O M I D
09-25-2013, 08:44 PM
English Speaking Practice through Presentations
by Josef Essberger
If you're anything like most teachers, you're probably constantly looking for new ways to encourage your students to practise their oral English and speak spontaneously. This month, we're going to consider the value of the 'presentation' in achieving this.
Asking students to give presentations has the following advantages:
it gives the presenting student a good opportunity to practise unaided speaking
it gives the other students good listening practice
it increases the presenting student's confidence when using English
it can be good practice for the real situation for those students who may actually need to give presentations in English in their professional lives
it is an excellent generator of spontaneous discussion
First of all, let's define what we mean by 'presentation'. For our purposes, we mean:
'A short talk by one person to a group of people introducing and describing a particular subject (for example: a new product, company figures or a proposed advertising campaign).'
This is a narrow definition. In reality, presentations may be given by more than one person, are not necessarily short and are not necessarily a 'talk' since they may be by video, Internet etc.
Here we are considering, not so much the 'presentation' as an end in itself as the use of presentations for speaking practice.
Whether your students themselves will be keen to give presentations will depend on various factors. Their level is one. From intermediate upwards, students should derive real benefit from this type of activity. (That is not to say that below this level they should not attempt presentations.) Culture is another. Some nationalities are quite used to speaking in public and may be only too happy to have the opportunity to practise their spoken English in this way. Other nationalities are much more reserved and will be reticent or downright unwilling. At the individual level, a student who is an expert on something of great interest may be keener to talk than one who apparently has nothing to talk about.
Only you can judge the situation. It may be necessary to introduce the idea of presentations with tact. Imposing a presentation on unreceptive students will probably be counter-productive. Asking, suggesting, implanting the idea are more likely to be productive approaches.
Choice Of Subject
The first question that goes through any student's head is 'What will I talk about?' That is where preparation on your part, perhaps weeks before, can help.
Before any mention of a presentation, elicit interests from each student. These may be hobbies, professional activities, past holidays etc. Rarely do you find that every student in a group is a professional sky-diver, brain surgeon or stand-up comedian. Yet, with a little prompting, you will often find that each student has an interest or skill that is particular to her but of potential interest to others. Having dug a little into each student's mind, you can store the interests for the moment when you propose presentations. Even then, you do not normally need to suggest to each student what he could talk about. Say something like: 'The subject could be anything, for example, your work, your hobby, a holiday.' Only if a student is at a complete loss do you need to help her with your previously elicited list of interests. But students are often more imaginative than we suppose. One of the best student presentations I ever saw was 'How To Change Baby's Nappy', illustrated with a life size doll, Pampers, talcum powder and a flask of water!
Time limit
If students are apprehensive about giving a presentation, it may help to point out that it need not be a long presentation, 'just 5 or 10 minutes, plus questions.' In reality, it is far more difficult to prepare and give a 5-minute presentation than a 20-minute one. In addition, once underway, students very often overrun on their time. The important thing is that they be given a time-limit of some kind. It is up to you to decide this. It will depend on how many students there are, the overall time available, and whether the presentations are to be given during the same lesson or over a series of lessons. In general, it is probably best to limit the number of presentations to two per lesson and to set a time-limit for each of 10 to 15 minutes plus questions. You should build a certain amount of overrun time into your lesson plan. You may wish to adhere strictly to time limits, but the speaking practice and spontaneous discussion generated by presentations are so valuable that it may better to be more flexible.
Equipment
Clearly, this will be governed by your environment. The main thing is to encourage students to use support material and visual aids. The bare minimum would be a whiteboard or flipchart. If you have an OHP, so much the better. But encourage students to bring in additional material, for example wall maps or samples (realia).
by Josef Essberger
If you're anything like most teachers, you're probably constantly looking for new ways to encourage your students to practise their oral English and speak spontaneously. This month, we're going to consider the value of the 'presentation' in achieving this.
Asking students to give presentations has the following advantages:
it gives the presenting student a good opportunity to practise unaided speaking
it gives the other students good listening practice
it increases the presenting student's confidence when using English
it can be good practice for the real situation for those students who may actually need to give presentations in English in their professional lives
it is an excellent generator of spontaneous discussion
First of all, let's define what we mean by 'presentation'. For our purposes, we mean:
'A short talk by one person to a group of people introducing and describing a particular subject (for example: a new product, company figures or a proposed advertising campaign).'
This is a narrow definition. In reality, presentations may be given by more than one person, are not necessarily short and are not necessarily a 'talk' since they may be by video, Internet etc.
Here we are considering, not so much the 'presentation' as an end in itself as the use of presentations for speaking practice.
Whether your students themselves will be keen to give presentations will depend on various factors. Their level is one. From intermediate upwards, students should derive real benefit from this type of activity. (That is not to say that below this level they should not attempt presentations.) Culture is another. Some nationalities are quite used to speaking in public and may be only too happy to have the opportunity to practise their spoken English in this way. Other nationalities are much more reserved and will be reticent or downright unwilling. At the individual level, a student who is an expert on something of great interest may be keener to talk than one who apparently has nothing to talk about.
Only you can judge the situation. It may be necessary to introduce the idea of presentations with tact. Imposing a presentation on unreceptive students will probably be counter-productive. Asking, suggesting, implanting the idea are more likely to be productive approaches.
Choice Of Subject
The first question that goes through any student's head is 'What will I talk about?' That is where preparation on your part, perhaps weeks before, can help.
Before any mention of a presentation, elicit interests from each student. These may be hobbies, professional activities, past holidays etc. Rarely do you find that every student in a group is a professional sky-diver, brain surgeon or stand-up comedian. Yet, with a little prompting, you will often find that each student has an interest or skill that is particular to her but of potential interest to others. Having dug a little into each student's mind, you can store the interests for the moment when you propose presentations. Even then, you do not normally need to suggest to each student what he could talk about. Say something like: 'The subject could be anything, for example, your work, your hobby, a holiday.' Only if a student is at a complete loss do you need to help her with your previously elicited list of interests. But students are often more imaginative than we suppose. One of the best student presentations I ever saw was 'How To Change Baby's Nappy', illustrated with a life size doll, Pampers, talcum powder and a flask of water!
Time limit
If students are apprehensive about giving a presentation, it may help to point out that it need not be a long presentation, 'just 5 or 10 minutes, plus questions.' In reality, it is far more difficult to prepare and give a 5-minute presentation than a 20-minute one. In addition, once underway, students very often overrun on their time. The important thing is that they be given a time-limit of some kind. It is up to you to decide this. It will depend on how many students there are, the overall time available, and whether the presentations are to be given during the same lesson or over a series of lessons. In general, it is probably best to limit the number of presentations to two per lesson and to set a time-limit for each of 10 to 15 minutes plus questions. You should build a certain amount of overrun time into your lesson plan. You may wish to adhere strictly to time limits, but the speaking practice and spontaneous discussion generated by presentations are so valuable that it may better to be more flexible.
Equipment
Clearly, this will be governed by your environment. The main thing is to encourage students to use support material and visual aids. The bare minimum would be a whiteboard or flipchart. If you have an OHP, so much the better. But encourage students to bring in additional material, for example wall maps or samples (realia).