This page explains the NEB Grade 12 Compulsory English curriculum — how the course is built, what skills it targets, and how students are assessed. Use the tables below to open chapter notes and exercises.
Subject information
| Subject | Compulsory English |
|---|---|
| Grade | 12 |
| Subject code | Eng.004 |
| Board | National Examinations Board (NEB) |
| Curriculum body | Curriculum Development Centre (CDC), Sanothimi |
| Framework | Secondary Education Curriculum 2076 (from academic year 2077 BS) |
| Credit hours | 4 |
| Annual working hours | 128 |
| Streams | Compulsory for Science, Management, Humanities, and Education |
| Full marks | 100 (75 external + 25 internal) |
| Theory duration | 3 hours |
Curriculum focus
Grade 12 English develops the four language skills with stronger weight on reading and writing. Content and language are taught together: thematic passages for intensive practice, and literature for interpretation, appreciation, and creative response. Soft skills such as critical thinking and creativity are built through varied fiction and non-fiction texts.
The course serves both students heading to university and those entering work — academic English for study, and functional English for communication.
Course structure
The prescribed textbook is organised into two parts:
| Part | Focus | Working hours |
|---|---|---|
| Language Development | Thematic reading plus grammar, vocabulary, listening, speaking, and writing around each unit | 73 |
| Literature | Short stories, poems, essays, and one-act plays for intensive/extensive reading and creative writing | 55 |
| Total | 128 | |
- Language Development: 20 contemporary thematic units (local and global issues) with integrated skill tasks.
- Literature: 7 short stories, 5 poems, 5 essays, and 3 one-act plays (20 literary texts).
Competencies
By the end of Grades 11–12 English, learners should be able to:
- Use spoken and written English in personal, social, and academic situations
- Read informational and literary texts for understanding, pleasure, and critical evaluation
- Search, select, and organise information from print and online sources
- Produce accurate, purposeful writing for different audiences
- Create critical and imaginative pieces
- Listen and respond accurately; communicate with clear verbal and non-verbal strategies
- Show awareness of diverse cultures
Skills emphasised
| Skill | What the curriculum expects |
|---|---|
| Listening | Gist and detail, inference, note-taking, following instructions, stress and intonation |
| Speaking | Conversation, formal/informal discussion, narration, presentation, description, argument |
| Reading | Intensive reading, literary appreciation, critical analysis, inference, dictionary/reference use |
| Writing | Paragraphs, letters/emails, essays, reports, summaries, reviews, character sketches, process writing |
Assessment and exam grid
Internal evaluation — 25 marks
| Area | Marks |
|---|---|
| Participation | 3 |
| Listening test | 6 |
| Speaking test | 10 |
| Terminal exam scores | 6 |
| Total | 25 |
Schools conduct listening/speaking checks, assignments, and class participation across the year. Minimum internal pass is typically 10 out of 25.
External evaluation — 75 marks
| Language aspect | Marks |
|---|---|
| Reading | 35 |
| Writing | 25 |
| Grammar | 10 |
| Vocabulary | 5 |
| Total | 75 |
The board paper mixes seen textbook material, unseen comprehension, grammar/vocabulary items, and original writing. Pass mark in theory is commonly 27 out of 75. Memorising notes alone is weak preparation because unseen reading and free writing reward practice, not rote answers.
Grammar scope (Grade 12)
Grammar is taught in context with the units, then tested directly. Core areas include:
- Adjectives and adverbs; adjective order
- Subject–verb agreement (concord)
- Prepositions; conjunctions; connectives
- Modal auxiliaries; conditionals
- Tense and aspect (including past and future forms)
- Infinitives and gerunds
- Relative clauses
- Voice (active/passive)
- Reported speech
- Determiners, quantifiers, question tags
Writing types emphasised
- Paragraphs; descriptive, narrative, argumentative, and expository essays
- Formal letters (including letters to the editor, job applications, business letters) and emails
- Curriculum vitae (CV) and applications
- News articles, press releases, formal reports
- Narratives, descriptions, summaries, character sketches
- Book/film reviews; transferring information from charts/tables to prose
Sample language functions (Grade 12)
Listening and speaking tasks are tied to functions such as giving directions, expressing feelings and certainty, arguing and defending a point, comparing and contrasting, clarifying, predicting, narrating past events, reporting, complaining/criticising, summarising, and announcing.
Section I: Language Development
Each unit centres on a contemporary theme. Notes typically include summary, exercise solutions, grammar practice, and exam-style questions.
Section II: Literature
Short stories (7)
Poems (5)
| Chapter | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Day |
| 2 | Every Morning I Wake |
| 3 | I Was My Own Route |
| 4 | The Awakening Age |
| 5 | Soft Storm |
Essays (5)
| Chapter | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | On Libraries |
| 2 | Marriage as a Social Institution |
| 3 | Knowledge and Wisdom |
| 4 | Humility |
| 5 | Human Rights and the Age of Inequality |
One-act plays (3)
| Chapter | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Matter of Husbands |
| 2 | Facing Death |
| 3 | The Bull |
How to study against this syllabus
- Treat Language Development as skill practice: reading + grammar + writing + oral work per theme.
- Treat Literature as interpretation: theme, character, devices, short and long answers, creative response.
- Keep weekly grammar and timed writing practice for the 75-mark paper.
- Protect internal marks early — listening, speaking, and participation are 25% of the subject.
- Use past papers to learn question shape and time management, not only to collect “model answers.”
Frequently asked questions
Is English compulsory in Grade 12?
Yes. It is compulsory across streams under NEB.
What is the Grade 12 English subject code?
Eng.004 (Grade 11 is Eng.003).
How are marks split?
75 marks external theory and 25 marks school-based internal evaluation.
What sits inside the textbook?
Language Development thematic units plus Literature (stories, poems, essays, one-act plays), with grammar and writing integrated around the readings.
Always confirm any annual circular changes with the official CDC/NEB syllabus and your school’s exam grid. Chapter notes on Padandas follow the Grade 12 English textbook structure used with this curriculum.