Orders and polite requests
Teaching tip
To practise orders and polite requests at the A2 or B1 levels, choose one of these people:
King Charles
a circus manager
the manager of a 5-star hotel
the organiser of a big music festival
an influencer kid talking to their parents
Ask for suggestions of tasks: What does this person want their team to do? If needed, write a few useful verbs as sentence starters (e.g. Put, Take, Wash, Clean, Prepare, Buy, Book) on the board. Compile a list of tasks on the board.
Revise how to give a request or order, using the first task as an example. If needed, write the phrases on the board for support: Could you, Could I ask you to, I'd be grateful if you could.
Invite individual students to phrase each one as a polite (or not so polite!) request or order. Ask another student to repeat the same request in a different way.
With a B1 class, you can add in further details, such as a deadline (e.g. by the end of the day, as soon as possible) or a phrase like This is urgent, or Don't forget!
With a B1 class, you can go on to practise reported orders: What did he / she ask you to do?
