BEGAE-182 is a common paper prescribed for IGNOU degree students. It is very important to go through the previous question papers before appearing in the term-end examinations. Therefore we give importance to the previous question paper and included it in the BEGAE- 182 classroom.
Details of BEGAE-182
| University Name | Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) |
| Course Name | English Communication Skills |
| Programme | CBCS (GENERAL AND HONS.) |
| Course Code | BEGAE- 182 |
| Nature of Course | Common and compulsory Course |
| Maximum marks | 50 |
| Exam Time | Two hours |
BEGAE-182 English Communication Skills December 2021 Solved question paper.
CBCS (GENERAL AND HONS.)
ABILITY ENHANCEMENT (COMPULSORY)
Term-End Examination-December, 2021
I. Answer any four of the following questions in about 100 words each.
- Explain with suitable examples, how a conversation is different from other speech events
Conversation is an interaction between two or more and all participants can contribute alike.
At the same time, other speech events differ from conversations. Because all participants cannot contribute alike and at the same time.
- There is no fixed place and time for conversation. That can take at any time and in any palace. At the same time, other speech events like lectures or meetings have prefixed places. That can be in a college or a company.
- Conversation is reciprocal. Each contributor has to contribute. Otherwise, communication may not be a successful one. Other speech events differ from the conversation, as they are non-reciprocal. All participants cannot contribute more, as they all are passive listeners.
- Turn-taking is another thing that makes conversation different from other speech events. Each participant has to take his turn and talk to other participants. Turn-taking is very important to the development of meaningful conversation. Other speech events are not interactive. Speaker is the one who dominates the entire talk. Other participants are passive listeners.
- In the case of conversation, immediate feedback is possible. Whereas in other speech events, it is not possible. Other speech events are not interactive therefore, immediate feedback is not possible.
2 What do you understand by the term ‘interpretive reading’ ? Give examples to support your answer.
Interpretive reading is a type of reading where a reader read ‘between the lines, recognizes ideas and information not directly stated. In interpretive reading, the reader must make inferences based on the time relationships, geographical relationships, cause-and-effect relationships, the ages, feelings, and familial relationships of characters, etc.. During the time interpretive reading the reader must study the facts and ideas together in order to make the inferences.
Interpretive reading also uncovers the meanings expressed through literary allusions, idiomatic expressions, and figures of speech.
Example 1. The sentence “He had no heart” has an interpretive meaning than a literal meaning. This sentence can be used to describe a person who is not a kind-hearted person.
Example 2. A poet may use the phrase, “crossing the bar”. It is referring metaphorically to death. Poet is not speaking literally of crossing a sandbar.
Interpretive reading demands much from the part of a reader. The reader must use his previous experiences with language, literature, and life in constructing meanings. If the reader doesn’t have previous experience with language, literature, and life, he cannot interpret the meaning of the literary text.
3. Explain any two faulty reading habits noticed among second language learners.
There are specific faults that can be seen in reading techniques among second or foreign language learners. Many of these techniques are gained from mother-tongue learning. In other words, second or foreign language learners usually transfer these learning habits from one language to another. Many of these early reading habits usually slow down the reader and the reading process.
- Subvocalization: Subvocalization is the first faulty technique used by second language learners or foreign language learners. Subvocalisation refers to producing the sounds of the words you are reading. This is one of the reading techniques we use when we learn L1 (Mother’s tongue) at an early stage. English language learners also often use the same technique at the initial stage of learning. Beginners in L1 reading (and in L2 as well) are often encouraged to make use of this technique. But reading aloud or subvocalization is much slower than silent reading. As result, this reading habit slows down the reading process.
- Finger-pointing: Finger-pointing is another faulty habit that slows down the reading process. Children use the technique of finger-pointing for concentrating only on words they read. Finger-pointing is also a technique we learned from our mother tongue. This also slows down the reading process.
4. How are new words formed through affixation and compounding?
Affixation and compounding are the two important ways to form new words
Affixation
Affixation is a process of forming new words in English by adding prefixes and suffixes to the base word. For example, a new word can be formed from the word “mortal” by adding the prefix “im” to make a new word immortal, and we can get another word “immortalise” by adding the suffix “-ise“. Similarly, the word agree can take the prefix “dis-” to make a new word disagree and another word disagreement with the suffix – meant.
Mortal+im (prefix)= immortal
Immortal+ise (suffix)= Immortalise
Compounding
Compounding is the process of making new words by combining two independent words. In other words, two separate words combine together and form new words which are listed separately in the dictionary and have separate meanings. for example. Blackboard, staircase, Flowerpot, Armchair, Brain Storm, etc.
5. What are ‘homonyms’ and ‘homographs’ ? Give examples of both.
Homonyms.
Homonyms are words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings in different contexts. The word club has different meanings in different contexts.
First meaning- A club is an association of people with a common interest.
Second meaning- A club is a heavy stick with a thick end, used as a hand weapon
Third meaning- Club is one of the four suits in a conventional pack of playing cards.
In English, there are many such words where the spelling (written form) and pronunciation (sound) are the same but they have different meanings in different contexts
Homographs
Homographs are two or more words that have the same form or spelling, different sounds, and meanings.
For example:-
- The Director’s Secretary took down the minutes.
- Even minute details are taken care of by a diligent organizer
6. Explain the term ‘argumentative discourse’ giving suitable examples.
Argumentative Discourse
In argumentative discourse, the writer argues a case, or expresses an opinion, by looking at a problem from both sides. One of the foremost aims of argumentative discourse is to persuade or convince the readers. Argumentative discourses are debatable. In this discourse, an author can take a standpoint on any topic, and either he can support or reject an idea or a concept. Therefore, anyone can support or oppose the matter discussed in the discourse.
Argumentation can be done in three ways.
First, one can give one’s own arguments by taking an affirmative position.
Second, one can form an argument by giving a counterargument to the opponent’s argument.
And, third, one can argue by pointing out the fallacies (mistakes in argument o logic) in opponents’ arguments in order to discredit them.
Examples:- Reghu is a Kathakali dancer, all kathakali dancers are coming from Kerala, therefore Reghu belongs to Kerala.
II. Write a formal letter to the Managing Director of a firm in your town, applying for the post of Research Analyst in his/her firm.
FROM ADDRESS
DATE
TO ADDRESS
Subject: Application letter for the post of Research Analyst.
Dear sir,
I would like to apply for the position of Research analyst at your esteemed firm. I got to know about the vacancies from the newspaper advertisement published last week.
I have completed my master’s in Mathematics from Kerala University with 76 percent marks. I also have a basic knowledge of programming languages. For the last two years, I’ve been working in a domestic company. And I gained good experience as a Reasearch analyst in the past two years.
I request you consider my application for the role. I attached my resume and cover letter along with this application letter.
Kindly contact me for further discussions.
Thank you
Yours sincerely,
Your Name:
Your Contact Number:
Email Id:
III. A group of 5 students have been given the topic: “Qualities of an effective team leader.” Write out a group discussion on this topic.
Observer: Today we are going to discuss an important topic “Qualities of an effective team leader.”You need to discuss this topic for 30 minutes. Now let us start with speaker 1
Speaker1: In my view, an effective team leader has to possess different qualities. I give primary concern to vision. A leader should have a clear and precise vision. And he has to lead all his subordinates to reach the vision.
Speaker 2: I totally agree with speaker 1. But let me add one more point to what he said. Apart from the vision, a leader should possess the ability to have effective communication. If any group leader doesn’t have communication skills, he cannot fulfill his vision. And he cannot lead his subordinate to success.
Speaker 3: Let me introduce another quality of an effective leader. That is integrity. An effective team leader should have a clear-cut idea about what is right and what is wrong. He should act according to that. An effective leader is always capable of communicating openly and honestly. Such leaders are always respected by their followers.
Speaker 4: I don’t agree with all points forwarded by previous contributors. What I believe is that an effective speaker always possesses the ability to take make a firm decision. That makes a leader different. He also has a clear idea about the way how to execute his decision. Unless and until a leader is not able to execute his plan, all his hard works go meaningless. Therefore ability to make a strong decision is the most important quality of an effective leader.
Speaker 5: I totally agree with the all points made by the previous speakers. Let me add one more quality of an effective leader. A leader should motivate his subordinates in order to achieve success. There are many occasions many subordinates may lose hope and feel tired. On such occasions, it is a duty of a leader to bring up such a subordinate with motivating activities.
Observer: today we had a beautiful discussion on “Qualities of an effective team leader”. Now let me conclude speaker 1 to conclude the discussion.
Speaker 1: We had a healthy and meaningful group discussion on the topic of qualities of an effective team leader. We have evaluated the topic from different perspectives. Different participants made many points here. Let me summarise those points few words. An effective team leader should possess communication skills. Besides a leader should have the vision to lead all his subordinates to success. The ability to take a strong decision is also an important quality of an effective team leader.
In all, we had a very wonderful group discussion and participants took part enthusiastically
IV. Explain with suitable examples, the semantic and linguistic barriers to communication
Communication is the process of exchanging ideas, information, and information from one person to another or one place to another. This is a step-by-step action that takes place between speaker and listener or sender and receiver. Sometimes there is a gap between the sender the intended and what the receiver understood. This leads to unsuccessful communication. There are many reasons for unsuccessful communication. These reasons are called barriers to communication. Barriers to communication can be divided into three categories- Semantic and linguistic barriers, Socio-psychological barriers, and Crosscultural Barriers. Communication can break because of semantic and linguistic reasons. Following are the semantic and linguistic barriers to communication.
- Ambiguity in expression
- Homophones.
- Contextual meaning and speech act.
- Stress and intonation.
- Word Shift.
- Style.
- Registers and Jargons and Acronyms