How to Teach Reported Speech to Students

How to Teach Reported Speech to Students Teaching students reported or indirect speech can be complicated by the all the changes that are required when moving from direct speech into reported speech. First off, students should understand that reported speech is quite useful in conversational English as relating what someone has said using quote and unquote is awkward at best. A further aspect of reported speech is encouraging students to use other reporting verbs beyond say and tell. Introducing the Concept to Students Start with Tenses Start with simple examples in which changes are only made in tense. For example: Write on the Board: Direct Speech Tom said, I enjoy watching action movies.becomes Indirect Speech Tom said he enjoyed watching action movies. Direct Speech Anna told me, I went to the shopping mall.becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me she had gone to the shopping mall. Move on to Pronouns and Time Expressions Once students have understood the basic concept of stepping one step back into the past when reporting in the past, they can easily begin to make the minor changes in pronoun and time expression usage. For example: Write on the Board: Direct Speech The teacher said, Were working on the present continuous today.becomes Indirect Speech The teacher said we were working on the present continuous that day. Direct Speech Anna told me, My brother Tom has been to Paris twice this year.becomes Indirect Speech Anna told me her brother Tom had been to Paris twice that year. Practice Provide students with a chart of the principal changes in reported speech (i.e. will - would, present perfect - past perfect, etc.). Ask students to practice the reported speech by beginning with a reported speech worksheet  or by asking them to change sentences from direct to reported speech. Once students have become comfortable with direct to indirect speech transformations, practice reporting through the use of interviews as in this reported speech lesson plan.As students become familiar with the reported speech, introduce a wider range of reporting verbs to help students move post say and tell. Advanced Issues Once the basics have been understood, there are a few more advanced issues to discuss. Here is a quick outline of some of the more problematic aspects of the reported speech that students might find confusing. Reporting Tense: Says instead of Said - Sometimes, in the moment of speaking a speaker may use the present tense to report what has been said. In this case, there is no change in the tense. However, changes in pronouns apply. For example:Teacher: Were going to work on the reported speech. Please turn to page 121 in your book.Student 1: I cant understand. What are we supposed to do?Student 2: The teacher says we are going to work on the reported speech on page 121.Tom: I think this is a great idea!Peter: Andy, I didnt understand.Andy: Tom tells us he thinks its a good idea.Other Reporting Verbs: Advise / Instruct / Etc. Infinitive of Purpose - A number of reporting verbs use the infinitive of purpose to express the idea, rather than using a transition of the tense. For example:Teacher: Were going to work on the reported speech. Please turn to page 121 in your book.Student 1: I cant understand. What are we supposed to do?Student 2: The teacher instructed us to work on reported speech and turn to page 121.Teacher: I think you should hurry up and finish the activity.Student 1: I didnt understand.Student 2: The teacher advised us to hurry up and finish the activity.