Reading aloud: Reading directions aloud

Reading aloud is shown to improve confidence and understanding. These activities have been designed to help you practise your reading and speaking skills in an authentic way. You will focus on the language used and different aspects of pronunciation.

Instructions and downloads

Reading directions aloud.

Have you ever read directions aloud to someone?
Can you think of a situation when you might need to read directions aloud?

Jane has received an invitation to a wedding and some directions to explain how to get from the town hall (wedding venue) to the hotel where the reception is.

Download the directions and read them aloud.

Listen to Jane reading the directions aloud to her friend.

Audio for giving directions by ESOL Nexus

Compare how you and Jane speak and try to find pronunciation errors that you have made.

Now have another go at reading the directions aloud. You could try speaking at the same time as Jane.

If you would like to improve even more how you read the directions aloud, now complete activities 1 to 6.

You can download these activities and do them on paper if you like.

Task 1 - vocabulary

In this activity, you will study the meaning, pronunciation and spelling of some words and phrases in directions that you just read and listened to.

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Task 2 - find the missing word

In this activity, you will focus on words which sound natural together when giving directions. For example, we say ‘at the end of the road’, not ‘in the end of the road’.

All the phrases are in the directions that Jane read aloud.

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Task 3 - linking sounds

In spoken English, we often add extra sounds between words to link our words together.

As a result, when you listen to a continuous stream of sound of English, It is can be very difficult to identify the individual words.

These extra linking sounds are:

/r/ e.g. Where^/r/are you?

/j/ e.g. my^/j/eyes are blue

/w/ e.g. I'm going to^/w/Africa.

Listen to these phrases here before you play the game.

Linking sounds by ESOL Nexus

You can find all the phrases in the following game in the directions that Jane read aloud.

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Task 4 - word order

In this activity, you will put words in the right order to make phrases from Jane’s directions.

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Task 5 - building sentences

In this activity, you will join the beginnings and ends of sentences to make Jane’s directions.

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Task 6 - giving directions

Read Jane’s directions aloud to a friend and ask them to mark the route on this blank map. (Click here to download the map)

You can check that they have marked the correct route by comparing their map with this completed map:
(Click here to download the map)

Did you give good, clear directions?

Transcript

Directions from the Town Hall to the hotel (wedding reception).

Come out of the car park and turn right into Green Street.

Go along Green Street for about a mile until you reach the roundabout.

Go over the roundabout (second exit) and keep going straight ahead until you arrive at the second set of traffic lights.

Turn left into Rowley Road and keep going for about 2 miles. You will go under a bridge and past a pub on your right called ‘The Old Manor’.

When you arrive at the crossroads, turn right into Primrose Lane.

Go past the swimming pool and the playground, and take your third right into Junction Road (be careful as there are speed bumps along here – don’t go above 20mph).

Finally, take your second right into Bluebell Walk. The hotel is at the end of the road – it’s on the corner, opposite the old school.

Discussion

Over to you:

How about having a go at giving your own directions?

Think of two places you are familiar with. Write down the directions from one place to another and read them aloud, paying particular attention to linking sounds. You could get a friend to mark the route on a map.

You could also visit http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp to get directions between places anywhere in the UK.

Listening to yourself speaking aloud can really help improve your pronunciation. It allows you to notice how you really speak so that you can identify your individual strengths and weaknesses.

You can record yourself giving directions here: http://Vocaroo.com - listen and re-record until you are happy with your reading aloud!

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Comments

Perveen annon

Submitted by Perveen annon on Sat, 04/06/2013 - 05:48.

astonishing.

Mafongu

Submitted by Mafongu on Thu, 04/04/2013 - 10:45.

Very helpful the "linking sounds"!

Ngọc Uyên

Submitted by Ngọc Uyên on Mon, 02/11/2013 - 06:17.

it good for me

Val

Submitted by Val on Fri, 11/09/2012 - 13:50.

It's my first time here and it's so nice of studing becouse it's so good end free. Thanks.

Ron

Submitted by Ron on Fri, 09/28/2012 - 12:33.

I study regular english for about 10 years and used different selfstudy methods but this is the first time I 've learnt about 'linking sounds'

Very interesting and useful.

Ron

Reading aloud: Reading directions aloud

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