Article for ALEA Journal ----June Edition

Speak Well?... Of Course You Can!

Listening and Speaking are two very important elements in teaching students about the value of communication. Within the school environment students are being asked to undertake a range of tasks in these two areas. This article deals only with speaking and the ideas developed work well with students from Year 3 to Year 7. In most cases it would be advantageous to teach Listening and Speaking concurrently because many of the basic material is identical ( eg. the components of a message are sent and received).

Many students fear the idea of having to present in front of their class. I have discovered that I can make these fears more manageable. I do this by structuring simple activities that are designed to have my students become more confident in this activity. Speaking games followed by impromptu activities and then progressing to some specific speech activities will make this experience less stressful. My experience has been that students respond positively to the various exercises and skill building activities. Many of the activities can be done in a non judgmental way so that the students grow in confidence and thrive when it comes to a live class performance.

I also change he paradigm of the classroom by moving the desks to the side so that I have a semi-circle of chairs. I have found that this change of format sends out a message to the students that learning speaking skills is different and special.

Developing the Skills of Oral Presentations

Step 1
Speaking Games
I aim to develop in my students a classroom where there’s a relaxed and supportive approach to speaking in public. I use these exercises to start the classes. As the teacher I will nominate which exercise is to be done, and each student will take a turn for about 10-20 seconds each.

1 Pick the Word
The first person starts by standing and speaking for 10 seconds. They will finish on a particular word and the next speaker will have to start with that word. It is not a continuous story - you are encouraged to be as creative as possible with your application of the 'start word'. For example: "So, as I was leaving school yesterday, I decided I would" NOMINATED WORD: 'would' Next speaker: "Wood comes from trees, and I just love trees." The teacher controls the exercise around the room by stopping one speaker, nominating the word, and, if necessary, naming the next speaker.

2 The Travelling Tale
Similar to the above, except that the first speaker starts a story and the other speakers add to the story as it moves around the room. The teacher or a nominated student signals when one speaker’s time is up and names the next speaker.

3 Fortunately/Unfortunately
This is a 'travelling tale' with the difference that each speaker takes the story in a different direction. The first speaker starts a story. The next speaker starts their contribution with "But unfortunately..." and continues until stopped by the controller. The next speaker starts their contribution to the story with “But, fortunately…” and so on around the room.
Example: 1st Speaker: “We had a great holiday.” 2nd Speaker: “But, unfortunately, it rained the whole time.” 3rd Speaker: “But, fortunately, the place we stayed had plenty to do indoors.” 4th Speaker: “But, unfortunately…”

4 Name that Star
This exercises both the imagination and the impromptu speaking skills. Each student speaks in turn on the subject of their special (imaginary) movie character. This character has a name that is a combination of the student's pet's name (or the name they would give a pet if they had one) and the name of their street. In their allotted time they have to say the name of their 'star' and the role he or she would play in a movie. For example: "My star's name is Goldie Bayview, and she is a sophisticated lady of the Confederate South of the USA last century. She says 'ya'll' a lot." or “I want to tell you about Butch Forbes - the meanest, toughest criminal in 1920's Sydney. You could always pick him by the tattoos on his arms and the scars on his face."

5 Spaceship
The world is about to be destroyed by an asteroid. One spaceship is being prepared to leave in a short time carrying the small number of people who will hopefully ensure the survival of the human race. This classroom contains the candidates for that flight - but only one in five can be selected. Each successful candidate will be allowed to take one thing on board - and the selection is based on what thing the student nominates.

Step 2
Impromptu Speaking

After creating this relaxed environment in the classroom, I then move on to helping improve the Impromptu Speaking Skills of my students. Students cannot help become better Prepared Speakers if they become good Impromptu Speakers.

Be Prepared

There is a common misconception that you cannot be prepared for speaking impromptu. While you obviously cannot predict what a topic might be, there are ways to be able to speak ‘off the cuff’ with confidence on any occasion.

One of the greatest fears in impromptu speaking is that of going ‘blank’. If, however, one works to a pre-defined plan, this fear is lessened.
Speakers will discover that they have something to say on almost any subject – if they can find some way of getting past the panic that naturally occurs when we are asked to speak unexpectedly. Everyone has had the experience of thinking of the perfect response – twenty minutes later! Experienced speakers have found that using impromptu plans helps them to come up with the right response at the right time.

I start by using Impromptu Speaking in a more structured format. I have found that by teaching students a range of different formulae they can present clear, seemingly structured speeches that have a sense of an Opening a Body and a Conclusion. The formulae enable them to place all their energies into thinking about the content and not panic about the structure of what they might say next. These Impromptu Speaking formulae can be started in a small group situation of initially two students and expanded when the students feel comfortable with this style of speaking. I eventually aim at having a student speak to the entire class with no notes or preparation time. To reach this level of ease seems to take about 5 to 7 periods.

One of the best formulae I teach my students is simply called Past Present Future. This three-step plan has the speaker talking about what the subject/topic was like years ago, the situation now and some consideration about what it might be like in the future. I give them some prompt phrases to help structure their talk.

STEP 1 In the past…
STEP 2 Today the situation is very different…
STEP 3 In the future, I believe we will see…

Simple topics such as motor vehicles, computers, hairstyles, shoes are used.

Exercise

Ask your students to stand in pairs so they can practise the Past Present Future formula. Stand facing each other and take turns at speaking on a topic that is given ‘on the spot’. Ensure that the person speaking is able to see a copy of the Plan being used. The topic may be given individually by the non speaking partner, or a topic may be given to the whole group. Aim to speak for at least one minute. The non speaking partner or teacher should give a sign when the minute is almost expired to allow the speaker to start their conclusion (if they haven’t already).

This exercise can be expanded to include four students who stand in a diamond shape facing inwards. Student number 3 student gives student number 1 a one or two word topic. At the end of a minute the group rotates so that student number 2 can see the plan and student number 4 then gives the topic. The rotation occurs until each student has spoken.

Step 3

Lesson Content
The teaching of the lesson can now be introduced. A suggested format for a series of lessons is as follows.
Lesson 1 Opening and Conclusions

Lesson 2 Speech Planning

Lesson 3 Vocal delivery

Lesson 5 Using Speaking Devices

Lesson 5 Visual Component

Lesson 5 Writing to speak

Lesson 6 Preparing to Speak and Use of Notes

Each of these Lessons has content supplied by the teacher and an activity to be completed by the students.

If students develop confidence by engaging in Speaking Games and then Impromptu situations, my experience has been that they become more confident prepared speakers. With this structured approach I know that I have covered all the key elements that young speakers require to move on to the specific tasks required by the National Curriculum.

Adrian Pauley teaches in Brisbane and has co-authored a number of books on public speaking with Kevin Ryan. These include Speak Well, Speaking Out and Primary Speaking and Listening. He can be contacted on rpp@ryanandassociates.com.au