Language I (Hindi)
Language I in UTET Paper 2 is worth 30 marks and is normally Hindi, though English, Sanskrit and Urdu are also offered. Roughly half the questions test Hindi content - comprehension, grammar, figures of speech - and half test pedagogy of Hindi as a first language, so neither half can be skipped.
Content you must command
- संधि: स्वर संधि (दीर्घ, गुण, वृद्धि, यण, अयादि), व्यंजन संधि, विसर्ग संधि.
- समास: अव्ययीभाव, तत्पुरुष, कर्मधारय, द्विगु, द्वंद्व, बहुव्रीहि - classify by which member carries the meaning.
- उपसर्ग and प्रत्यय change both meaning and part of speech; कारक and विभक्ति; वाच्य (कर्तृ, कर्म, भाव); काल and पक्ष.
- अलंकार: अनुप्रास, उपमा, रूपक, यमक, श्लेष, उत्प्रेक्षा. रस: शृंगार, करुण, वीर, हास्य, रौद्र, भयानक, बीभत्स, अद्भुत, शांत.
Pedagogy
भाषा अर्जन (natural, unconscious, picked up from the environment) is distinguished from भाषा अधिगम (conscious, rule-based, schooled). The व्याकरण-अनुवाद विधि puts rules first and is criticised for neglecting speech; प्रत्यक्ष विधि excludes the mother tongue; संप्रेषणीय विधि makes real communication the goal. Skill order in lesson planning should follow श्रवण, बोलना, पठन, लेखन, and evaluation should include oral and creative writing tasks, not only recall.
Worked example
विद्या + आलय = ? The first word ends in आ and the second begins in आ, so स्वर संधि of the दीर्घ type applies: आ + आ = आ, giving विद्यालय. Reasoning to write down: identify the final and initial vowels, then apply the rule - not memorised word lists.
Traps that cost marks
Calling बहुव्रीहि a तत्पुरुष; identifying अलंकार where the question asks for रस; treating भाषा अर्जन as a rule-based process; and answering लेखन before श्रवण in skill-order items.