Level
Intermediate → Advanced
Main skills
- Listening for implied meaning
- Understanding tone and emotion
- Recognising sarcasm
- Understanding understatement
- Interpreting indirect language
- Speaking and explaining interpretations
- Distinguishing literal meaning from intended meaning
Part 1 — Warm-up: Literal or Something More?
5–8 minutes
Explain to the student:
In English, people don’t always say exactly what they mean. Sometimes the words have one meaning, but the speaker’s intention is different.
Ask her what she thinks these sentences really mean.
Question 1
Someone asks:
“Did you enjoy the film?”
The other person replies:
“Well… the popcorn was good.”
What do they probably mean?
Answer:
They probably didn’t enjoy the film.
Why?
They avoid answering the question directly and instead mention something unrelated but positive. This strongly suggests that they have nothing positive to say about the film.
You could ask:
Why didn’t they simply say, “I didn’t like it”?
Possible discussion:
- Perhaps they don’t want to offend the person who recommended it.
- Perhaps they are being diplomatic.
- Perhaps they are being sarcastic.
Question 2
A colleague says:
“You’re here early.”
You normally arrive at 9:00, but today you arrive at 9:02.
What could the colleague mean?
Possible answers:
- They are genuinely surprised.
- They are joking.
- They are being sarcastic because you are actually late.
Important point:
The words alone aren’t enough. Context and tone matter.
Ask:
How would the meaning change if the colleague said it with a smile?
And:
What if they said it while looking at their watch?
Part 2 — What Does the Speaker REALLY Mean?
10–15 minutes
For each example, ask the student:
- What does the speaker literally say?
- What do they probably mean?
- What clues tell you this?
- How certain are you?
Question 3
Your friend asks:
“Would you like to come to my party on Saturday?”
You reply:
“I’ll see how I feel.”
What do you probably mean?
Answer
Probably:
“I don’t really want to come, but I don’t want to say no directly.”
However, it isn’t necessarily a definite rejection.
Why?
“I’ll see how I feel” gives the speaker an excuse not to commit.
Compare:
“I’d love to come.”
“I’ll see how I feel.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it.”
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to come.”
Ask her to put these four responses in order from most enthusiastic → strongest rejection.
Suggested answer:
- I’d love to come.
- I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it.
- I’ll see how I feel.
- Unfortunately, I won’t be able to come.
But point out that context and tone can change the interpretation.
Question 4
Your boss says:
“That’s certainly one way of doing it.”
What might the boss really mean?
Answer:
Possibly:
“I don’t think that’s a very good way of doing it.”
This is a classic example of understatement.
The boss isn’t directly saying:
“Your approach is bad.”
Instead, they use a neutral-sounding expression that may actually communicate criticism.
Ask:
Is this necessarily criticism?
Answer: No.
The speaker could genuinely mean:
“That’s an interesting alternative.”
Again, tone and context are essential.
Part 3 — Sarcasm
10 minutes
Tell the student:
Sarcasm is particularly difficult for language learners because the literal meaning and intended meaning can be almost opposite.
Question 5
Someone arrives at work two hours late.
Their colleague says:
“Nice of you to join us.”
What do they really mean?
Answer:
“You’re very late.”
Probably with some criticism or irritation.
The speaker obviously doesn’t literally mean that the person’s arrival was especially welcome.
Question 6
Someone drops their phone and the screen completely shatters.
Their friend says:
“Well, that went well.”
What do they mean?
Answer:
“That went badly.”
The humour comes from deliberately saying the opposite of what happened.
Question 7
Someone spends three hours trying to assemble a piece of furniture and eventually realises they’ve installed everything backwards.
Their partner says:
“You’re a natural.”
What do they mean?
Answer:
Probably:
“You’re really bad at this.”
This is sarcastic praise.
Ask:
What would tell you that the person isn’t being serious?
Possible clues:
- Tone of voice
- Facial expression
- The ridiculousness of the situation
- Context
Part 4 — The Difficult Ones
10–15 minutes
Now move away from obvious sarcasm.
These require her to infer intention.
Question 8
A friend asks:
“What do you think of my new haircut?”
You look at it for several seconds and say:
“It’s… different.”
What might you really mean?
Likely answer:
“I don’t really like it.”
But this isn’t certain.
“Different” is deliberately vague and can be used when someone wants to avoid saying something negative.
Ask:
Why might someone choose this answer rather than saying “I don’t like it”?
Good answers:
- They don’t want to hurt their friend’s feelings.
- They want to be polite.
- They are uncomfortable criticising someone’s appearance.
Question 9
Someone says:
“I’m not saying he’s dishonest, but I wouldn’t leave my wallet on the table if he were around.”
What are they really saying?
Answer:
“I think he’s dishonest or untrustworthy.”
The interesting feature here is the construction:
“I’m not saying X, but…”
Often, this structure allows someone to communicate an idea while pretending not to explicitly state it.
Ask her for another example:
“I’m not saying she’s lazy, but…”
Let her complete it.
Question 10
A colleague says:
“It would be nice if people occasionally helped around here.”
What might they really mean?
Answer:
“You aren’t helping enough, and I want you to help.”
This is indirect criticism.
The speaker doesn’t identify the person responsible.
Compare:
“You never help.”
“It would be nice if people occasionally helped around here.”
Which sounds more aggressive?
Answer: The first.
Why?
Because the second uses indirect language to soften the criticism.
Part 5 — Same Words, Different Meaning
This is where I’d make the exercise particularly challenging.
Tell her that the exact same sentence can communicate completely different things depending on tone and context.
Question 11
“That’s interesting.”
Give her these four possible situations.
A. She has just heard a fascinating scientific discovery.
B. Someone has suggested an idea she thinks is ridiculous.
C. Her friend has told her some surprising personal news.
D. Her boss has suggested something she strongly disagrees with.
Ask:
Could “That’s interesting” mean something different in each situation?
Answer: Absolutely.
It could mean:
A. Genuine enthusiasm
“That’s fascinating.”
B. Polite scepticism or disbelief
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
C. Genuine surprise
“I didn’t know that!”
D. Diplomatic disagreement
“I don’t want to say I disagree yet.”
This is a great point to introduce:
The words aren’t always the message.
The message can come from:
- tone
- facial expression
- pauses
- emphasis
- context
- relationship between the speakers
Part 6 — What Would YOU Say?
5–10 minutes
Now turn it into a speaking exercise.
Give her a situation and ask:
What would you actually say?
Situation 1
A friend asks you to go to a restaurant you really don’t like.
You don’t want to hurt their feelings.
What do you say?
Possible answers:
“I’m not really in the mood for that place.”
“Could we try somewhere else?”
“I’m not sure that’s my favourite.”
Then ask:
Which answer is the most diplomatic?
Situation 2
A colleague gives a presentation that you thought was terrible.
They ask:
“What did you think?”
What do you say?
Challenge her to produce:
A. A very diplomatic answer
B. A neutral answer
C. A brutally honest answer
This creates a useful discussion about politeness versus honesty.
Situation 3
Someone keeps arriving late to meetings.
You don’t want to directly accuse them.
How could you communicate the problem indirectly?
Possible answer:
“It would be great if we could all try to start on time.”
Or:
“Perhaps we should make sure everyone is here before we begin.”
Then ask:
Is indirect communication better than direct communication?
That’s an excellent opportunity for a 5-minute discussion.
Final Challenge — What Did They REALLY Mean?
Finish with these without giving her multiple-choice answers.
1.
“I suppose it could have been worse.”
Likely meaning:
It was bad, but the speaker is trying to be relatively positive.
2.
“If that’s what you want to do…”
Possible meaning:
“I don’t agree with you, but I’m not going to argue.”
Depending on tone, it could also mean:
“Go ahead. It’s your decision.”
3.
“That’s an ambitious plan.”
Possible meanings:
“That’s impressive.”
OR
“That’s unrealistic.”
The context and tone determine which.
4.
“I’m sure you’ll do your best.”
Possible meanings:
Genuine encouragement:
“I believe in you.”
Or, sarcastically:
“I’m not convinced you’re capable of doing this.”
Again, tone is everything.
5.
“Well, that was interesting.”
Possible meanings:
“That was fascinating.”
or:
“That was extremely strange.”
or:
“That was a complete disaster.”
Ask her:
How could you tell which meaning the speaker intended?
A final 5-minute discussion
I’d finish the lesson with these questions:
- Do you think indirect communication is more polite or simply less honest?
- When is it acceptable to hide what you really think?
- Is sarcasm more difficult to understand in a foreign language? Why?
- Have you ever misunderstood someone’s meaning because you interpreted their words literally?
- Which is more important when understanding someone: their words or their tone?
- Can you think of an English expression that sounds polite but can actually be quite negative?
- Is “I don’t mind” really the same as “I don’t care”?
That last one could actually lead into a fascinating mini-lesson on English understatement and emotional nuance.
One teaching tip
I’d not show her the answers immediately. Read the examples aloud first and ask her to interpret them. Then ask:
“How confident are you — 50%, 80%, 100%?”
If she says 100%, challenge her:
“Could there be another interpretation?”
That’s the key to the exercise. You’re teaching her that advanced listening isn’t simply understanding vocabulary and grammar. It’s learning to recognise intention, context, tone, politeness, irony and ambiguity.