Purpose:

To raise student awareness of weak forms and contractions

Preparation time: 

5-10 minutes

Materials:  

Pencils and paper; 1 copy of prepared sentences; board and marker

Preparation:

Find or write 5-10 sentences that you can dictate to your students. You may want to tie these in to the unit you are working on or a particular grammar point.

Procedure:

1. Tell your learners that you will read some sentences and that they should write down the number of words that they hear.
2. Dictate your sentences, one at a time, using natural speed and speech patterns. Repeat sentences as necessary for your learners.
3. Go over each sentence with learners. Write the full version on the board and compare it to what they heard. You may wish to point out that it is more difficult to give each word full pronunciation than it is to reduce non-key words.