Tag Questions and Small Talk: walkthrough

Section role: supports the 'Cracking the Tag Code' section while the teacher formalizes grammar rules and introduces intonation and vocabulary. Slides: (1) Title — 'Cracking the Tag Code: Formalizing Conversation'; (2) What are Tag Questions? — bullets: definition, purpose (seeking confirmation, keeping conversation), connection to Section 2's 'conjectures'; (3) The Opposite Rule — bullet: statement polarity vs. tag polarity with examples ('You're happy, aren't you?' vs. 'You're not sad, are you?'); (4) The Auxiliary Mirror — bullets: matching auxiliary verbs ('is, have, can, will'), using 'do/does/did' for simple tenses (e.g., 'He works, doesn't he?'), common pitfalls (e.g., 'am not I?' becomes 'aren't I?'); (5) Crafting Short Answers — bullets: 'Yes, I do / No, I don't' structure, matching auxiliary and pronoun to the tag; (6) Intonation Matters — visuals: upward arrow for rising intonation (genuine question), downward arrow for falling intonation (seeking agreement on a known fact), audio cue illustration; (7) Small Talk Vocabulary for Professionals — examples: 'internship,' 'performance review,' 'work-life balance,' 'networking,' 'commuting,' 'local weather,' 'hobbies'; (8) Common Misconceptions — bullets: avoiding 'is it?' for every tense, pronoun agreement errors, double negatives. Closing slide: 'How can you use tags to make your conversations smoother and more professional?' — sets up the listening activity and the subsequent individual assessment. This material is part of a English foreign-language class for students in Colombia learning English. Regardless of the material's language, the key terms and examples being taught must be written in English, not in the students' native language.

Lara de Teachy