Listen to the recording and repeat the phrases. Pay attention to the intonation!
Using the correct intonation in class
By intonation we mean the changes in speaking melody produced by the rise and fall of the voice.
Now we will practise rising intonation in yes/no-questions, requests and encouragements.
The wrong kind of intonation may change the meaning completely. The point is that the intonation carries the final meaning through.
Compare: ‘The film was interesting.’ with a falling and rising intonation. If you don’t sound interested, the film was actually boring in your opinion.
Some basic yes-no questions with rising intonation
Are you ready now? Let’s go in the class, shall we? Are you feeling cold? Is anybody absent today? Are you all here now? Does anyone know where Ali is? Is he often late? Does anyone have his phone number?
Is everybody ready to start? Any problems? Anything to ask? All clear? Have you finished? Is that clear? Any questions? Did you do your homework?
Can you hear me better now? Is the volume loud enough? Is the text font big enough? Has anyone got scissors? Is it my turn? Err, any volunteers?
Some basic requests with rising intonation
Open the door, please. Stand up, please. Please sit down. Take out your textbooks. Look at this photo, please.
Encouraging the pupils and students with positive feedback
Good. Very good. Fine. Well done. Right. Quite right. That’s right. That’s it. I like that.
Fantastic! Marvelous! Brilliant! Awesome! Outstanding! Wonderful! Magnificent! Superb!
Yes, you’ve got it. Yes, you seem to have got the hang of the idea. You did a good job there. Well done, all of you. That sounded very good to me. Wow!
That was a great presentation. Congratulations! Take your time. We are not in a hurry. Better luck next time! Never mind, you did just fine.
What did you put in number 7? ‘come’ Well, not exactly. Sorry but you can’t use that word here. Not quite right but you almost got it. You’re almost there. Could be, it depends. You’re on the right track. You’re very close. Try again!
There’s no hurry. This is a nasty point. Have another try. Are you sure? Look at the word order. Have a guess if you don’t know.
That’s better. That’s more like it. You’re getting better and better every week. Keep up the good work! You’ve made a lot of progress this year.
