Telling Time (Novice)

Practice on Your Own

• Make a list of relevant vocabulary for talking about time, such as hours, minutes, clock, time…
• Write down the way(s) people ask about time in the target language. For example, “What time is it?” or “Do you have the time?” Pay attention to the different question words that are used. Also practice these questions out loud.
• Draw some clocks and set them in different times. The times should vary enough to include all the related words, like “half,” “quarter,” and higher numbers, and possibly use of expressions like “quarter to” or “10 of.” Practice reading the times out loud.
• If the numerical system is different from Arabic numerals, it is important to practice writing times in the target language’s numbers.

Practice in Conversation Session

• Be prepared to answer your conversation partner’s question about times that are shown in the form of written numbers or pictures of clocks.
  • If you have learned how to talk about the past, your conversation partner may ask you either “What time is it?” or “What time was it?” and you will need to answer accordingly.
• Be prepared to write the time in numbers when you hear your conversation partner telling you. Your conversation partner should reach an almost natural speed of talking; you should be able to take note of times in the natural speed at which they are expressed.
• Are there differences in the way time is expressed in your mother tongue and in the language you are learning? Often it is not a matter of simply translating words; instead different expressions may be used. Do there seem to be any cultural differences in terms of understanding time?