GRADE 8 English HUMAN RIGHTS – LISTENING AND SPEAKING:POLITE LANGUAGE Notes
ENGLISH: LISTENING & SPEAKING — POLITE LANGUAGE
Topic: HUMAN RIGHTS | Target: Age 13 (Kenya) — Focus: grammatical forms used to speak politely when discussing rights and talking with others.
- Use polite modal verbs (could, would, may) in requests and questions.
- Form indirect questions and softeners to be respectful.
- Use tag questions and polite imperatives to check agreement.
- Apply polite language when talking about human rights at school, home and community.
Key polite forms (grammar)
Use: could, would, may, can. These make requests or questions softer.
- "Could I ask a question about my rights?"
- "Would you explain the school rules, please?"
- "May I speak now?" (more formal)
Indirect question = start with a polite phrase, then a question clause.
- "I wonder if you could tell me what my rights are."
- "Could you tell me where the community meeting is?"
Put please before or after an order to be polite.
- "Please listen carefully to the child rights poster."
- "Sit down, please."
Add a short question at the end: helps check understanding.
- "We should respect everyone’s rights, shouldn't we?"
- "You heard the rules, didn't you?"
Important small words (softeners)
Use these to make statements less direct and more polite:
- Perhaps / Maybe — "Perhaps we can speak after class?"
- I think / I feel — "I feel it's important to know our rights."
- Would you mind…? — "Would you mind explaining that again?"
- I wonder if… — "I wonder if the school can give us a copy of the rights poster."
Pronunciation & tone
Politeness often comes from tone: use a calm, rising tone for requests; falling tone for statements. Smile—listeners hear the difference.
Short model dialogues (Kenyan contexts)
Student: "Excuse me, teacher. Could you explain our rights as students, please?"
Teacher: "Yes, of course. We will read the school rights poster now. Would you like a copy?"
2. Community meetingYoung person: "I wonder if I may speak about child protection?"
Chairperson: "Please go ahead. We would like to hear your views."
Practice exercises
-
Transform the direct sentence into a polite request using a modal:
a) "Tell me the meeting time." → "________________________"
(Suggested answer: "Could you tell me the meeting time, please?") -
Make this indirect question:
b) "When does the school open?" → "I wonder if you could tell me ______________________."
(Answer: "I wonder if you could tell me when the school opens.") -
Choose the polite tag:
c) "We must protect children’s rights, ______?" → (Answer: "mustn't we?" or "shouldn't we?")
Listening & speaking activities (classroom)
- Role-play: In pairs, one student is a young person who wants to speak at a meeting. Use at least three polite forms (could, would you mind, please).
- Listen-and-repeat: Teacher reads polite requests (from model dialogues). Students repeat using correct tone.
- Politeness check: Listen to a short recording (or teacher) of two versions of the same sentence (direct vs polite). Students mark which is more polite and explain why (modal verbs, 'please', indirect).
- Always start with "Excuse me" or "Please" when interrupting.
- Use modals (could/would/may) for polite requests.
- Use indirect questions when asking sensitive things about rights.
- End with a thank you: "Thank you for listening." — polite and respectful.
Emoji guide: 😊 = friendly tone, 🙏 = polite request, ❓ = question. Use these when practising with classmates to remind you of tone.
Prepared for Kenyan classrooms — simple grammar focus for age 13. Practice regularly with classmates and elders to build polite speaking skills when discussing human rights.