Topics for Presentations
I've been working with a couple of newish teachers this term, and have been asked this question a number of times "What are good topics for presentations"? Which is quickly followed by should they use powerpoint.
Usually my impression is that language learners don't really need to use powerpoint in their presentations. I know that may sound like heresey coming from a guy that writes a blog about CALL and runs a University Language Lab, but for me the primary goals of a presentation are for the student to display
- the ability to come up with the needed ideas and content,
- organize it logically so they reach the objective of their presentation
- have confidence to deliver it
- make use of good language (grammar, vocabulary)
- speak clearly so all can understand what they are trying to present.
I've found that in more cases than not, a computer based presentation just ends up getting in the way of their language production because
- they read the slides verbatim
- they look at the screen and not the audience
- the technology fails in some way (there are hundreds of ways this can happen)
- the computer portion is so flashy that it is distracting and irrelevant
This has so far been a little off the topic of "topics for presentation", but not really. It is those first five points above that should guide the choice of presentation topics in an average language classroom. Your topics should focus on materials and ideas that are relevant, and meaningful to your students. If they are within a content area that you have been studying recently, all the better as they will be more familiar with the content and language. Here are a few guiding principles that I suggest you follow when you as a teacher decide on topics for presentations
- make sure they are age appropriate - don't give kids 'adult' topics like politics, economics, or law
- make sure they are knowledge appropriate - focus on what your class knows, not what they don't know
- be sure they are language level appropriate - some topics simply require more vocabulary and higher levels of grammar knowledge
- unless there is good reason not to, give your students a lot of opportunity to explore the topic in a way that is interesting to them - basically assign general topics rather than specific ones.
As an example of this, I recently had my upper intermediate ESL class do a presentation. The basic assignment was for them to think of a problem in the world (ideally a social/environmental problem), explain why it is a problem, and offer a possible solution. I did not care if it was a global issue or an issue local to their hometown or even neighbourhood. We had 15 totally different presentation topics, which made the class more interesting and added to their overall knowledge of such issues.
There is no magic secret to presentation topics. The magic comes in the presentations themselves. If you follow some of the suggestions I've offered here, you and your students should be OK.
Cheers,
Eric
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the Teachers Call RSS Feed. When you subscribe you will get updates provided regularly to your RSS reader. It is a great way to stay up to date with the latest in CALL information and ideas. So go ahead and subscribe right now.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Filed under Speaking & CALL by Eric
May 21, 2008
What is Intonation?
Somebody dropped me a note the other day asking about intonation and what exactly intonation is. Well it isn't that hard a concept, although it is a little subtle at times.
Basically, in language, intonation is the rising, or falling pitch in the speakers voice as they say words or phrases. In many languages, changes in pitch reflect a change in meaning of what is being said.
Some languages are considered to be 'tonal languages'. That is, the language makes use of different tones to signify different meanings. Mandarin Chinese, and Thai are two that quickly spring to mind. What this means is that in tonal languages, words that are the same in all ways except the intonation will have different meanings. Of course the use of tones is not limited to distinguishing different words.
Other languages, like English are said to be non-tonal. This is of course not entirely correct. English speakers make great use of intonation to, among other things, signify mood, or differentiate questions from statements (as well as yes/no questions from wh questions). Additionally some Englishes have tonal variations like the raising of dipthongs in Canadian English (known as Canadian Raising).
Intonation works at word, phrase, and sentence levels to vary meaning, intent, and emotion. There are also tonal differences noted between male and female speech patterns in most languages.
Intonation is a subtle, but critical component of full spoken fluency in any language. For language learners, it is often one of the last things to be mastered as it requires tremendous levels of exposure to and interaction with native speakers of the language being learned.
Hopefully this sheds a little light on what intonation is, and why it is important to master.
Cheers,
Eric
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
.jpg)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar