Dialogue Interpretation

Students receive an ambiguous short dialogue and must decide who is speaking, where, and what is going on, then rehearse and perform it.

Procedure

1. Students work in pairs. Distribute the same short, enigmatic dialogue to all pairs. They must set it in a specific context: who is speaking, where they are, what the topic is, what is going on. Allow 10 minutes.
2. In a whole-class session, collect ideas from each pair.
3. Allow another 10 minutes for pairs to rehearse. Partners take turns reading A and B so both get a feel for each speaker. Then they perform for the class.
4. Either in class or as homework, students extend the dialogue by adding a couple of opening lines and concluding lines, plus stage directions and character names.

Sample dialogues (Pre-intermediate):

• A: Can you see them? / B: No, where are they? / A: Look, over there, behind that tree. / B: Wow! That's really interesting!
• A: How long? / B: I'm not sure... / A: But I need to know. / B: Come back later then.
• A: Please tell me. / B: What can I tell you? / A: You know what I mean. / B: How CAN I tell you that?

Sample dialogues (Intermediate/Upper Intermediate):

• A: It's time. / B: What do you mean? / A: I think you know what I mean. / B: Oh no. Not yet, surely. It can't be. / A: Come on now.
• A: As much as that? But was it worth it? / B: Well, you know him as well as I do. Once he's made up his mind... / A: Let's just hope he doesn't live to regret it.

Tips

• You can make your own dialogues by taking extracts from screenplays or out-of-copyright plays and removing specific names or details.
• Give different dialogues to each pair, matching difficulty to proficiency level.
• The ambiguity is the key — unlike textbook dialogues, these leave room for creative imagination.