Learning is Fun
👋 What this unit is really about
Here's a truth every good teacher knows: a lesson you're told slips away by morning, but a story you're told can stay for life. That's why this unit teaches wisdom through fables — tiny tales from Greece, China and India where a frog or a farmer makes a mistake so that you don't have to. Your job is to read each one and squeeze out its moral: the one-line lesson hidden in the story.
Stories are also where English keeps its most colourful language — the proverbs and idioms that native speakers drop into everyday talk. "Think before you leap", "burn the midnight oil" — these come straight out of fables and folk wisdom, and the exam loves to test them. By the end you'll lift the moral from any short tale, write a little fable of your own, and tell a proverb from an idiom — plus sort out two tenses students mix up daily, the present simple and the present continuous.
🌍 How young Sri Lankans say they learn English
From the unit's opening page — real quotes from 15-year-olds across the island.
- "I think reading is very good for improving our knowledge of the English language. Reading expands your vocabulary. You also learn spelling and grammatical structures." — Chathura, Anuradhapura
- "We can learn English by listening to English radio stations. There are programmes such as discussions, news, debates, and talk shows. Listening trains our ears and helps with our pronunciation." — Sharon, Colombo
Notice what Chathura and Sharon have in common — neither of them says "I sat in a class and got taught". They each found a small daily habit that pulled English into their ordinary life. That's the real secret the unit is hinting at: language sticks when you meet it a little every day, not in one big cram. The five habits that work for every successful learner: read a little every day, listen to clear native speech (radio or podcasts), keep a vocabulary notebook, say the new words aloud, and write a short paragraph each week.
📖 Reading — Fables and their morals
A fable is a short story that carries a moral. Characters are often animals that talk. As you read each one, hold a single question in your head — "what mistake does someone make, and what would have saved them?" — and the moral almost writes itself.
The correct moral is (a) Think before you leap. Notice why: the wise frog wins the story not by rushing to the water but by asking one question about the future — "how would we get out?" The moral is just that caution turned into a saying.
Moral: (c) Patience is a virtue. The farmer's whole problem is in one word — impatient. He tried to hurry a living thing, and killed it. A fable usually plants its moral in the very flaw it gives the character.
🧰 Word bank — wisdom & learning vocabulary
These are the slightly grand, formal words that fables and comprehension passages reach for when they talk about wisdom. They're worth knowing not just for meaning but because the exam often asks you to "find a word in the passage that means…", and these are exactly the words it picks.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sage / sages | a person respected for deep experience, judgement and wisdom |
| philosophical | related to the deep questions of knowledge, reality and existence |
| predominating | having or holding the most power or influence |
| conquer | to take and keep control of something by force |
| assembly | a gathering of people together for a common purpose |
| neglect | to fail to give due care or attention to something |
| respect | a feeling of deep admiration for someone; to hold in high regard |
| reproach | to express disapproval or blame; to scold gently |
📐 Grammar — Present continuous vs present simple நிகழ்காலம்: எளிய × தொடர்
These two tenses live next door to each other and students knock on the wrong one all the time. The difference is really about time-scale. The present simple talks about your life in general — the things that are true on any day ("I read a newspaper every morning"). The present continuous zooms right into this moment, or this stretch of days, and catches an action mid-flight ("I am reading a Sinhala novel this week").
Think of it like a camera. The present simple is a wide, steady photo of your routine; the present continuous is a video rolling right now. So "I play cricket" describes the kind of person you are, but "I am playing cricket" means you're on the pitch this very minute.
| Present simple | Present continuous | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | verb / verb-s | am / is / are + verb-ing |
| Use | habits, general truths, routines | action happening NOW or these days |
| Trigger words | always, usually, every day, often, never | now, at the moment, right now, this week |
| Example | I read a newspaper every morning. | I am reading a Sinhala novel this week. |
One catch the exam loves: a small family of verbs describe states of the mind or heart, not actions you can watch — like, love, hate, know, understand, remember, want, need, believe. Because you can't "see" loving happening the way you see running, these verbs refuse the -ing form. It is "I love cricket", never "I am loving cricket".
📐 Grammar — Proverbs & idioms — the cultural vocabulary பழமொழிகள் / சொற்றொடர்கள்
Two kinds of "ready-made" English sayings trip students up because they sound similar but aren't. A proverb is a complete little sentence that hands you advice — "Think before you leap." An idiom is a phrase whose meaning you could never guess from the words themselves — "burn the midnight oil" has nothing to do with actual oil; it means studying late into the night.
The easiest way to keep them apart: a proverb teaches a lesson and usually stands alone as a whole sentence; an idiom is a colourful phrase you drop inside your own sentence. "Practice makes perfect" (proverb) versus "the exam was a piece of cake" (idiom). Both are tested in Test 11 and Test 16, so collect them like coins — aim for ten of each.
| Proverb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Think before you leap. | Consider the consequences before acting. |
| Patience is a virtue. | Waiting calmly is a good quality. |
| Unity is strength. | People working together are stronger than alone. |
| A stitch in time saves nine. | Fixing a small problem now saves bigger trouble later. |
| Practice makes perfect. | Repeated effort leads to mastery. |
| Birds of a feather flock together. | People of the same kind keep one another's company. |
| Better late than never. | Doing something late is still better than not at all. |
| Idiom | Meaning |
|---|---|
| burn the midnight oil | study or work late into the night |
| a piece of cake | very easy |
| hit the books | start studying seriously |
| under the weather | feeling slightly ill |
| let the cat out of the bag | reveal a secret by accident |
✍️ Writing — A short fable with a moral (50–60 words)
moral in a single line.
A boy bought a new cricket bat. "I will be a great batsman tomorrow!" he
told his friends. He left the bat in the rain that night. Next morning, the
wood was cracked. He sat in the verandah and cried. His grandfather looked
at the bat and said quietly, "You wanted the runs, not the bat."
Moral: Care for the things you depend on.
Why it works: A fable has to do a lot in very few words, so every sentence pulls its weight. Notice the shape: one character with one clear flaw (a boy who boasts and forgets to care), one simple action that goes wrong (the bat left in the rain), one quiet line of dialogue that delivers the wisdom (the grandfather's gentle sting), and then the moral on its very own line. That last part matters for marks — examiners want to see the moral stated plainly, not just implied. Build your fable backwards from the lesson you want to teach, give a character the opposite habit, and let the story punish it.
✍️ Writing — Article: Tips for learning English (~100 words)
learning English.
Include:
• the source(s) you use
• one tip about reading
• one tip about listening
• one tip about speaking
• one tip about writing.
The best way to learn English is in small, daily doses. Each morning I read
one page of any English newspaper aloud — the headlines train my eyes for
the exam papers. While I bathe, I listen to BBC Sinhala's English-learning
podcast; my pronunciation has improved more from these ten minutes than from
any class. Once a week I keep a tiny diary in English, just six lines — it
turns new words into my own. And whenever I meet an English-speaking tourist,
I greet them with a full sentence, not just a wave.
112 words.
Why it works: A 'tips' article can read like a dull checklist, so this one ties every tip to a real moment in the writer's day — reading aloud each morning, the podcast in the bath, a six-line diary once a week, a full sentence to a tourist. That makes the advice believable and easy to copy, which is what good tips do. It still covers all four skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking) and names a source — but each point is one concrete, do-able action, not a vague "read more". A catchy title and a closing image bookend it. The lesson: make every tip a specific habit the reader could start tomorrow.
⭐ What the exam asks about this unit
Scan this before revising. Vocabulary, proverbs and the "value of reading / learning" essays from this unit recur across the papers, and the present simple vs continuous choice shows up wherever there's a verb-form task. The marks here reward a stocked vocabulary notebook more than cleverness.
| Past-paper test | What was tested |
|---|---|
| 2016 Test 11, 2018 Test 11 | Word-box fill-in using vocabulary like "considerable, perishable, mistaken" |
| 2019 Test 11 | Fill-in based on a story (Sudara / wise man) |
| 2015 Test 16 (a) | Article on 'Value of Reading' |
| 2016 Test 16 (b) | Speech on 'Internet — advantages and disadvantages' (touches learning) |
| 2017 Test 13 | Poem comprehension — finding meaning, recognising mood |
- "I am loving cricket" — love is a state verb, so it stays simple: "I love cricket".
- Writing a fable but forgetting to state the moral on its own line — an easy mark gone.
- Confusing the two: a proverb is a whole sentence of advice; an idiom is a non-literal phrase.
🎯 Test yourself before you move on
- What is a fable, and what's the one thing it must end with? → A short story (often with talking animals) that teaches a moral — and the moral must be stated.
- What's the moral of "The Two Frogs", and why? → Think before you leap — the wise frog asks "how would we get out?" before jumping.
- Choose the tense: "Right now I ___ (read) a novel." → "am reading" (present continuous — happening now).
- Why is "I am knowing the answer" wrong? → "know" is a state verb; it never takes -ing. Say "I know the answer."
- Is "A stitch in time saves nine" a proverb or an idiom? → A proverb — a whole sentence giving advice.
- What does "burn the midnight oil" mean? → To study or work late into the night (an idiom — not about real oil).
| Paper · Test | Format | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Paper I · Test 6 | Notice / note / message | 40–50 |
| Paper I · Test 8 | Short paragraph (a place, a person, a hobby) | 50–60 |
| Paper II · Test 14 | Letter or data description (bar / pie / table) | ~100 |
| Paper II · Test 16 | Article / essay / speech / story / dialogue | ~200 |
Examiners cut marks for going over by more than 10%. Count by line — six average sentences ≈ 60 words.
📝 Exam Practice
Write your answer first, then click Show model answer to compare.
Write the correct letter. The first one is done for you.
(1) A stitch in time saves nine. → c (example)
(2) Practice makes perfect.
(3) Unity is strength.
(4) Birds of a feather flock together.
(5) Patience is a virtue.
(6) Better late than never.
(a) People of the same kind keep one another's company.
(b) Repeated effort leads to mastery.
(c) Fixing a small problem now saves a bigger one later.
(d) Doing something late is still better than not doing it at all.
(e) Waiting calmly is a good quality.
(f) People working together are stronger than alone.
(3) f — People working together are stronger.
(4) a — People of the same kind keep company.
(5) e — Waiting calmly is a good quality.
(6) d — Late is better than never.
5 marks.
Choose between the present simple and present continuous.
(1) I (read) ........... an English newspaper every morning.
(2) Look! The cat (chase) ........... a bird.
(3) Tharindu usually (study) ........... in his bedroom, but today he (study)
........... in the garden.
(4) Water (boil) ........... at 100 °C.
(5) Please be quiet — the children (sleep) ........... .
(2) is chasing
(3) studies; is studying
(4) boils
(5) are sleeping
5 marks.
is one extra word.
Word box: assembly · neglected · respect · reproach · conquered · philosophical · venerated
(1) The temple has been a place of worship and ........... for hundreds of
years.
(2) She always speaks of her grandfather with great ........... .
(3) The general ........... most of the island in just six months.
(4) Don't ........... your duty to your parents.
(5) The school ........... every Monday morning is held in the main hall.
(2) respect
(3) conquered
(4) neglect (you may write "neglected" but the verb form is preferred here)
(5) assembly
5 marks.
one extra idiom.
Idiom box: a piece of cake · hit the books · burn the midnight oil · under the weather · let the cat out of the bag · once in a blue moon
(1) The maths paper was easy — a real ........... .
(2) With the exam next week, I plan to ........... every night.
(3) Don't tell Sajini about the surprise — she will ........... .
(4) I'm not coming to practice. I'm feeling a bit ........... today.
(5) Stop watching TV and ........... — your exams are next week.
(2) burn the midnight oil
(3) let the cat out of the bag
(4) under the weather
(5) hit the books
5 marks.
An old farmer had four sons. They argued day and night and even came to blows
over little things. Their fights brought sorrow to the farmer and worry to
the neighbourhood. One evening, after a fierce quarrel, the father called all
four of them and laid a bundle of four sticks on the table.
"Break this bundle," he said.
The eldest son took the bundle, pressed it across his knee, twisted it and
heaved at it. The bundle did not break. The second tried, then the third, then
the youngest — none could break it.
Meanwhile, the youngest jeered at his brothers and thought they were very
incompetent. He thought he was very clever and took one stick at a time and
easily broke all of them.
The old father then smiled at his sons and said, "Children, do you understand
what happened? It is always easy to break the sticks one by one, but when
they are bundled together, none of you could break them. In the same way, the
four of you should always be together. No one will be able to hurt you then."
The four brothers realised what their father was trying to teach them and
forgot all their enmity and learnt that unity is strength.
From that day onwards, they never fought with each other and lived together
in peace and harmony.
(1) How many sons did the farmer have?
(2) What did the father use to teach them the lesson?
(3) Write the sentence that gives the moral of the story.
(4) Who broke the sticks one by one?
(5) Underline the correct title for this story:
(a) The Lazy Farmer's Sons
(b) Unity is Strength
(c) Sticks Can Win Wars
(2) A bundle of four sticks.
(3) "It is always easy to break the sticks one by one, but when they are bundled together, none of you could break them."
(4) The youngest son.
(5) (b) Unity is Strength.
5 marks.
notice for the noticeboard. Use about 40–50 words.
Include:
• the day and time the club meets
• the venue
• who can join
• one benefit of joining.
Do you want to read more and speak with more confidence? The new English
Reading Club meets every Wednesday at 1.30 p.m. in the library. All students
from Grade 8 to 11 are warmly invited. Each member receives a free copy of a
short story to read at home.
— Nimali Perera, Founder.
50 words. 5 marks.
(a) Why I enjoy learning English
(b) A book that changed me
(c) My favourite proverb
The little book that changed me was Charlotte's Web. I bought it at a stall
in Pettah for forty rupees. By the end I was sniffling for a spider, of all
creatures! What it taught me was simple: kindness can come from the smallest
places. Every time I help a younger student now, I think of Charlotte.
5 marks — opens with the book, gives a vivid moment (40 rupees / sniffling),
states the lesson, closes with how it changed behaviour.
(a) Write a letter to your friend recommending one English book you have just
finished. Include: title and author, a one-sentence plot, your favourite
character, why your friend will like it.
(b) The table below shows the favourite methods of learning English among
200 students. Write a description.
Table: Reading 75 · Watching English films 50 · Listening to songs 35 ·
Speaking with friends 25 · Writing a diary 15.
The table shows the favourite methods of learning English among 200 students
of our school. Reading is by far the most popular method, chosen by 75
students, while watching English films is second at 50. Listening to songs
comes third with 35 students, more than the 25 who learn by speaking with
friends. Writing a diary is the least popular method, with only 15.
In summary, three-quarters of the students prefer reading or watching, which
are input-only methods. Speaking and writing — the two skills examiners
reward most — are clearly under-practised.
10 marks — accurate data, comparison phrases used, ends with a useful insight.
(a) Write a fable about an animal that learns a hard lesson.
(b) An article for a magazine titled 'How I improved my English'.
(c) A speech on 'Why reading is still the best teacher'.
There was once a hare so quick on his feet that no animal in the forest could
overlook him. He boasted that no other creature could keep up with him for
ten metres. Every morning he sat by the old banyan tree and reminded the
squirrels, the deer and even the elephants of his record.
One afternoon a tortoise crawled past on the path to the river. "Race me,"
the hare said, laughing. The tortoise looked up calmly and agreed. The whole
forest gathered at the riverbank to watch.
The hare bolted out of the starting line and was halfway to the river
before the tortoise had taken twenty steps. He sat down under a jak tree to
rest. "I shall have a small nap and still beat him by a mile," he thought.
When he woke, the sun was sinking. He raced down the path — and saw the
tortoise just stepping into the river, the crowd cheering.
The hare hung his head. "I am sorry," he said. "I had the speed, but you had
the patience."
The tortoise smiled. "Don't be sorry, friend. Just remember."
Moral: Speed without patience wins nothing; patience without speed wins
everything that lasts.
15 marks — clear characters, build-up, dialogue moment, surprise turn,
moral on a separate line, fresh re-telling of a classic.
⚡ Quick Check — Comparatives & Superlatives
1. big → bigger → ___ (superlative)
2. "She is ___ intelligent than her brother." (long adjective)
3. Which is correct? (a) gooder (b) better (c) more good
4. bad → ___ → worst (comparative of "bad")
5. "Mount Everest is ___ mountain in the world."
🎧 Dictation — Relative Clauses
Listen carefully, then type exactly what you hear. Click 🔊 to replay.
🗣️ Speaking — Describing People & Things
Read each sentence aloud. Click 🎤 Record, speak clearly, then see your result.