reported speech online games

Reported Speech Quiz

Test your understanding of Reported Speech in English with this Reported Speech Quiz. Reported Speech, also known as indirect speech, is used to convey what someone else said without quoting their exact words. It often involves changes in tense, pronouns, and time expressions to suit the reporting context. For example, direct speech: “ I am learning English, ” becomes in reported speech: “ She said she was learning English. ” This quiz has 15 questions and each question will ask you to change the direct speech into reported speech. Take The Quiz Below!

Direct: "I am watching a movie." Reported: She said that she __________ a movie.

Direct: "I will go to the store." Reported: He said that he __________ to the store.

Direct: "We have finished our homework." Reported: They said that they __________ their homework.

Direct: "I can play the piano." Reported: She said that she __________ the piano.

Direct: "I am going to watch a movie tonight." Reported: He said that he __________ a movie that night.

Direct: "We are meeting our friends tomorrow." Reported: They said that they __________ their friends the next day.

Direct: "I have been reading a book." Reported: She said that she __________ a book.

Direct: "I ate pizza last night." Reported: He said that he __________ pizza the night before.

Direct: "We will finish the project by tomorrow." Reported: They said that they __________ the project by the next day.

Direct: "I saw him yesterday." Reported: She said that she __________ him the day before.

Direct: "I must leave now." Reported: He said that he __________ right away.

Direct: "We can't come to the party." Reported: They said that they __________ to the party.

Direct: "I did not see him at the event." Reported: She said that she __________ him at the event.

Direct: "I have been feeling unwell." Reported: He said that he __________ unwell.

Direct: "We were planning to visit you." Reported: They said that they __________ to visit you.

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Not learned about reported speech yet? Then check out this Reported Speech Guide which includes lots of examples to help you master this important part of English grammar.

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Reported Speech €“ English Grammar Game for kids

This is an English grammar activity to practice and develop skills in using reported speech for kids.

Reported Speech €“ We use reporting verbs like €˜say€™, €˜tell€™ or €˜ask€™ to report what someone else said as a direct speech. Hence, reported speech is alternatively referred to as indirect speech. Since reported speech is often use to talk about the past, we normally change the tense of the spoken words. We change the reporting verb when we introduce the reported words. Inverted commas are not used when turning direct speech into reported speech. Use the exercise above to practice correctly reporting direct speech.

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Reported Speech - Level 1 - Quiz 2

#esl #efl #englishgrammar #reported speech

Created by: mr_xopkins

Language: English

ESL Activities

ESL Games, Activities, Lesson Plans, Jobs & More

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 .

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#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?

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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.

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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.

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Yet Another 15 Games for Reported Speech

1. Reporting the whole course Students report something someone in the class (including the teacher) said, and the other students try to guess or remember who said it. This is nice near the end of a course or as part of a revision lesson.

2. Tell on his errors Students watch a segment of a video where a character makes stupid verbal blunders, e.g. the Rowan Atkinson priest character in “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and listen for things they shouldn’t have said. When you stop the video they get one point for each mistake they report but lose one point if the thing they report was actually what the person meant to say/ should have said.

3. We’ve heard that story before Students write a story and add one of the events (e.g. the vase getting broken) a second time where it shouldn’t be. When they change groups their new partner has to listen carefully to the story and report anything they hear repeated with phrases like “But you said you had already shot him dead before the police arrived”. With less creative classes or to save time, this activity can also be done with them being given the stories but adding the repeated parts themselves.

4. It’s my story, I’ll mix it up if I want to Students work together to put a worksheet of pictures or words in some order to make a story, but without writing anything down to remind them what the story was and the order they put the pictures or words in. They then split up to tell their story separately to another pair of students. The two pairs of students then get together, and the people who were told the story try to find differences between the two versions, and report them to the storytellers.

5. Report him for that topic Students report speech they heard in their lives, heard in a previous jigsaw listening or video stage, or have been given quotes from on a worksheet, and their partners guess what subject was being talked about.

6. Report that man! Students report something that was said, e.g. quotes by famous people they all know or that they have been given, and they guess who said it (maybe from a list of possible people).

7. Report them and rank them Students are given different lists of quotes and have to agree on a ranking of all of them in terms of how true they are, how funny they are, how inspirational they are etc.

8. Guess what they said about it Report the topic and the person speaking and students guess if what was said was positive or negative, and be more specific about the opinions if they can. This works both for things famous people said and things they really heard in their own lives.

9. Report, analyse and report One student reports another student’s answers to a questionnaire, and the third student analyses their personality, most suitable blind date, most suitable job etc- either from an analysis they have been given or from their own imagination. The second person can then report the third person’s judgements back to the first person to see whether they think the conclusions are true or not.

10. Accumulating mingle As students walk around class doing a mingle activity such as “Find Someone Who”, they have to not only find out about the person they are speaking to but also everything their partner has found out so far. This continues until they know one thing about each person in the class or have answered all the questions on their worksheet, at which point they can sit down.

11. Reporting stereotypes Students guess which nationality is talking about which nationality, with sentences from the teacher’s experience, from questionnaires that have been used in several countries (these come up in the news sometimes), or from the other students’ imaginations about what the British think about Americans etc.

12. Guess the it Students report a sentence with a reference word like “it”, “that”, “him” or “one” in it, then the other students guess what it refers to. This can be done with jigsaw videos and listenings, as explained in the previous article on reported speech games.

13. Tell me more tell me more Students report something that someone said but leave out some crucial information at the end, e.g. “Brad Pitt said that Jennifer Aniston was terrible at…”, and the other students try to guess the missing words, being given hints if needed.

14. Match that grammar Write some sentences in both reported and direct speech and split them down the middle. Put the first halves of the reported speech versions on the Student A worksheet and the end halves of the direct speech sentences on the Student B worksheet, but mixed up. Students try to work out which sentences match and to write the complete sentences in both direct and reported speech on their worksheet (obviously not showing their worksheet to their partner until the end of the activity).

15. Guess the gossip Students make gossip sentences with “Yesterday I heard that…” etc, maybe from cue cards like “Michael Jackson” or “two-timing, then the other students guess if they really heard that from elsewhere or just made it up on the spot. This can be used for love vocab, business vocab, crime vocab, education, politics etc.

You may also like:

• More Reported Speech Games
• Fun Ways of Practising Reported Speech
• Parts of Speech

The articles and worksheets are now here: https://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/reported-speech/ https://www.tefl.net/elt/ideas/games/reported-speech-games/ https://tefltastic.wordpress.com/worksheets/grammar/reported-speech/

Thank you for your ideas.

Thanks Ma Li. Some worksheets with these and other ideas here: http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/worksheets/grammar/reported-speech/

Alex…these are some of the better reported speech games I have seen in a long time. They reinforce cooperation and collaboration, cued and spontaneous listening, speaking with a purpose, humor in the classroom, and much more. Many thanks.

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Reported Speech Quiz

You can do this grammar quiz online or print it on paper. It tests what you learned on the Reported Speech pages.

1. Which is a reporting verb?

2. He said that it was cold outside. Which word is optional?

3. "I bought a car last week." Last week he said he had bought a car

4. "Where is it?" said Mary. She

5. Which of these is usually required with reported YES/NO questions?

6. Ram asked me where I worked. His original words were

7. "Don't yell!" is a

8. "Please wipe your feet." I asked them to wipe

9. She always asks me not to burn the cookies. She always says

10. Which structure is not used for reported orders?

Your score is:

Correct answers:

10 Fun Reported Speech Games And Activities

“I love to read, and write,” said Alex. 

Notice something in this sentence? Observe how the sentence is “reporting” a particular statement, which could have been conveyed “directly” too. 

Now, that you understand the basic difference between reported and direct speech, let me also tell you that no English class is complete without the knowledge of this concept as it plays a crucial role in communication and writing. At the same time, learning this concept can be a bit difficult and challenging at first, as it requires a fair amount of practice and dedication to understanding the rules behind the conversion of direct to reported speech and vice versa. 

Hence, in this blog, we will be navigating through a bunch of activities that can help students learn faster and better and also promote interaction and enthusiasm among them. Check the below-mentioned games and activities to create a diversified yet challenging learning experience for stimulating the knowledge of learners.

Engaging games to teach reported speech 

From sentence building to grammar to even vocabulary , learning through games promotes enthusiasm as well as knowledge. It gives students a necessary break from the traditional way of learning. It helps them explore, interact and work in teams to achieve their objective. By playing games, they learn more than the subject which is being taught.

A quiz is a great way to interact with students. It helps in engaging the whole class. Everyone is a participant and gets to learn as the one who answers is an active participant and the one who listens is the passive participant.

• Prepare a set of sentences that are in direct speech
• Divide students into teams of 3 each
• Only one student is allowed to answer at a time
• Speak the sentence in Direct Speech and teams have to answer in Reported speech
• The team to answer the maximum number of right answers wins the game

This game exposes students to interactive learning. This game encourages students to participate in the classroom. It encourages them to listen and learn and also gives them the chance to answer and gain confidence in themselves.

2. Who Am I?

This game is something that can challenge kids to listen carefully. It helps exercise active listening and is a good game to grasp the attention of students and help them participate in class. 

• Narrate a small story that is full of examples of Direct and Reported Speech
• Divide the class into a set of teams as per the rows in the classroom
• While narrating, stop when there is any instance of direct or reported speech in the story
• Ask students to identify whether it is direct speech or reported speech
• The team with the most correct answers win

This game helps all students to participate. This can help in active listening, learning the concept, and the development of a healthy environment in a class.

3. Reporting Whisper

This is an interactive team game that helps in promoting learning the concept of reported speech in a challenging manner. It challenges students to apply the concept of reported speech in their daily life, which can help them retain and understand it better.

• Two teams with two members should participate each time a round is played
• One team gets a chance to say three normal sentences to the other team
• The task of the team which gets the sentence is to convert what Team A said into Reported Speech
• For example- Team A: “ My friend Victor works in a pet shop. ” In this case, Team B has to convert and say this in a reported speech. Team B: Team A said that their friend Victor worked in a pet shop.
• The team that converts most of the sentences correctly from direct speech to reported speech wins.

This game can help students learn by putting the concept of reported speech in their conversation. It also promotes active listening, encourages teamwork , and helps them gain confidence.

4. Find the Fault

This game is all about having an eagle’s eye. It promotes being clear with the whole concept and knowing even the little mistakes there can be in a reported speech.

• Prepare a list of 10-12 sentences
• These sentences are to be written in reported speech but should carry errors in them
• Reported Speech with errors: Dan said, “that he likes Apples.”
• The correct answer is: Dan said that he liked apples.
• The student who identifies the fault and correctly writes most sentences in the reported speech wins.

This game is a little difficult compared to others. It can help in polishing and refining the concept of reported speech in a better fashion and help students master it.

5. The Speech Bingo

This is a fun individual game that is based on the concept of Bingo. This game is a creative way of teaching and making students practice the concept of reported speech.

• Create a set of 25 statements written in a direct speech on the blackboard
• Ask students to make 5 rows and 5 columns giving them a total of 25 boxes
• Ask students to write the answers of direct speech in different boxes
• Now, put the chits of these direct speech sentences in a bowl
• Pick chits and let students form 5 vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines to win the bingo

This game helps in involving students and encourages participation in the class. It also helps them identify what was the direct speech to then understand the reported speech.

Interesting activities to teach reported speech 

Activities are another way of helping students learn by actively participating in the classroom. Activities help students explore educational concepts in creative ways and help them learn in a playful manner.

1. Find Your Pair

This is a fun activity that includes music, interaction, and active participation. This activity is a fun way to learn the concept of reported speech.

• Prepare a set of 50 cards as per the number of students in your classroom. One card per each student
• 25 cards should have reported speech and 25 cards should have direct speech
• Number each card from 1 to 50
• After giving one random card to each student, ask students to form a circle
• Play the music and students have to simply walk and enjoy the music 
• Stop the music and call out a random number
• If you call number 28 the student having that card should step out and speak out loud what is the sentence written on the card
• After this, the student with the corresponding Reported Speech or Direct Speech should come out within 10 seconds and speak the sentence written on their card

This activity can help students learn in an interactive manner. It is a very creative activity by which students can learn to identify direct and reported speech and its differences.

2. Spin The Wheel

This activity is a lucky draw activity. Students randomly get a chance to learn more about reported and direct speech. 

• Install a giant spinning wheel with many examples of sentences in Direct Speech 
• Spin the wheel
• Select a student randomly to answer
• The selected student has to convert the sentence in Direct Speech into Reported Speech

It is a simple activity that can help students learn better the way of converting Direct Speech into Reported or Indirect Speech.

3. Tell Me About Someone’s Day

This activity is fun and can help students in learning the art of interviewing and help them develop better social skills.

• Students have to talk to anyone during day
• They would obviously have the conversation in direct speech 
• Their task is to narrate the entire conversation in reported speech
• For example, Dad said that he had a very long day at work. He said that he had a burrito for lunch. 

This activity is another activity that can help students master the concept of reported speech. It helps them develop critical thinking and better concentration skills.

4. Choose The Correct Option

This game requires students to be alert as it is a challenging activity. Through this activity, students learn how exactly a sentence is framed in reported speech and what common errors are made.

• Prepare a set of 10-15 questions
• The question will have a sentence in Direct Speech
• There will be 4 options with only 1 correct
• Students have to identify and select the correct option and also give an explanation

This activity helps them learn from their mistakes. It also helps in mastering the concept of direct and reported speech. 

5. Write A Story 

This seems like a simple story-writing activity but there is obviously a twist. This activity challenges students to write creatively and create a story based on the concept which exercises reported speech.

• Give students a story-writing prompt
• The challenge of writing this story is that they need to have a character who converses in reported speech
• The story should be having a conversation between two or three characters where reported speech is used to narrate and convey the message

This activity helps students learn how to use the concept of reported speech in their creative writing activities . It helps them learn the application of this concept which can help them understand and remember this concept better.

Reported Speech is an important grammatical concept and often needs more practice. Due to the existence of many rules in this concept, students can often be perplexed. So, teachers and parents can make use of creative ways to foster a fun and effective learning environment .

The above-mentioned games and activities can help make the daunting and challenging concept of reported speech easier for students. It can also help them learn this concept in a better fashion as compared to the traditional theoretical methods of learning. These games and activities can help them gain confidence, learn teamwork and attain mastery over this concept after a certain period of time.

I am Shweta Sharma. I am a final year Masters student of Clinical Psychology and have been working closely in the field of psycho-education and child development. I have served in various organisations and NGOs with the purpose of helping children with disabilities learn and adapt better to both, academic and social challenges. I am keen on writing about learning difficulties, the science behind them and potential strategies to deal with them. My areas of expertise include putting forward the cognitive and behavioural aspects of disabilities for better awareness, as well as efficient intervention. Follow me on LinkedIn

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• Reported Speech

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ESL Speaking

Games + Activities to Try Out Today!

in Activities for Adults · Activities for Kids

Tell your Story | ESL Speaking Activity to Practice Reported Speech

If you’re looking for a reported speech speaking activity, look no further than tell your story. It’s a fun reported speech activity to try out with your higher-level ESL or EFL students. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about teaching indirect speech!

Speaking Activity to Practice Reported Speech

You can often find a unit on reported speech in most intermediate-level English textbooks. But, it’s not that easy to design some ESL activities to practice this. Not to worry. Keep on reading for one of the best reported speech activities to try out with your students.

Check out one of my favourites: “Tell a Story.” It’s fun, and engaging, and creates some great opportunities for students to practice this important skill. Reported speech activities don’t have to be terrible any longer! Have some fun with reported speech ESL.

Reported Speech ESL Speaking Activity

Skills: Writing/reading/speaking/listening Time: 15-30 minutes Level: Intermediate to Advanced Materials Required: Nothing

Have students write something interesting. Some examples are the most embarrassing moment, the scariest thing you’ve ever done, your dream for the future, future predictions , etc. Base it on whatever topic you are studying in class that day. Make it clear to the students that it should be something they’re willing to share with the entire class so as not to write something very private.

Then, distribute the stories to other people in the class. Then the students have to go around the class, finding the person whose story they have by asking questions. Once they find that person, they have to ask them three interesting questions about the story. And the person who originally wrote the story has to answer them of course.

I like this part of it because it gets students up and out of their seats, moving around and talking to different people. It gets boring sitting down all the time and talking to only 1 person! It’s ideal for those sleepy classes that you might have on Friday afternoon or those ones who are just waking up on Monday morning.

Reported speech ESL activities

Teaching Tips for Tell Your Story:

Emphasize to students that they are to practice asking good questions. For example, “USA?” is not a good question, while, “Did you study abroad in the USA?” is much better. Full sentences are the key here.

Also, emphasize that students should think of interesting follow-up questions that expand upon their knowledge about that situation. This involves reading carefully so they can avoid asking about things that are already mentioned.

You can give your students a couple of minutes before the activity starts to write down a few questions based on the paper they received to help facilitate this. Based on the topic you’ve assigned for the story, there should be some obvious ones that they’d want to ask.

This activity provides an excellent opportunity for your students to work on reported speech. This is something that high-level students are often surprisingly weak at. If you have a small class (less than 10), students can report what they learned about their partner to everyone.

If larger, students can tell their seating partner what they learned. For example, students might say something like, “I talked to Min-Ji. She told me that she got in a car accident last year. She said that it was really scary, but thankfully nobody got injured seriously.”

Procedure for this Reported Speech Activity:

• Have students write an interesting story based on a certain topic. Adjust for length and difficulty depending on your students.
• Collect stories and redistribute them–one per student, making sure a student does not get their own story.
• Students go around the class asking people if that is their story. For example, “Did you get in a car accident when you were little?”
• When they find the person, they must ask them three interesting follow-up questions about it.
• Do the optional variation of having students tell other people what they learned about their classmate in order to practice using reported speech.
• Follow-up with a worksheet, other activity or homework assignment.

Do You Like this Reported Speech ESL Speaking Activity?

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

If you like this ESL speaking activity to help your students practice reported speech, then you’re going to love this book: 101 ESL Activities: For Teenagers and Adults . It’s lesson planning made easy, guaranteed. The key to better English classes is a wide variety of engaging and interactive games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

There are dozens of top-quality ESL games and activities for teenagers and adults that are organized into various categories: reading, writing, speaking, writing, warm-ups, and 4-skills. You’re sure to find something that will work for any level of students or topic.

You can get the book on Amazon in both print and digital formats. The (cheaper!) digital copy can be read on any device by downloading the free Kindle reading app. It’s super easy to have fun, engaging ESL activities with you anywhere you go.

Or, buy the book and keep it as a handy reference on your bookshelf, or teacher supply room. You can check out 101 ESL Activities for yourself over on Amazon:

Teaching Reported Speech FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about reported speech games and activities for English learners. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is reported speech in English?

Reported speech is when we talk about or repeat what someone else has said using our own words.

Why do we use reported speech?

We use reported speech to share information, statements, or questions that someone else has said.

What changes occur when turning direct speech into indirect speech?

Pronouns, tense, and time expressions often change for indirect speech.

Can you give an example of direct speech changing to reported speech?

Direct: She said, “I am going to the store.” Reported: She said that she was going to the store.

What happens to the pronouns in reported speech?

Pronouns usually change to match the perspective of the speaker in reported speech.

How do you shift tenses in reported speech?

Generally, you shift the tense back one step. For example, present simple becomes past simple.

Do all time expressions remain the same in indirect speech?

No, time expressions usually change, e.g., “now” becomes “then,” “today” becomes “that day.”

What’s the reporting verb?

The verb that introduces indirect speech can be things like, “said,” “told,” “asked.”

Can questions be reported too?

Yes, questions can be reported using reporting verbs like “asked” or “wondered.”

How do you report imperative sentences?

Imperative sentences are reported using the verb “to” + infinitive, or with phrases like “ordered” or “told.”

What’s the key to successfully teaching indirect speech to ESL students?

Practice and exposure through various exercises and real-life examples are crucial for understanding indirect speech.

Reported speech games and activities for ESL

Tell your Story English Speaking Activity: Have your Say!

What do you think of this activity to practice ESL reported speech? Is it a good one or do you have another reported speech lesson plan activity that you’d like to recommend? 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 Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2024-02-01 / 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.

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•  English     31      Public Convert the direct speech statements into indirect speech.
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• He said, "I will pay tomorrow." He said that he would pay the next day.
• Bill said, "I may lend you some money." Bill said that he might lend me some money.
• "What do you want?" she asked him. She asked him what he wanted.
• "Are you coming with us?" he asked me. He asked me if I was coming / going with him.
• He asked, "When do you intend to make the payment?" He enquired when I intended to make the payment.
• "Do you come from France?" asked the Prince to the girl. The Prince asked the girl if she came from France.
• "Which way should I go?" asked the little girl. The little girl asked which way she should go.
• Aladdin said to the magician, "What have I done to deserve so severe a punishment?" Aladdin asked the magician what he had done to deserve so severe a punishment.
• "Don’t you know the way home?" I said to her. I asked her whether she did not know the way home.
• "Can you solve this problem?" he asked me. He asked me if I could solve that problem.
• Jack thought, "I wonder why Walter always wears a cap." Jack wondered why Walter always wore a cap.
• Wilma said, "Deb isn't fun to be with." Wilma said that Deb wasn't fun to be with.
• "Where is my wallet?" wondered Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor wondered where her wallet was.
• Paul said to Walter, "Are you glad to be in England?" Paul asked Walter if he was glad to be in England.
• She says, "I'm a little bit nervous." She said that she was a little bit nervous.

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© THE INTERCEPT

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Feds Are Coming for “Extremist” Gamers

The Department of Homeland Security and FBI are in dialog with Roblox, Discord, Reddit, and others.

Gaming companies are coordinating with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to root out so-called domestic violent extremist content, according to a new government report. Noting that mechanisms have been established with social media companies to police extremism, the report recommends that the national security agencies establish new and similar processes with the vast gaming industry.

The exact nature of the cooperation between federal agencies and video game companies, which has not been previously reported, is detailed in a new Government Accountability Office report . The report draws on interviews conducted with five gaming and social media companies including Roblox, an online gaming platform; Discord, a social media app commonly used by gamers; Reddit; as well as a game publisher and social media company that asked the GAO to remain anonymous.

The Intercept reached out to the companies identified in the GAO report for comment, but none responded on the record at time of publication.

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have mechanisms to share and receive domestic violent extremism threat-related information with social media and gaming companies,” the GAO says. The report reveals that the DHS intelligence office meets with gaming companies and that the companies can use these meetings to “share information with I&A [DHS’s intelligence office] about online activities promoting domestic violent extremism,” or even simply “activities that violate the companies’ terms of service.” Through its 56 field offices and hundreds of resident agencies subordinate field offices, the FBI receives tips from gaming companies of potential law-breaking and extremist views for further investigation. The FBI also conducts briefings to gaming companies on purported threats.

The GAO warns that FBI and DHS lack an overarching strategy to bring its work with gaming companies in line with broader agency missions. “Without a strategy or goals, the agencies may not be fully aware of how effective their communications are with companies, or how effective their information-sharing mechanisms serve the agencies’ overall missions,” the GAO says. The report ends with a recommendation that both agencies develop such a strategy — a recommendation that DHS concurred with, providing an estimated completion date of June 28 this year. 

“All I can think of is the awful track record of the FBI when it comes to identifying extremism,” Hasan Piker, a popular Twitch streamer who often streams while playing video games under the handle HasanAbi, says of the mechanisms. “They’re much better at finding vulnerable teenagers with mental disabilities to take advantage of.”

The GAO’s investigation, which covers September 2022 to January 2024, was undertaken at the request of the House Homeland Security Committee, which asked the government auditor to examine domestic violent extremists’ use of gaming platforms and social media. While there is no federal law that criminalizes domestic violent extremism as a category of crime, since 2019 the U.S. government has employed five domestic terrorism threat categories. These are defined by the FBI and DHS as racial/ethnically motivated violent extremism, anti-government/anti-authority violent extremism, animal rights or environmental violent extremism , abortion-related violent extremism , and all other domestic terror threats. 

The GAO study also follows pressure from Congress to top gaming companies to crack down on extremist content. Last March, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sent letters to gaming companies Valve, Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, Riot Games, Roblox Corp, and Take-Two Interactive demanding that they take actions to police gamers. 

“Unlike more traditional social media companies — which in recent years have developed public facing policies addressing extremism, created trust and public safety teams, and released transparency reports — online gaming platforms generally have not utilized these tools,” Durbin wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. In the letter, Durbin requested a briefing from the Justice Department on what channels exist “for DOJ and the online video game industry to communicate and coordinate” on the threat of “online video games by extremists and other malicious actors.”

The federal government’s interest in combating extremism has risen sharply following the January 6 storming of the Capitol. On his first full day in office, President Joe Biden directed his national security team to conduct a comprehensive review of federal efforts to fight domestic terrorism, which the White House has deemed “the most urgent terrorism threat facing the United States” — greater than foreign terrorist groups like the Islamic State group. Biden’s directive resulted in the first ever national strategy for fighting domestic terrorism, released by the White House in June 2021. The strategy mentions “online gaming platforms” as a place where “recruiting and mobilizing individuals to domestic terrorism occurs.” 

According to the national strategy, the intelligence community assessed that extremists emboldened by events like January 6 “pose an elevated threat to the Homeland”; and that “DVE [domestic violent extremist] attackers often radicalize independently by consuming violent extremist material online and mobilize without direction from a violent extremist organization, making detection and disruption difficult.” 

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The federal government says that sharing information with gaming and social media companies is another avenue to identify and combat extremism. The government also recognizes that there are constitutional and legal questions about Americans’ free speech rights. According to the GAO report, both the FBI and DHS indicated that they are proceeding with caution in light of federal litigation on such matters, including one case on its way to the Supreme Court.

In response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana, a federal judge last year prohibited the FBI, DHS, and other federal agencies from communicating with social media companies to fight what they consider misinformation. 

Federal law enforcement and intelligence have long focused on gaming as an avenue for both radicalization and as a backdoor platform for extremists to communicate. A 2019 internal intelligence assessment jointly produced by the FBI, DHS, the Joint Special Operations Command, and the National Counterterrorism Center and obtained by The Intercept warns that “violent extremists could exploit functionality of popular online gaming platforms and applications.” The assessment lists half a dozen U.S.-owned gaming platforms that it identifies as popular, including Blizzard Entertainment’s Battle.net, Fortnite, Playstation Xbox Live, Steam, and Roblox.

“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society,” former President Donald Trump said in 2019 after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. “This includes the gruesome video games that are now commonplace.” 

Pentagon List of Extremism Experts Includes Anti-Muslim and Conservative Christian Groups

The GAO report cites over a dozen expert participants in their survey, including three from the Anti-Defamation League as well as the Pentagon-funded RAND Corporation, and several academic institutions. 

The Anti-Defamation League has testified to Congress multiple times about extremists’ use of gaming platforms. In 2019, ADL’s then-senior vice president of international affairs, Sharon Nazarian, was asked by Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., if gaming platforms “are monitored” and if there’s “a way AI can be employed to identify those sorts of conversations.” 

Nazarian replied that gaming platforms “need to be better regulated.”

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