Emphasis  

Starter

In this activity, students have to change the emphasis of each sentence in the presentation by rearranging the words.

The activity is so simple that the most able students may well need reassurance that the glaringly obvious is indeed the correct answer. The teacher may wish to talk through the first sentence as an example for the class. Having worked through this activity, students will come to realise that the word order of a sentence determines the emphasis, so it is possible to give a particular emphasis by selecting a specific word order. It is important that students realise that the meaning of the sentence is not altered, only the emphasis. This activity can be differentiated for the less able by identifying the starting point of each new sentence.

Plenary

Discussion topics include:

• Word order and emphasis
• Intonation and its role in emphasis
• Clauses and how they can be rearranged within a sentence
• Adding words for emphasis – Moi, je vais au cinéma.

Emphasis presentation