Intermediate
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP

Punctuation Is Not the Same Everywhere

This lesson explores how different languages use voice and punctuation to signal questions. Students listen to audio clips in multiple languages, discuss punctuation differences between English and Spanish, and practise writing questions with the inverted question mark.

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    1 - Make It a Question with Your Voice ~5 mins

    Look at this phrase on the board: you're coming.

    Listen as classmates say it in a flat voice, then say it again as a question using only their voice. No extra words. No question mark on the board. Just the voice rising.

    By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

    • Hear a question even when you do not know the words yet
    • Spot Spain's early question mark that warns the reader
    • Compare feeling words that sound alike across languages

    2 - Three Feeling Words, Five Languages ~9 mins

    Same three feelings in five languages. Listen for ones that sound nearly the same. Flip each card, listen, and say the word back together as a class.

    3 - Which Clips Are Questions? ~10 mins

    Key point

    Five short clips. Listen twice before anyone answers. Listen for the language and for whether the voice is asking a question. You can often hear a question before you understand a single word.

    Tip

    Have a go even if you are not sure — your ears are learning.

    4 - Into Your Copy ~6 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    Open your copy and get ready to write. First write one short question in English. Then write the same idea in Spanish shape, with the upside-down mark at the start and the ordinary mark at the end.

    Use the model on the board if you like:

    • English: Are you happy?
    • Spanish shape: ¿Estás feliz?

    Here are today's three feeling words to keep beside you:

    • feliz (happy)
    • triste (sad)
    • enfadado (angry)

    You may swap in another feeling word from the list, for example ¿Estás triste?, as long as you keep the upside-down mark first.

    5 - Spin for a Spanish Feeling ~8 mins

    The wheel is Spanish only today. Keep the three Spanish feeling words in view on the board. When the wheel lands on a feeling, say the Spanish word aloud with the class and show the face that goes with it.

    Pupil practice
    Module 3 · How Languages Work
    Lesson 14 · Punctuation Is Not the Same Everywhere
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