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Printable one-to-one lesson plan
Reported speech (statements)
Learn reported speech for statements: say vs. tell, tense changes, and words like today and tomorrow: “She said she was running late.” Free practice exercises.
Use after the complete B1 sequence, not as a lesson quiz.
Open diagnostic →15–20 minutes optional: Tutor-read say-versus-tell frame, backshifted state, earlier canceled event, reported future, and would-versus-had contraction listening check · Next-day say-tell frame, optional backshift, and person-time reference retrieval
Derived from this lesson’s source
Lesson-specific teaching brief
This is not a second lesson registry. The plan reads the same native content that produces the learner page.
What the learner should do
Learn reported speech for statements: say vs. tell, tense changes, and words like today and tomorrow: “She said she was running late.” Free practice exercises.
What must become clear
Can-do: By the end, you can distinguish exact quotation from reported meaning; use said (that) + clause , told + person + (that) + clause , and said to + person accurately; map original and new speaker-listener reference; adjust pronouns, possessives, time words, place words, and demonstratives when their reference changes; use common backshifts; recognize legitimate no-backshift and Past Simple alternatives; interpret ’d from the following verb; and relay a statement without adding certainty, doubt, or a promise that the original speaker did not express.
High-value friction points
- Mina told me that she was late.Tell takes a listener directly; say would require Mina said that she was late or Mina said to me that she was late.
- Mina said she would bring her folder.When Alex reports Mina’s words, Mina is she and her possessions use her.
- Mina said she had sent the forms the day before.The day before preserves the day preceding Mina’s original Monday message.
Protect these lesson moments
- Reactivate three common shifts
- Discovery check: follow each original reference
- Reporting-frame check: is the listener named?
- Backshift check: use the requested careful later viewpoint
- Reference check: name the person behind each pronoun
Learner production
Original situation: Mina speaks to Alex on Monday at Harbor Station. Create a four-part fictional statement with a current situation, completed event, ability, and future intention.
- New situation: Alex reports later from Riverside Office to Jordan. State the reporting time and place before rebuilding pronouns and references.
- Viewpoint control: Use one common backshift, one explicit earlier Past Perfect layer, one modal shift, and one justified still-current form.
- Accuracy: Use said neutrally, told + listener once, and do not invent an exact quote, promise, or doubt.
Carry this language into the next session
Retrieve Reported speech (statements) in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Tutor-only contrastive support
L1 Transfer Lens
Test a pattern. Do not label a learner. Use this only after the learner’s actual production gives you evidence.
Select a first language to reveal only the contrasts relevant to this lesson.
Turkish → English
2 patterns to test
Express the source of knowledge explicitly
- Possible transfer
Apparently he came, but I saw him arrive.
- English rebuild
Apparently he came. / I saw him arrive.
Why it can happen: Turkish can grammatically mark that past information is reported, inferred, or newly discovered. English has no single equivalent ending, so speakers choose evidence phrases and stance verbs such as apparently, reportedly, seems, must have, or I was told.
Natural English:
- The figures must have been copied from an older report.
- Apparently, the committee changed its decision overnight.
Use say, tell, and explain with their own patterns
- Possible transfer
He said me the meeting was canceled. / Can you explain me the problem?
- English rebuild
He told me the meeting was canceled. / Can you explain the problem to me?
Why it can happen: Turkish marks the listener with the dative ending on verbs like söylemek and açıklamak. English splits this: tell takes the listener directly, say usually takes no listener or uses to, and explain puts the thing first and the listener after to.
Natural English:
- She told us the deadline had moved.
- Could you explain the new process to the team?
Russian → English
2 patterns to test
Use statement order inside indirect questions
- Possible transfer
Can you tell me where is the station? / I don’t know what does he want.
- English rebuild
Can you tell me where the station is? / I don’t know what he wants.
Why it can happen: Russian embeds a question with the same words and order as a direct question, so the learner may also keep English question order. In English, the polite frame or main clause carries the question, and the embedded part returns to subject plus verb order without do.
Natural English:
- Do you know when the meeting starts?
- I’m not sure how much the tickets cost.
Shift the tense back when reporting past speech
- Possible transfer
He said he will call me tomorrow. / She said she works in sales.
- English rebuild
He said he would call me the next day. / She said she worked in sales.
Why it can happen: Russian reported speech usually keeps the tense of the original words, so будет and работает stay as they were. In English, a past reporting verb usually moves the reported verb back, especially in narratives, while unchanged present forms signal that the fact is still true now.
Natural English:
- My manager said the report was due on Friday.
- The landlord told us he would fix the heater that week.
Ukrainian → English
One pattern to test
Use statement order inside indirect questions
- Possible transfer
Can you tell me where is the station? / I don’t know what does he want.
- English rebuild
Can you tell me where the station is? / I don’t know what he wants.
Why it can happen: In Ukrainian, a question placed inside a larger sentence keeps the same words and order as the direct question. In English, an embedded question uses statement order, subject before verb, and loses the do-support that the direct question needed.
Natural English:
- Do you know when the next bus leaves?
- Could you tell me how much the ticket costs?
Czech → English
2 patterns to test
Shift the tense back when reporting past speech
- Possible transfer
She said that she is tired and she will call later.
- English rebuild
She said that she was tired and she would call later.
Why it can happen: Czech keeps the speaker’s original tense after a past reporting verb: řekla, že je unavená. English usually moves the reported verb one step back after said or told, especially when the situation may have changed. Keeping the original tense is possible when the fact is clearly still true.
Natural English:
- He told me he was working from home that day.
- They said the package would arrive on Thursday.
Use statement order inside an indirect question
- Possible transfer
Do you know where is the station? / Can you tell me what time does it start?
- English rebuild
Do you know where the station is? / Can you tell me what time it starts?
Why it can happen: In Czech, an indirect question looks like the direct question after kde, kdy, or co: víte, kde je nádraží? English direct questions use inversion or do, but once the question sits inside another sentence, it returns to statement order and loses do, does, and did.
Natural English:
- Could you tell me where the nearest pharmacy is?
- I’m not sure what time the meeting starts.
Italian → English
One pattern to test
Place the listener correctly after say, tell, and explain
- Possible transfer
He said me the price. / Can you explain me the problem?
- English rebuild
He told me the price. / Can you explain the problem to me?
Why it can happen: Italian puts an indirect pronoun such as mi or ti with dire and spiegare. In English, tell takes the listener directly, while say and explain need to before the listener, and suggest is followed by a clause or an -ing form rather than a person plus to.
Natural English:
- She told us the office would close early.
- Could you explain the new process to the team?
German → English
One pattern to test
Keep the verb next to its subject in that clauses
- Possible transfer
I think that he tomorrow comes. / The man who there works is my uncle.
- English rebuild
I think he’s coming tomorrow. / The man who works there is my uncle.
Why it can happen: German sends the conjugated verb to the end of clauses introduced by dass, weil, wenn, or a relative pronoun. English subordinate clauses keep normal statement order: subject, then verb, then objects and time or place phrases.
Natural English:
- She said that she would call back after lunch.
- We canceled the trip because the weather was bad.
Use while teaching
Operational teaching notes
Choose a route before class, but change it when the learner’s production gives you better evidence.
Ask before explaining
- Which examples in “Reactivate three common shifts” express the same core meaning?
- How would you explain this decision in your own words: Can-do: By the end, you can distinguish exact quotation from reported meaning; use said (that) + clause , told + person + (that) + clause , and said to + person accurately; map original and new speaker-listener reference; adjust pronouns, possessives, time words, place words, and demonstratives when their reference changes; use common backshifts; recognize legitimate no-backshift and Past Simple alternatives; interpret ’d from the following verb; and relay a statement without adding certainty, doubt, or a promise that the original speaker did not express.
- What needs to change in this repair, and why: Mina told me that she was late.
Correct for the stage
- Controlled work: correct immediately, then require the complete repaired sentence.
- Fluency building: note repeated errors and reformulate after the learner finishes the thought.
- Communication: interrupt only when meaning breaks down or the target decision is the lesson’s main evidence.
Retrieve, do not reteach
Retrieve Reported speech (statements) in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Short, core, or extended
Choose the route
All three routes end in learner production. More time means more contrast and transfer, not a longer explanation.
Short route
Retrieve for 3 minutes. Notice and discover for 8. Use the two most diagnostic tasks from Reactivate three common shifts and Discovery check: follow each original reference for 12. Protect 9 minutes for Learner production, then reflect for 3.
Core route
Follow the six-stage sequence below. Reduce repeated controlled items when accuracy is already stable, but keep the nearest useful contrast and final production.
Stretch route
Add Tutor-read say-versus-tell frame, backshifted state, earlier canceled event, reported future, and would-versus-had contraction listening check · Next-day say-tell frame, optional backshift, and person-time reference retrieval, then repeat the communication task with a new situation or stricter success criteria.
60–70 minutes core working plan
Session sequence
Protect the final communication and reflection time. If the learner needs more support, reduce the number of controlled items instead of removing production.
- 5 min
Retrieve
Activate what the learner already controls and check any prerequisite language.
Teacher move: Open with the first practice route: Reactivate three common shifts · Discovery check: follow each original reference · Reporting-frame check: is the listener named?.
- 6–8 min
Notice
Let the learner observe meaning and form in a small sample before naming the rule.
Teacher move: Keep the noticing conversation anchored to this decision: Can-do: By the end, you can distinguish exact quotation from reported meaning; use said (that) + clause , told + person + (that) + clause , and said to + person accurately; map original and new speaker-listener reference; adjust pronouns, possessives, time words, place words, and demonstratives when their reference changes; use common backshifts; recognize legitimate no-backshift and Past Simple alternatives; interpret ’d from the following verb; and relay a statement without adding certainty, doubt, or a promise that the original speaker did not express.
- 8–10 min
Discover
Connect form, meaning, use, word order, and the nearest useful contrast.
Teacher move: Test the learner’s explanation against this repair: Mina told me that she was late. Tell takes a listener directly; say would require Mina said that she was late or Mina said to me that she was late.
- 12–15 min
Build + drill
Move from accurate choices to faster retrieval and sentence construction.
Teacher move: Prioritize these lesson tasks: Reactivate three common shifts · Discovery check: follow each original reference · Reporting-frame check: is the listener named? · Backshift check: use the requested careful later viewpoint. Reduce repetitions if needed, but keep the final production time.
- 12–15 min
Communicate
Use the target language for a real adult purpose the learner cannot complete by copying.
Teacher move: Learner production: Original situation: Mina speaks to Alex on Monday at Harbor Station. Create a four-part fictional statement with a current situation, completed event, ability, and future intention.
- 3–5 min
Reflect
Make progress visible and choose one specific next use.
Teacher move: Retrieve Reported speech (statements) in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Tutor-only source
Listening scripts
Read these lines from the tutor plan while the learner lesson remains on screen. Each clip names the learner item it supports.
Tutor-read say-versus-tell frame, backshifted state, earlier canceled event, reported future, and would-versus-had contraction listening check
- Clip 1
Read: Mina TOLD Alex that the TRAIN was deLAYED.
Supports: In the first line, what role does Alex have?
- Clip 2
Read: Mina said she was running LATE.
Supports: What does Mina said she was running late do?
- Clip 3
Read: She said her train had been CANceled that MORning.
Supports: What time relation does had been canceled mark?
- Clip 4
Read: She said she would CALL the NEXT DAY.
Supports: What does the fourth line report?
- Clip 5
Read: She’d CALL on Tuesday. She’d SENT the form on Monday.
Supports: What does ’d mean in she’d call and she’d sent ?
Keep only useful evidence
After-lesson notes
These notes are for deliberate tutor records or printing. Nothing is stored in the learner’s browser.
The learner can now…
Write one observable use of the target language.
Still needs support with…
Record one repeated error, contrast, or point of hesitation.
Next retrieval prompt
Write one short prompt the learner will answer at the next session.
Anonymous live-lesson evidence
Learner pilot worksheet
B1 · Reported speech (statements)
Pilot 1 of 30 recorded · 3 remaining
Date
Approximate starting level
Core lesson time
Starting evidence
What did the learner already control? What was the first misconception, hesitation, or contrast that mattered?
Did the principle become clear?
Can-do: By the end, you can distinguish exact quotation from reported meaning; use said (that) + clause , told + person + (that) + clause , and said to + person accurately; map original and new speaker-listener reference; adjust pronouns, possessives, time words, place words, and demonstratives when their reference changes; use common backshifts; recognize legitimate no-backshift and Past Simple alternatives; interpret ’d from the following verb; and relay a statement without adding certainty, doubt, or a promise that the original speaker did not express.
Did the first hint help?
Record the first item that caused difficulty and whether the contextual hint led to self-correction before the full repair appeared.
Could the learner do the outcome?
Learn reported speech for statements: say vs. tell, tense changes, and words like today and tomorrow: “She said she was running late.” Free practice exercises.
Listen for: The learner uses the target language independently for a real purpose.
What remained available?
If possible, check before rereading in the next session. Record what returned independently and what still required a cue.
Keep, revise, or investigate?
Note any explanation the tutor still had to supply, the smallest useful revision, and whether another pilot should test the same issue.