3607. How to Cook an Oral Presentation in the Classroom or Wherever Else!

 On my last post I said that in a foreign or second language classroom our dear students should participate by speaking for quite long periods. It’s not the same to say one sentence than speaking for 5 or 10 minutes. And if we want for them to learn and acquire that language, well then they should give long oral presentations. And lose their natural fear to speak for those allotted minutes. 

Expert teacher trainer Mary Jane Amaya taught me how our students can prepare that very oral presentation. 

Basically and trying to remember I can describe the preparation process as follows. 

First the student has got to choose his or her topic. They can do it by brainstorming possible topics and then choose their favorite one. Of course you can teach all that nice process by carrying it out in the classroom with the class of students as a whole. 

So after that brainstorm they can vote or anyway select one topic. 

Then they can again brainstorm possible points about that chosen topic, in two columns: one for the things they can talk only in their mother language or L1, and a second column for the things they actually know how to say in L2, the target language, say English for example. 

What was next? Well they can then select the points they will talk about in that theoretical oral presentation, and then work out how to say the things they know only in their mother tongue into English or L2. 

Then what? They can decide what the introduction will be – from those points they’ve chosen to talk about. Also the development body, and then the conclusion. 

Then they’ll have to polish the last draft or drafts. And that’s it! As well they can research on the Internet about the topic with your help, their teacher. And even they can elaborate to project some images or videos taken and downloaded also from the Web. 

This carrying out process may be for young learners and for adults alike, these latter ones can have their own preparation ideas though. 

I think I have previously written about all this process someplace else on this blog, perhaps if you type presentations on the search tab at the top of this blog, or better click on the presentations label. Mary Jane, thanks for all you taught us! 

If you carry out this process, well, your students can easily talk for 10 or 20 minutes! 

Some follow-up activity may get done after the presentation, like their classmates would ask the presenter questions about his or her topic. Have a nice day.

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