ESL Speech Reporting Exercises
Students of English as a second language, or ESL students, will need, at some point, to practice using reported speech. English speakers use reported, or indirect, speech to report what someone has said and do this by changing the verb form within the sentence. Conduct reported speech exercises with English language students of an intermediate level upwards.
Other People Are Reading
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In My Reported Opinion
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Prepare a list of five personal opinions based on topics you have discussed in class in recent weeks. You might prepare, for example, "I think Cairo is a very interesting city" or, "In my opinion, it's better to study early in the morning rather than late at night." Read these out to the class slowly. As you read the sentences, students work individually to change these sentences into reported speech and write them down. For example, "The teacher said that he thought Cairo was a very interesting city" and so on. Put the students into pairs to compare their work before checking answers as a class. Now arrange the students into groups of three and ask them to think of five opinions of their own. Students take turns to read out their sentences to their group, who change them into reported speech. After 15 minutes, or when everyone has finished, ask each group to read their sentences out to the class.
When I Was Young
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Read out to the class examples of things you were told when you were a child. For example, "My parents told me I couldn't walk to school alone" and "My teacher told me I had to do my homework." Divide the class in groups of three or four and ask them to come up with five sentences about things they were told when they were young. Encourage them to be as creative as they like, for example, "My mum told me I wasn't to ride the family dog like a horse" or "My maid told me that licking the floor would make me ill," and so on. Circulate as the class works, giving help as necessary. After 20 minutes, or when everyone has finished, ask each group to read out their sentences for the class.
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Newspaper Reported Speech
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Look through a newspaper to find a short article with many example of reported speech. These kinds of articles are common in newspapers. Students work in pairs to change the examples of reported speech into direct speech. So, for example, "The Fijian president announced that he was raising taxes on sugar beet," becomes, "The Fijian president announced 'I am raising taxes on sugar beet'" and so on. Circulate as the students work, giving help where necessary. Put each pair with another pair to check their work before going over answers as a class.
Grumpy Spouses
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Arrange the class into groups of three, and explain that one student in each group will play the wife, one the husband and one their best friend. Tell students that the husband and wife are angry at each other, not talking and that the best friend will relay messages for them. Give students two minutes to prepare a list of complaints they have about their spouse. The wife begins by telling the best friend a complaint she has, such as, "He forgot to take the garbage out." The best friend relays this to the wife in reported speech, i.e., "She said that you had forgotten to take the rubbish out." The husband can now respond with, for example, "I didn't forget. I just didn't want to do it," and the best friend relays this back to the wife, again in reported speech. Continue in this manner for five to ten minutes before changing the roles within each group so that someone else becomes the best friend. After five to ten minutes, swap the roles once more.
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