HOW TO TEACH EFFECTIVELY REPORTED SPEECH

Abstract

This article discusses effective approaches to teaching reported speech in English language instruction. Reported speech is an essential grammatical structure that enables learners to report information, conversations, and ideas indirectly. However, many English language learners face difficulties when transforming direct speech into indirect speech because of tense changes, pronoun shifts, and modifications of time expressions. Learners often produce grammatical errors such as incorrect tense agreement or misuse of reporting verbs, which negatively affects communicative accuracy. The article examines the linguistic features of reported speech and identifies common learning difficulties related to grammar transfer, memorization, and lack of contextual understanding. Furthermore, it presents several pedagogical strategies including contextual teaching, communicative activities, role-play, visual support, and task-based learning. The study emphasizes that effective grammar teaching should combine clear explanation with meaningful communicative practice in order to improve learners’ fluency and grammatical competence.