1. Talk a Lot Free Spoken English Course Using Sentence Blocks 1

2. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where?

3. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where? Where did you see a great jazz concert last night?

4. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where? At the Palace Theatre.

5. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where? Did you see a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night?

6. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where? Yes, we did.

7. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where? Did you see a great jazz concert at the Roxy last night?

8. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where? No, we didn’t.

9. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. Where? No, we didn’t. We didn’t see a great jazz concert at the Roxy last night.

10. We saw a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night. (starting sentence) Where did you see a great jazz concert last night? (wh- question) At the Palace Theatre. (short answer) Did you see a great jazz concert at the Palace Theatre last night? (question with inversion) Yes, we did. (short answer) Did you see a great jazz concert at the Roxy last night? (question with inversion to get a negative answer) No, we didn’t. We didn’t see a great jazz concert at the Roxy last night. (two sentences – a short negative answer and a long negative answer) (So… + Line 2)

11. Ryan is visiting his wife and new baby girl in the maternity ward. Who?

12. Ryan is visiting his wife and new baby girl in the maternity ward. (starting sentence) Who is visiting his wife and new baby girl in the maternity ward? (wh- question) Ryan is. (short answer) Is Ryan visiting his wife and new baby girl in the maternity ward? (question with inversion) Yes, he is. (short answer) Is Adam visiting his wife and new baby girl in the maternity ward? (question with inversion to get a negative answer) No, he isn’t. Adam isn’t visiting his wife and new baby girl in the maternity ward. (two sentences – a short negative answer and a long negative answer) (So… + Line 2)

13. A two-way conversation. Students work in pairs; groups; or one to one. The same sentence block procedure for all forms. Benefits: Students have to think and engage their brains and memories, without writing. All the information they need is in the starting sentence. Embedded grammar: verb forms, questions and answers, both positive and negative. Learn how to use auxiliary verbs. Learn new vocabulary on the lesson topic – sentence focus & word focus integrate. Students have to produce their own ideas to make the negative sentences work. Students could write their own starting sentences: person, place, time, object… Could be simplified, e.g. “John is eating pizza. / What…?” Flexibility: sentence block extensions; + use the same sentences with sentence building, s/stress, pronunciation, and connected speech work. Watch out for: Questioning intonation; ums and ahs; writing; focus wandering.