TESOL/Interrupting

Just a sec!

Key sentences

Telling a story	Interrupting
So I was doing this thing...	Hold on (time) what were you doing exactly?

Telling a story	Interrupting
...because of some reason.	Just (time) why exactly?

Telling a story	Interrupting
Then I did this thing.	Pardon me, but what did you do again?

Drills

Say these sentences without looking.

Hold on (time) what were you doing exactly?

time	sentence
a minute,	Hold on a minute, what were you doing exactly?
a second,	Hold on a second, what were you doing exactly?
a sec,	Hold on a sec, what were you doing exactly?
just one second,	Hold on just one second, what were you doing exactly?

Just (time) why exactly?

time	sentence
a minute,	Just a minute, why exactly?
a second,	Just a second, why exactly?
a sec,	Just a sec, why exactly?
one minute,	Just one minute, why exactly?

Example

Practice this conversation.

Telling a story	Interrupting
So I was doing this thing...	Hold on (a minute,) what were you doing exactly?

Telling a story	Interrupting
...because of some reason.	Just (a minute,) why exactly?

Telling a story	Interrupting
Then I did this thing.	Pardon me, but what did you do again?

Change partners. Use your imagination and change the sentences.

Exercise

Use your imagination. Make your own conversation.

Telling a story	Interrupting
So I was doing this thing...	Hold on ... what were you doing exactly?

Telling a story	Interrupting
...because of some reason.	Just ... why exactly?

Telling a story	Interrupting
Then I did this thing.	Pardon me, but what did you do again?

Change partners. Use your imagination and make another conversation.

Practice

Telling a story	Interrupting
Tell a short story.	Interrupt your partner and ask about details.

Further study

• English lesson topics

Resource type: this resource is a lesson in English as a second language.