A Process Approach to Academic SpeakingCHLOE FANE

Attention Getter

• How many of you have your students do research-based presentations?

• How do they feel before and after these presentations?

• What challenges do they have?

Overview of Presentation

• Background

• Original Presentation Unit

• Setting Goals

• Updated Presentation Unit

• Results

Background

Program Context

• Intensive Language Program

• American Language Institute

• English for academic purposes

Class Context

Skills:• Lecture listening• Group discussion• Oral presentation• Seminar discussion

Background - Academic DiscourseChinese Structure

1. Arguments are circular

2. Meaning is implicit

3. Readers and listeners are responsible

(Ling & Cahill, 2008)

American Structure

1. Arguments are linear

2. Meaning is explicit

3. Writers and speakersare responsible

(Kaplan, 1966)

Background – Topics

• Three umbrella topics

• Research questions on controversial topics

• We give them background paragraph.

Background – Topics

Topic: Media and Health

Question: Are there more healthy or unhealthy outcomes from playing video games?

Background - Topics

Background: Many children fail to exercise because they are spending time doing stationary activities such as playing video games or watching TV. Others argue that playing video games helps train logical thinking and problem solving skills.

Background - Spoken Academic Discourse

General Organization of Oral Presentation

• Introduction• Argument• Counter-argument • Refutation• Conclusion

Background - Spoken Academic Discourse

Lexical bundles with discourse functions• “My first argument is…”• “Some people say …, but...”• “This brings me to my conclusion…”

(Hyland, 2012)

Identifying Students’ Needs and Setting Goals

Original Oral Presentation Unit

• Build background knowledge

• Research & discuss organization

• Look at transitions

• Peer review

• Presentation

Did not allow for practice of presentation

skills

Video of Student Argument• High-achieving student

• Topic of social media advertising

• Opinion: Social Advertising is a manipulation by advertising companies

Video of Student Argument

What challenges do you notice?

Video of Student Argument

Identified Presentation Needs

• Anxiety

• Making eye contact with audience

• Posture

• Volume

Identified Rhetorical Need

Argument

Support

???

Counter-argument

Updated Presentation Unit

New Oral Presentation Unit

• Build background knowledge

• Mini-Presentation 1

• Research & discuss organization

• Look at transitions

• Mini-Presentation 2

• Peer review

• Presentation

Allows for practice and

process

Mini-Presentation 1

Goals• Low stakes - address anxiety

• Focus on presentation strategies

• Lecture Ready 3, Oxford University Press

Materials Creation

Good morning/afternoon everyone!

My name is… and my topic is…

Let me explain the controversy. There is a controversy about…

Briefly, let me tell you the two sides. Some people say that…

Materials Creation

But others disagree. They say that…

I found this visual of…

Let me describe it.

This image suggests that…

Thanks for listening. I am looking forward to doing more research on this topic.

Mini-Presentation 1: Two-Hour Lesson

Lesson

• Do background research.

• Bring in an image related to their topic.

• Watch a model.

• Apply language to their image.

• Watch Lecture Ready 3 video.

Presentation Organization1. Put students in groups.

2. Hang up pictures

3. Walk around and look.

4. Present

5. T gives feedback

Mini-Presentation 2

Rhetorical Need

Argument

Support

???

Counter-argument

Goals

• Effectively introduce support

• Effectively explain support

Material Creation

• MICASE database

• Ted Talks

• Lecture Ready 3 (class textbook)

Material Creation: Introduction of Support Language

For example, a recent study from (university or researcher) reports/shows that ...

Here’s an example of this. According to a 2013 study by (university or person), ...

Here’s what I found out about this. (Researcher) says that ...

Material Creation: Explanation of Support Language

• What that means is ...

• Let me explain what that means.

• That shows us that…

• So, what does this tell us?

Materials Creation: Sample Supporting SpeechesGood morning everyone. I am researching the topic of online courses versus face-to-

face courses and I'd like to share one example that supports my argument. Some people

say that online courses are just as effective as having class in an actual classroom.

Here's an example of this. According to a 2014 study by Harvard University,

researchers surveyed students and found that many students think that having

discussions online is just as effective as having a discussion in class because they have

the same access to materials. This means that they think online courses have the same

quality because they learn the same amount, and they see that there is equal access to

readings, discussions, and quizzes.

Mini-presentation: Two-Day Lesson

Day 1 - 2 Hour Lesson

• Noticing why use support

• Looking at model

• Have them notice language

• They look at worksheet

• Examine Explanations

• They start to create their mini-presentation

Challenges from Day 1

Understanding purpose of explanations:

• Paraphrasing ideas• Adding information

• Using voice to emphasize

Day 2 – 1 Hour Lesson

• Building rapport with audience

• Watch model videos

• Asking questions of the audience

Student Sample of Mini 2

• Topic of childcare in the workplace.

• Opinion: Companies should offer childcare in the workplace.

Student Sample of Mini 2

Presentation

• Teacher gives feedback directly after

• Students practiced again in groups

• Teacher assigns homework: • Added this language to another piece of support

Results of Mini-PresentationNewOriginal

Argument

Support

???

Counter-argument

Argument

Support

Explanation

Counter-argument

Results

Results – Teacher Observations

• Chance to use and apply discourse structures

• Opportunity to intervene◦ Check their understanding of support

• Pronunciation of key words

Student Comments from Questionnaire

“[It was difficult] explaining the support.”

“[It was beneficial] to know if my classmates can know about your example or not.”

“[It was difficult to know] how to paraphrase the idea in order to let classmates can understand it.”

Student Comments from Questionnaire

“I think it is like practice for the main presentation.”

“It was a good practice! Even though I shared one idea with peers, it helped me go through my whole presentation.”

Process-Driven

Final Presentation

Mini 1Mini 2 (more

complex)

Principles• Mini 1 = presentation skills• addressing anxiety• building background

• Mini 2 = rhetorical issue• recycle presentation strategies and add• increase complexity of task

Implications and Conclusion

Made audience salient in minds of students

Could be introduced in many contexts

Thank you!

• Kathy Sherak and Peg Sarosy

• Colleagues at the ALI at SFSU

• Students

Questions?

Questions?

“I got to practice presenting an argument, and now I know what I have to do or to say to make sure the audience understand what I’m saying.”