Inside Out (Intonation)
Inside Out (Intonation)
For beginner classes, you might want to create the sentences (or pull from the resources
mentioned above) beforehand in order to save class time. But for your intermediate and
advanced classes, feel free to have them come up with their own sentences that coincide with
their assigned emotion.
The way you speak to your boss is probably not the same way you’d speak to an annoying
younger brother or sister. We speak differently to people depending on who they are and how we
feel about them.
This is incredibly important for ESL students to know when learning English, so they don’t go
through life speaking sarcastically to everyone they encounter. This activity helps them get
used to adjusting their intonation depending on their audience.
Put students in pairs and have them read sample sentences to each other. But when they read
each sentence, change the dynamic by having them pretend they’re speaking to a stranger, a
close friend, a parent, someone they don’t like and so on.
Listen as you walk around the class and pause, correct or discuss with students where necessary.
At the end, gather students for a group discussion about the ways they modified their pitch and
word stress depending on their audience.
3. SYNONYM SONG
6. Picture Telephone Materials: - Paper -Markers Directions: 1. Get into groups of about 10-12 people 2.
Every person in the group is given a piece of paper as well as a maker 3. The first person writes their
name and a ridiculous sentence at the very top of the page (holding the paper vertically) leaving plenty
of room. ONLY USE ONE SIDE OF THE PAPER 4. Now, pass the paper to the person on your left. 5. This
new person is now in charge of drawing an image for the sentence that they see. This person then folds
the paper back so that the sentence is not shown. 6. Pass the paper to the left 7. This next person is now
in charge of writing a sentence for the picture that they see. This same person folds their paper down,
hiding the picture above their sentence. Pass the paper to your left. 8. Repeat step 5-7 until there is no
more room on someone’s paper. 9. When there is no more room on the paper, unfold the paper, and
return to the name that is on top. 10. When everyone has received their paper, let at least 5 people
present their original sentence, the pictures, and other sentences that are now on their paper. Purpose:
Communication is important whenever you are trying to teach or facilitate. Without getting your point
across clearly, you leave others in the dark, leaving them to figure it out themselves. So make sure you
are communicating effectively when guiding others
7. VERBS
ADJECTIVES
1. Expanding Sentences
This simple activity not only reviews adjectives with your
students but gives them practice putting them in the right
order. Start by writing a simple sentence on the board. (The
boy is holding a book.) Tell your students that adjectives make
a sentence more interesting by giving details. Challenge your
students to add adjectives to the sentence you have on the
board, one at a time, to make a more interesting sentence. As
they add adjectives, point out the correct order in which to
place them. (For a simple summary of how to order adjectives,
see this adjective lesson plan on learn4good.com.) Once
students are familiar with the process, put them in pairs and
give them some additional simple sentences. Give students a
few minutes to expand their sentences as creatively as possible
and then come back together as a class to share what students
have written.
2.
Adjective Elimination
Divide your class into two (or more) teams to play this
adjective elicitation game. One at a time, students come to
the front of the room. (If possible, you may want to put some
type of divider between the students or use an easel so neither
person can see what the other writes.) To play one round, show
the two students (and your class) a picture. For the next sixty
seconds, each person must write down as many adjectives to
describe the picture as he or she can think of. At the end of the
minute, have students compare their lists. Any word both
students listed gets crossed off. Each student gets one point for
every remaining adjective and minus one point for every word
which is not an adjective for his team. Continue until everyone
has had a turn up front. The team with the most points wins the
game.