Naming Colors (Novice)

Practice on Your Own

• Practice saying the colors of things you see around you – your clothing, books, pens/pencils, pictures on the wall, etc.
  • If you know the name of the item, make a sentence (“The book is red”). If necessary, remember to make the color word agree with the noun in terms of number, gender, etc.
• Look at images in books, magazines, or online and practice naming all the colors you
• Keep practicing throughout the week. As you walk across campus, say the colors of flowers, cars, buildings, etc.

Practice in Conversation Session

• Warm‐up color naming practice. Be prepared for a warm‐up activity in which you practice naming colors in similar ways to how you have been practicing on your Your conversation partner might ask for:
  • Your favorite color
  • The colors of items in the room
  • Colors seen in images, such as those from a magazine
• Practice comprehending You have been practicing naming colors on your own. You may not have had much chance to practice comprehending colors 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 colors and have you point to the appropriate color.
• Practice talking about colors. Be prepared to practice talking about colors using complete sentences. If necessary, remember to make the color word agree with the noun in terms of number, gender, etc. Practice both statements (“The pencil is yellow”) and questions (“What color is your backpack?”).
  • Have you learned different ways to talk about colors (different wording, formal informal, etc.)? If so, make sure you practice all of them.
• Taking it further. Depending on what else you have learned, you may do some activities that combine colors with other material. Perhaps you have learned vocabulary for types of clothing or how to describe hair and eye color. If you’ve learned other adjectives, you can use them along with colors (“The book is big and green”).