Chike didn't have the privilege that many urban dweller children had. He never got to the four walls of a classroom until he was ten. He is now thirteen, in primary three. Fortune smiled on him when a distant uncle of his was at the village to receive a chieftaincy title. The energetic, young, traditional dancer was the cynosure of all eyes during the conferment of the chieftaincy title. Chike danced his way into to the hearts of everyone present at the ceremony. He instantly became popular. His dancing skills made his distant uncle vow to pay for his education. It also meant the last time most of the villagers would set their eyes on this budding acrobatic dancer.
Days later, Chike was on his way to a place where he knew all his life as city. That was the name everybody called it, except for the relatives and siblings of some successful business men who occasionally visited the village with very nice big cars. They called it big city. Whichever — city or big city — they must either be the same or not too far from each other, Chike thought. He got to the city and was shocked at what he saw. He already had enough painful experience travelling more than five hours. The cars were travelling in full speed, with indistinct loud music blaring from the radio. The air conditioner was on and he almost froze to death in the convoy of cars he traveled in, and nobody cared. Now, he could see buildings as tall as the palm trees on which his father tapped palm wine. Some were even taller. One in particular left an impression on him. As he walked passed it, having spent two weeks in the city, he saw his exact look alike inside the building. He walked towards the building and he could see himself. He ran towards the building, and a body double like him was running too. He stopped when he stopped too. Fear gripped him and he took to his heels and told no one.
He was enrolled in school and he was happy about it. But he had one problem. The teachers, especially the female teachers, spoke too fast. As though that wasn't enough, they spoke with their nose. He made friends with Akin, a caring and understanding classmate of his. He enjoyed school, particularly with the help of Akin.
He was introduced to computer studies and was given an assignment to do. Unfortunately, his confidant was not in school to help. He has been indisposed for a while. He did the assignment to the best of his knowledge and submitted the following day. It wasn't until the end of the week that he knew how much he had missed his sick friend.
"Chike, what is this?" yelled the newly employed Computer Studies teacher.
"What you said we should do, ma?"
"What did I ask you to do?"
"You said to draw," he said a low tone.
"I can't hear you," barked the visibly angry teacher.
"You said to draw a mouse mah," he struggled to mutter, not louder than he said before.
"And what is this?"
"Mouse, mah," he said, kneeling simultaneously.
"And you think this is what I asked you to draw?"
The innocent, poor boy was about to give a response when the teacher cuts in.
"Shut up!"
"I said to draw a mouse, a computer mouse," she said, showing him one, "not house rat!"
By now the entire class had burst into profuse laughter. He was downcast, though he remembered he had seen what the Computer Studies teacher showed him was a mouse with the secretary of his uncle. He often played with it and pressed it in front of another thing the size of a box.
DISCUSSION
Poor Chike, you will say. It isn't his fault. He is new in a good school like we have in most of our cities today and probably has never been taught English, let alone taught that certain words in English can have more than one meaning. Examples of such words abound in English. They are referred to as polysemous words. 'Poly' means many, while 'semous' means meaning. Therefore, ploysemous words are words with more than one meaning. Examples include:
bank
meaning--- 1. a financial institution 2. the side of a river
1. I have never been to a bank.
2. Trading in fish and other sea creatures is done at the bank of a river.
chest
meaning--- 1. a part of the body 2. a wooden box where things are kept
1. He was hit with an iron rod on his chest.
2. Seen a treasure chest before?
theatre
meaning--- 1. a surgical ward in a hospital 2. a place where entertainment such as plays, dance, etc. is performed. 3. a place where lectures are received, for instance at the university
1. Doctors operate on patients in the theatre.
2. We were at the National Theatre to see a movie during the weekend.
3. The lecture theatres at the University of Lagos are very large.
Mine
meaning--- 1. a place under the ground where mineral resources such as gold, charcoal, diamond, etc. are explored. 2. a possessive pronoun to describe what belongs to you.
1. Enugu State is famous for its coal mine.
2. That book is mine.
key
meaning--- 1. a mental object used for locking and unlocking a car, a door, a gate, etc. 2. the secret of anything 3. any of the buttons you press on a piano or computer operating buttons.
1. Do you have the keys to the car?
2. What is the key to success?
3. One of the keys on the keyboard is faulty.
You can check out other examples at: https://youtu.be/8nIxO-_FjOs
Thanks for reading. You will have a nice week ahead.
Next week Monday will be another exciting time.
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