Lesson 5: Preparing a Speech, Observations and Judgments

Warm-up: “If I had a million dollars…”

If I (past tense, not a real situation)… , I would (verb)… .

Example:

If I were prime minister of Canada, I would feel proud to be the first Chinese-Canadian prime minister.

If I had a million dollars, I wouldn’t feel embarrassed if my friends saw me riding a bike.

* How would you feel if you’d just won one thousand yuan (1000 元 ) ? (If I had just won 1000 元 , I would feel…)

* How would you feel if your parents gave you a ticket to visit a city you’d always wanted to visit? (If my parents gave me a ticket to visit a city I’d always wanted to visit, I would feel…)

* How would you feel if your best friend was hired for the job you really wanted?

* How would you feel if your brother or sister borrowed and then lost something that was very important to you?

* How would you feel if you won the English speech competition in your school?

* How would you feel if you lost something you borrowed from your best friend?

* How would you feel if your class won the sports meet at your school?

* How would you feel if someone stole 20 yuan ( 元 ) from your pocket while you were on the bus?

* How would you feel if a student you were tutoring gave a gift to you?

* How would you feel if you studied 10 hours for an exam and then you got a bad grade?

* How would you feel if you had to take ten final exams in one week?

* How would you feel if you had to repeat the same English lesson every day?

“Bored” and “Boring”

• “I feel bored with my English teacher.”

• “I am bored of my English teacher.”

• “My English teacher bores me.”

• “My English teacher is boring (me).”

My English teacher is not very interesting to me

(a) “I am bored.” (b) “I am boring.”

Discuss: When would you say (a)? When would you say (b)?

Jazz Chant: What are you going to do at two?

What are you going to do at two?What are you going to do?

Where are you going to be at three?Where are you going to be?

Who are you going to see?What are you going to say?How are you going to go?Where are you going to stay?

What are you going to do?Who are you going to see?When are you going to leave?Where are you going to be?

Jazz Chant: Meet me in the Morning

Meet me in the morning.Meet me at noon.Meet me in September,or the middle of June.

Meet me at midnight.Meet me in the hall.Meet me in the summer.Meet me in the fall.

Meet me in the evening.Meet me at eight.I’ll meet you anytime you wantbut please, don’t be late.

How Well Do You Really Know Your Classmates?

1. Two teams. Everyone has a partner on the other team.

2. One partner steps outside the room.

3. Other partner picks up a question card, asks the question to the team about the person outside.

4. The partner outside comes in and answers the question.

5. If the answers match, the team gets a point.

6. Other partner steps outside

* Excuse me, I have a question about _______. * Excuse me, I have some questions about ________. * How do I understand this situation?* What should I say in this situation?

* In my culture, people usually (don’t) _____.* In China, people often / rarely _____.* In Canada, people would (not) _____.* In the U.S., people are (not) expected to ____.

people feel comfortable _______. people feel uncomfortable _____

* It depends. If __________, then __________.

Last Week: Discussing Cultural Point-of-View

I. Using the sentence patterns we learned today for discussing cultural point-of-view, write down how you would answer the following 8 questions about meal invitations:

1. How do people in China usually make meal invitations? (By letter, in person, by phone, by e-mail, etc.?)

2. What words would people in China use to invite someone to go out for a meal with them?

3. Who would be expected to pay?

4. Should the guest offer to pay?

Last Week’s Homework

5. Should the guest insist on paying?

6. What words would people in China use to invite someone for a meal in their home?

7. In the U.S. (Canada), people who are invited to someone’s home usually ask, “Can I bring anything?” How about in China?

8. In the U.S. (Canada), people often take flowers as a gift for the person who invited them to their home for a meal. How about in China?

In groups of 3 or 4 people, read and compare your answers to these 8 questions. Remember to use the patterns we learned last week: “In my country,…” “people usually/often/rarely …..”

Last Week’s Homework

II. Write at least 3 questions about Western culture you want to know more about. Use the sentence patterns: “Excuse me…”

Last Week’s Homework

Observations and Judgments

Observations:

What we can see or hear (or smell, taste or feel)

Example: “She stood about 2 metres away when talking to me.”

Judgments:

What we feel or think about our observations

Example: “She doesn’t like me because she stood far away when talking to me.”

When asking questions about or discussing another culture, it is important that we try not to put in judgments so that we don’t hurt others’ feelings or our relationship with them.

Example:When Westerners come to China, they often need to also learn to ask questions with observations, not with judgments:

Observation: “When people get on a bus, they often push or don’t line up. (What are some possible reasons people do this?”)

Judgment: “Why are people so impolite here?”

“Seek first to understand, rather than to be understood.” (Saint Francis of Assisi)

* That woman is aggressive because she always stands very close to men when she is talking to them.

• The two men hugged and kissed each other when they met at the airport.

* The father does not love his son because he just shook hands with him when saying good-bye instead of hugging him.

• The woman patted the children on the head.

Observation or Judgment?

* That woman is aggressive because she always stands very close to men when she is talking to them. (Judgment)

• The two men hugged and kissed each other when they met at the airport. (Observation)

* The father does not love his son because he just shook hands with him when saying good-bye instead of hugging him. (Judgment)

• The woman patted the children on the head. (Observation)

* She has no sense of humor. She doesn’t laugh at things that are funny.

* He sighed and looked tired.

* They are not very friendly, as they didn’t talk very much.

* Those people don’t know how to behave at a wedding!

Observation or Judgment?

* She has no sense of humor. She doesn’t laugh at things that are funny. (Judgment)

* He sighed and looked tired. (Observation)

* They are not very friendly, as they didn’t talk very much. (Judgment)

* Those people don’t know how to behave at a wedding! (Judgment)

Preparing a Speech

Step One: Choose a SubjectA. Ask these questions about yourself:1. Do I have enough knowledge about the subject?2. How can I get the information I need? (books, people, internet)3. Am I interested or excited about this subject? (If you are not very interested in the subject, it will probably be hard for you to get your audience interested in it)

B. Ask these questions about your audience (listeners):1. What does the audience probably already know about this subject?2. What attitude does the audience probably have about this subject?3. What is the background of my audience? (how many people, age, gender, culture, education, social status, occupation)

Step Two: Develop an Outline

A. A Basic Structure:

Introduction

1. Attention-getter

2. Preview

Main Points

1.

2.

3.

Conclusion

1. Review

2. Clincher

3. Thanks

B. Introduction

1. Attention-Getters

* state an interesting or startling fact

* ask a question, tell a joke, recite a quotation (“President Obama said…”)

* tell a brief story

* refer to a recent or a historic event

* say something about the importance of the subject

* Don’t apologize for your poor English skills, preparation, or lack of expertise! This is considered unprofessional.

2. Preview (state your subject & your main points in a few words)

C. Main Points

Must be logically organized and supported with specifics or details. There are different ways to organize a speech:

1. organize in chronological order (according to time: first, second, finally)

2. organize according to spatial location (e.g. north, south, east, west; Western countries and Eastern countries, etc.)

3. organize by problem and solution

4. organize by some natural pattern in your subject (e.g. cooking Chinese food – what cooking equipment is needed, basic cooking techniques, specialties of different regions)

D. Specifics (Important details which add interest, clarity, or proof to your speech.)

1. examples

2. quotations

3. statistics

4. stories

5. definitions

6. comparisons

7. audio or visual aids (real objects or materials which will help the audience understand your words more clearly)

E. Conclusion

1. Summarize the main points

“In conclusion...”

“In a few words...”

“As I’ve said...”

“In summary...”

“So first..., second..., and finally...”

2. Use a “clincher” (a finishing sentence that the audience will remember)

- a quotation

- the importance of your subject

- call the audience to some kind of action

3. Say “Thank you” (Don’t say “The End”!)

Prepare for Midterm Examination, April 16: Speech: 3 to 4 minutes long, “How to…”Examples: “How to fold paper swans”, “How to improve your basketball skills”, “How to make dumplings (饺子 )”You must submit your written speech to me before you give the speech.You may not read the speech, but you will prepare a speech outline that you may use.

This week: Choose speech topic, prepare outline, write speech;

Next week: Show me speech outline and written speech; practice giving the speech;

This Week’s Homework