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E6 M - Intonation in questions and requests

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E6 M - Intonation in questions and requests

Mini-description: Use clear intonation in questions, requests, statements and short reactions. You do not need a perfect accent. Your goal is to be easy to understand.

Media starter: Watch a short part of the video. Listen for the voice going up or down. Do not copy every detail. Notice the melody of the sentence.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Höre zuerst auf die Satzmelodie. Steigt die Stimme am Ende oder fällt sie? Verständlichkeit ist wichtiger als Akzentfreiheit.

I can ...

After this course, you can say:

I can hear if a voice often goes up or down.
I can ask clear yes-no questions and wh-questions.
I can make a friendly request.
I can use clear intonation in statements and short reactions.
I can check if my partner understands me.

Quick check: What do you already know?

Say these sentences quietly or with a partner.

Are you ready?
Where is my bag?
Could you help me, please?
That's great!
Really?

Try English first: Which ones sound like a question? Which ones sound finished?

Hint: Listen to the end of the sentence.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Achte besonders auf das Satzende. Bei Fragen kann die Stimme steigen oder fallen. Aussagen klingen oft abgeschlossen.

Notice: Voice melody

Intonation is the movement of your voice: up, down or a mix. It helps listeners understand your meaning.

The picture shows a real pitch contour. Real speech is more complex than our classroom arrows. In this course, we use simple symbols:

Symbol	Meaning	Example	Simple pitch picture
↗	voice goes up	Are you READY? ↗	▁▂▃▅
↘	voice goes down	Where are you GOING? ↘	▅▄▃▁
↘↗	voice goes down, then up	Could you HELP me, please? ↘↗	▅▃▂▃▅

Important: These are useful common patterns, not fixed rules. Speakers can change intonation to show meaning, feelings or attitude.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Intonation ist der Tonhöhenverlauf beim Sprechen. Die Pfeile zeigen vereinfachte, häufige Muster. Es gibt auch andere mögliche Verläufe.

Understand: Four useful patterns

Situation	Useful pattern	Example
Yes-no question	often ↗	Do you like music? ↗
Wh-question	often ↘	Where do you live? ↘
Friendly request	often gentle ↗ or ↘↗	Could you open the window, please? ↘↗
Statement	often ↘	I like this song. ↘
Short checking reaction	often ↗	Really? ↗

Remember: Your voice can change with the situation. The arrows are practice tools, not strict rules.

Audio input

Listening task: Listen to three questions. Show ↗ with your hand when the voice rises. Show ↘ when it falls.

Hint: Do not listen for every word. Listen for the last important word.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Du musst nicht jedes Wort verstehen. Höre auf die letzte betonte Stelle und die Stimmbewegung.

Optional open audio:

This is a longer spoken Wikimedia audio about intonation. It is optional and more difficult. Use it only to hear natural connected English.

Vocabulary in context

Read the mini-dialogue.

Mia: Excuse me. Could you help me, please? ↘↗ Sam: Sure. What do you need? ↘ Mia: Is this the right bus? ↗ Sam: Yes, it is. ↘ Mia: Great, thanks! ↘ Sam: No problem. ↘

Word or phrase	Simple meaning	German help
excuse me	polite start	Entschuldigung
could you ...?	polite request	Könntest du ...?
sure	yes, of course	klar / gern
right	correct	richtig
no problem	friendly answer	kein Problem

Practise: Hear and mark

Write ↗ or ↘ after each sentence. For the request, ↘↗ is also possible.

Are you in Class 6?
What time is lunch?
Can I borrow your ruler, please?
The lesson starts at nine.
Really?

Try English first.

Hint: Yes-no question → often up. Wh-question → often down. Finished statement → often down.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Entscheidungsfrage meist steigend, W-Frage meist fallend, abgeschlossene Aussage meist fallend. Eine höfliche Bitte kann sanft steigen oder fallen und wieder steigen.

Example: Are you ready? ↗

Solution: 1 ↗, 2 ↘, 3 ↗ or ↘↗, 4 ↘, 5 ↗.

Pronunciation: Make the pitch visible

Use your hand like a small plane.

Move your hand up for ↗.
Move your hand down for ↘.
Move down and then up for ↘↗.
Stress one important word.

Say:

Do you like FOOTball? ↗ WHERE is your bag? ↘ Could you HELP me, please? ↘↗ That's GREAT. ↘ REAlly? ↗

Tip: Speak clearly, not dramatically. Your goal is understanding.

Use: Pair speaking

Work with a partner. Use fictional information.

Student A: Ask two questions and make one request. Student B: Answer and use one short reaction. Then swap roles.

Useful language:

Do you ...? ↗
Are you ...? ↗
Where ...? ↘
What ...? ↘
Could you ..., please? ↘↗
Really? ↗
That's good. ↘

Hint: Mark your arrows before you speak.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Markiere vor dem Sprechen die Pfeile. Nutzt erfundene Namen, Orte und Daten.

Read: A short school dialogue

Leo: Hi, Ava. Are you ready for the science club? ↗ Ava: Almost. Where is Room 12? ↘ Leo: It's next to the library. ↘ Ava: Could you show me, please? ↘↗ Leo: Sure. ↘ Ava: Really? Thanks! ↗ Leo: No problem. ↘

Comprehension:

What does Ava want to find?
Which sentence is a request?
Which short reaction goes up?
Why is the dialogue easy to understand?

Hint: Look at the arrows and the function of each sentence.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Suche Raum 12, die Bitte und die kurze Rückfrage. Überlege, wie Satzmelodie und klare Formulierungen helfen.

Solution: Ava wants to find Room 12. The request is “Could you show me, please?” The checking reaction is “Really?” Clear wording and suitable intonation help the listener.

Write: A five-line chat

Write a short fictional chat with exactly five lines.

Use:

one yes-no question
one wh-question
one polite request
one statement
one short reaction

Add ↗, ↘ or ↘↗.

Example:

Kim: Are you at the sports hall? ↗ Noah: Yes, I am. ↘ Kim: Where is the entrance? ↘ Noah: Could you wait by the gate, please? ↘↗ Kim: Really? ↗

Check: Is every line easy to understand?

Optional mediation

A German-speaking visitor says: „Frag bitte, ob wir hier warten sollen.“

Do not translate word by word. Say one natural English question.

Hint: Start with “Should ...?”

Deutsch-Hilfe: Formuliere die Bedeutung einfach und passend zur Situation.

Possible solution: Should we wait here? ↗

Feedback

Give your partner short, useful feedback.

Clear words: I understood your sentence.
Clear pitch: I heard the voice go up or down.
Good request: Your request sounded friendly.
One next step: Try the last word again.

Do not judge accents. Focus on understanding.

Use again: Mini challenge

Choose one sentence and say it twice.

Sentence: You are coming.

Version A: You are coming. ↘ Version B: You are coming? ↗

What changes?

Deutsch-Hilfe: Gleiche Wörter können durch Intonation unterschiedlich wirken: einmal als Aussage, einmal als Rückfrage.

Media: One more listening idea

This BBC Learning English video is optional. It shows that intonation is part of natural speech. You do not need to copy one accent.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

Diesen aiMOOC als Battle spielen

What does intonation describe? (The way the voice moves up and down) (!The spelling of a word) (!The colour of a text) (!The number of letters)

Which pattern is common in a yes-no question? (A rising voice at the end) (!A silent ending) (!A shouted ending) (!A spelling change)

Which pattern is common in a wh-question? (A falling voice at the end) (!No voice movement is possible) (!Every word must rise) (!The question must be whispered)

Which sentence is a polite request? (Could you help me, please?) (!Where is my book?) (!I like this game.) (!Really?)

What can the symbol ↗ show? (The voice goes up) (!The voice stops) (!The speaker writes) (!The speaker changes language)

What can the symbol ↘ show? (The voice goes down) (!The voice gets faster) (!The word becomes plural) (!The sentence becomes German)

Which sentence is a statement? (The bus is here.) (!Is the bus here?) (!Where is the bus?) (!Could you stop the bus, please?)

Which short reaction can often rise when you are checking information? (Really?) (!Good morning.) (!I finished.) (!The door is open.)

What is the main pronunciation goal in this course? (To be easy to understand) (!To copy one perfect accent) (!To speak as fast as possible) (!To avoid all pauses)

What should you listen for first in a pitch task? (The movement near the end of the sentence) (!Every spelling rule) (!Every grammar term) (!The speaker's clothes)

Memory

rising	voice goes up
falling	voice goes down
yes-no question	often rises
wh-question	often falls
request	polite ask
statement	often sounds finished

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
Rising intonation	Voice moves up
Falling intonation	Voice moves down
Yes-no question	Do you like it?
Wh-question	Where do you live?
Polite request	Could you help me, please?

Kreuzworträtsel

rising	What word describes a voice that goes up?
falling	What word describes a voice that goes down?
request	What do you call a polite ask for help?
question	What sentence type asks for information?
statement	What sentence type often sounds finished?
intonation	What word means the melody of spoken language?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Intonation hören: Listen to five short English sentences from class material and draw ↗, ↘ or ↘↗.
Fragen sprechen: Say three yes-no questions with clear rising intonation.
W-Fragen sprechen: Say three wh-questions with clear falling intonation.
Sprechmelodie zeichnen: Draw a simple pitch line over four short sentences.

Standard

Mini-Dialog: Write and perform a six-line dialogue with two questions, one request, one statement and one short reaction.
Hörvergleich: Compare two ways of saying the same sentence and explain how the meaning changes.
Höflich bitten: Create five useful classroom requests and practise friendly intonation.
Partner-Feedback: Give a partner feedback about clarity, pitch movement and one next step.

Schwer

Intonationsdetektiv: Find five examples of questions in a teacher-approved English video and classify the pitch movement.
Kurzpräsentation: Give a one-minute talk about your hobby and include one question for the class.
Sprachmittlung: Turn four short German classroom needs into natural English requests without translating word for word.
Audio-Projekt: If you want, record a private practice audio on your own device, compare two versions and delete it afterwards. Do not upload it unless your teacher explicitly asks and permission is clear.

Lernkontrolle

Meaning and melody: Explain why “You are coming.” and “You are coming?” can communicate different meanings although the words are the same.
Dialogue transfer: Create a short new situation at school in which one yes-no question, one wh-question and one request are needed. Mark suitable pitch arrows and explain your choices.
Listening strategy: Describe how you can understand the function of a sentence even when you do not know every word.
Repair strategy: Your partner does not understand your request. Show how you can repeat it more clearly without changing your accent.
Intonation choice: Compare a friendly request and a finished statement. Explain how voice movement can help the listener.
Feedback task: Listen to a partner and give one specific comment about clarity and one useful next step.

Lernnachweis

For a successful learning record, you should show that you can:

hear a simple rise or fall in short spoken English
use common intonation patterns in yes-no questions and wh-questions
make a clear, friendly request
use suitable intonation in a statement and a short checking reaction
speak a short connected dialogue clearly
mark pitch with ↗, ↘ and ↘↗
give simple feedback about understanding
use German only as support when English is not enough

Safety and media: Use fictional personal data. Recordings are voluntary and private. Do not upload recordings or send them to external AI tools unless your teacher has clearly arranged this and the required permissions are in place. If you use AI for practice, check its output and formulate your final English yourself.

Can-do check

Tick what you can do now.

I can hear if a voice goes up or down.
I can ask a clear yes-no question.
I can ask a clear wh-question.
I can make a friendly request.
I can use a clear statement and a short reaction.
I can try again after feedback.

If one point is difficult, repeat the Notice → Practise → Use sections.

Wiederholung in 3 Minuten

Minute 1: Say one yes-no question ↗ and one wh-question ↘. Minute 2: Say one polite request ↘↗ and one statement ↘. Minute 3: Ask a partner one question, get feedback and say it again.