reported speech speaking activities

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in Listening · Reading · Speaking

Reported Speech Games, Activities, Worksheets and Lesson Plans

If you’re looking for some of the best reported speech games and activities, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for our top picks, along with worksheets, lesson plans and more.

Reported speech activities

ESL Reported Speech Games

Let’s get into the best activities and games for English learners.

#1: Reported Speech Board Game

I love to play board games in real life which is why I also like to play them with my students! It’s super easy to make your own to use for just about any grammatical point, including this concept.

In this case, fill the board with a bunch of statements like the following:

• Sister-has boyfriend
• Friend-fired from job
• Dad-playing golf tomorrow

Then, students have to make a reported speech statement using the information. It’s fun, engaging and a nice way to give students some practice with this important concept.

Check out this simple ESL board game so you can see how easy it is to make your own:

ESL Board Game .

#2: Ball Toss

This is a simple but versatile activity that’s perfect for reported speech. I write down a number of questions on the beach ball. Then, students take turns tossing the ball to each other and the person that catches it has to answer the question under their right thumb.

To add a reported speech element, have another student (the one who threw the ball?) report on that student’s answer. It’s simple but effective! Check it out:

Ball Toss Activity .

#3: Is that Sentence Correct

If you want to focus on forms, then consider using this simple error correction activity. Write some sentences that use the target grammar. Some have errors while others do not. Students have to find the incorrect ones and make the required changes.

It’s possible to do this in class, or for a homework activity. Have a look here:

Is that Sentence Correct? 

#4: Running Dictation

#5: Mixed Up Sentences

Making good sentences using reported speech can be a little bit tricky. If you want to focus on forms, consider using this simple activity.

Write some sentences on the board of PowerPoint, but mix them up in terms of the order. Students have to work quickly to put them in the correct order and the first time to finish is the winner. It also makes a nice homework assignment. Try it out for yourself:

Mixed Up Sentences .

• Amazon Kindle Edition
• Bolen, Jackie (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 137 Pages - 09/27/2020 (Publication Date)

#6: Man/Woman on the Street Interview Activity

If you want to level up the typical ESL interview activity, consider using Man or Woman on the Street. Then, to make it into a reported speech activity, have students tell someone else about what they heard. It’s fun, engaging, and lends itself well to this grammar point. Find out more:

Man/Woman on the Street Activity .

#7: Concentration

This is a fun memory game that’s ideal for a whole bunch of different grammar or vocabulary points. On one card, write down a statement, and then on the other, write down the correct form.

• I have a boyfriend (She told me that she has a boyfriend).

Make a number of these sets. I usually do 8 of them per group of 4. Then, students play a matching memory game. Learn more here:

Concentration Game .

#8: Vocabulary Auction

#9: Find Someone Who Bingo Game

This is a nice icebreaker activity that can also be used for some practice with this grammar point. Students have to circulate around the class, asking their classmates questions to find people to fill their Bingo grid.

To make this into a reported speech activity, have students report some of the things they learned about their classmates to a partner (bigger classes) or to the entire class (smaller classes). Find out more about it:

Find Someone Who Bingo Game .

#10: More Ideas for Teaching English

#11: dictogloss and reported speech.

This is a challenging ESL activity that’s perfect for developing listening skills. It also lends itself to almost any vocabulary set or grammatical point, including this one.

Find (or write) a passage of people talking about something that they heard.. Then, put students into pairs and read it out at a faster than normal pace. Students take notes and then attempt to recreate what they heard. Repeat the process again. Finally, they can compare what they have with the original. Check it out:

Dictogloss Activity .

#12: Surveys and Reported Speech

I love to use surveys and questionnaires in my classes. They’re engaging, student-centred and cover a range of skills in a single activity. They’re also great for working on this concept if you get each student to tell their partner some of the things they learned about their classmates.

This is a simple way to cover a new concept but have a quick review of this grammar point as well. Take a look at this activity:

ESL Surveys .

ESL games and activities

#13: Brochure Scanning Activity

This is a nice activity if you have a bunch of different travel brochures. Have students quickly scan them to find important information. For example:

• number of days

Then, have students use reported speech to tell their partner about the trip. Find out more:

Brochure Scanning Activity .

#14: ESL Review Games and Activities

#15: Daily Routine Activities and Reported Speech

In terms of topics to combine with this concept, daily routine is one of the best. It’s very simple to set up activities that lead to sentences like the following:

• Tim told me that he gets up at 7 am.
• Jenny said that she usually sleeps in on the weekends.

For some more ideas, have a look here:

Daily Routine ESL Activities .

#16: Error Correction Relay Race

This is a simple activity that takes something old (error correction) and makes it new again. Students have to work in teams to fix errors in a number of reported speech sentences. The first team to make all the corrections is the winner!

Want to give it a try? Learn more:

Error Correction Relay Race .

#17: Dialogue Substitution

#18: News Reporting

Provide students with news headlines or short news articles. Ask them to transform from direct speech (quoted speech) to reported speech (indirect speech) when retelling the news. This activity helps students practice the appropriate changes in verb tenses, pronouns, and time and place references.

#19: Interview and Report

Pair students up and ask them to conduct mock interviews. Afterward, have them report the interview to a different partner using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported while maintaining the meaning and context of the conversation.

#20: Picture Stories

Provide students with a series of pictures that depict a sequence of events. Ask them to create a story using reported speech to describe what is happening in each picture. This activity encourages students to use this language in a narrative context and practice converting direct speech into reported speech.

#21: Role Plays

Create role play scenarios where students take on different roles and engage in conversations. Afterward, ask them to report the conversations to another person using reported speech. This activity allows students to practice converting direct speech into reported speech in a context that mimics real-life situations.

#22: Song Lyrics Transformation

Choose a song that contains direct speech and ask students to rewrite the lyrics using reported speech. This activity helps students practice converting direct speech in songs into reported speech while exploring the meaning and context of the lyrics.

Online Practice for Reported Speech

There are a number of sites for online practice and quizzes that cover this. They are excellent resources to recommend to students who want a little bit of extra practice. Check it out here:

Perfect English Grammar

Exam English

My English Pages

Reported Speech ESL Lesson Plans

There are lots of nice lesson plans. Here are some of the best ones to consider using:

Lingua House

Reported Speech Worksheets

If you’re a busy teacher then you’re going to know what a huge time saver it can be to use worksheets that other teachers have made. Here are some of the top picks:

ISL Collective

English Grammar

There are a number of common questions that people have about using this method of speech. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is reported speech ESL?

Reported speech ESL is when we tell someone what another person said. You often have to use a tense that is further back in time (backshift) and may also need to change the pronouns.

What are some examples of reported speech?

Some examples of reported speech are the following:

• They said you didn’t want to come.
• My mom told me that she was angry at my dad.
• I asked her what her plans were.

How do you teach reported speech?

To teach reported speech, first set the context with a short video clip, discussion question, etc. Then, explain the grammar rules for it and do some controlled practice. Finally, use an ESL game or activity that allows students to practice further.

What are the types of reported speech?

The types of reported speech are direct speech and indirect speech.

Tips for Teaching Reported Speech To English Learners

Teaching reported speech to ESL learners can be challenging, as it involves a shift in verb tense and pronoun usage. Here are some tips to make the teaching process more effective and engaging.

Start with Direct Speech

Begin by introducing and reviewing direct speech, which is the original statement or question spoken by someone. Ensure students are familiar with the use of quotation marks and the appropriate verb tenses in direct speech.

Introduce Reporting Verbs

Teach students a variety of reporting verbs such as say, tell, ask, explain, suggest, etc. Explain the different patterns that follow these reporting verbs, including the use of direct objects, indirect objects, and prepositions.

Present Tense Changes

Demonstrate how to change verb tenses when reporting speech. Provide clear examples of how present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous, and so on. Reinforce the importance of maintaining accuracy in verb tense changes.

Practice Conversion of Pronouns

Show students how pronouns change when reporting speech. Explain the transformation from the speaker’s pronouns (I, you, we) to the appropriate pronouns in reported speech (he, she, they). Emphasize the use of possessive pronouns when necessary.

Provide Contextualized Examples

Use authentic materials, such as dialogues, interviews, or news articles, to provide meaningful examples of reported speech. This helps students understand the purpose and practical application in real-life situations.

Use Reporting Structures

Teach students reporting structures, such as reporting statements, reporting questions, and reporting commands. Practice transforming direct speech into reported speech using these structures and provide opportunities for students to generate their own examples.

Focus on Reporting Verbs of Perception

Highlight reporting verbs of perception like see, hear, feel, notice, etc., which require a change in verb tense but do not require reporting the exact words. Provide examples to help students understand the difference between reporting statements and reporting verbs of perception.

Incorporate Speaking and Writing Activities

Encourage students to practice reported speech through role-plays, interviews, or storytelling activities. Assign writing tasks where students report a conversation or summarize an article using reported speech.

Address Common Errors

Be aware of common errors students make when learning reported speech, such as incorrect verb tense changes or pronoun usage. Provide corrective feedback and offer opportunities for targeted practice to overcome these challenges.

Review and Reinforce

Regularly review with students and provide opportunities for reinforcement through quizzes, games, or interactive exercises. Repetition and reinforcement are key to solidifying understanding and application of this language.

Did you like these Reported Speech Activities?

• 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book on Amazon: 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Grammar Activities for Teenagers and Adults . It’s the book you need if you want to have more engaging and interactive grammar lessons.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Or, take the e-version with you to your favourite coffee shop for some lesson planning on the go.

Whatever the case, get ready for some ESL grammar teaching awesome in your life. Head over to Amazon to find out more about it:

Have your Say about Reported Speech Games and Activities

What do you think about these activities? Are they a winner, or do you have another one that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also, be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook Pinterest TikTok LinkedIn Instagram

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Fun Ways of Practising Reported Speech

1. Reported speech reversi Prepare cards with reported speech on one side and direct speech of the same sentence on the other. Students have to correctly say what is on the other side to turn it over and score one point. There are many games you can play with these cards, including the TEFL version of Reversi/ Othello that was first described by Mario Rinvolucri in Grammar Games and that is the subject of an upcoming article of mine.

2. Go betweens This is also a game from a classic TEFL supplementary book that can easily be done without access to the book (in this case Intermediate Communication Games). Two students have such a problem with each other that they are refusing to speak, and another student shuttles between them trying to find a compromise. The two students need to be sitting so far apart that they can’t hear the other people speak and so really need to listen to the peacemaker, e.g. by sitting in different rooms or one half of the students sitting in the corridor. Making both sides have complaints about the other and giving out roleplay cards can also help set up this activity well, as can having different groups of students working on different situations so that they can’t listen into the neighbouring teams. Possible situations to roleplay include students who have problems with the other students’ behaviour in class (speaking too much, not speaking enough, holding up the lesson because they haven’t done their homework, distracting the teacher from the lesson plan by asking questions, etc- maybe leading onto discussion of good classroom behaviour), neighbours, neighbouring countries, married couples, or suppliers and customers who are near breaking point in their relationship. This can also be used for non-conflict negotiations such as premarital contracts or price negotiations. Note that students usually get into this activity so much that they completely forget about Reported Speech, so you might want to do this as a controlled activity where they must make an effort to use the structures you have presented.

3. What they told you Give the students a list of people they have probably been spoken to by in their lives (e.g. teachers, policemen, future employers, immigration officers and market researchers) or brainstorm such a list onto the board. Students choose one of the people on the list and say things that this person really said to them, e.g. “He asked me whether I wanted a single or return”, and the other students guess which person from the list was speaking. As a more challenging extension, they can continue the game with people not on the list. This can also be done as Twenty Questions, e.g. “Has this person ever asked you whether you were carrying any drugs?” This game links well with the vocabulary of jobs or practising situational language such as “At the airport”. The same game can also be done with the vocabulary of relationships like “colleague”, “acquaintance” and “classmate”.

4. Reported speech pairwork dictation This idea lacks the fun element of the other games here (unless you choose or write an amusing dialogue or one with a surprising twist), but is easy to do and check and can lead to examination of things we usually leave out of reported speech such as “well” and “yes”. It can also be a lead in to the similar but more fun activities below. Student A has one person’s part of a dialogue and Student B has the other person’s part, and they convert their part into reported speech and tell their partner what the person on their worksheet said so that their partner can convert it back into direct speech (in their heads) and write it down in the gaps on their sheet. At the end when they check their worksheets with each other they should have identical dialogues written down. This activity can be made more challenging by one of the students having their half of the dialogue in mixed up order.

5. Reported speech pairwork dictation same or different A more intellectually challenging version of pairwork dictation is giving students similar but not identical direct speech sentences on Student A and Student B sheets. They dictate them to each other in reported speech and work together to decide if the original two sentences were the same or not, e.g. Student A reports “Do you feel happy?” as “He asked me whether I felt happy” and Student B reports “Are you feeling happy?” as “He asked me if I was feeling happy”, and they decide together that the original sentences were different (without ever telling their partner exactly what is on their sheet). You can add some trick questions where the direct speech sentences are different but the reported speech versions are the same, e.g. “I have been there” and “I was there” or “I was there that day” and “I have been there today”. They might feel robbed if you include sentences like this as it will stop them finishing the game successfully, but they will really pay attention when you bring that grammar point up later!

6. Pairwork dictation match the sentences Another good way of using sentences that sound similar when converted into reported speech (either correctly or wrongly) is to put the same direct speech sentences on Student A’s and Student B’s worksheets but mixed up and labelled 1 to 10 (for example) on one student’s and a to j on the other. They then dictate them to each other in reported speech and decide which ones are the same.

7. Pairwork dictation match the dialogue pairs Rather than matching identical sentences as above, you can add extra language and challenge by the students trying to match up typical functional language sentence pairs such as “Would you like anything else?” on Student A’s sheet and “No, that’s all thanks” on Student B’s. The sentences on their worksheets can be given in reported speech for them just to read out and convert back to direct speech in their heads while trying to work out which typical sentences or (more challenging) be given as direct speech for them to convert to reported speech when they tell them to their partner as in the games above.

8. Reported Speech sentence completion guessing game Give the students a list of sentence stems that should be completed with reported speech such as “I forgot to tell someone…”, “ or “Someone told me that I…”. They complete as many sentences as they can and then read out only the part they have written for the other students to guess which sentence that comes from.

9. Guess the backshift Students tell their partner(s) something that was said to them in direct speech (maybe using the air speech marks gesture), and their partner(s) convert it into reported speech, using the right kind of backshift or not by guessing whether it is something that is generally true about them, whether it is something their brother always says to them or whether it was a one off thing that is no longer true, e.g. choosing to convert “My brother said ‘You look sad’” to “Your brother said that you looked sad” or “Your brother (often) says that you look sad/ your brother once said that you always look sad” depending on whether they think that is generally true or not.

10. The … thing he ever said Give prompts containing superlatives for real things people said to them, e.g. “The worst thing your siblings have said to you” or “The best advice you have ever had”. Students tell their partner(s) one of these things, and their partners guess which prompt it refers to.

11. Referring to who guessing game Students report something they said or heard about someone else, e.g. gossip about someone famous, news about a politician, a reviewer’s opinion on someone’s acting or a colleague slagging off their boss, and the other students guess who was being spoken about.

12. Which occasion Students tell their partners something that was said to them at an important time, e.g. when they graduated from university or the first time their parents talked to them about sex, and their partners guess which occasion that thing was said at. The list of occasions can be given as a worksheet or brainstormed onto the board. This topic can easily be extended into an interesting cross cultural discussion on the traditional lack of school graduation ceremonies in the UK etc.

13. And this is how I felt sentence completion Students report something that was said to them or they heard that they had a strong emotional reaction to and the other students guess what their reaction was. This ties in well with a lesson on adjectives, and you can maybe give them a worksheet with some suggested adjectives on or brainstorm them before the activity, such as “… and I felt sad/ hungry/ romantic/ nostalgic/ old/ young/ flattered”

14. Reported mingling Almost any mingling activity (e.g. Find Someone Who) can be extended to include reported speech by people reporting back to their partners or the class what they learnt. Before doing this you will need to decide whether you want to encourage them to use Reported Speech or whether it is something you hope will come up naturally and that you might bring up later in an error correction stage.

15. Real or imagined reported speech This one works well with students whose memories freeze under the stress of speaking English or who don’t want to give away too much personal information. Students report something from prompts such as those described above, and then the other students guess whether that was really said to them or whether it was just made up.

You may also like:

• Yet Another 15 Games for Reported Speech
• More Reported Speech Games
• 15 Fun Ways of Practising the Past Perfect

11 Comments

thank for the material. it can add my knowledge. it used for may activity

The worksheets link I gave is still working, but the other parts of the article are now here: https://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/games-reported-speech/ https://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/reported-speech-games/

Great ideas shared, Alex!

I’ll try “And this is how I felt” with a twist to be carried out with my online students. I’ll include as a prompt: watching a short video like the ones that appear on Instagram (emotionally charged), for them to react to and report what was said and how it made them feel.

Let’s see how it works! Many thanks for the inspiration 🙂

Thanks, great ideas to use in my classroom.

Great ideas!! I will definetely try some in my classrrom. Thanks!!

Great ideas, thanks! I incorporated a few themes into a find someone who to start the topic of reported speech:

Find someone who:

1. Can remember some good advice they received

2. Has overheard an interesting conversation recently

3. Has had an interesting discussion recently

4. Knows some celebrity gossip

5. Has heard a joke in English

Parts Two and Three of this article are here:

http://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/reported-speech-games/

http://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/games-reported-speech/

And there are some worksheets here:

https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/worksheets/grammar/reported-speech/

excellent ideas, i will try some of them in my class today. thank you

Great activities. I tried “This is How I felt” as a follow-up and it really worked. Thanks

Hey there, speaking of Reversi games, I just posted a variation for teachers to use in one-to-one classes.

http://strictly4myteacherz.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/phrasal-verb-reversi-for-one-to-one/

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ESL Speaking

Games + Activities to Try Out Today!

in Activities for Adults

Problem/Advice Reported Speech Activity

You’ll often find reported speech in some of the higher level ESL/EFL textbooks, but it’s not easy to design an interesting, engaging activity to use with it. Check out what I do related to giving advice.

Problem/Advice: Reported Speech Activity

If you have high level students, an excellent activity that you can use for reported speech is problem and advice . These two things just naturally fit well together, and it’s actually what you can find in many ESL Textbooks.

How Does the Activity Work?

Show the students a problem that you found online or made up. Here’s mine about a high-school student dating a college guy . Note the reported speech examples that are underlined.

I wrote it myself in just a few minutes. It would work well for high school, university students or adults but not for younger students.

After reading, have students talk about the problem with a partner and say what advice they would give. It depends on the level, but I usually allow 2-3 minutes for just a quick discussion.

Adapt it to Any Age or Level of Student

Of course, you can easily make your own problem to adapt to the age and level of students that you have. It generally works best if the age range of the person is the story is the same as your students.

What do the Students Have to Do?

Next, students have a few minutes to write their own problem in 5-8 sentences,  using 2-3 sentences with reported speech in it (My Mom told me that…).

I’ll keep my example story on the powerpoint or board for students to refer to if necessary. Point out the examples that you underlined previously if they need a bit of help with grammar.

Then, have students share the problem with their partner and he/she gives them some advice.

The Reported Speech Serious Practice Part

The original pair joins with another pair and the first student has to share her problem (briefly) and then use reported speech to say what advice her partner gave her. That student could also say whether or not they thought it was good advice.

Continue until all three students have shared their problems and the advice that they got.

This reported speech activity is really fun because everyone loves to talk about their problems and people also like to give advice!

It’s also a great way to get some speaking practice with reported speech. If you think about it, this actually is not that easy to do but this activity is a good one.

Do you Like this Reported Speech Activity?

• Amazon Kindle Edition
• Bolen, Jackie (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 148 Pages - 03/09/2016 (Publication Date)

Did you think this was a great activity that you’d like to try out with your students? Yes? Thought you would! It’s a fun way to get your students practicing this skill that can be a bit tricky to come up with activity ideas for.

Check out this Book on Amazon

Then you’ll want to check out this book over on Amazon, 101 ESL Activities: For Teenagers and Adults . It’s lesson planning made easy, guaranteed.

Well Organized into Various Sections

The book is organized into sections: reading, writing, vocabulary, warm-up, etc., so you’ll be able to easily find what you need in minutes. Keep your students engaged and interested in your classes by adding some variety into them.

Available in a Variety of Formats

The good news is that 101 ESL Activities is available in both print and digital formats. Keep the book on your school’s bookshelf for a handy reference. Or, take the digital copy with you wherever you go for doing lesson plans at home, in coffee shops or in the office.

Check out the book for yourself over on Amazon, but only if you want some ESL awesome in your life:

ESL Reported Speech Activity

Reported Speech Activity: Have Your Say!

What’s your go-to activity for practicing reported speech? Or, what do you think about this ESL activity?  Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter. It’ll help other teachers, like yourself find this useful ESL teaching resource.

• 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)

If you need some more ideas for teaching English grammar, check this out: Interactive Grammar Activities and Games .

Last update on 2024-04-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 100 books for English teachers and English learners, including 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults and 1001 English Expressions and Phrases . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook TikTok Pinterest Instagram

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Reported Speech Bingo – Speaking Activity (ESL/EFL)

Focus : Reported Speech / Indirect Speech

ESL Level : Intermediate and up

No. of Students : 9+

Time Required : 15-20 Minutes

Materials : A bingo card with the names of all of your students on it.

Activity Description:  This is a fun speaking activity in which students mix and report what other students have said to them. Read below for explanation.

Activity Execution

After your students have learned the grammar of reported speech and practiced a little, put them into groups of two. Ask them to talk to their partner for 2 minutes. Tell them to get some information from their partner; they can talk about their plans, the future, what they have done, whatever (here, if you want to focus on reporting a specific verb tense, e.g. present perfect, then have them ask questions using that tense).

After two minutes, distribute the bingo cards. The cards should have a student's name in each square (see example below). You must prepare this beforehand.

Next, tell them they have to write information about their classmates in the squares on their card. However, the catch is that they  cannot speak to the person directly . Therefore, if they want to cross out the square for 'Yalda', then they should find the person who spoke with Yalda in part 1. That person will relay information Yalda said to him/her. They should write that information in Yalda's square.

For example:

• A: Hello. Who did you speak with?
• B: I spoke with Navid. Navid told me that he had seen a movie on Saturday night.
• A: Thank you (student then writes 'movie' in Navid's square).
• B: Who did you speak to?
• A: I spoke with Yalda. Yalda said that she was going on a trip this weekend.
• B: Oh, thank you (student then writes 'going on a trip' under Yalda's square).

Students will have to stand up and mix around to do this. The first student to complete and entire row/column/line (or entire card, however you want to play it), is the winner. The winner should receive a necklace made out of paper clips (optional).

My students enjoyed this activity. Give it a try. It's quite simple to set up. Make sure students understand that they cannot talk to the person directly; they must find the person's partner from Part 1 and get information about him/her reported to them.

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5 Reported Speech Activities

Reported speech tends to be quite a rule heavy, unexciting grammar topic. But it doesn’t have to be! Here are some fun games and activities that I’ve tried in my own classes which have gone well. They are organized from the easiest (1) to hardest (5) to make it easy for you to choose which activities are most appropriate for your own class.

Each activity will last at least 20 minutes but can be stretched longer by including introductions or review of reported speech, grammar explanations, feedback at the end, or in some cases by printing more worksheets and repeating the activity multiple times.

1. Reported Speech Mini-Whiteboard Game

Click here for the Google Slides link for the following game.

While I recommend using the Google Slides version of the game, here is the PDF version of the same Google Slides if you need it.

How do students play?

Put students into small groups of 2-4. Give each team a mini-whiteboard (or laminated piece of white paper) and whiteboard marker. Project the Google Slides presentation on the board. Let students write down the missing reported speech words.

If they are correct, give the team a thumbs up. They can put one point on the top of the board.

After you’ve shown all of the Slides, let teams count up their points and declare the winning team.

2. Play the Owl Game

Watch the following clip from Harry Potter and ask students this.

What is Hermione doing?

Hermione is being an “owl” for Harry and Ron and passing messages back and forth.

Now your students can have a chance to be owls.

Before class print the worksheet. Cut it up so that one student will be able to read the “Direct Speech” part of the worksheet and another student in the same group will separately be able to write the “Reported Speech” section. (Don’t let the teams see the two sections simultaneously because it’ll ruin the game.)

Put students into groups of three. Designate a “speaker,” a “writer” and a “runner/owl.” If your class doesn’t divide evenly into three, then make some students “checkers” who help their teammates check their reported speech grammar as they write it down.

Separate the groups so that the speakers are all on one side of the room, writers all on the other side, and runners standing in the middle with enough clear space to run back and forth.

The speaker reads a sentence from the “Direct Speech” part of the worksheet to the runner. The runner goes to his group’s writer and tells the writer what the speaker said. The writer writes the reported speech onto the “Reported Speech” section of the worksheet.

The first team to finish changing all of their direct speech into reported speech correctly is the winner.

Here is the PDF. Be sure to cut along the dotted lines before class starts. There is also an answer sheet. (I’ve left the pronouns empty because students might interpret who “you” is differently.)

* Note : There are only four groups in the PDF, but if you have a larger class, it’s okay to have more than one Group A, more than one Group B, etc. Just make sure you don’t put two Group A’s next to each other in the classroom or they might overhear each others’ answers.

3. Partner Reported Speech Crosswords

This is a very low-prep activity to review reported speech. Teachers, just print and go to class!

Put students in partners of Student A and Student B. Student A reads their direct speech sentences to their partner. Student B fills in the blanks on their crossword.

Then Student B reads their direct speech sentences and Student A fills in their crossword.

Remind students that they need to backshift verbs for reported speech.

* Note: If you don’t trust your students not to show one another their paper and “cheat” that way, then have them sit face-to-face with some space between their desks so they’re forced to speak and not look at one another’s papers.

4. Reported Speech Bingo!

Print as many Bingo cards as you need for your class. There are 30 cards in the PDF. If you’re class is particularly large, it’s OK to have some students doing duplicate cards.

To start, read the direct speech sentences from the Teacher’s Sheet. Students mark the corresponding reported speech on their Bingo cards.

When a student calls “Bingo!”, use your Teacher’s Sheet to make sure they’ve marked the correct reported speech.

If you want to play the game multiple times, print more Bingo sheets than necessary for your class. For repeated usability, laminate the cards and use them for multiples classes.

* Note : This Bingo is designed to be intentionally tricky . Students will need to listen carefully and have a firm grasp of the rules of reported speech ( including Wh- questions and Yes/No questions ) in order to mark their cards correctly.

I used Classtools.net for the Bingo cards. It’s a great website for creating fun ESL games quickly.

5. Video Listening Worksheet

This activity is fairly straightforward. Print the worksheet, play the video, and let students try to copy down what was said, first into direct speech and then into reported speech. Sometimes the best activities really are the simplest.

Make sure to explain the concept of “eavesdropping” before the video starts.

Here’s the video of Fred and George using an extendable ear to eavesdrop on others. I recommend starting the video 2 seconds in to avoid a major spoiler for anyone who hasn’t seen Harry Potter. There are minor spoilers throughout the clip, so I don’t recommend showing this video to young students who might still be reading the books or haven’t watched the movies yet.

I hope you find these activities useful!

If you want more fun games that you can use in any lesson, check out these 10 fun games that incorporate a lot of movement into the esl classroom., share this lesson.

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Tags: activities backshift classroom direct speech easy ESL free fun game grammar hard Lesson reported speech Worksheet

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Verbs and tenses

• 1 Verbs and tenses
• 2 Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article
• 3 Past perfect aspect – article
• 4 Past perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 5 Present perfect aspect – article
• 6 Present perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 7 Reported speech – tips and activities
• 8 Reported speech 2 – article
• 9 The passive in English – article
• 10 The passive in English – tips and activities
• 11 Modal verbs 1 – article
• 12 Modal verbs 1 – tips and activities
• 13 Modal verbs 2 – article
• 14 Modal verbs 2 – tips and activities

Reported speech – tips and activities

By Kerry G. Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield

• No comments

Tips and ideas from Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on teaching reported speech.

Introduction

Reported speech is a very rich grammar area to teach because:

• It can involve considerable manipulation of form.
• It’s a very easy piece of grammar to locate and exploit with texts.

The activities here are divided into different kinds of drill, ways of exploiting texts and analysis.

Activity: Basic substitution

At it’s most basic, you can simply read out a sentence and ask the students to rephrase it beginning with He said …/She said…  For example:

• T: I don’t like it.
• Ss: He said he didn’t like it.
• T: I hate it.
• Ss: He said he hated it.

This can be made a little more interesting in the following ways:

Activity: Chain reports

Version 1 The following activity is a variation of the well-known 'broken telephone'. Whisper a sentence in English to a student. That student then whispers it to another and so on until the last student has to say aloud what was said originally.

Version 2 If the above seems too easy, ask students to alternate reported speech/direct speech. If they hear it in reported speech they put it back to direct speech and vice versa. For example:

• T: I like it.
• S1: He said he liked it.
• S2: I like it.

Activity: I didn't get that. What did she say?

This is a quick question drill. Ask a student a question. After they answer, ask another student what was said. For example:

• T: Tomas, how did you get to class today?
• S1: I came by car.
• T: Sorry, I didn’t get that. Yvonne, what did Tomas say?
• S2: He said he had come by car.

Activity: Mingle

Prepare a series of cards/slips of paper, each with a different sentence. Here are some examples:

Remember me? We met at last year’s party.

Create enough cards so that each student has one. You can repeat the same sentences on other cards.

Explain that you want the students to role-play the following situation. They are all at a very formal cocktail party. Everybody must circulate and talk to each other. The trick is they must say what is on their card and as little else as possible. If you have a CD player or cassette player in the classroom, you could play some quiet music in the background during the mingle.

After five minutes (or however long it takes for most students to have spoken to each other) tell everyone to sit down again. Ask people to report back on what other people told them, using reported speech.

Activity: Text clarifications

This is another teacher-led activity that also focuses on listening skills. It uses an oral text generated by the teacher. For this activity you need to prepare the following:

• a short anecdote (2 minutes long) related to the topic that you are already doing in class (e.g. if you are doing holidays, make it about holidays);
• four or five sentences that contradict things in your anecdote.

Write the sentences on the board. Read them out to the students. Now explain that you are going to tell a story, but that some of the facts in the story are different. The students must listen carefully. When they hear a fact that is different from those on the board, someone must interrupt you and seek clarification, using the following structure:

Excuse me, but didn’t you say that …? (include what you had said earlier, the facts that are on the board).

Here is an example: T writes on the board:

• I live in a big house.
• I’m married.
• I don’t have any children.

The teacher reads out the sentences and then she gives the instructions for the activity. She begins the story:

• T: Well, the other day I was in my flat. It’s a small flat in the city centre …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you lived in a big house?
• T: Ah yes, I did say that. So, it was in my big house. My boyfriend was at work …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you were married?
• T: Of course. I’m married, I meant to say my husband was at work and the baby was crying …
• S: Excuse me, didn’t you say you didn’t have any children?
• T: That’s right. It isn’t my baby, it’s my sister’s baby.

Activity: Reported interviews

For this activity, search around the internet for an interview. This kind of activity works best if the interviewee is someone that your class is interested in, or at least someone they have heard about.

• Select some of the interview from the webpage and paste into a word document. Make copies for every two students in the class. In class, divide the students into pairs.
• Distribute the interview and ask them to work together and make a reported version it.
• Give them a word limit (150 words). When they have finished their draft report, have them swap reports with another pair. Ask them to reduce the report now to 100 words. Circulate and help.

Activity: Reporting back – famous interviews

In this activity, students create the interview themselves. Divide students into groups. Tell the groups that they must do the following:

• Decide on a famous person (living or dead) who they would like to interview.
• Nominate ONE person in that group to be the famous person.
• Once groups have nominated their famous people ask those people to come up to the front and form a new group.
• Explain that the famous people are all on a panel to be interviewed by the class, who are journalists.
• Give the journalists some time to think of questions. During this time the famous people can talk about what they are going to say.
• When the journalists are ready, begin moderating the interview by asking for questions.
• Once all the famous people have answered the questions send them back to their original seats.
• Now ask everybody to write a report with at least two things they remember from the interview. They should include examples of reported speech in their report. Ask students to compare their reports in pairs.
• Circulate and help. At the end, ask different pairs to read out their reports.

Activity: The news

Prepare for this activity by going to a news website and looking around for short news stories with examples of reported speech. Don’t worry about not finding any, there are usually lots.

• Select examples of these texts and create a small worksheet. First, ask students to read the excerpts and tick the stories they already know about.
• Then ask them to speculate as what the direct speech was. Tell them to write in direct speech the reported speech. They can add more detail if they like.
• At the end, have different students read their quotes and ask the others if they can see what story it came from.

Activity: Shades of meaning 1

The choice of whether or not to 'backshift' the tenses in reported speech often has to do with the reporter’s interpretation. You can ask students to compare the meanings between two examples of reported speech (minimal pair sentences).

For example:

See the section on tense choices in reported and reporting clauses for further examples that you could use and explanation of the differences in meaning.

Activity: Shades of meaning 2

You can also do the above exercise with examples from the news stories. Give the example and ask students to speculate why the tense was chosen. For example:

Why not … that Madonna owed them …?

Activity: What I think and don't think

This activity is a dictation activity. Prepare some sentences that are opinions on a certain topic that you’ve covered recently in class. There should be a mixture of affirmative and negative sentences. Here are some examples on the topic of ART for an intermediate class (some of these are stronger opinions – you may want to change them to reflect your own opinion).

• A lot of modern art isn’t very good.
• Art galleries are great places for conversation.
• There aren’t many famous painters from my country.
• Graffiti isn’t art.
• Art shouldn’t be only for rich people.
• Some art is worth far too much money.

Explain that you are going to dictate these sentences, but that the students must write down a report of each one beginning with The teacher thinks  … or The teacher doesn’t think … (see grammar explanation on negatives in reporting for when to use which stem). The above sentences would give the following:

The teacher thinks art galleries are great places for conversation.

Ask students to compare their answers in pairs, and then decide if they agree or disagree with you. Ask different groups to report back and have a short open class discussion.

Activity: Reacting to the news

Prepare a series of slips of paper each with a sentence beginning You’ve been asked to… or You’ve been told to… Prepare a mixture of good and bad things. For example:

• You’ve been asked to work next Saturday morning.
• You’ve been told to not drink any more wine.
• You’ve been asked to present an award at a film festival.
• You’ve been told to go the principal’s office.
• You’ve been asked to participate in a television show.
• You’ve been told to stay in bed for three weeks.

Pre-teach common social expressions for reacting to good or bad news, for example:

• That’s great!
• Congratulations!
• That’s good news
• That’s too bad.
• Oh dear. Oh no.
• That’s terrible!

Distribute the slips of paper to the students and ask them to read them silently. Then tell them to move around the class and 1) tell other students what they’ve been asked or told to do. 2) react to what other students tell them.

As a follow-up, you could ask them to work in groups and transcribe what they think was probably originally said.

Activity: Conspiracy theories

Prepare a small handout with the following 'claims' on it.

Elvis lives? It’s claimed that the singer Elvis is still alive today.

Think of four or five other conspiracy claims that you could add (you can add local ones too). Include one or two which are more 'believable' than the others (maybe even true ones). Write them in a similar style (i.e. headline, then the sentence stem It is claimed/said/believed that … ). Make one copy of this handout for every three or four students in the class.

Divide students into groups and give each group a card. They must read the card and then assign a score (0 to 5) to each theory 0 = we don’t believe this at all to 5 = we believe this is true . Do some feedback at the end, then collect the handouts. Ask students to try and rewrite from memory what the theories were, paying attention to the reporting structure.

Activity: Drill sergeant

This is another simple drill for reporting orders. Explain that you are going to be a drill sergeant: you are going to give four different students orders and then ask someone to report back what was said. Give short simple orders to different students in a brisk, sergeant-like voice. For example:

• Put down your pen!
• Listen to me!
• Pick up your bag!
• Answer your mobile phone!

The students must carry out the orders. Once you’ve given orders to four students, ask a fifth: What did I just say? The fifth student must report the orders (e.g. You told Maria to put down her pen, you told Giovanni to listen to you. ). If they can do it correctly, they become the drill sergeant.

This is a drill but with a role play element (that of being the sergeant) – to make the role even more effective you could use a prop, like a ruler or some kind of stick to wave around. You then give the prop to the next drill sergeant. Make sure nobody gets hit with the prop though!

Activity: things I was asked/told to do

To provide more practice in reporting structures with ask/tell, ask students to make a list of things they were asked or told to do in different situations. For example:

• when they were a child
• when they first started learning English
• in their first job
• on their first day at school/university

Tell students to compare with each other once they have written their lists. Then ask different students to report back.

Activity: Survivors mingle

This is a group role play, where students imagine that they have survived a plane accident and are stranded on a desert island. Prepare a series of cards/slips of paper, each with a different suggestion for the situation. Here are some examples:

• We should just wait for someone to come and find us.
• Why don’t we explore the island?
• Let’s get wood for a fire.
• We should all stay together. There are dangerous animals around here.
• I think you and I should try to escape together.
• Let’s build a boat.
• We should try and fix the plane.

(you can make your own. Begin with Why don’t we… Let’s …. We should…) Create enough cards so that each student has one. You can repeat the same sentences on other cards.

Explain that you want the students to role play the situation described above (to make it more 'real' you could elaborate on the story of how they got there). Everybody must circulate and talk to each other. They must say what is on their card and as little else as possible.

After five minutes (or however long it takes for most students to have spoken to each other) tell everyone to sit down again. Ask people to report back on what other people told them, using one of the following reporting verbs: suggest, advise or recommend .

Here is a variation which lets the students choose more of the language. Set up the scene, then give the students the sentence stems: Why don’t we … Let’s …. We should … and ask them to write a suggestion. Give them one of the above as an example. Then continue the activity.

Activity: Election pledges

To practise the structures following verbs like promise and offer , you can ask students to imagine they are speechwriters for a candidate for President or Prime Minister of their country. They must prepare a very short speech. You could give them the following outline to help:

• I know that …
• So I promise to … and to …
• If we are elected, my government pledges* to …
• My opponent has promised to …
• But we all know that …
• Together we can …

* pre-teach pledge – it has the same reporting structure as promise, or offer

Students can write this in groups. Then have different students read out their election speeches. Who is the most convincing?

• British English
• Reference Material
• Reported speech

Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article

Past perfect aspect – article

Past perfect aspect – tips and activities

Present perfect aspect – article, present perfect aspect – tips and activities.

Reported speech 2 – article

The passive in english – article, the passive in english – tips and activities, modal verbs 1 – article, modal verbs 1 – tips and activities, modal verbs 2 – article, modal verbs 2 – tips and activities, related articles.

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An article by Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on approaches to teaching reported speech.

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Creative Resources for ESL/EFL Teachers

ESL Reported Speech Speaking Activity: Gossip

This is a fun ESL/EFL reported speech speaking activity which I like to throw in when the students start to feel tired and bored by the theory and dull practice exercises.

It is a great activity to energize them while practising reported speech in the most natural way – gossiping. Not prep and a lot of fun.

Let’s gossip !

• Ask students if they like to gossip. Most of them do.
• Ask them to tell you some of the latest gossips they’ve heard. They’ll get excited, so keep it short.
• Explain that they are going to play a game of gossip. Tell them to prepare a gossip (it’s best not to use real gossip as someone might get offended). It can be about celebrities, friends, classmates, teachers(that’s one of the favourites).
• Give each student a copy of the worksheet and explain that they will talk to each other and gossip. Every time they hear a new gossip they write down the name of the person who told them and the gossip itself.
• Allow them to gossip for 10-15 minutes, depending on the class size.
• When they get back to their seats, tell them to report the gossips they’ve heard into the reported gossip column.
• When they are ready, ask them to report the gossips they’ve heard.
• Be prepared to hear some shocking news!

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• B1-B2 grammar

Reported speech

Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job. 

Instructions

As you watch the video, look at the examples of reported speech. They are in  red  in the subtitles. Then read the conversation below to learn more. Finally, do the grammar exercises to check you understand, and can use, reported speech correctly.

Sophie:  Mmm, it’s so nice to be chilling out at home after all that running around.

Ollie: Oh, yeah, travelling to glamorous places for a living must be such a drag!

Ollie: Mum, you can be so childish sometimes. Hey, I wonder how Daisy’s getting on in her job interview.

Sophie: Oh, yes, she said she was having it at four o’clock, so it’ll have finished by now. That’ll be her ... yes. Hi, love. How did it go?

Daisy: Well, good I think, but I don’t really know. They said they’d phone later and let me know.

Sophie: What kind of thing did they ask you?

Daisy: They asked if I had any experience with people, so I told them about helping at the school fair and visiting old people at the home, that sort of stuff. But I think they meant work experience.

Sophie: I’m sure what you said was impressive. They can’t expect you to have had much work experience at your age.

Daisy:  And then they asked me what acting I had done, so I told them that I’d had a main part in the school play, and I showed them a bit of the video, so that was cool.

Sophie:  Great!

Daisy: Oh, and they also asked if I spoke any foreign languages.

Sophie: Languages?

Daisy: Yeah, because I might have to talk to tourists, you know.

Sophie: Oh, right, of course.

Daisy: So that was it really. They showed me the costume I’ll be wearing if I get the job. Sending it over ...

Ollie: Hey, sis, I heard that Brad Pitt started out as a giant chicken too! This could be your big break!

Daisy: Ha, ha, very funny.

Sophie: Take no notice, darling. I’m sure you’ll be a marvellous chicken.

We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.

So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.

He said he wanted to know about reported speech.

I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted .

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could ; will changes to would ; etc.

She said she was having the interview at four o’clock. (Direct speech: ' I’m having the interview at four o’clock.') They said they’d phone later and let me know. (Direct speech: ' We’ll phone later and let you know.')

OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.

'We went yesterday.'  > She said they had been the day before. 'I’ll come tomorrow.' >  He said he’d come the next day.

I see, but what if you’re reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn’t change the tense.

'Dogs can’t eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can’t eat chocolate. 'My hair grows really slowly.' >  He told me that his hair grows really slowly.

What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether , then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don’t use question forms after the reporting verb.

'Do you have any experience working with people?' They asked if I had any experience working with people. 'What acting have you done?' They asked me what acting I had done .

Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don’t go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.

She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!') He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don’t forget.')

OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to …' or 'He asked me to …' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise , remind , warn , advise , recommend , encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say , tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

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What was the most memorable conversation you had yesterday? Who were you talking to and what did they say to you?

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Reported Speech

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Reported speech speaking activity

In pairs, students choose 4 situations from the worksheet and write very short stories using the keywords given (3-4 sentences) Each story should be written on a separate piece of paper and signed by the author (using a real or a fictional name). (5-7 mins)

Mini stories should be exchanged among students so that each pair ends up with 4 different stories written by other students. In pairs, they should take turns retelling the stories to each other, beginning with “Have you heard about… / that…?” pretending they were told this piece of gossip by its author, prompting them to use reported speech. (10 mins)

Elicit the funniest or the most absurd stories from the group. (5 mins)

Keywords: Jane, party, divorce, Japanese man

Story: “Jane went to a party last Saturday. She met a Japanese man, fell in love with him and now she wants to divorce her husband!” (Author: Laura)

Re-telling the story: “Have you heard about Jane? Laura told me that Jane had gone to a party the previous Saturday and she had met a Japanese man, had fallen in love with him and then she wanted a divorce from her husband!”

Want some more fun grammar practice? How about practicing third conditional with this fun speaking activity .

Personal Experience

This activity took a lot of monitoring and correction, but at the same time it allowed a lot of creativity, and my students managed to come up with stories much juicier than the example I posted!

Have you heard_Reported Speech

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This has saved me! Lots of fun, thank you!

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Lesson Plans Digger

Reported Speech and Indirect Requests Listening and Speaking Exercises

Indirect questions and reported speech are two aspects of English grammar that can be a little tricky. Practice with pictures and  listening using multiple intelligences can help make lessons more entertaining and engaging.

1 Reported speech listening/speaking (with audio and answers)

Reported speech is an essential but sometimes overlooked aspect of English grammar. This is a fairly elementary exercise.  Students can try to complete the speech bubbles. Then they can listen to the audio to compare answers.

Reported speech (PDF)

(see the YouTube video)

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Reported Speech Guide

Introduction to reported speech practice worksheet (PDF)

2 Reported speech brainstorm (with audio and possible answers)

Two introductory exercises  for reported speech.

Reported speech brainstorm (PDF)

Indirect questions

Introduction indirect questions practice (PDF)

3 Indirect questions (with answers and audio)

This is an indirect questions listening and speaking  exercise and activity. Students  try to complete the invitations conversations using the pictures and the vocabulary. Or students can listen to the audio and match the vocabulary and phrases to complete the questions.

Indirect questions listening/speaking (PDF)

(Indirect questions Youtube video mp4)

4 Indirect  questions challenge(with audio and answers)

An exercise to introduce or review indirect questions.

Indirect questions challenge (PDF)

5 Celebrity interview: advanced reported speech with academic reporting verbs (with audio and answers)

This is a more advanced reported speech exercise for listening/speaking or writing students. I’ve noticed that even quite good students often have trouble using a variety of reporting verbs. In this exercise, students listen to a interview with a celebrity and write sentences using the specified reporting verbs.

Celebrity interview: reported speech (PDF)

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10  Adjectives Exercises Including Adjectives for People and Things 

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7 Picture-Based Present Continuous Worksheets (PDF)

8 Preposition Exercises for Location, Time and Movement (PDF)

5 Future Tense Vocabulary and Speaking Exercises

5  Useful Passive Voice Practice worksheets

6  Present Perfect Language and Speaking Worksheets

11  Incredibly Useful Past Tense Simple Teaching Activities (PDF)

Listening/Speaking Exercises for Conditionals

6 Reporting verbs (sorting)

This is an exercise for academic writing, or any kind of advanced writing. I’ve noticed over years that students just didn’t get “reporting verbs”. They had a lot of trouble introducing paraphrasing and quotations. I have never got around to doing anything about it before. But I’m pretty proud of this exercise. It makes a nice writing lesson to go along with essay writing activities that require doing some research. Bringing the research into an essay requires paraphrasing and quotations. Reporting verbs are often quite flexible and difficult to explain but this activity helps generate discussion and a better understanding of their various uses.

Reporting verbs (PDF)

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10 cause/effect writing activities

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6 memorable narrative essay writing practice exercises (PDF)

6 delightful descriptive paragraph and essay writing exercises  (PDF)

11 essential exercises for elementary writing students (PDF)

2 Replies to “Reported speech and indirect requests”

Amazing update, thank you

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“He Said What?” Top 10 ESL Activities for Reported Speech

He said…She said…He asked her if, when, where or what… Reported Speech, also known as Indirect Speech, is not one the most fun to teach.

What ESL teachers usually do is simply have one student supply a statement or ask a question and then have another student report what was said/asked. However, there are others ways to practice Reported Speech , more creative and engaging ways, which should prevent students tuning out and help them tune in to the lesson.

Try These Top 10 ESL Activities for Reported Speech

Reported speech card games.

For some students, the best way to learn Reported Speech is by reading the statements they have to report. This is why we often write them on the board. Try these card games instead! For the first game, prepare a set of index card each with a direct speech statement on one side and the indirect statement on the other. Divide students into pairs. Student A picks up a card and reads the direct statement. Student B must change what they heard into an indirect statement. Student A checks B’s reply on the back of the card. The team with the most correct points wins.

You may also try this easier version. Write the direct statements on index cards and their indirect versions on another set of cards. Divide the class into two teams. Each student must pick up a card and find the matching statement. You can make this more challenging by using statements that are similar but in different tenses.

What Did They Ask You?

Ask students to brainstorm a list of people who might ask them questions and what those questions might be: a police officer, their mother/father, a teacher, a taxi driver, etc.,  Then a student reports something that someone asked, without revealing who it was: This person asked me if I had my driver’s license . Students must guess it was the police officer: The police officer asked you if you had your driver’s license .

Words to Live by

Give students snippets of things that famous people have said about their lives and experiences. Students read them out loud and then take turns reporting what someone said: Einstein said peace could not be kept by force. He said it could only be achieved by understanding. “The future rewards those who press on. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on,” said former President Obama. President Obama said that the future rewards those who press on, that he does not have time to complain and is going to press on.

Celebrity Buzz

Hand out several copies of entertainment magazines or the showbiz section of the newspaper. Students must read through them and find at least one juicy bit of celebrity gossip to report to the rest of the class: Miley Cyrus said she was officially engaged to her boyfriend . To make this into a game, ask students to withhold the celebrity’s name and have the other students guess: Which famous celebrity said she was engaged to boyfriend Liam Hemsworth?

Take advantage of story time by asking students to report on what some of the main characters said/asked in the stories or works they are reading : What did the Evil Queen ask the magic mirror? She asked it who the fairest of them all was .

Student Reporter

Any budding reporters can have the chance to show off their reporting skills with this fun activity. Divide students into pairs. One student will be the reporter and the other will be someone worthy of an exclusive interview: 

• A famous actress
• A rich entrepreneur
• An Olympic athlete and so on.

Ask each student to write Dear Abby letter asking for advice on a problem ; ask them to use Reported Speech in their letter: My parents said we were moving to another country but I don’t want to move . Students then exchange letters and reply to a classmate’s problem: Don’t be afraid to tell your parents how you feel . Students get their original problem letters back and report to the class on what Dear Abby said: Dear Abby told me not to be afraid to tell my parents how I feel . With this activity you are giving your students two opportunities to use Reported Speech.

I Heard it Through the Grapevine

One student whispers something to a classmate: I love chocolate more than anything else . This student whispers it to another: Juan said he loved chocolate more than anything else . The whispering continues through the grapevine, until it reaches the last student who must then say the original statement in direct speech. If there are differences, they must find out who made the mistake: Karen said Juan loved chocolate more than life itself. - I said he loved it more than anything else .

Comic Strip Gaps

To prepare for this activity cut out comic strips from a newspaper or print some you find online. Then use some liquid paper to white out what some of the characters say in their speech bubbles. Write these lines down on separate cards. Students pick up a card and try to match it to a character: Garfield said he wanted to eat lasagna .

First you need some flashcards with sentences in direct or indirect speech, a basic timer and a bean bag or ball. Have the students stand in a circle. Give the first one a bean bag or the ball and set the timer for a random interval, even a short one — one minute or even six seconds, or you can even vary the intervals to make it more interesting — depending on the size of your class. When the timer stops, the student holding the bean bag must read one of the flashcards and convert it into the opposite e.g., direct speech to indirect speech, or the other way round. If they are wrong, they must leave the circle. You can vary the game by changing the flashcards to contain other words where students would need to come with sentences containing, say for example, superlative adjectives , add suffixes , countable and uncountable nouns .

Try not to give your students random direct statements to report.

Each of the activities suggested above should establish a situation, a context that should help your students see just how useful Reported Speech really is.

If you have any activities that have worked for you, please share them below!

Like it? Tell your friends:

How to teach reported speech - statements.

Let’s Be Indirect: Teachers’ Top 9 Fun and Creative Activities for Practicing Reported Speech

Don’t Get to the Point: Teaching Indirect Questions

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