Train Like a Champion
Grammar: Reported Speech
A Level 4 English lesson exploring sport.
What's in this lesson
A Level 4 (upper intermediate) ESL lesson on sport, practising reported speech. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: Train Like a Champion
Here is a strange fact. The world's top sports psychologists say that talent is the least interesting thing about elite athletes. Nico Rosberg, the 2016 Formula One world champion, once admitted to reporters that he had spent years training his mind rather than his driving technique. His coach asked him every week whether he had completed his mental exercises. Not his lap times. His mental exercises. That small detail should make every ambitious professional stop and think.
Vocabulary
- raise the bar
- go the extra mile
- play it safe
- front runner
- back foot
- finishing line
- hit the ground running
- in the running
Grammar: Reported Speech
- Reported yes/no
- She asked whether he had finished the report. — use whether/if, no auxiliary inversion
- Reported wh- question
- He asked what she had decided to do. — statement word order, tense back-shifts
Discussion questions
- If you could train for six months at any elite sports facility in the world, what skill would you focus on?
- Imagine you could borrow one habit from a professional athlete — which habit and why?
- Would you rather be the most talented person on your team or the most determined?
Train Like a Champion
Grammar: Reported Speech
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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