An Activity for Teaching Reported Speech The main activity for this section is Reported Speech Soccer. The game is really meant for small groups (between 2 and 8) as it is essential that the teacher referees. The game goes as follows: () The teacher prints a set of !uotation cards (see Soccer "atches #elow) and a game board. The !uotation cards should be pasted onto cardboard and cut out. (2) The class is divided into two teams (or the whole class can play as one team against the teacher). ($) Teacher places a mar%er on the soccer field to represent a soccer ball. (&) There are three ways the teacher can proceed from here: (a) 'f it is the first game( the teacher can flip over a !uotation card and the student whose turn it is reads the !uote and reports what was said( heard( read( or thought. )or e*ample( if the card say +it,s a beautiful day+ then the student will say( +-e.she said that it was a beautiful day.+ /very card has been designed so that the student can easily identify the pattern that is re!uired.(b) 0nce the students get good at it( the teacher can 1ust read the card to thestudent instead of flipping it over and letting the student read. The teacher will have to act out the card as well. )or e*ample( if it,s a ,whisper, card( then the teacher will whisper the !uotation and the student will have to say( +-e.she whispered that. . .+(c) The third way 22my prefered way now22 is to have one student pic% up a !uotation card and read it to his.her partner. The partner then must report to the teacher what was said. 'n both (b) and (c) above it is important to get a set of gestures down to help the student who is listening guess which pattern is re!uired. )or e*ample( if the pattern is +heard that+ then the student who is spea%ing should put his.her hand to his.her ear and read out the !uote. 'f the pattern is +yell that+(the student can ma%e a clenched fist and read the !uote loudly. #oth +thin% that+ and +wonder if.what+ can be done with a finger tapping on the temple ofthe head. (3) 'f the student correctly reports what was in the !uotation( the soccer ball advances one space (one player) closer to the opposing net. 'f the student ma%es even the slightest mista%e then the ball moves one space closer to his or her own net. 4lternate between players from each team. (5) 'f you decide to have the whole class play against the teacher( the teacher will go around the group and they will try one at a time to report whatwas said. 'f the student reports correctly( the ball moves towards the teacher,s goal. 'f the student ma%es a mista%e( then the ball moves towards the students, goal. "atch 6: The Basic Five and 'That' Noun Clauses: -e thought that his mother would li%e it.. . . said that . . .. . . thought that . . .. . . heard that . . .. . . wrote that . . .. . . read that . . . "atch 62: Different Ways to Say Soething: -e yelled that he wanted to go home.. . . bragged that . . .. . . complained that. . .. . . confessed that . . .. . . denied that . . .. . . whispered that . . .. . . yelled/shouted that . . ."atch 6$: !uestions and Reported Speech -e as%ed her if she was bored. . . . ask if . . . (Yes/No Questions). . . ask what . . . ('Wh' Questions). . . wonder if . . .. . . wonder what . . . "atch 6&: Reported Coands" Advice" Warnings" andFavors# She as%ed him to mail a letter. . . . tell someone to . . .. . .warn someone to . . .. . .adise someone to . . .. . . ask someone to . . .. . . beg someone to . . . "atch 63: Threats and $roises !e threatened to kill him. . . . promised to. . .. . . threatened to . . .. . . agreed to. . .. . . refused to . . .. . . offered to . . . 7rammar note: 8hen reporting someone,s speech you usually change any present tense form into the past tense( )or e*ample( +' will go+ becomes +-e said that he would go.+ 'f it is already in the past tense( then it 1ust stays as the past tense. This rule of changing into the past tense is not a strong rule. Sometimes you can leave it in the present tense as well. 't really depends onthe distance between when something was said and when someone reported what was said. 4nd so if you report the speech right afterwords( youcan leave it in the present tense. 9ou can also leave it in present tense whenyou are tal%ing about things that are true in general. #ut when ' play this game with my students( ' always force them to change it into the past tense.Reported speech has been a difficult grammatical structure to teach well. 8hat is contained in the above lin%s is a description of the various forms of indirect reported speech and ery e*tensive resources and aids for teaching indirect reported speech. #e warned( however( that this lesson is structural (grammar2based) in nature. #ut it is also very worth doing. The resources areconsiderable. Than%s go to 9oda for design( to :am for discussions and encouragement on reported speech and to Sunmi for her e*hausting search on ways to say( +-e said that . . .