Speechcraft
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Skills: Level: Class Size: |
All Intermediate - Advance 8 players or more |
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| Materials: | None |
Objective
Speechcraft is a public speaking exercise adopted from Toastmasters. While most public speaking exercises require a great deal of preparation, Speechcraft on the other hand is simple to setup, requires no special equipment, and it is ideal for teaching efl/esl conversation classes.
Speechcraft is similar to a TV show, with a host, speaker and audience. Participants are assigned different roles and must give short talks on selected topics of interest. The timer, feedback and grammarian ensures that a structure is followed and that everyone receives feedback on their given speech.
See Also: Disfluencies
Instructions
1. Explain to the class that speechcraft is a public speaking exercise, and that they need to select a speaking topic. Topics should be familiar to everyone, and should be chosen based on classroom consensus. Highly controversial topics make for great discussions with more advanced esl conversation classes.
2. Once a speaking topic has been chosen, the next step is to assign roles and responsibilities. Copy the following table onto the board and allow students to volunteer for a role they feel comfortable with.
Role* |
Suggested Time Limit* |
Resposibilities |
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Min. |
Suggested |
Max. |
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Host |
Flexible | Flexible | Flexible | Responsible for creating the agenda, introducing the various speaking roles and providing a smooth transition between speakers. |
Thought of the Day |
1 min. | 2 min. | 3 min. | Provides an inspirational quote based on the speaking topic, elicits comments, and then provides their own interpretation of that quote. |
Word |
1 min | 1.5 min. | 2 min. | Gives a useful word that can be easily included in everyday conversation. The student should give the proper definition, correct pronouncation and an example of the word's usage in a sentence. |
Speaker |
5 min. | 6 min. | 7 min. | Each Speaker prepares a speech based on skill-building guidelines and objectives in basic or advanced manuals. Speakers select topics, then their imagination, creativity, and other means of personal expression are used to organize and present each speech within time limitations. |
Inquirer |
1 min. | 2 min. | 3 min. | The inquirer is responsible for asking short, thought-provoking questions. He or she should be creative and skillful, and those responding are students without any formal meeting roles. |
Grammarian |
1 min. | 1.5 min. | 2 min. | The person responsible for monitoring and reporting on the incorrect uses of words and phrases. He or she should also talk to the student giving the "Word" and "Thought of the Day" and monitor for correct sentence usage. |
Um/Ah Catcher |
1 min. | 1.5 min. | 2 min. | Counts and reports on the number of "ums", "ah" and "er" for each speaker. |
Timer |
0.5 min. | 1 min. | 1.5 min. | Signals with a green, yellow, or red indicator to inform students that they have reached the suggest time limits. |
Roles and Suggested Time Limit
- Use a green, yellow, or red card to indicate the minimum, suggested and maximum time limit for each speaker.
- For students who need help overcoming the fear of public speaking, or for lower level learners, allow them to chose their own roles, or allow them to prepare ahead of time. Generally, once the class experiences a round of speechcraft, they will know to pick a role that is suited to their level.
2. Give the class about 10 minutes to prepare and practice an informal speech. If this is the classes first attempt at speechcraft, you may want to assign more than one student to a role - particularly for the speaker and host - so that students can help each other.
3. Once the students are ready, allow the Host to organise and run the meeting. After the activity, give your own feedback and comments. You can assign new roles and a speaking topic for the next class.
Generally once the students understand the Speechcraft format, the next meeting will become automatic to them. After the first round of speechcraft, it's a good idea to conduct several more speechcraft sessions so that everyone gets a turn at being the speaker.
Speechcraft is a useful teaching activity for any efl/esl conversation class. It allows your students to use the English language in it's proper context. This public speaking exercise can be used at the beginning of class, or during sleepy periods to help revitalize your students.