Times and Schedules (Novice)

Practice on Your Own

• Do you remember all the numbers from 1 to 60? If not, go back and review them.
• Look at your schedule for this week. Can you say out loud at what time each of your courses, work shifts, meetings, or other obligations begins and ends?
• Look at this week’s film showings at the Amherst Cinema or a theater near you. Can you say out loud at what time each film begins?
• Continue practicing with other schedules – bus schedules, train schedules, etc.
• Keep practicing throughout the week. Every time you look at your watch, check the bus schedule, or look up the time of a meeting or event, say the time in the language you are studying.

Practice in Conversation Session

• Warm‐up time telling practice. Be prepared for a warm‐up activity in which you practice telling time in similar ways to how you have been practicing on your own. Your conversation partner might bring a bus or train schedule – if possible, maybe a schedule from a place where the language is spoken.
• Practice comprehending times. You have been practicing telling time on your own. You may not have had much chance to practice comprehending times when they are spoken to you, so this will be practiced in your conversation session. Be prepared for your conversation partner or others in your conversation group to say random times and have you write down the time you hear.
• Practice asking and giving the time. Be prepared to practice asking for the time and giving the time using complete sentences. (Make up a different time for each answer so you are not always repeating the same time.)
  • Have you learned different ways to ask for the time (different wording, formal vs. informal, etc.)? If so, make sure you practice each of them several times.
• Taking it further. Depending on what else you have learned, you may do some activities that combine telling time with other material. Perhaps you can combine times with days of the week and dates. If you have learned vocabulary for daily activities or class subjects, you may be asked to talk about your daily or weekly schedule.