Speak an Adverb

Speak an Adverb is a way to have your students practice different intonation and register in English and also to help them become aware of the importance intonation plays in language.

A short amount of preparation is enough for different versions of the game and with right materials can be used to practice intonation with different ages and levels of students.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Preparation 3 In Class 4 Variations 5 See Also

Overview

A class is given a phrase which you write on the board. A student then comes up to the front and chooses a card from pile of "adverb" cards and they must say the phrase in the style and intonation of the adverb.

The rest of the class must try to guess what is on the adverb card.

For example, you might write on the board, "Have a nice day!" and the first student picks the "grumpily" adverb card.

In the above example, the student may say:

Preparation

Make up a list of cards each of which has a adverb style on it. For example:

• happily
• sadly
• questioningly
• angrily
• lovingly
• nervously
• condescendingly

You can also include more situational types of adverb cards:

• speaking to your boss; you're worried he's going to fire you
• talking to a baby
• talking to a customs official and you're case is full of smuggled goods
• at a job interview
• you know a terrible secret about the person you're speaking to

and so on.

In Class

There are different ways to play this. For the first couple of examples, it is often best to show the class yourself. Then get a good student up to show them again, then the rest of the class.

You can also divide the class into teams. A student from Team A comes up and has to speak the adverb to their team. If their team can't guess, Team B tries to answer.

Variations

Analysis. Depending on the class, you can take each adverb and examine it with the class, drawing diagrams and explaining how the intonation changes depending on the context.

Multiple Phrases. Instead of using just one phrase, have a list of phrases and the students each pick a different phrase before picking an adverb card. These phrases, of course, should be the right level for the class. You can include phrases you've recently worked on with the class on topics they are familiar with.

Taping. You might also like to introduce a tape recorder into the class to have the class listen to variations in intonation with the same phrase.

See Also

Act an Adverb - a simple game to practice adverbs