communicate just by being.

Aspects of body language- Body language includes the following aspect

• Personal appearance

• Posture

• Gesture

• Facial expression

• Eye contact

Personal appearance

The first impact on the audience is created by the personal appearance of the speaker. Even before the speaker utters first syllable you begin to form an opinion about the speaker and visualize the way s/he is going to speak. One’s appearance may put the audience into a resistant or hostile attitude or induce in them a receptive mood. You should be clean and well groomed, conforming to the need of the occasion. Appearance communicates how we feel about ourselves and how we want to be viewed.

Posture

Posture generally refers to the way we hold ourselves when we stand, sit, or walk. A good speaker stands tall, feet together with the weight directly over the instep, keeping one’s chin on a line parallel to the floor or at right angles to the backbone.

• Slumped posture- low spirits.

• Erect posture – high spirits, energy, and confidence.

• Lean forward – open honest and interested.

• Lean backward – defensive or disinterested.

• crossed arms – defensive and not ready to listen.

• Uncrossed arms – willingness to listen.

Gesture

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken wor Gestures include movement of the hands, arms, shoulders, head ,and torso. adroit (clever and skilful) gestures can add to the impact of a speech. Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language.

Gestures clarify your ideas or reinforce them and should be well suited to the audience and occasion. Gestures are more numerous than any forms of non verbal communication, and the meanings attached to them are diverse.gestures should not divert the attention of the listeners and distract from your message.be aware of and avoid irritating gestures like playing with a ring, twisting a key chain, clasping the hands tightly, or cracking your knuckles.

Gestures can be roughly be divided into the following types:

• Enumerative – numbers

• Descriptive –size of the objects

• Symbolic –abstract concepts

• Locative – location of an object

• Emphatic –emphasis

Facial expression

Along with posture and gesture, facial expression also plays an important part. the face is the most expressive part of your body . A wooden expression on the face may prejudice the listener whereas brightness in the eyes may keep their interest sustained and also evoke an enthusiastic response. Exuding zeal when one is making a point or smiling while explaining an intricate problem makes the job of the speakers easy

Smile – friendliness

Frown – discontent

Raising the eyebrows – disbelief

Facial expression

Tightening the jaw muscle – antagonism (hostile)

The five basic expressions are:

Inhibited – restricted and solid

Uninhibited – spontaneous and impetuous

Substitute –happy with a long face

Frozen – no change in expression

Blank – no expression at all

Barriers to Communication

Meaning --Communication is the process through which the source transmits any message, idea or information to the receiver through a medium.

Barriers of Communication are the hindrances or difficulties involved in the process of Communication whereby the message is distorted and is not properly understood by the receiver. An absence of a common frame of reference , a badly encoded message, a disturbance in the transmission channel, the poor level of retention of the receiver, lack of attention , the semantic difficulties, psycho-physical factors and selection of wrong variety of language at the receiver’s end, his or her unclear assumptions ,a pre-mature evaluation of the message are some the barriers.

Types of Barriers:

• Noise

• Semantic Barriers

• Organizational Barriers

• Psychological Barriers

• Other Barriers

Noise

• What is Noise?

• Any interference in the message sent and the message received leads to the production of Noise. Noise here does not mean cacophony, but a barrier in the communication process.

• For Example: You have just joined as a trainee at an automobile company. You go to meet your boss to seek permission to visit the automobile exhibition being held in New Delhi. While you are talking, two of your colleagues also come in to get some bills signed. After they leave, you resume talking but find your boss has not really grasped the message.

• Your colleagues intervention led to your boss’ lack of concentration. This intervention or ‘NOISE’ did not let your boss decode the message fully. Hence the communication failed.

• However, noise can be of two types:

• Physical

• Psychological.

• Physical noise can also be understood in terms of cacophony where external noise makes it difficult to pass on the message. Ex. Noise of Heavy machines.

• Psychological noise is when the person has too many things going on in his mind which make it difficult for him to concentrate on the message being given by the speaker.

• The example shared in the previous slide refers to physical noise which does not involve loud sounds but interference prevents communication. This example also speaks about

the Boss’ psychological noise where he fails to grasp your message because his attention was diverted.

Semantic Barrier :

• Lack of common Language : Linguistic barrier occurs when the sender and the receiver belong to different Language backgrounds. For Ex. A Japanese and a German might face this barrier in absence of a common language.

• Poor Vocabulary : An inadequate vocabulary can be a major hindrance in communication. At times your pen falters or your tongue fumbles as you search for the exact word or phrase.

• Use of Jargons : Not everyone is familiar with the terms associated with a particular field of work. Technical terms of one field may sound ‘Greek and Latin’ to the person belonging to a different field of work. For Ex. A student of Humanities might be unable to understand the technical terms of Engineering.

• Poor Grammar, Punctuation : A major barrier occurs when the sender, in encoding the message, does not pay attention to the grammatical structure of the sentences. Punctuation marks, if not placed properly, can also lead to the distortion of the message. For Ex. 1.(Grammar) I want to marry my daughter. Correct: I want to get my daughter married. 2. (Punctuation: Story of the king who ordered to leave a convict to be hanged, after finding him innocent) Hang him. Not Leave him. Correct: Hang him not. Leave him.

• Round About Verbiage : This sort of barrier occurs when the speaker does not come to the subject directly, rather beats about the bush, keeping the listener/receiver guessing about the actual issue.

• Lack of Clarity in the Message: If the sender is not able to structure his ideas accurately and efficiently, barrier of this nature can come up. What he wishes to say and what he finally imparts may not be the same and the listener feels that the interaction is a waste of time. This happens when the sender is not well versed in the topic under discussion and fails to hold the attention of the receiver.

Organizational Barriers

• Too Many Transfer Stations : The more links there are in a communication chain, the greater are the chances of miscommunication that will occur. Have you ever played ‘Chinese Whisper’ as a child? This will help you understand this particular barrier better.

• Negative Tendencies : Bonding between people who share similar values, attitudes, opinions, beliefs and behaviours is often termed as Group-ism. Often organizations too create work groups to facilitate certain organizational tasks. Communication barrier here surfaces often due to a conflict between the members and non-members or among the members themselves.

• Over/Under Communication - Neither there should be excess of information nor should it be too scanty. Excess information may confuse the receiver as he has to figure out the exact import of the message and scanty information would make him grope for the actual intent of the message.

• Too Many Transfer Stations : The more links there are in a communication chain, the greater are the chances of miscommunication that will occur. Have you ever played ‘Chinese Whisper’ as a child? This will help you understand this particular barrier better.

• Negative Tendencies : Bonding between people who share similar values, attitudes, opinions, beliefs and behaviours is often termed as Group-ism. Often organizations too create work groups to facilitate certain organizational tasks. Communication barrier here surfaces often due to a conflict between the members and non-members or among the members themselves.

• Over/Under Communication - Neither there should be excess of information nor should it be too scanty. Excess information may confuse the receiver as he has to figure out the exact import of the message and scanty information would make him grope for the actual intent of the message.

• Use of Inappropriate Media : Some of the common media used in organizations are graphs and charts, telephones, fax machines, boards, email, films, slides, computer presentations, teleconferencing and videoconferencing. While choosing the medium you should keep in mind the advantages, disadvantages and potential barriers to communication. If the choice of the channel or medium is not right the impact of the message is lost. This is mostly a physical noise. However, the responsibility lies with the sender, as he should ensure that all channels are free of noise before commencing communication.

• Fear of Superiors : In rigidly structured organizations, fear or awe of superiors prevents subordinates from speaking frankly. An employee may not be pleased with the way his boss works but is unable to put his point across because of losing his boss’ goodwill.

PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS

• Wrong Assumptions: Wrong assumptions are generally made when the sender or the receiver does not have adequate knowledge about each other’s background or entertain certain false notions, which are fixed in their mind. Sometimes the speaker does not realize that background, education and experiences of different people can be different. For Ex. A doctor may tell a patient to take a medicine only as an S.O.S, (i.e.. In dire emergency) but does not make it clear to the patient, who in turn thinks it is to be taken regularly.

• Varied Perceptions : Individuals in an organization perceive situations in different ways as each man’s understanding differs. For Ex. The story of the six blind men.

• Resistance to Change : When we come across information which is not in conformity with our views, habits and attitudes, or appears unfavourable to us we tend to react negatively or even disbelieve. For Ex. Resistance to adapt oneself to the advancing technology.

• Prejudiced Views : Be careful not to hold on to preconceptions about people or things. We often have a tendency to see what we want to see, forming an impression from a small amount of information or one experience, and assuming that to be highly representative of the whole person or situation. Similarly, emotional outbursts also hinder communication.

• Jumping to Conclusions : Not being aware of facts and drawing inferences on a given situation on the basis of one’s perception causes this barrier. Inferences are more dramatic than facts and for this reason they give more scope for gossip and rumour to thrive. For Eg. You’ve just returned from a business tour and find two of your colleagues missing. Not seeing them again for several days on the row, you jump to conclusion that owing to recession they’ve been laid off. As you start gossiping about it you learn the fact that actually they’ve been promoted and transferred.

• Communication Selectivity : This barrier comes up when someone feels he/she has quite some knowledge on the topic being discussed. They, therefore, look out only for the information which they do not know and in this process often lose out on several minute points of the discussion.

Other Barriers

• Cultural Variations : This is one of the predominant factors in communication failure. As global residents we need to be aware of the customs, laws, and business practices of the companies of other nations we are dealing with. For Ex. Maintaining Eye-Contact during

conversation is seen as a sign of self-confidence in the USA, whereas the same activity is termed rude in Japan.

• Poor Listening Skills : A common obstacle to communication is poor listening habits. Sometimes the individual is so engrossed in his own thoughts that he is unable to concentrate on listening.

• Poor Retention : If the listener has poor retention capability, he would probably get lost in the proceedings. There would be no connection between what was said initially and what is being said now.

• The ‘I’- Attitude : If the speaker every sentence with “I”, it gradually leads to what is called the I-syndrome. He would not be receptive to the changes as suggested by the receiver as they would go against his personal formulation of certain views.

• Conflicting Information : Conflict between the existing information and fresh one results in the growing confusion of the listener, whereby he loses the entire message in trying to compare the two differing information.

• Incongruity of Verbal & Non-Verbal Messages : Actions speak louder than words, and thus, non-verbal cues provide a deeper insight into the sender’s message. Ignoring non-verbal cues or misinterpreting them can result in the message being completely misunderstood. For Ex. Your friend has topped the examination and you go to congratulate him. However, when you do express your joy on his achievement, your face remains serious, not showing any kind of emotions which match the spoken message. This leaves your friend wondering whether you are really happy on his achievement or is it otherwise!

Ways to over-come Barriers

• Sharpening communication skills

• Use simple Language

• Being receptive to changes

• Improving Listening skills

• Avoid Jargons

• Open-mindedness

• Avoid prejudice

• Message should be clear and brief

• Avoid fear

• Build credibility

• Understanding receiver

• Selection of proper channel

• Develop emotional stability

• Receive feedback

Presentation

Purpose of presentation

1. To inform: the basic purpose of presentation is to inform or teach the audience regarding new schemes , new proposals, or new products, etc. These presentations basically aim at informing the new entrants about the organizational policies and procedures.

2. To persuade: persuading the audience to act or to believe in certain way.3. To build goodwill: is to entertain the audience therefore, at the end of

presentation, jokes are cut to entertain the audience.

Kinds of Presentation1. Monologue presentation: The speaker speaks without interruption and at the

end , answers the questions of the audience. The speaker plans the presentation in advance by collecting the relevant literature and anticipating the audience’s demand and mostly used in class room situation.

2. Guided discussions: the speaker presents the question or issue that both speaker and audience have agreed in advance, and acts as facilitator to help the audience with expert knowledge.

3. Sales presentations: is made to convince the audience for buying the products, or services or accepting the new ideas.

Factors affecting Presentation1. Audience analysis2. Communication environment3. Personal Appearance4. Use of visual s5. Opening and closing of presentation6. Organization of presentation7. Language and words8. Quality of Voice9. Body Language answering Questions

Giving effective Presesntation

Every presentation requires:

Strategy Structure:

Introduction

. Attention gaining statement

The main theme

Body

1. …………………………………………………. 2. …………………………………………………. 3. …………………………………………………. 4. ……………………………………………………..

ConclusionReviewClosing statement

Supportspeech

GROUP DISCUSSION

To develop a clear thinking, discussion plays an important role . it is a process of Reflective thinking. We may continue for sometime with predetermined issues but we cannot sell our preconceived ideas. It is reflective because our thinking depends upon what others think and what others express. We should participate in a discussion not as a propagandist but as a critic. A healthy and successful discussion eliminates conflicts and achieves consensus. In a discussion each participant displays his or her imaginative thinking by offering suggestions, adding ideas but deferring the solution until all ideas have been appropriately enumerated.

Process of GD

1 .Purpose :

# How to judge how to behave in a group

# GD throws a platform to display the personality traits . e.g. intellectual ability,problem solving ,tolerance, group behavior, creativity, etc.

# clarity of thought

# felicity of Expression

# Train us to be professional

# It makes us wise enough to see reason

# Make us receive newer and newer ideas

# Transmit our views and their validity and appeal

# how to get rid of biased judgement

2. Objectives :

# to present a platform for group learning

# create an opportunity to discuss a problem

# make a group think together #we learn group dynamics

# share, classify and analyse the established findings

# Role of team –effort in Modern world

3 . Participants:

# 10 to 15 participants for a bigger group but many tend to avoid speaking and if less than 5 the discussion does not hold effective.

# Active participation of every member

# Share and Exchange views.

4. Time and Place:

# Room should be well ventilated and illumined.

# Semi circle or elliptical arrangement of chairs ,so that they can see share and exchange views.

# 5-10 time for brood over and collect thoughts

5. Moderator:

# GD takes place in presence of observer.

# the role of observer is to learn and monitor the process of discussion

# the moderator can evaluates the contributions by the participants.

6. Scope and Limits:

# There is no place for emotional outburst or display of excitement.

# if found dominating others the other members should curb this flamboyance by interrupting politely

# to keep the discussion on the track a participant should summeraise the points made till that time and added by his or her viewpoint.

7. Tasks performed:

#participants argue by presenting their views. In process they solve their disputes and mis understanding.

# They arrive at a common finding or consensus.

# A discussion proceeds effectively when there emerges a leader in a discusson.

8. Skills of Discussion

# we require to improve our skills at two levels;

# First at the level of Speaking like Impressive voice, Pronunciation, Articulation, poise, Effective body language, command over the subject matter, grab the opportunity to control.

# Secondly at the level of Listening like focused attitude, thorogh perception, positive Approach , Detailed analysis, Body Langyage

9. Appropriate approach

Positive participants : 1. Initiators

2. supporters

3. Reconcilers

4. Path finders

Negative Approach : I. Interruptors

2. Challangers

What to do for GD : read newspaper , study Economics, know

INTERVIEW

The word Interview may be defined as a conversation between two parties that is structured and prepared to achieve a purpose involving the exchange of information. The use of word parties has a significance. In most of interviews there is a single interviewer and a single interviewee, but it is possible that an individual may be interviewed by a group. Second important word is purpose which means that at least one of the parties, engaging in conversation has a goal in mind . Conversation is informal casual and spontaneous where both speakers speak equally but the interview is formal, serious, structured and interviewee speaks more and interviewer asks more.

Tips for a Positive Interviewing Experience!

Human Resource Services Read the duties and the knowledge, skills and abilities required of each position CAREFULLY before applying.

• Assess the value of what you have to offer to each position and the organization. How does your experience apply to what is required for the job? Think deeply about yourself: How have you grown over time? How do you interact with others? What could you have done differently for better results? What motivates you?

• Become familiar with the organization so you can demonstrate how and why you will be an effective employee. Ask the agency or company to send you material (brochure, job description, newsletter, etc.)

• Be realistic! Know your qualifications and limitations. Wanting a job does not necessarily mean you’re qualified for it. Also, a job that pays well for duties you don’t like will not be rewarding in the long run. Fully complete the state application without being too wordy. Resumes should be brief and to the point (1-2 pages). Both must be ERROR FREE!

• Application form is available on the Intranet in the HR Forms file. If you do not have a personal computer available to you, please complete the form NEATLY by hand, preferably typed.

• Make sure all information is accurate and captures what you have done in each job.

• Document your qualifications. NEVER assume anything.

• The application DEADLINE date is exactly that. Plan ahead!

Interview DO’s

• Dress appropriately for the industry. When in doubt, go conservative. Personal grooming and cleanliness should be impeccable. Keep cologne or perfume to a minimum. Pay particular attention to hands and fingernails.

• Arrive 10 minutes early. Know the exact time and location of your interview; know how long it takes to get there, park, and find a restroom to freshen up.

• Treat other people you encounter with courtesy and respect. Their opinions of you might be solicited during the hiring process.

• Offer a firm handshake, make eye contact, and have a friendly expression when you are greeted by the interviewer.

• Listen to be sure you understand your interviewer’s name and the correct pronunciation. Even when your interviewer gives you a first and last name, address your interviewer by Mr. Or Ms. And the last name, until invited to do otherwise.

• Maintain good eye contact during the interview.

• Sit still in your seat; avoid fidgeting and slouching.

• Respond to questions and back up your statements about yourself with specific examples whenever possible.

• Ask for clarification if you don’t understand a question; and be thorough in your responses while being concise in your wording.

• Use good grammar and good diction. Say “yes”, not “yeah.” Don’t fill pauses with “um,” uh” or “ah”. Don’t punctuate sentences with “you know”, “like”, “see” or “okay”. Exhibit quiet confidence.

• Organize your thoughts and apply your knowledge, skills and abilities.

• Think globally! Relate “outside” experiences to demonstrate your qualifications

Interview Don’ts

• Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility for your decisions and your actions.

• Don’t make negative comments about previous employers or supervisors (or others).

• Don’t treat the interview casually, as if you are just shopping around or doing the interview for practice. This is insulting to the interviewer and the organization.

• Don’t give the impression you are only interested in salary.

• Don’t act as though you would take any job or are desperate for employment.

• Don’t chew gum or smell like smoke.

• Don’t take cell phone calls during an interview. If you carry a cell phone, turn it off during the interview

What about Answering Questions?

• Your points must be CLEAR, RELEVANT AND ADEQUATE:

• to enable the interviewer to understand what you are trying to say; to determine your strengths for that particular job; and to have sufficient information to make a good decision.

• The interviewer needs to determine if you can do the job, if you will do the job, and if you fit in. Hiring the RIGHT person is the goal.

• Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at work that tested your coping skills. What did you do?

• Give an example of a time when you had to be relatively quick in coming to a decision.

• Give me an example of an important goal you had to set and tell me about your progress in reaching that goal.

• Give me an example of a problem you faced on the job, and tell me how you solved it.

Tell me about a situation in the past year in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.

Your keys to RESPONDING well to these types of questions are: Be specific, not genervague!

• Don’t describe how you would behave. Describe how you DID behave. If you later decided you should have behaved differently, explain this. The interviewer will see that you learned something from experience.

Your Rights

• Accommodations - Time to request - Interpreter, large print, accessible location for interview

What do you do after the interview?

• Courteously thank the interviewer(s) for the opportunity to interview with the agency.

• Extend a handshake and exhibit enthusiasm about the career opportunity.

• Consider following up with a thank you note or e-mail of appreciation to the interviewer(s) to further show your interest.

UNIT-V

MODULE NO.- 5.1 The Gift of the Magi

MODULE NO – 5.2 The Lament and

Module no – 5.3 The Eyes are not here

MODULE NO – 5.4 The Rocking horse Winner

Module No – 5.5 The Barber’s Trade Union

5.1 The Gift of the Magi ( by O. Henry )SummaryDella Young is a devoted young married woman. Christmas Eve finds her in possession of a meager one dollar and eighty-seven cents, the sum total of her savings, with which she wants to buy a gift for her husband, Jim. A recent cut in the family income, from an ample thirty dollars a week to a stingy twenty dollars a week, has turned Della’s frugality into parsimony. Although she lives in an eight-dollar-a-week flat and her general surroundings, even by the greatest stretch of the imagination, do not meet the standards of genteel poverty, Della determines that she cannot live through Christmas without giving Jim a tangible reminder of the season. Distraught, she clutches the one dollar and eighty-seven cents in her hand as she moves discontentedly about her tiny home. Suddenly, catching a glance of herself in the cheap pier glass mirror, a maneuver possible only for the slender and agile viewer, the perfect solution suggests itself. Whirling about with happiness, she lets down her long, beautiful hair. It is like brown sable and falls in caressing folds to below her knees. After a moment’s selfadmiration, and another half-moment’s reservation, during which time a tear streaks down her face, she resolutely puts on her old hat and jacket and leaves the flat. Della’s quick steps take her to the shop of Madame Sofronie, an establishment that trades in hair goods of all kinds. Entering quickly, lest her nerve desert her, she offers to sell her hair. Madame Sofronie surveys theluxuriant tresses, unceremoniously slices them off, and hands Della twenty dollars. For the next two hours, Della feels herself in paradise, temporarily luxuriating in the knowledge that she can

buy anything she wants. She decides on a watch fob for Jim’s beautiful old watch. If there are two treasures in the world of which James and Della Dillingham Young are inordinately and justly proud, they are her hair (lately and gladly sacrificed) and Jim’s revered gold watch, handed down to him by his grandfather.She finally sees exactly what she wants, a platinum watch fob that costs twenty-one dollars. She excitedly anticipates Jim’s reaction when he sees a proper chain for his watch. Until now, he has been using an old leather strap, which, despite the watch’s elegance, has forced him to look at the time surreptitiously.Arriving back at the flat, breathless but triumphant, Della remembers her newly bobbed appearance. She reaches for the curling irons and soon a mass of close-cropped curls adorns her shorn head. She stares at herself anxiously in the mirror, hoping that her husband will still love her. As is her usual custom, she prepares dinner for the always punctual Jim and sits down to await his arrival. The precious gift is tightly clutched in her hand. She mutters an imprecation to God so that Jim will think she is still pretty.At precisely seven o’clock, she hears Jim’s familiar step on the stairs, his key in the door. He is a careworn young man, only twenty-two and already burdened with many responsibilities. He opens the door, sees Della, and an indiscernible look, neither sorrow nor surprise, overtakes him. His face can only be described as bearing a mask of melancholy disbelief. Even though Della rushes to assure him that her hair grows fast and that she will soon be back to normal, Jim cannot seem to be persuaded that her beautiful hair is really gone. Della implores him to understand that she simply could not have lived through Christmas without buying him a gift; she begs him, for her sake, as well as the season’s, to be happy. Jim, as if waking from a trance, embraces her and readily tells her that there is nothing a shampoo or haircut could do to Della that would alter his love for her. In the excitement he has forgotten to give her gift, and now he offers her a paper-wrapped package. Tearing at it eagerly, Della finds a set of combs, tortoise shell, bejeweled combs that she has so often admired in a shop on Broadway, combs whose color combines perfectly with her own vanished tresses. Her immense joy turns to tears but quickly returns when she remembers just how fast her hair grows. Jim has not yet seen his beautiful present. She holds it out to him, and the precious metal catches all the nuances of light in the room. It is indeed a beautiful specimen of a watch chain, and Della insists on attaching it to Jim’s watch. Jim looks at her with infinite love and patience and suggests that they both put away their presents—for a while. Jim has sold his watch in order to buy the combs for Della even as she has sold her hair to buy the watch chain for Jim. Like the Magi, those wise men who invented the tradition of Christmas giving, both Della and Jim have unwisely sacrificed the greatest treasures of their house for each other. However, of all those who give gifts, these two are inevitably the wisest.

Critical SurveyTomorrow is Christmas Day, and Della is distraught. The meager savings she managed to put aside to purchase a gift for her beloved husband is a mere $1.87. It is simply not enough for a present worthy of her Jim. There were brighter days for this young, loving couple. Earlier, Jim managed to bring home thirty dollars a week. Now, with their income reduced to twenty dollars a week, there is nothing left after basic living expenses aremet. Della managed to save her $1.87 by doggedly bullying the grocer, the vegetable man, and the butcher into giving her better prices. Lean living, however, has not dimmed the couple’s devotion to one another. Jim returns home from his job punctually every evening to be greeted by Della’s loving embrace. Della simply cannot bear the thought of giving her husband a shabby

gift or no gift at all. She collapses in tears of frustration, but then inspiration strikes. After taking a long look at herself in a mirror, Della is reminded that her assets extend beyond the pittance she is hoarding. She catches sight of her long, flowing hair, the one worldly possession she takes pride in, and realizes that there is a way to accomplish her goal. Della sheds a few tears for what will be her lost glory. Just as quickly, however, she represses her emotions, scoops up her old jacket and hat, and leaves the flat. Arriving at a shop whose sign reads Mme Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds, Della inquires what the proprietress would pay for her hair. Coldly, Madame Sonofrie appraises Della’s tresses with an experienced eye and hand and offers twenty dollars. Without hesitation, Della submits to the shearing and walks out with money in hand. After two hours of joyful searching, Della finds the perfect gift for Jim.If Della has one possession that means the world to her, Jim has one, too, a beautiful gold watch that belonged to his father and his grandfather before him. Jim does not display the watch willingly, however, for it hangs on an old leather strap instead of a suitable gold chain. Jim will not have to be circumspect any longer about his watch; Della finds a platinum fob chain, simple in design and of exquisite quality, which will do justice to Jim’s treasure. Thrilled that she procured a gift worthy of her husband, Della hurries home to repair the damage the shearing did. After styling her short hair into curls that resemble those of a “truant schoolboy” or a “Coney Island chorus girl,”Della readies the dinner things and sits down near the door. As she waits expectantly, gift in hand, she prays that he will still find her pretty.

The Lament ( by Anton P Chekov )

Summary

The story tells about a father and his great despair for his dead son. Iona, the father, is a Russian sleigh driver who desperately tried to share his grief with strangers. Iona wanted someone to listen to him, to somehow feel his grief, in order for him to feel better. This reading shows the harshness of human nature. It takes a powerful look at the lack of human involvement and compassion toward one man's grief. Iona tries unsuccessfully, three times, to find an outlet to his pain. Only resorting to the faithful ear of his horse does Iona reach resignation from the death of his son.

Iona's first fare was a military officer. At first, this man seemed interested in Iona's story, but when Iona turned around to talk to him in more detail, the officer started shouting at him about his driving. This resulted in the military officer tuning Iona out.

Iona's next fare was three obnoxious young men. They were unruly and offensive towards Iona but he gave them a ride anyway hoping they would just listen to him. Unfortunately, one of the men replied, "we shall all die," and Iona received no sympathy from them.

Finally, when he could no longer hold his thoughts in any longer, he took his horse back to the stable. He came upon another cabman and Iona told him about his grief only to find the cabman was fast asleep. Iona wanted to tell someone the details of his son's death yet no one showed an interest. This only drove him deeper into grief and only intensified his emotions. He watches crowds of people go by and the narrator adds: "Can he not find among these thousands someone who will listen to him?" In the end, Iona found refuge speaking to his horse. He poured his heart out to her … and she listened.

The Eyes are not Here ( by Ruskin Bond )

SummaryThe Eyes Have It (also known as The Girl on the Train & The Eyes Are Not Here) is a short story by Ruskin Bond that was originally published in Contemporary Indian English Stories. The narrator of this story, a blind man whose eyes were sensitive only to light and darkness, was going to Dehradun by train when he met a girl and had a chit-chat with her. It was only after she left and another passenger came into the compartment that the narrator realizes the girl was blind. Summary Up to Rohana , the narrator was alone in the compartment. A girl boarded towards the compartment . Her parents bid her goodbye at the station and were anxious about her well-being and advised her a lot regarding where to keep her belongings, not to lean out of the windows and to avoid talking to strangers.Once the train left the station, the narrator started a conversation asking if she too was going to Dehra. The voice startled her as she thought her to be alone in the compartment. The girl told him that she was going to Saharanpur where her aunt would come to take her home. She also envied the narrator as the hills of Mussoorie, where he was headed to, presented a lovely sight in October (the present month).After some more chit-chats, the narrator told her, quite daringly (as he was blind and couldn't have known her face for sure) that she had an interesting face. She was happy at this and replied that it was indeed a welcome deviation from the often repeated phrase: "You have a pretty face".Soon it was time for the girl to bid goodbye as the train arrived at her destination. After her departure, a man entered the compartment and apologized, as a matter of fact, for not being as attractive a traveling companion as his predecessor. When the narrator asked him if the girl had her hair long or short, he replied with interest .

Critical Summary: The Eye’s are not Here

Ruskin Bond’s short story “The Eyes Are Not Here” is very brief but is also intriguingly complex. Although most worthwhile stories cannot be easily paraphrased or reduced to a single theme, this story definitely seems to deal with issues of human perception. In this tale, three people, at least, prove to be imperceptive in various ways: the unnamed man on the train, the unnamed woman on the train, the story’s reader, and, perhaps, also the new male passenger. Bond’s story is the kind of tale that makes readers want to read it immediately a second time as soon as they have finished reading it once. Only on re-reading, in fact, does the story reveal its full richness and complexity as a meditation on human perceptions and perceptiveness and how both are influenced by the assumptions we make. Briefly, the plot of the story is this: a man (presumably a young man) is sitting in a compartment in a train when a woman (apparently a young woman) also enters the compartment. The woman doesn’t notice that the man is blind, and he does not tell her. Instead, he asks her a series of questions that allow him to infer certain facts about her. She also converses pleasantly with him. After she gets off the train at her stop, another male enters the compartment and mentions in passing that the young woman who just left the compartment was blind. Thus, the young man on the train failed to perceive that the young woman was blind, as did the reader of the story. The young woman apparently also failed to perceive that the young man was blind, and this may also be true of themale who enters the compartment near the end of the story. In a very brief tale, then, Bond has managed to create a remarkably complex story about the limits of human perception and perceptiveness and about how people tend to make assumptions and then take those assumptions for granted in ways that influence what they perceive or fail to perceive. Once the story is re-read, the reader notices various intriguing details and clues, including the following:The girl’s parents are very concerned about her when she gets on the train, but both we and the young man assume that there is nothing special about their concern. It doesn’t occur to us that the girl may be blind. The young woman is startled when the young man speaks, but both we and he assume that she is startled simply because he is sitting in the dark. Once again, it doesn’t occur to us that the girl may be blind. The young male, commenting on the fact that the young woman was startled, thinks to himself, “Well, it often happens that people with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them.”

Later, of course, we realize that this statement is a sly comment, by the author, on the imperceptiveness of readers. After all, it doesn’t occur to us that the girl may be startled because she is blind. We make an assumption, and then we perceive all the rest of the events in light of that assumption. So, too, does the narrator, and so the narrator’s joke at the expense of sighted people is also a joke by the author at the expense of the narrator. Rather than being offended by the author’s sly trick, we ultimately appreciate all the ways in which he tricks both us the narrator, because we (both readers and narrator) ultimately learn a very valuable lesson about the influence of initial assumptions on the ways we perceive (or fail to perceive) the world and other persons.

The Rocking-Horse Winner ( by D H Lawrence )

(Critical Survey )

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” relates the desperate and foredoomed efforts of a young boy to win his mother’s love by seeking the luck that she bitterly maintains she does not have. By bringing her the luxurious life for which she longs, Paul hopes to win her love, to compensate her for her unhappiness with his father, and to bring peace to their anxious, unhappy household. He determines to find luck after a conversation with his mother, in which she tells him that she is not lucky, having married an unlucky husband, and that it is better to have luck thanmoney because luck brings money. In response, Paul clearly accepts the unspoken invitation to take his father’s place in fulfilling his mother’s dreams of happiness. His purpose seems to be fulfilled when, with the help of Bassett, the gardener, he begins to win money betting on horse races. Shortly thereafter, he confides in his uncle Oscar, whom he also considers lucky because Oscar’s gift of money started his winning streak.Paul, Oscar, and Bassett continue to bet and win until Paul has five thousand pounds to give his mother for her birthday, to be distributed to her over the next five years. When she receives the anonymous present, she does not seem at all happy but sets about arranging to get the whole five thousand pounds at once. As a result, Hesterbecomes even more obsessed with money, increasingly anxious for more. Also, the house, which previously seemed to whisper “There must be more money! There must be more money!” now screeches the same refrain. Paul, unable to perceive that his mother is insatiable, redoubles his efforts to win more money for her. He hides himself away, alone with his secret source of information on the outcome of the races. This secret, which he has shared with no one, is his mysterious, nameless rocking horse, which he rides frenziedly until he gets to the pointat which he knows the name of the winner in the next big race. Desperate to know the name of the winner in the derby, he urges his parents to take a brief vacation. Summoned back to Paul by a strange sense of foreboding, Hester returns to see Paul fall from his horse after a frenzied ride, stricken by a brain fever from which he never recovers. While Bassett runs to tell Paul that he has successfully guessed the derby winner and is now rich, Paul tells his mother, “I am lucky,” and then dies. Thereupon his uncle comments, “he’s best gone out of a life wherehe rides his rocking-horse to find a winner.” In a London suburb in the mid-1920’s, a woman who maintains what most pe

Critical Summary: The Rocking Horse Winner

In a London suburb in the mid-1920’s, a woman who maintains what most people would regard as quite a comfortable manner of living in a well-furnished house with several retainers is convinced that she has “no luck.” Hester is beautiful and youthful, but her husband has not succeeded in advancing beyond a routine position in the city, and her children can sense that, in spite of the attention and care she offers them, she does not really love them. She herself is deeply troubled by what she feels is a “hard little place” at the center of her being that prevents her from loving anybody.Hester’s son Paul, a very sensitive boy who adores her and who is her favorite among the three children, understands on an instinctual level that his mother is not happy. He is on the threshold of adolesence, eager and energetic, and becoming increasingly curious about the ways of the

adult world. Paul inquires as to why the family does not own a car but must take taxis or borrow the car of Hester’s brother Oscar Cresswell. Hester tells Paul that his father has “no luck.” Paul does not fully understand what this statement means, but his mother suggests that it is inextricably connected to money and, in the case of their family, its insufficiency. While Paul and the other children are not familiar with the economics of their household, they have a grasp of the ways in which their mother’s concerns have permeated every aspect of their lives. The house itself seems to echo Hester’s conviction that “There must be more money.” Paul ponders the problem, and, while he is taking an imaginative ride on his treasured toy rocking horse, he makes a kind of abstracted connection between the condition of consciousness he develops amid the rhythms of the ride and an entrance into another realm where some secrets of the universe are revealed to him. He becomes convinced that his beloved toy can carry him to a solution to his mother’s unhappiness and, since money is at the core of the problem, enable him to provide what is missing in the household.Paul’s uncle Oscar, whom he admires and who loves him like a son, asks him the name of his horse. Paul is not entirely sure what to say, since he has begun to think of his horse with the names of the champion racers of the day. Paul has learned these names from conversations with Bassett, the family’s young gardener, a devoted turf fancier who was Oscar’s batman (or personal aide) during World War I. Oscar is fascinated by Paul’s account and is startled to find that Paul and Bassett have been placing winning bets on the horses whose names Paul chooses for his toy. They have already accumulated a private account of some substance, and Cresswell becomes a sort of senior partner to their enterprise, encouraging Paul by taking him on his first visit to an actual racetrack. The boy is enthralled by the setting, his eyes becoming like “blue fire.”Not all of Paul’s picks have been winners, but when he has said that he was absolutely sure about a horse, he has never been wrong. Cresswell is somewhat unsettled by the large sums that are accumulating, but Paul explains that he must continue his endeavors since he is so anxious to make his mother happy and to stop “the house whispers like people laughing at you behind your back.” Still, although the racetrack winnings have made more money available to the household, the increase in funds seems to have led to an implicit demand for ever greater sums. Paul’s mother becomes concerned about her son’s overwrought behavior and plans to send him away from the house to the sea coast, but Paul insists that he must stay—to be close to his rocking horse—until after the running of the Derby. He intends to put all of their winnings on one last bet in an attempt to finally amass enough money to quiet the whispers of discontent and distress.Two nights before the Derby, Paul’s parents are at a party when his mother is struck by an instinctual feeling of anxiety about her son. When she rushes home, she finds him in his room, in a frenzy of motion on the rocking horse. “It’s Malabar,” Paul shouts as he falls off the horse and descends into a semiconscious state. His uncle and Bassett, although worried about Paul, place a winning bet on Malabar that pays at fourteen to one. For three days, Paul remains in critical condition, reviving momentarily when Basset tells him the horse has won to proudly proclaim to his mother that he has brought luck to the house. However, he then lapses back into a coma and dies during the night. In a summary of the situation, Cresswell observes that the family has gained a fortune and lost a son, but that perhaps it is for the best considering the degree to which Paul drove himself in his efforts to give his mother what she lacked.

5.5 The Barber’s Trade Union ( by Mulkh Raj Anand)

storyAmong the makers of modern India, chandu , the barber boy of our village, has a place which will be denied him unless I press for the recognition of his contribution to history. Chandu’s peculiar claim to recognition rested, to tell the truth, on an exploit of which he did not know the full Significance . But then, unlike most great men of India today, he had a very exaggerated notion of his own importance, though he shared with them a certain native egotism whichwas sometimes disconcerting and sometimes rather charming.I knew chandu ever since the days when he wore a piece of rag in the middle of his naked distended-bellied body, and when we wallowed together in the mire of the village lanes, playing at soldiering, shop keeping, or clerking and other little games which we invented for the delectation of our two salves and our mothers, who alone of all the elders condensed to notice us.Chandu was my senior by about six months, and he always took the lead in all matters. And I willingly followed, because truly he was a genius at catching wasps, and at pressing the poison out of their tails, at tying their tiny legs to cotton thread and flying them, while I always got stung on the cheeks if I dared to go anywhere near the platform of the village well where these insects settled on the puddles to drink water. When we grew up he still seemed to me the embodiment of perfection, because he could make and fly paper kites of such delicate design and of such balance as I could never achieve. To be sure, he was not so good at doing sums at school as I, perhaps because his father apprenticed him early to the hereditary profession of the barber’s caste and sent him out hair-cutting in the village, and he had no time for the home tasks which our school master gave us. But he was better than I at reciting poetry, any day, for not only did he remember by rote the verses in the text-book, but he could repeat the endless pages of prose in that book so that they seemed like poetry. My mother resented the fact that Chandu won a scholarship at school while I had to pay fee to be taught. And she constantly dissuaded me from playing with him, saying that chandu was a low-caste barber’s son and that I ought to keep up the status of my caste and class. But whatever innate ideas I had inherited from my forefathers I certainly hadn’t inherited any sense of superiority. Indeed, I was always rather ashamed of the red caste mark which my mother put on my forehead every morning, and of the formalized pattern of the uchkin, the tight cotton trousers, the gold- worked shoes and the silk turban in which I dressed: and I longed for the right to wear all the spectacular conglomeration of clothes which Chandu wore-a pair of khaki shorts which the retired subedar had given him, a frayed black velvet waistcoat, decorated all over with shell buttons, and a round felt cap which had once belonged to Lalla Hukam Chand, the lawyer of our village and I envied Chandu the freedom of movement which he enjoyed after his father died of plague. For then he would do the round of shaving and hair-cutting at the houses of the high-caste notables in the morning, bathe and dress, and then steal a ride to town, six miles away, on the foot-rest of the closed carriage in which Lalla Hukam Chand Travelled to town. But Chandu was kind to me . he Knew that I was seldom taken to town , and that I had to trudge three weary miles to a secondary school in the big village of Joadiala with the fear of God in my heart , while he had been completely absolved from the ordeal of being flogged by cruel masters as he had left school after his father’s death. So he always brought me some gift or other from the town-a paint brush, or gold ink, or white chalk, or a double-edged penknife to sharpen pencils, and he would entertain me with long merry descriptions of the variety of

things he saw in the bazaars of civilization. He was particularly detailed in his description of the wonderful English styles in clothes which he saw the sahibs and the lawyers, the chaprasis and the policemen wearing at the District Court, where he had to wait for the journey home at the back of Lalla Hukam Chand’s phaeton. And, once or twice, he expressed to me a secret wish he had to steal some money from the pitcher where his mother kept the emoluments of his professional skill, to buy himself a rig-out like that of kalan Khan , the dentist , who , he said, performed miracles in the town, fitting people with rows of teeth and new eyes. He described to me the appearance of Kalan Khan, a young man with hair parted on one side, and dressed in a starched shirt , with an ivory collar and bow tie, a black coat and striped trousers, and a wonderful rubber overcoat and pumps. And he recounted to me the skill with which this magician unpacked an Angrezi leather hand-bag and flourished his shining steel instruments. Then he asked my advice on the question of whether as a barber educated to the fifth primary class, he would not look more dignified if he, too, wore a dress in the style of Dr. Kalan Khan ‘for though I am not a highly educated doctor,’ he said, I learnt how to treat pimples, boils and cuts on people’s bodies from my father, who learnt front his father before him.’ I agreed with his project and encouraged him with the enthusiasm I felt for everything that my hero thought or did .

One day I was thrilled to find chandu at the door of my house in the morning. He was dressed up in a white turban, a white rubber coat (a little too big for him, but nevertheless very splendid), a pair or pumps in which I could see my face reflected in clear silhouette, and he had a leather bag in his hand he was setting off on his round and had come to show grand he looked in his new rig-out. ‘Marvellous!’ I said,’ Marvellous!’ And the rushed off towards the house of the landlord, whom he shaved every morning, myself following admiringly behind.

There were not many people in the street at this time, so I alone witnessed the glory of Chandu, Dressed up as a doctor, except, of course, that he himself seemed rather self- conscious as he strutted up the street, carefully avoiding the taint of cow-dung cakes which the village women stuck to walls, and the dirty water flowed through the drains. But as we entered the home of the landlord we met Devi, the landlord’s little son, who clapped his hands with joy and shouted to announce the coming of Chandu, the barber, in a beautiful heroic dress like that of the padre sahib of the Mission School . ‘Ram! Ram! Ram!’ said Bijay Chand , the burly landlord, touching the sacred thread which hung over his ear since he had just been to the lavatory. The son of a pig! He is bringing a leather bag of cow-hide into our house and a coat of themarrow of, I don’t know, some other animals and those evil black Angrezi shoes. Get out! Get out! You son of a devi! You will defile my religion. I suppose you have no fear ofanyone now that your father is dead.’ ‘But I am wearing the clothes of a doctor, Jagirdarsahib.’ Said Chandu . ‘Go away you swine, go away and wear clothes befitting your low status as a barber, and don’t let me see you practicing any of your newfangled nations, or else I will have you flogged.’ ‘but Raj Bijay Chand Sahib!’ Chandu appealed. Get away ! get away! You useless one!’ the landlord shouted. ‘Don’t come any nearer, or we will have to treat the whole house with the sacred cow-dung to purify it.’ Chandu returned. His face was flushed. He was completely taken aback. He did not look at me because of the shame he felt at being insulted before of Thanu Ram, the Sahukar

village, who kept a grocer’s store at the corner of the lane. Devi, the landlord’s son had begun to cry at this father’s words, an I stopped to question him. When I got to the end of the lane I saw the Sahukar with one end of the scale which he had been weighing grain lifted in one hand abusing Chandu in the foulest way. You Little swine, you go disguising Chandu in the Foulest you ought to be bearing responsibilities and looking after your old mother. You go wearing the defiled clothes of the hospital folk!, Go and come back in your own clothes! Then I shall let you cut may hair!’ And as he said so he felt for the ritual tuft Knot on top of his head . Chandu looked very crestfallen, and ran in a wild rage past me ,as if I had been responsible for thesemishaps. And I nearly cried to think that he hated me now just because I belonged to a superior caste.‘Go to Pandit Parmanand!’ I shouted after him,’ and tell him that these garments you are wearing not unclean. ‘Ho, so you are in league with him,’ said Pandit Parmanand, emerging from the landlord’s home, where he had been apparently summoned to discuss this unholy emergency. You boys have been spoiled by the school education which you have got. It may be all right for you to wear those things because you are going to be a learned man, but what right has that low-caste boy to such apparel? He has go to touch our beards, our head and our hands. He is defiled enough by God. Why does he want to become more defiled? You are a high- caste boy. And he is a low – caste devil! He is a rogue!Chandu had heard this. He did not look back and ran in a flurry, as if he were set on some purpose which occupied him more than the abuse which had been the cause of his flight.My mother called to me and said it was time for me to eat and go to school, or I should be late. And she could not resist the temptation to lecture me again about my associating with the barber boy. But I was very disturbed about Chandu’s fate all day, and on my way back from school, I called in at the hovel where he lived with his mother.His mother was well known for a cantankerous old woman, because she, low-caste women, dared to see the upper caste people as they never dared to see themselves.She was always very kind to me, though she spoke to me too in a bantering manner,Which she had acquired though the suffering and humiliations of sixty-odd years. Turning to me she said:‘Well, you have come, have you , to look for your friend . if your mother knew have come, were here she would scratch my eyes out for casting my evil eye on your sweet face. Andyou , are you as innocent as you look or are you a sneaking little hypocrite like the rest of your lot?’ ‘Where is Chandu, Then, mother?’ I said. ‘I don’t know, son,’ she said , now in a sincere simple manner. ‘He went up town way and says he earned some money shaving people on the roadside. I don’t know what he is up to. I don’t think he ought to annoy the clients his fatherserved. He is a child and gets funny notions into his head and they ought not to be angry with him . he is only a boy . you want to see him and go out playing, I suppose . very welltell him when he comes. He has just gone up right, mother,’ I said, and went home.Chandu whistled for me that afternoon in the usual code whistle which we had arranged to evade the reproaches of interfering elders that our association often provoked.‘Come for a walk to the bazaar ,’ he said . ‘ I want to talk to to you .’ And hardly had I joined him when he began: ‘Do you know , I earned a rupee shaving and hair-cutting near the court this morning ? if hadn’t had to come back to on the back bar of Hukam Chand’s carriage early in the afternoon I should have earned more. But I am going to each these orthodox idiots a lesson . I am going on strike. I shall not go to their houses to attend to them. I am going to by Japanese bicycle from the gambling son of Lalla Hukam Chand for five rupees, and I shall learn to riding it and I will go to town on it

every day. Won’t I look grand , riding on a bicycle, with my overcoat, my black leather shoes, and a white turban on my head, specially as there is a peg in front of the two- wheeled carriage for hanging my tool-bag?’ ‘Yes,’ I agreed, greatly thrilled, not because I imagined the glory of Chandu seated on a bicycle , but because I felt myself nearer the goal of my own ambition; since I felt that if Chandu acquired a bicycle he would at least let me ride to town on the elongated bolt at the back wheel oron the front bar, if he didn’t let me learn to ride myself and lend me the machine every now and then. Chandu negotiated the deal about the bicycle with an assurance that seemed to me a revelation of his capacity for business such as I had never suspected in him, from thereckless way he spent his money. And then he said to me in a confidential voice: ‘You wait for another day or two. I shall show you something which will make you laugh as you havenever laughed before.’‘Tell me now,’ I insisted, with an impatience sharpened by the rhythm of the excitement with which the spirit of his adventure filled my being. ‘No, you wait,’ he said. I can only give you a hint at the moment. It is a secret that only a barber can know. Now let me get on with the job of learning to handle this machine. You hold it while I get on it, and I think it will be all right.’‘But ,’ I said,’ this is not the way to learn to ride a bicycle . my father learned to ride from the peg at the back, and my brother learnt to ride by first trying to balance on the pedal.’ ‘Your father is a top-heavy baboon,’ said Chandu. ‘ And your brother is a long-legged spider.’ ‘I ,’ he continued,’ was born , my mother tells me,upside down.’ ‘ ‘All right,’ I said. And I held the bicycle for him . but while my gaze concentrated with admiration on the brilliant sheen of the polished bars, I lost my grip and Chandu fell on the other side with a thud, along with the machine. There were peals of laughter from the stop of the shahukar, where several peasants congregated round the figure of the landlord. And then the sahukar could be heard shouting: serve you right, you rascally son of the iron age! Break your bones and die, you upstart! : You won’t come to your senses otherwise!’Chandu hung his head with shame, and muttered an oath at me, you fool you are no good!’ though I had thought that he would grip me by the neck and give me a good thrashing for being the cause of his discomfiture. Then he looked at me, smiled embarrassedly, and said: ‘ we will seewho has the last laugh, I or they.’‘I will hold the machine tightly this time,’ I said earnestly, and I picked it up from where it lay.‘Yes, break your bones, you swine,’ came the landlord’s call. ‘Don’t you care!’ Chandu said to me. ‘I will show them.’ And he mounted the bicycle as I exerted all my strength to hold it tight. Then he said: ‘Let go!’I released my grip. He had pressed the pedal with a downward pressure of his right food, hard, and , as the wheels revolved, he swayed dangerously to one side. But he had pushed theother pedal now. The machine balanced, inclining to the right a little , so that I saw Chandu lift his rump from the saddle in the most frightening manner. He hung precariously for a moment his handles wobbled dangerously. He was tottering. At this juncture a mixed noise of laughter andsarcasm arose from the congregation at the shop and I thought that Chandu would come to grief with this confusion, if not on account of his utter incapacity. By a curious miracle,however, Chandu’s feel had got into the right rhythm for pedaling and his handle had adjusted itself to his stiff hands, and he rode off with me running behind him, bursting myselfwith enthusiastic ‘shabashes.’ A half a mile run and he repeated the trick. Thought I was veryeager to share the joy of his newly acquired skill, I didn’t see Chandu the next day , as I wasbeing taken to see my aunts in Verka, straight from school. But on the third day he called for

me and said that hewould show me the joke he had talked of the other day. I followed quickly, asking the while: ‘Tell me, what is it all about ?’ Look,’ he said, hiding behind the oven of the villagepotter. ‘Do you see the congregation of who’s there.’I explored the various faces and, for moment, I was quite baffled. ‘Only the peasants sitting round waiting for the landrod, ‘said. ‘Look again , idiot;’ he said ,’and see. The landlord is there, his long –jawed face dirtied by the white scum of his unshaved beard.’‘Ha! Ha! ‘ I shouted hilariously, struck by the contradiction of the big thick moustache (Which I knew the landlord Dyed) with the prickly white bush on his jowls. ‘Ha! Ha! I roared a sick lion! He looks seedy!’ ‘Sh!’ warned Chandu. ‘Don’t make a row! But look At the Sahukar . He looks like a leper with the brown tinge of tobacco on his walrus moustache which I once used to trim.Now you run past the stop and call “beavers, beavers”. They can’t say anything to you!’I was too impetuous a disciple of the impish Chandu to wait to Deliberate. ‘Beavers! Beavers! Beavers!’ I shouted as I ran past the shop to the edge of the platform by the banyan tree.The peasants who were gathered round the shop burst out laughing, as they had apparently been itching to, for they had noticed the strong growths on the elders’ faces,though they had not dared to say anything. ‘Catch him, catch him, the little rogue! Shouted thesahukar. ‘He is in league with that barber boy, Chandu.’ But, of course I had climbed up the banyan tree, from which I jumped on to the wall of the temple and shouted myslogan at the priest. The rumour about the barber boy’s strike spread, and jokes about the unkempt beards of the elders of the village become current in every home. Even those who were of high castes, even the members of the families of the elders, began to giggle with laughter at the shabby appearance of the great ones and made rude remarks about their persons. And it was said that at least the lanlord’s wife threatened to run away with somebody, because, being younger than her husband by twenty years , she had born with him as long as he kept himself in trim , but was now disgusted with him beyond the limits of reconciliation .Chandu did good business in town during these days and saved money, even though he bought new clothes and new tools for himself and gave me various presents. The village elders threatened to have him sent to prison for his offences, and ordered his mother to force him to obey before they committed him to the police for a breach of the peace. But Chandu’s mother had for the first time in her life touched the edge of prosperity, and she told them all what she thought of them in a language even plainer than that in which she had always addressed them. Then they thought of getting the barber of Verka to come and attend them , and offered him an anna instead of the two pice they had usually paid to Chandu . Chandu, however, had conceived a new notion this time, newer than those he had ever thought of before.Heaving seen the shop of Nringan Das, the barber of the town , he had applied his brain to the scheme of opening a shop on the wayside at the head of the bazaar Dhunoo and the other barbers within a range of seven miles with Dhunoo and the other barbers within range of seven miles from his village. He proposed his new idea to his cousin and Dhunoo and all the other barbers at a special meeting of his craft, and by that gift of the gab which he had, besides his other qualities of head and heart, he convinced them all that it was Related Questions :

Q1. What is the significance of the title of the story ‘ The Gift of the Magi ‘.

Q2. How are the gifts of Della and jim the wisest gifts? Why does the writer compare the gifts of Della and Jim to the gifts of Magi?

Q2. What is the theme of the story ‘ The lament

Q3. What is the significance of the word Magi in the story ‘ The Gift of the magi ‘.

Q4. Why did young man conceal his blindness from the young girl in the story ‘

` The eyes are not here’.

Q5. Which short story in your syllabus do you like the most and why?

Q6. Discuss the Character- sketch of Chandu in the story ` The Barber’s Trade union’.

Q7. Discuss The Barber’s Trade union’ as a piece of social criticism?

Q8. How was chandu maker of modern india?

Books recommended:

1. A Text book of English Phonetics for Indian students: by T. Balasubramaniam2. Spoken English: by R K Bansal and J B Harrison3. Effective Communication and soft skills: Nitin Bhatnagar and Mamta Bhatnagar4. Business Communication: TN Khare5. The MLA Handbook for writers 7th Edition6. An Anthology of English Short stories : Edited by R.P. Singh7. American Studies Research Centre Hyderabad: MLA Style sheet8. An Introduction to English Phonetics: prof. Balbir singh