SKKN IMPROVING PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR GRADE 10TH STUDENTS

NGHE AN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING NAM DAN I HIGH SCHOOL TEACHING EXPERIENCE IMPROVING PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR GRADE 10TH STUDENTS SUBJECT: ENGLISH AUTHOR: VÕ THỊ DOAN GROUP: ENGLISH 10 NGHỆ AN, 2021 039 576 3254 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.1.1 The necessity of acquiring presentation skills 1.1.2 The current situation of training presentation skills for students at the author’s school 1.2 Aim of the research 1.3 Objectives 1.4 Scope of the research PART 2: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 What are the Presentation Skills? 2.2 Some Presentation Techniques to Improve Students’ Presentation Skills 2.3 Presentation Marking Rubric PART HOW TO BETTER PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR 10TH GRADERS 3.1 Participants 3.2 Procedure to train presentation skills 3.2.1 Using expert videos to train students’ presentation skills 3.2.2 Using model presentations 10 3.2.3 Guiding on how to produce effective presentation slides 11 3.2.4 Presentation practice during the lessons in textbooks 19 3.2.5 Presentation practice in the English extra classes and extracurricular activities 21 PART 4: RESULTS AND EVALUATION 23 4.1 Results of the pre-test and post-test 23 4.1.1 Results of pre-test and post-test (Class 10A1) 23 4.1.2 Results of pre-test and post-test (Class 10D1) 26 4.2 Students’ changes in attitude toward presentation 27 4.3 Survey results 28 PART CONCLUSION 31 5.1 Summary 31 5.2 Some Pedagogical Recommendations on training presentation skills 32 REFERENCES 32 APPENDIX I APPENDIX II PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.1.1 The necessity of acquiring presentation skills As a teacher at high school for many years, the author has realized that presentation skills are essential both in the classrooms and in the real world Nowadays, in academic settings, many teachers require their students to present the academic topics during the lessons, especially in the English ones For English learning, presentation tasks definitely help the learners not only to improve four language skills in a naturally integrated way but also to boost students’ confidence It is apparently seen that students who are good presenters are better communicators all round, since they are able to structure and express their ideas clearly Moreover, after completing a project, a presentation is a channel for students to share with others what they have learned It is also a chance to challenge and expand on their understanding of the topic by having others ask questions It cannot be denied that after every presentation, the students can remember the lessons well and can use the new words in a real talk Obviously, presentations help high school students learn new words in contexts, review and widen the content of the topics in the text book, improve speaking skills and build up their confidence Presentation skills not only play an important role in students’ learning but also are very useful in many aspects of their subsequent work and life After graduating from schools and entering the workforce, students with welldeveloped presentation skills at schools will be able to communicate clearly, precisely and effectively in a variety of modes or registers and settings It should be pointed out that public speaking skills are rated as one of the most important soft skills Effective presentations and public speaking skills are important in business, sales and selling, training, teaching, lecturing, and generally feeling comfortable speaking to a group of people In fact, developing the confidence and capability to give good presentations, and to stand up in front of an audience and speak well, are also extremely helpful competencies for self-development and social situations Therefore, it is true that the students with good public speaking skills have more job opportunities and easy to be successful in their career In short, the ability of communicating with the audience and giving presentations should be seen as a mandatory prerequisite for both the effective learning process and the successful working life Therefore, teachers at high school should pay a lot of attention to helping their students improve these useful skills for the sake of their learning and their future careers 1.1.2 The current situation of training presentation skills for students at the author’s school Through a survey, the author figures out that most of the students at the author’s school find it challenging to give a presentation in front of the class Some say that when they have to stand and speak in front of the others, their mouths dry up and their hearts start racing They are really afraid of presenting in front of a crowd so they always try to avoid any situations where they have to make a speech In fact, so far, students have had little experience in how to speak in front of the class, how to answer questions and how to behave properly during the English lessons They have had few opportunities to work in groups, in pairs or individually, to later develop some idea into a topic to speak about and present to others Most teachers at the author’s school agree that they not have time to get their students involved in presenting activities Actually, they spend most of the class time concentrating on grammar and reading skills which help their students well in the GCSE exams However, through a survey and process of teaching, the author realizes that many students in class 10 D1 and 10 A1 (most of them are quite good at English) really want to improve their presentation skills They see the real benefits of good public speaking skills and are willing to be trained for these skills In order to solve the above problem and prepare students for making good presentations in good English, the author has applied a variety of activities that can really help the students to acquire good presentation skills All of these activities and techniques are going to be mentioned in detail in this teaching experience 1.2 Aim of the research To help students in class 10 D1 and 10 A1 acquire good presentation skills 1.3 Objectives In order to achieve the above aim, the writer will: (1) - Investigate to identify the current state and the problems that many teachers and students are facing in training presentation skills (2) – Introduce some techniques and activities which can help students improve their presentation skills (3) - Analyze the effects of the designed activities on students’ ability produce presentations 1.4 Scope of the research Beside the introduction and the conclusion, this research consists of three parts: Theoretical and practical background Applied methods to better students’ presentation skills Results and evaluation PART 2: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 What are the Presentation Skills? Presentation skills are the skills you need in delivering effective and engaging presentations to a variety of audiences These skills cover a variety of areas such as the structure of the presentation, the design of the slides, the tone of voice and the body language the presenters convey 2.2 Some Presentation Techniques to Improve Students’ Presentation Skills OFFER THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY REALLY NEED Good presentation skills involve asking oneself; ‘What the audience want to know? What will they find interesting about my topic?’ Brainstorm ideas and write them down to create a really interesting presentation FOCUS ON THE KEY MESSAGE Keep the presentation simple by focusing on important points the presenters want to communicate Keep the message focused and stick to what the presenters want to say If there is information which isn’t relevant to the key message, not include it START STRONG How to start the presentation is critical! An audience is going to decide if they are going to listen to the presentation by how the speaker begins To engage the audience immediately, tell an interesting story, show an intriguing picture or something entertaining By using one of these public speaking techniques, the audience will be hooked CREATE VARIETY One way to master the art of public speaking is to create variety in a presentation It will keep the audience interested! Use video Use eye catching images Involve the audience as much as possible! Ask them questions to keep them alert Not talking all of the time, and using different ways to communicate the idea definitely helps SPEAK CLEARLY Good public speakers make a presentation even better by speaking clearly If the speaker wants the audience to hear what he/she is saying, so make sure she/he speaks at a good volume Emphasize words that the presenter wants the audience to hear Add suspense and intrigue by speaking more softly Use body language as well as voice volume to increase excitement! TRY YOUR BEST TO BE CONFIDENT Being confident is a key factor that leads to the success of a presentation Good preparation and frequent practice may help the speakers a lot in gaining confidence SPEAK AT A GOOD PACE Speaking at a pace where the audience can understand what the speaker is talking about is so important when delivering a presentation Keeping an optimal pace provides time for the listeners to understand the content, take notes, and ask questions A good presenter should learn not to speak too quickly, because they need to give time for the audience to understand what is being said At the same time, the pace should not be so slow that the presenter runs out of time to complete the presentation (and the audience becomes bored!) USE PERSONAL STORIES Good public speakers know how important storytelling is for a successful presentation But talking about oneself, such as including personal anecdotes to illustrate the points they are trying to make, can be even more powerful ASK QUESTIONS Try not to make the presentation one-sided Involve the audience by asking them questions and encouraging them to participate But make sure the questions can be answered easily because the main purpose of the questions is to involve the audience and make the presentation lively USE BODY LANGUAGE AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS More than half of your impact as a speaker depends upon your body language You probably have control over the words you speak, but are you sure that you have control over what you are saying with your body language? Body language comprises gesture, stance, and facial expression These are all the more important when all eyes of an audience are upon you When you are presenting, strong, positive body language becomes an essential tool in helping you build credibility, express your emotions, and connect with your listeners It also helps your listeners focus more intently on you and what you're saying Gesture: Do use your hands They don't belong on your hips or in your pockets or folded across your chest either or held behind your back Use them-to help emphasize a point, to express emotion, to release tension, and to engage your audience Presenters need to scale their gestures to the size of the room The most effective gestures arise from the shoulder, not the wrist or elbow Shoulder gestures project better across the distance and release more of the presenter's energy, helping combat any tension that can build in the upper body (particularly under pressure) Stance: How you stand in front of the room speaks before open your mouth Your stance can tell the audience that you're happy, scared, confident, or uncomfortable Audiences "read" these messages unthinkingly but unfailingly Stance speaks A balanced stance with weight even but slightly forward tends to say that the speaker is engaged with the audience A slumped stance leaning to one side can says the speaker doesn't care The feet should point straight ahead, not quite shoulder-width apart When not gesturing, the hands should sit quietly at the sides of the presenter Letting the hands fall to the sides between gestures projects ease These moments of stillness between gestures also have the effect of amplifying the gestures Yes, you can move around, but remember to punctuate that movement with stillness Constant motion, such as swaying, is a distraction that can annoy your listeners Facial expression: The movements of your eyes, mouth, and facial muscles can build a connection with your audience Alternatively, they can undermine your every word Eye focus is the most important element in this process No part of your facial expression is more important in communicating sincerity and credibility Nothing else so directly connects you to your listenerswhether in a small gathering or a large group Effective presenters engage one person at a time, focusing long enough to complete a natural phrase and watch it sink in for a moment This level of focus can rivet the attention of a room by drawing the eyes of each member of the audience and creating natural pauses between phrases The pauses not only boost attention, but also contribute significantly to comprehension and retention by allowing the listener time to process the message The other elements of facial expression can convey the feelings of the presenter, anything from passion for the subject, to depth of concern for the audience Unfortunately, under the pressure of delivering a group presentation, many people lose their facial expression Their faces solidify into a grim, stone statue, a thin straight line where the lips meet Try to unfreeze your face right from the start For example, when you greet the audience, smile! You won't want to smile throughout the entire presentation, but at least at the appropriate moments It's only on rare occasions that you may need to be sombre and serious throughout PRACTICE AND THEN PRACTISE AGAIN If you have time, practise your presentation as often as possible Rehearse to the point that you're so familiar with your subject matter, you could deliver your presentation with ease - like having a conversation with a friend Also try to at least one practice run in front of a friend or family member 2.3 Presentation Marking Rubric To mark students on how well they present and give them marks, the author teacher has built up a rubric that can help her and the students with evaluating job The rubric was given and explained to the students at the beginning of the school year This rubric has been used by the teacher to mark her students’ work and by the students to mark their friends’ presentations Scoring Rubric for Oral Presentations Category Scoring Criteria The type of presentation is appropriate for the Organization topics and audience (15 points) Information is presented in a logical sequence Length of presentation is within the assigned time limits Introduction is attention-getting, lays out the problem well, and establishes a framework for the rest of the presentation Content No spelling and grammar mistakes in slides (30 points) Presentation contains accurate information Information was well communicated (Audience can get the main points of the talk) There is an obvious conclusion summarizing the presentation Images/videos are suitable with the content Visual aids presented (15 points) Slides are well prepared, informative, effective, and not distracting (Eyes-catching, short to the main points, appropriate font, appropriate color and images) Speaker maintains good eye contact with the audience Speaker uses a clear, audible voice Presentation Delivery is poised, controlled, and smooth (40 points) Good language skills and pronunciation are used Body language is used appropriately ☺ Confident posture   ☺ Movement in space ☺ Appropriate gestures Presenter has a good connection with the audience (asking questions/ asking for the ideas…) Score Total Points Total Score Points 5 5 5 10 5 10 5 10 10 100 PART HOW TO BETTER PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR 10TH GRADERS 3.1 Participants Participants are students from class 10A1 and 10D1 Participants’ demographic information Number of participants 46 (10A1) / 44 (10D1) Age 15-16 years old Gender Female/55 Accumulated English learning experience 10 years English oral proficiency level B1 and B2 (CEFR) Male/ 35 Most of the students in class 10A1 and 10D1 are quite good at English and can speak English quite well Especially, they are well aware of the importance of presentation skills and they are eager to practice them As the author sees through the time of teaching at school, after graduating from high school, a majority of the students in class D1 and A1 of this school will attend many famous universities in Vietnam and subsequently get important jobs which appreciate public speaking skills as the most important soft skills 3.2 Procedure to train presentation skills 3.2.1 Using expert videos to train students’ presentation skills Training plays a very important role in getting students to know how to have a good presentation However, it is not easy to have effective training classes After considering many ways to teach students presenting skills, the author teacher finds out that using the expert videos combined with the explanation from the teacher is the best choice A presentation skills training program can be so much more fun, informative and useful with suitable videos from the experts (about to minutes each video) All of these videos are chosen carefully by the teacher so that they are the easiest ones for students to understand and imitate In these videos, the experts explain in details “how to deliver better” with proper examples and models Readers can watch these expert videos in the folder “Expert videos” enclosed with this study These are some benefits of using expert videos: - They are great help in covering basic points in a different format rather than the teacher just listing them out - They provide a way to change the methodology and keep the students engaged It’s like having someone who is a well-known expert in the field, support the teacher’s points - Most of these videos are quite short (from to minutes) So, they don’t take over overshadow the presenter - They cover one small point in a clear and practical way So, they can complement the teacher as a trainer on what she wants to get across to her students - These viewpoints are from experts with very different backgrounds and fields of work, so they round off the teacher’s training program nicely The author has selected this list of videos very carefully for training purposes Each video deals with one technique that is really necessary for a good presentation - All the videos have voice clarity and good quality video - They carry very discreet ads so the training room doesn’t get taken over by advertisements to buy their books or attend their training programs - These videos are suitable for public speaking as well as presentation skills programs as they are focused on the topic of ’how to deliver better’ Video 1: How to use body language This is by far the most clear and simple video on body language Carmine provides three simple techniques to work a room - Maintain Eye contact - Open Body Posture - Use Hand Gestures Link: http://youtu.be/mXFIJ8Sm2N0 Video 2: Using effective eyes contact This video shows how eye contact can help you as a speaker to: - Gather your thoughts - Think clearly - Remember what to say Students should remember: - avoid jumping eyes from one side of the room to the other side - connect with a small group first then slowly move to the other side Look at the following chart to see how much the students made progress during the school year in term of presentation skills comparison between pre-test scores and post-test scores 50,0% 50,0% 40,0% 34,8% 28,3% 30,0% 32,6% 28% 21,7% 20,0% 10,0% 4,3% 0% 0,0% Not Very Good