Language II (English)
Language II carries 30 marks in UTET Paper 2 and must be a language other than Language I - in practice English for most candidates. The section pairs English content (grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, phonology) with pedagogy of English as a second language, so a strong grammarian who has never read about the Communicative Approach still loses marks.
Grammar and usage to revise
- Tense and aspect, especially present perfect versus past simple, and the since/for contrast.
- Subject–verb agreement with collective nouns, either/neither, and phrases between subject and verb.
- Articles, prepositions, modals, conditionals, active–passive transformation, and direct–indirect speech.
- Phonology: phonemes versus letters, stress and intonation, minimal pairs such as ship/sheep.
Pedagogy
The Grammar-Translation Method works through rules and the mother tongue; the Direct Method teaches through English only, using objects and demonstration; Communicative Language Teaching prioritises meaningful interaction over accuracy drills; Task-Based Learning organises the lesson around a real outcome. Error analysis distinguishes interference from the first language and overgeneralisation of a rule, and remedial teaching should target the pattern, not individual mistakes. Evaluation should be formative as well as summative, with listening and speaking assessed, not only written accuracy.
Worked example
He said, I am going to Delhi tomorrow - convert to indirect speech. Present continuous shifts back to past continuous, the pronoun stays he, and the time marker tomorrow becomes the next day: He said that he was going to Delhi the next day. The reasoning is three ordered checks - verb backshift, pronoun change, time and place words - not memory of the whole sentence.
Traps that cost marks
Leaving the verb unbackshifted for a universal truth (the teacher said that the earth revolves around the sun is correct); keeping quotation marks; and confusing the Direct Method (no mother tongue) with the Grammar-Translation Method.