

Tell the class that you’re going to play the song one time as a warm-up exercise, and that they shouldn’t write on the worksheet. When ready, pass out the worksheet to the class and give them a moment to read over the lyrics. Pick a song that includes reported speech, then create a worksheet using the lyrics from that song by removing all uses of reported speech from the lyrics and replacing them with blanks.įor example, the song “Norwegian Wood” by the Beatles would look like this:īefore beginning the activity, spend some time in class going over the general rules of reported speech with your students. This activity is great for warming up your class. For example, if your class is filled with lower-level students, you may want to pick a song with simple, easy-to-understand lyrics to make these activities more accessible.īelow are some exciting activities using music to teach reported speech. Maximize the learning experience by carefully considering what songs you’ll be using, then adjust the activities accordingly. Activities to Teach Your Students Reported Speech In reported speech, the personal pronouns often change and you typically add “ that “ after the verb. Reported speech example: The teacher said that we must learn proper grammar. Words such as tell, say and ask are used to report what was said to the listener. Reported speech, in contrast, is typically used for describing things people said in the past. (Download) 7 Musical Hits to Get You Teaching Reported Speech Through Songįirst and foremost, it’s important to remind your students that English has direct speech and reported speech, also known as “indirect speech.”Įxplain to your students that direct speech is often indicated with quotation marks.ĭirect speech example: The teacher said, “You must learn proper grammar.” This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy.


An important part of conversational English, reported speech can be difficult for some students to learn if they don’t already have a grasp on verb tenses.īut with the help of music, you can teach your students how to use reported speech while rocking out to some of their favorite musicians. Janu7 Musical Hits to Get You Teaching Reported Speech Through SongĪs you can see from the above example, reported speech is used to summarize or convey what was said in the past.
