How to Participate in Class
Participation in class means that you will have to speak in class only in English, LISTEN ATTENTIVELY, ask questions whenever students finish their oral presentations, and ACTIVELY COMMUNICATE with other students and with your teacher. You may lose up to 10 points during each class time if you
a) speak with other students in Arabic during the lesson
b) do not listen to other students’ oral presentations
c) do not bring to class a notebook, a pencil, a laptop or an i-pad, and the handouts which were given to you by your teacher during the previous classes.
Each student is required to prepare and give oral presentations and contribute to discussions in class. Formal classroom presentations should last four to twelve minutes (depending on the task given by your teacher). In addition, about two to four minutes will be devoted to questions-answers and discussions.
How to Give a Good Speech
Here are a few useful tips:
1. Do some online research. Find useful and interesting information about your topic.
2. Plan what to say. A forceful speech must be thought out beforehand. Write it but never read it. Write a clear outline of your presentation.
3. Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to cram into a speech as many points as possible. Your audience will not be able to remember them all. Speak fluently, clearly, loudly, and slowly. Do not hurry.
4. Use visual means if possible. You can use PowerPoint but you should not read from slides.
5. Take command. Show your audience who is holding the floor and deserve full attention. The speaker who tries to do the job sitting down abdicates authority. You must come out into the open. The audience wants to see as much of you as possible. They will then feel that you are confiding in them.
6. Relax. Even experienced orators feel nervous on every occasion they have to speak. But they never let stage fright show. An audience feels sorry for a panic-stricken speaker to begin with; then listeners lose patience and interest. If you are too nervous, try to forget that it is you who is about to speak. Pretend it is someone else – a speaker you admire.
7. Always be friendly. Audiences are warm to amiable, happy-looking speakers. Begin with a smile. It switches on your audience, arouses their interest. Keep eye contact with your audience.
8. Watch your timing. Audiences never forgive speakers who overrun and keep them from lunch. Twelve minutes is about the maximum time for your speech. If you cannot see a clock face, twist your watch round to the underside of your wrist for discreet time-checks. There’s a Latin proverb for the best possible advice on timing: Praestate dicete et tacete (in English: “Stand up, speak up and shut up”).
9. Stand confidently. The most frequent question I get from students is: “What shall I do with my hands?” Take a pencil or a book and keep in your hands. And do not touch your head.
10. Speak, but NEVER READ from your notes or slides.
You should not be afraid to make mistakes when you are learning English. It is really hard to practice if your mouth is closed all of the time.
To find a good example of a speech outline, click here.
A good online dictionary is here.
Participation in class means that you will have to speak in class only in English, LISTEN ATTENTIVELY, ask questions whenever students finish their oral presentations, and ACTIVELY COMMUNICATE with other students and with your teacher. You may lose up to 10 points during each class time if you
a) speak with other students in Arabic during the lesson
b) do not listen to other students’ oral presentations
c) do not bring to class a notebook, a pencil, a laptop or an i-pad, and the handouts which were given to you by your teacher during the previous classes.
Each student is required to prepare and give oral presentations and contribute to discussions in class. Formal classroom presentations should last four to twelve minutes (depending on the task given by your teacher). In addition, about two to four minutes will be devoted to questions-answers and discussions.
How to Give a Good Speech
Here are a few useful tips:
1. Do some online research. Find useful and interesting information about your topic.
2. Plan what to say. A forceful speech must be thought out beforehand. Write it but never read it. Write a clear outline of your presentation.
3. Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to cram into a speech as many points as possible. Your audience will not be able to remember them all. Speak fluently, clearly, loudly, and slowly. Do not hurry.
4. Use visual means if possible. You can use PowerPoint but you should not read from slides.
5. Take command. Show your audience who is holding the floor and deserve full attention. The speaker who tries to do the job sitting down abdicates authority. You must come out into the open. The audience wants to see as much of you as possible. They will then feel that you are confiding in them.
6. Relax. Even experienced orators feel nervous on every occasion they have to speak. But they never let stage fright show. An audience feels sorry for a panic-stricken speaker to begin with; then listeners lose patience and interest. If you are too nervous, try to forget that it is you who is about to speak. Pretend it is someone else – a speaker you admire.
7. Always be friendly. Audiences are warm to amiable, happy-looking speakers. Begin with a smile. It switches on your audience, arouses their interest. Keep eye contact with your audience.
8. Watch your timing. Audiences never forgive speakers who overrun and keep them from lunch. Twelve minutes is about the maximum time for your speech. If you cannot see a clock face, twist your watch round to the underside of your wrist for discreet time-checks. There’s a Latin proverb for the best possible advice on timing: Praestate dicete et tacete (in English: “Stand up, speak up and shut up”).
9. Stand confidently. The most frequent question I get from students is: “What shall I do with my hands?” Take a pencil or a book and keep in your hands. And do not touch your head.
10. Speak, but NEVER READ from your notes or slides.
You should not be afraid to make mistakes when you are learning English. It is really hard to practice if your mouth is closed all of the time.
To find a good example of a speech outline, click here.
A good online dictionary is here.
