Running head: SHOULDA, COULDA, WOULDA 1

Michelle Candy

Lesson Plan

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

TESL 525: Teaching English Pronunciation

Azusa Pacific University

Shoulda, coulda, woulda 2

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

Context

This lesson is designed for a low-intermediate to intermediate level class of high school or adult

students. The assumption is made that students know grammatically how to use should have, could

have, and would have. If they do not, grammar information for each of these can be found at the

following website:

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/couldhave/menu.php

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/shouldhave/menu.php

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/thirdconditional/menu.php

Additionally, the following video can be used, either by the teacher to review or as an introduction in

class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqDiJ6qznjQ

This lesson could also very easily be incorporated into a grammar lesson on modals.

It is not necessary that students have been introduced to reductions previously. The teacher

should be aware of whether students know reductions and adjust her lesson plan accordingly. In

addition, students should have the ability to write a short story and read a simple dialogue.

This lesson could be used with monolingual or multilingual speakers in either an ESL or EFL

context, though students in the latter context will have less exposure to these reductions in everyday

interactions. The basic lesson plan is designed for a 45-minute time period, though the writing may take

a longer time (perhaps extending into another class period). I have also included two additional activities

which would expand the students’ knowledge and which would also expand the time needed.

Rationale

Students are often confused when they hear contractions and reductions in spoken English.

Students in an ESL context are most likely to encounter reduced speech as they interact with native

Shoulda, coulda, woulda 3

speakers. Native speakers speak quickly, which includes reducing their speech, making many of their

words unrecognizable to the language learner (Celce-Murcia, et al, 2010, 375).

Often function words are reduced because they are unstressed. The reduction of “have” to “’ve”

and finally to “a” is one that can potentially be confusing grammatically. Even many native speakers

mistakenly write “of” rather than “have” in such verb phrases as “could have.” This happens because of

the reduction to “could’ve,” which, when pronounced, sounds like “of.” Practice in listening

discrimination, as well as in pronunciation, can help students to understand this reduction.

This lesson plan covers the five phases of the communicative approach to pronunciation

teaching as outlined in Celce-Murcia: description and analysis, listening discrimination, controlled

practice, guided practice, and communicative practice.

Time: 45 minutes or more

Materials: Computer

Projector and screen

Printer and/or copy machine

White board

Handouts (see Appendices A-E)

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Shoulda, coulda, woulda

Lesson plan

Students will be able to (SWBAT):

Description and analysis

Understand the reductions from should have, could have, would have and might have: Have->of->a

Listening discrimination

Discriminate between the full forms and reductions in a listening discrimination activity. Teacher will

informally check after the activity and reteach if necessary.

Controlled Practice

Write out reductions in dialogue handouts. Teacher will ask different students to give their answers. If

there are differences, teacher can ask other students for their answer and see if they can come

up with the right answers.

Read reductions in dialogues. Teacher can formally or informally keep track of students’ pronunciation

of the reductions, by means of a check sheet or other method.

Guided Practice

Write additional “would have”, “could have”, or “should have” reactions to problems given and read

them in a reduced manner. Teacher can formally or informally keep track of students’

pronunciation of the reductions, by means of a check sheet or other method.

Write simple dialogues in pairs and present them to the class.

Communicative practice

Give advice to partners using the reduced forms of would have, should have, and could have. Teacher

can formally or informally keep track of students’ pronunciation of the reductions, by means of

a check sheet or other method.

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Additional practice:

SWBAT:

Read the lyrics and listen to the song, “Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda.”

Determine the attitude of the singer based on the use of these words.

Read the poem “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.”

Determine the meaning of the poem based on the use of these words.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda 6

Description and Analysis:

Teacher read aloud the story, “The Very Foolish Man,” in Appendix A. Before reading it, ask

students to listen for words that tell about things that weren’t done. After reading, ask students

if they caught the words woulda, coulda, and shoulda.

Write should have, could have, would have on the board. Ask for grammatical meanings and

how they’re generally used.

Write the first reduction (‘ve). Ask students to figure out how it’s pronounced, based on prior

knowledge of contractions. Point out to students that it sounds like “of” and that, in fact, many

native speakers wrongly write “of” because of this sound.

Write the second reduction (‘a’). Ss practice saying these. Teacher correct pronunciation as

necessary.

Listening Discrimination:

Give students a piece of paper that is numbered. Read students the sentences from Appendix B.

Ask the students to write “reduced” or “no change” next to each number, depending on

whether they hear a reduction or not. After finishing this activity, go over the answers to make

sure each student got the answers correct. Repeat sentences and make corrections for those

who did not get all of the answer correct.

Controlled Practice:

Hand out sample dialogues (Appendix C). Working in pairs, write the reduced form above each

of the “verb+have” occurrences.

Read dialogues in partners, practicing saying the reduced form. Point out to students that

usually it is reduced to /‘ve/ (“of”) when being read, though it is not written in this way.

Show students the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqDiJ6qznjQ. In the

video, there is a section that gives a problem and then a possible answer using one of these

Shoulda, coulda, woulda 7

three words (for example: My son failed a test. Maybe he should have studied harder). Stop the

video at each set of answers. Students read the given answer aloud with reduction. Then, each

student (or as a class, if the class is small), write additional answers to the problem on the

board, using would have, could have, or should have. Read these, pronouncing the reductions.

Guided Practice:

Using the dialogues from Appendix C as models, along with the situations and suggestions from

the video, students in pairs will write their own dialogues, each using at least one of these verbs.

Students will read their dialogues, using the reduced form when they present to class. If

students do not use the reduced form, ask them what the reduced form is in isolation. Then ask

them to read it in reduced form in the sentence in the dialogue. Then have them read the

dialogue again, with the reduced form.

Communicative Practice:

Write a short story showing an embarrassing, frightening or disappointing situation. Students

read their partner’s story and then write some questions or suggestions using the words “would

have,” “could have,” or “should have.” Read these answers to each other, using the reduced

forms of the verbs. (adapted from http://busyteacher.org/6093-woulda-coulda-shoulda-how-to-

teach-reductions.html)

Additional Practice:

Give students the lyrics to “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda” (Appendix D). Students read lyrics, noting

what the singer means by the way she uses the words. Note that there are further reductions

written into the lyrics. Ask students if they can guess what these mean.

Show students the music video. Allow them to listen to the song at least twice, once while

reading the lyrics and once while just listening to the music and watching the video.

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Ask students to determine the singer’s attitude in the song based on the use of these words.

Does she have regrets? Is she sad about what never happened?

Give students the poem, “Woulda-coulda-shoulda” (Appendix E). Read through the poem,

making sure they understand the additional reductions included. Ask students to analyze the

poem based on the use of “woulda-coulda-shoulda” in relation to the last line.

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References

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Goodwin, J. M. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and

reference guide. New York: Cambridge University Press.

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Appendix A

The Very Foolish Man

A very foolish man decided to take a trip. He was going to drive across the country in winter. He did not

take a map or a GPS. He didn’t have snow tires on his car. He didn’t carry a warm blanket with him. He

didn’t have any extra food.

As he was driving, he got lost. He drove one way and then the other, trying to find his way. Then he

came to a big snow storm. The road was covered with snow. His car got stuck in the snow. He got very

cold and hungry. Finally, a police officer found him. The officer’s car was warm. He gave the foolish man

some coffee and a blanket so he could warm up.

The foolish man knew he had been very foolish. When he got home, his wife asked him what happened.

He said, “I shoulda taken a map or GPS, because then I wouldn’t have gotten lost. I coulda taken a warm

blanket, and that woulda kept me warm. I also shoulda taken food with me.” His wife was very happy

that he was safe. She hoped that next time he wouldn’t be so foolish.

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Appendix B

1. I would have called you, but I forgot your number.

2. If I had gone to town, I coulda bought some milk.

3. You really shoulda studied for that math test.

4. He coulda forgotten the time; maybe that’s why he’s late.

5. I should have eaten breakfast this morning!

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Appendix C

Practice Dialogues

Dialogue 1

A: Did you see the football game yesterday?

B: I would have watched it if I had been at home. But I was driving in the car, so I didn’t watch it.

A: Oh. If I had known, I could have recorded it for you to watch later.

B: That’s okay. I heard the score and don’t want to watch it now.

Dialogue 2

A: You should have called me when you knew you were going to be late.

B: I’m sorry. I would have called you but I forgot to bring my phone with me.

A: Okay. Next time maybe you can remember it!

Dialogue 3

A: I was so embarrassed! I forgot to bring clothes for the party at the fancy restaurant!

B: You could have asked to borrow some clothes from someone.

A: Yes, I know. Instead, I went in a t-shirt and jeans.

B: Oh, that’s not good! If I had known you needed clothes, I would have loaned you some!

Dialogue 4

A: I was so scared last night.

B: Why? What happened?

A: I thought there was a thief outside my house. I was afraid to open the door.

B: What did you do? You could have called the police.

A: I would have called the police, but I was afraid the thief would hear me. Instead, I grabbed a baseball

bat and looked out the dark window.

B: What did you see?

A: I saw a squirrel running around on the porch! I felt really silly!

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Appendix D

"Shoulda Woulda Coulda"

People say that together we were both sides of the same coin

That we would shine like Venus in a clear night sky

We thought our love could overcome the circumstances

But my ambition wouldn't allow for compromise

I could see in the distance all the dreams that were clear to me

Every choice that I had to make left you on your own

Somehow the road we started down had split asunder

Too late to realise how far apart we'd grown.

How I wish I, wish I'd done a little bit more

Now " Shoulda woulda coulda," means I'm out of time

Coz "Shoulda woulda coulda", can't change your mind

And I wonder, wonder, wonder what I'm gonna do

"Shoulda woulda coulda" are the last words of a fool

People ask how it feels to live the kind of life others dream about

I tell them everybody gotta face their highs and their lows

And in my life there's a love I put aside, cause I was busy loving something else

So for every little thing you hold on to, you've got to let something else go

[Chorus]

Fool if I would now forsake the opportunities are fate

I know I'm right where I belong

But sometimes when I'm not so strong I..

[Chorus (x2)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bug-hnPxFaY (music video)

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Appendix E

Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda

All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas

Layin' in the sun,

Talkin' 'bout the things

They woulda coulda shoulda done...

But those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas

All ran away and hid

From one little Did.

Shel Silverstein