the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION1.1.BackgroundNowadays, in the greatly integrating world, to develop and affirm Vietnam’s position in the world, Vietnamese people not only need to enlarge knowledge about education and culture but also know how to express themselves to other people. Moreover, in cooperation between Vietnam and foreign countries, Vietnam needs to show its strength in order to persuade and make them feel secure with thier investment. In sum, presenting ideas in front of many people is very important. Whether we are politicans, CEO, polices, a lawyers, engineers or teachers... public speaking skill is very necessary for us. Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense. (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803–1882)In recent years, public speaking has become a subject in curriculum in English department at An Giang university. However, it is a new subject, students has not reached the standard of a good public speaker after the course. As a result, this study aimed to investigate the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability at An Giang University. Hopefully, the study can help the English majored students to improve their public speaking skill.1.2. Research tittle: the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability at An Giang University.1.3. Rationale:Public speaking is an important skill. Therefore, having a good English public speaking skill not only is the key to communicate effectively but it also contributes to getting ahead in our life. Public speaking is a vital skill in any area of success. If you are a student, speaking well in public will enable you to explain your ideas and persuade others to your opinions. If you are pursuing a career—in virtually any field—good speaking skills will enable you to advance far more quickly than your peers (LearningExpress, 2010)Despites such importance, lots of people get trouble with English speaking skill. According to James McCroskey’s Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, nearly three fourths of people asked are at high level of anxiety when speaking in public:

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION1.1 Background

Nowadays, in the greatly integrating world, to develop and affirm Vietnam’s position in the world,Vietnamese people not only need to enlarge knowledge about education and culture but also knowhow to express themselves to other people Moreover, in cooperation between Vietnam and foreigncountries, Vietnam needs to show its strength in order to persuade and make them feel secure withthier investment In sum, presenting ideas in front of many people is very important Whether weare politicans, CEO, polices, a lawyers, engineers or teachers public speaking skill is verynecessary for us

Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel

It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense

(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803–1882)

In recent years, public speaking has become a subject in curriculum in English department at AnGiang university However, it is a new subject, students has not reached the standard of a goodpublic speaker after the course As a result, this study aimed to investigate the reality of the secondyear English majored students public speaking ability at An Giang University Hopefully, the studycan help the English majored students to improve their public speaking skill

1.2 Research tittle: the reality of the second year English majored students public speaking ability

Despites such importance, lots of people get trouble with English speaking skill According toJames McCroskey’s Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety, nearly three fourths of peopleasked are at high level of anxiety when speaking in public:

Table 1.1: public speakers and anxiety

(Making Friends with your Public Speaking Anxiety Monster, n.d)Public speaking is a big concern to everyone English sophomores at AGU are not exceptions.Public speaking is a very familiar subject to most of English students at AGU because it was added

to their curriculum for many years Teaching and learning public speaking are carefully preparedand carried out Most of English sophomores are imparted basic skills and strategies for a goodpublic speaker However, there is a paradox is that English sophomores’ public speaking still notreach the standard of a good public speaking English sophomores haven’t applied the skill andstrategies they had learned into study effectively The evidence is that many English sophomoresgive very poor presentations when asked to give a presentation in front of the class although theyknow all the necessary skills and strategies for a good public speaking A question is raised in thissituation is that why can’t English sophomores apply what they have learned about public speakinginto practice? This is also the reason why we launch this research

This research is implemented to find out the reasons why public speaking skill of Englishsophomores have not been applied to practice effectively and from that find out the solutions toimprove public speaking skills of English sophomores at An Giang University Also, the studyhelps English sophomores find the method to use public speaking skill effectively in differentcontexts for various purposes and raise their ability of using the actual speaking skill, from that canhelp English sophomores to express themselves eloquently and clearly in public

1.4 The aim

This research aims to investigate (1) how the second year English majored students are aware of theimportant of public speaking (2) the reality of the second year English majored students’ publicspeaking ability (3) the difficulties and challenges facing the second year English majored studentswhen studying public speaking

2 What is the reality of the second year English majored students’ public speaking ability?

3 What are difficulties and challenges facing the second year English majored students in publicspeaking?

1.7.2.2 Research Sample

Because of limited time and ability, this research cannot investigate on all English major studentsand all English teachers We just investigate on students in 12TA (40 students), students in 12AV(54 students), English teachers: 40 teachers

Because this research is about public speaking, we only chose the students who are learning publicspeaking and some teachers who teach some subjects relating to public speaking to be our sample

1.7.3 Data collection instruments:

To collect information for answering research questions, a questionnaire including 33 questions isdesigned for 69 students from DH12TA and DH12AV The reason why we choose DH12TA andDH10AV is that they already learned Public Speaking and easy to contact to get information from Also, to collect information for this research, an interview sheet including 3 questions for anEnglish teacher: Bui Thi Khoi Nguyen

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW2.1 Introduction

The first section of this chapter will talk about the definition of some key terms that will be thebasic for better understanding the followings The second section will give some information abouthow to become a good public speaker The third section shows the roles of public speaking

2.2 Definition of key terms:

2.2.1 What is public speaking?

There are many definitions of public speaking According to Arina Nikitina (2011), public speaking

is a process, an act and an art of making a speech before an audience Another definition is thatPublic speaking involves talking in front of a group of people, usually with some preparation It can

be in front of people that you know (e.g at a family celebration) or a crowd of strangers Unlike apresentation there normally isn’t a lot of opportunity for interaction between the audience and thespeaker – the speaker speaks, and the audience (hopefully) listens (Public speaking skills, 2010)

According to James O’Loghlin’s view (2006), Public speaking isn’t just standing up at a wedding

or giving a presentation in a lecture theatre It is what you do every time you talk to a group ofpeople If there are six people at a staff meeting and you speak, then you are public speaking.Besides, Public speaking is also viewed a transactional process in which a speaker addresses arelatively large audience with a relatively continuous message (Introducing to public speaking, n.d)

2.2.2 Different types of speech:

Three are 8 types of speech: (1) prepared, (2) project, (3) personal, (4) presentations, (5)demonstrations, (6) impromptu, (7) introduction, (8) reports (discovering the treasure of publicspeaking, n.d)

Three are also another classification is that (1) Informative Speeches (2) Demonstrative Speeches(3) Persuasive Speeches (4) Special Occasions (Public speaking success, 2010)

2.3 How to become a good public speaker:

To become a good public speaker, we need to captivate the audience instantly and hold theirattention during our speech By the end of the presentation make the listeners change their beliefs,even their actions According to David Harrington & Charles Lebeau (2009), we need to do well inthree fields: (1) The physical message is that the way we stand, where we look, how we use ourhands and vary our voice send a message as well and (2) the visual message is that speech is not

just about what you say What you show and how you show it is as important as what you say or (3)the story message is that a speech is like a story It has a beginning, a middle, and an end, allconnected together into a single message.

BEEBE Susan, BEEBE Steven (n.d) stated that there are 9 ways to become a good public speakerincluding (1) " Speaking with confidence; (2) the Audience-Centered Speechmaking Process; (3)ethnics and Free Speech; (4) listening to Speeches; (5) analyzing our audience; (6) developing ourspeech; (7) gathering supporting material; (8) supporting our speech and Organizing our speech".Another idea is that to speak in public effectively, learning characteristics of a good speaker is veryimportant; it makes our speeches have great effect on the people who hear them There are 10characteristics to become a good speaker (1) knowledge; (2) preparation; (3) message; (4) language;(5) self-confidence; (6) enthusiasm; (7) listening skills; (8) sense of self; (9) integrity; (10) sincerity(Preparing yourself for public speaking, n.d)

Dr Tony Alessandra (2006) also talks about the essential characteristics of an effective speaker Heshows that there are 6 characteristics of a good public speaker: (1) understands the needs of hisaudience (2) Attempts to meet those needs as effectively as possible (3) Is the expert on his subjectand has breadth of knowledge in other areas (4) Is constantly growing and improving in hisunderstanding of his areas of expertise and his ability to present his material effectively (5) Isenthusiastic about his subject and sincere about conveying his message to the audience (6) Has apleasing voice and appearance

The Princeton Language Institute and Lenny Laskowski mentions that to become a good publicspeaker, we need to use body language efficaciously, including these: (1) Proper speaking posture;(2) Gestures; (3)Body movement/walking patterns; (4)Facial expression; (5) Eye contact; (6)Youroverall appearance

All in all there are many characteristics to become a good public speaker It is almost the samemethods Public speakers are not born They are made Someone who is a bad public speaker canbecome a good public speaker And a good public speaker can create as much pleasure as a bad onecan create pain Good public speakers can inspire, they can move, they can cause the listener tolaugh, cry and give money Sometimes they can even change a listener's life (James O'Loghlin,2006)

2.4 The roles of public speaking:

Public speaking brings many benefits for a person It can open up very good opportunities for us.Many college graduates look back on all the courses they took in college and say that publicspeaking was one of the most valuable Here are some of the reasons why this course isconsidered so important (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004)

2.4.1 Public speaking and communication

Public speaking is interrelated with communication skills and can be described as a form ofcommunication Public speaking does not always mean that you have to give a speech to a largeaudience When you go for an interview, and speak to a group of interviewers or when you aregiving a class presentation; all these are also forms of public speaking In such situations, if youhave the ability to communicate properly, it can help you shape up your future (The importance

of public speaking n.d)

Although public speaking is speaking to groups, but you learn also apply to communication withindividuals Throughout your life-time you will be obliged to talk in situations such as this: Yousit down with a bank executive to ask for a loan so that you can buy a new car The skills ofnonverbal communication (such as eye contact and facial expression) that you learn in a publicspeaking course should help you convey to the banker that you are a trustworthy and reliableperson who will repay the loan (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004)

2.4.2 Public speaking and confidence

Surveys have revealed that most people are afraid of public speaking more than their fear ofdeath You can reduce your anxiety to a large extent, if you gather a thorough knowledge of thesubject matter on which you are going to speak As a result, when you face the audience you justhave to share with them whatever you have learned The more you practice speaking in public,you will realize your anxieties and fears associated with it going down quite remarkably (Theimportance of public speaking n.d)

The inherent lack of confidence is something that always acts as a deterrent to effective publicspeaking Such courses, help in building up your confidence This is done by enhancing aperson’s specific skill sets to generate maximum impact A person is shown how to maintain eyecontact with the audience, and the various aspects of voice modulation This will go a long way

in making the person confident about his/her abilities One of the more important aspects ofconfidence building is to have content that is relevant to the topic in question Moreover,speakers should also be comfortable with the content and all that is asked from them (5 reasonwhy public speaking training is important)

While attending a funeral service for a beloved aunt, Karen Walker heard the minister give abrief eulogy and then say, “Would anyone like to say a few words at our ‘open mike’?” A fewpeople went to the microphone and shared some reminiscences, but most audience memberswere silent “I wanted to pay tribute to my aunt, but I was too scared,” said Walker “Most of myrelatives had the same reaction I felt really bad because there were a lot of important thingsabout my aunt and her life that were never said.” A few years later, Walker took a publicspeaking class, and a year or so afterwards, she attended another funeral—for her grandfather.

“This time I vowed that I would not pass up the opportunity to honor a wonderful person I asked

to be part of the service, and I spoke about my childhood memories of my grandfather.” Theeulogy, said Walker, was enjoyed and appreciated by her family “A lot of my relatives told methat I expressed beautifully what they would have said if they had had the courage and skills tostand up and speak It gave me a good feeling to know that I could represent the family in thisway.” Being able to speak in public—offering a toast, sharing information, providingencouragement, attempting persuasion—can bring pleasure and joy to yourself and to others.Walker said that her success was possible because of what she had learned in her publicspeaking class (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004)

2.4.3 Public speaking and promotion

If you want to be a leader, you had better be able to communicate, says corporate communicationprofessor Paul Argenti (Kirk Kardashian, 2012)

You develop the oral communication skills that are prized in the job market When you go to ajob interview, which of the following is most likely to influence the employer when he or shedecides whether to hire you? (1)The reputation of your school: (2) Your grade-point average.(3) Letters of reference (4) Technical knowledge in your field (5) Oral communication skills—speaking and listening (6) Written communication skills—reading and writing (TheMcGraw−Hill Companies, 2004)

Research shows that “oral communication skills” is the correct answer—a finding that surprisesmany students Surely “technical knowledge in your field” is the most important factor for jobs

in science and technology, isn’t it? Not according to employers “Good grades and technicalskills are important, of course,” says Marilyn Mackes, executive director of the NationalAssociation of Colleges and Employers, but they are not as highly prized as oral communicationskills You can be brilliant in your field, she says, but if you can’t communicate successfully

with co-workers and the public, your brilliance is of little value (The McGraw−Hill Companies,2004)

Once you have a job, being a good communicator can help you win pro-motions “If a dozenequally skilled technicians are competing for the job of manager, the winner is most likely to bethe one with the best communication skills,” says Cristina Silva, human resources manager of aplant in Los Angeles (The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2004)

2.4.4 Public speaking and Personality Development

When you successfully deliver a good speech, the kind of personal satisfaction you experience isunparalleled If you have a sense of self-worthiness, a positive response from the audience canhelp you feel more confident Thus, it can bring about a lot of improvement in your overallpersonality (The importance of public speaking n.d)

2.4.5 Public speaking and relationships

Once you develop good public speaking skills, a marked improvement can be seen in yourinterpersonal skills, which in turn, will help you maintain a healthy relationship with yourfriends and members of your family Even in your professional life, an effective interaction withyour boss, clients or subordinates will help you enhance the possibility of your advancement inyour chosen profession (The importance of public speaking n.d)

Therefore, at any point of time in your life, if you get an opportunity to learn public speakingskills, grab it without giving it any second thought Once you learn them, make sure you use thespeaking skills as often as possible, as you can sharpen the skills further by means of morepractice only The most distinguishing feature of public speaking is to deliver the speech withfull confidence, credibility and conviction However, when public speaking is not done properly,there is a possibility of miscommunication that can lead to a lot of misconceptions (Theimportance of public speaking n.d)

There are various minute facets of public speaking that you might not know about Things likecreating a great first impression, when to give a pause, how to be interactive, the small butcritical mistakes are all brought to a person’s attention in a training program related to publicspeaking (5 reasons why public speaking training is important)

A person should know how and when to use humor in the speech This would keep the audienceinterested and attentive You can only know about these facets through a public speaking

2.5 Public speaking theory:

There have been lots of studies carried with the aim of helping people to enhance public speakingskill These studies give very clear guides about how to speak in public best Helping learner easilyapproach a successful speech, David Harrington and Chales LeBeau divide communicative activity

of speech in to “The three messages” The first one is the physical message So, what is physicalmessage? Briefly, physical message is the way we stand; where we look; how we use our hands andvary our voice send a message Physical message includes four skill areas: posture, eye contact,gesture and voice inflection (David Harrington and Chales LeBeau, 2009) David Harrington andChales LeBeau(2009) also mention that physical message is an important part of a good publicspeaking because it sends a confident, positive, energetic and enthusiastic message to the audience.The second message is the visual message The reason why visual message is important is that even

if we stumble over sentences, mispronounce words, or get the numbers wrong, the audience willstill understand Conveying visual message means using images to convey the information we want

to send to our audience instead of using words By this method, we can impress the audience; pulltheir attention to our speech “One picture is worth a thousand words” (David Harrington andChales LeBeau, 2009) Not only showing them visuals, we must explain to guide them through thevisuals David Harrington and Chales LeBeau(2009) also show the glossary of visuals includinggraphs (consist of vertical bar graph, horizontal bar graph, pie graph, line graph), pictures ( consist

of photograp, illustration, map, diagram), charts (consist of title, overview, bullet, flow) The thirdmessage is the story message The story message is the way we put our information together into astandard presentation (David Harrington and Chales LeBeau, 2009) According to DavidHarrington and Chales LeBeau, the story message includes three parts: the introduction (where weget our audience’s attention and preview our story), the body (where transitions connect our visualsinto a story), and the conclusion (where we tell our audience what to remember from our story) From Paul N Edwards’s point of view (1998-2004), “No rule applies always and everywhere Butthe following principles work almost all the time”:

1) Talk rather than read Written academic language is too complex and too awkward for

reading aloud Just talk — it’s easier to understand, and it allows you to make genuinecontact with your audience Furthermore, it ultimately helps you to think more clearly, byforcing you to communicate your points in ordinary terms

2) Stand up unless you’re literally forced to sit People can see you better Standing also

puts you in a dominant position This may sound politically incorrect, but it’s not

Remember, you’re the focus The audience wants you to be in charge Listeners need yourhelp to maintain their attention.

3) Move around, rather than standing still It’s easier to keep focused on someone who’s

moving than on a motionless talking head (Hand gestures are good, too.) It’s possible tooverdo this one, though If you jump around like a pop star you'll distract people from thecontent of the talk Simply walking back and forth from one side of the room to the otherevery three or four minutes is probably enough

4) Vary the pitch of your voice Monotones are sleep-inducing Many people don’t

realize they do this Get a trusted friend or colleague to listen to your delivery and giveyou honest feedback (This is an important principle in itself!) Even better, tape orvideotape yourself and check out how you sound

5) Speak loudly and clearly, facing the audience Be careful, especially when using

visual aids, that you continue to face the audience when you speak An important element

of vocal technique is to focus on the bottom (the deepest pitch) of your vocal range, which

is its loudest and most authoritative tone (This can be especially important for women.)Speak from the gut, not the throat Breathe deeply — it’s necessary for volume, and willalso help you keep your mind clear

Tip: here are two effective vocal “special effects.” First, when you come to a key phrase

that you want people to remember, repeat it Second, pause for a few seconds at severalpoints in your talk; this breaks the monotony of a continuous flow of speech It also givesyou a chance to sip some water

6) Make eye contact with the audience If this is anxiety-inducing, at least pretend to do

so by casting your gaze toward the back and sides of the room Be careful not to ignoreone side of the audience Many speakers “side” unconsciously, looking always to the left

or to the right half, or only to the front or the back, of the room

7) Focus on main arguments Especially in a conference situation, where talks are short

and yours is one of many, your audience is not going to remember details In such asituation, less is more Give them short, striking “punch lines” that they’ll remember Theycan always read your written work later, but if you don’t get them interested and showthem why it’s important, they won’t want to

8) Use visual aids This is one of the most important principles of all At a minimum,

have an outline of your talk Some people seem to think they’re giving everything away

by showing people what they’re going to say before they’ve said it But the effect of a

good talk outline is exactly the opposite: it makes your audience want to hear the details.

At the same time, it helps them understand the structure of your thinking Slides should beextremely concise and visually uncluttered 7 lines of text per slide is good; 10 lines is alot; 15 lines is pretty much unreadable Pictures, graphs, and other images are especiallyhelpful (if they are related to your topic!) People are visual creatures The old adage that apicture is worth a thousand words is especially apropos in the context of a talk Alwayschoose white or light-colored slide backgrounds To see dark slides, you’ll have to turn offthe lights This will make it hard for you to see your notes, and will also tend to put youraudience to sleep Really, If at all possible, do NOT turn off room lights or close windowshades! Light-colored slides can usually be read with lights on Don’t talk to the screen Ifyou do, not only will the audience be looking at your back, but also they’ll be unable tohear you Have a paper version of your outline in front of you; speak from that, rather thanfrom the one on the screen This takes practice

About PowerPoint:

Microsoft PowerPoint — now standard issue in many presentation settings — can be agreat tool, not least because its default presentation formats encourages brevity Butbeware: PowerPoint’s fades, transitions, backgrounds, sound effects, and so on can be areal pitfall Preparing glitzy presentations can be a serious time sink for you Worse, theycan give your audience the impression that you care more about surface than substance

My recommendation: choose simple, light-colored backgrounds with relatively dark type,and limit the use of special effects If you haven't completely mastered the software, don'tuse it Nothing irritates an audience more than watching somebody fiddle with a computer.Since they introduce many possible points of failure, Murphy's Law applies in spades tocomputerized presentation Something can, and usually does, go wrong with the computer,the projector, the software, the connector cables, or your presentation itself One of myworst experiences as a presenter happened the day my hard disk crashed, permanently, onslide number 3 of a one-hour talk What I learned from that: if you insist on using a

computer, bring backup That's backup, backup, backup There is no more basic

principle of operating in a high-tech environment Bring printed notes or outlines Have acopy of your presentation on a CD-ROM, a USB key, or some other format that mostcomputers will accept Finally, always be mentally prepared to deliver your talk withoutthe slides, just in case

9) Finish your talk within the time limit Don't make your audience feel tired by running

overtime Never go on longer than 45 minutes — most people’s maximum attention span

If you exceed this limit, you’ll lose them at the crucial point, namely your conclusion Inconference settings, exceeding your time limit is also incredibly rude, since it cuts intoother speakers’ allotted time and/or the discussion period Don't rely on panel chairs toenforce time limits; do it yourself You can make real enemies by insisting on continuingafter your time is up — but nobody has ever been criticized for finishing two minutesearly

Timing is also crucial Nothing is more embarrassing — for both you and your audience

— than getting only halfway through your talk before hitting the time limit The only way

to be sure you time things right is to rehearse your talk Timing is a complicated, learned

skill that requires a lot of practice — so practice where it's easy, i.e at home You are (orare becoming) a professional presenter So invest in a watch especially for this purpose.Some digital watches have countdown timers These are better than ordinary watchesbecause you don't have to perform mental math to know how much time remains But theyonly work if (a) you remember to use the timer, (b) the numbers are large and well-lit, soyou can read them while talking, and (c) you're paying attention, so you can turn off thetimer before it begins to beep An analog watch with large, easy-to-read hands can bealmost as good

Tip: If you use power point or some other presentation system, you can develop a good

sense of timing by always using the same slide format After you’ve given a few talks withthe same format, you’ll know about how long it takes you to talk through each slide, andyou can gauge the length of your talk this way (at least roughly)

Another tip: Say you have 20 minutes to talk When you're rehearsing, mark your notes at

the 5, 10, and 15 minute points, and maybe also the 18-minute point as well This way youwon't be caught by surprise if you start to run overtime

My last tip on timing: until you've really mastered presentations, never, ever improvise in

front of an audience This doesn't mean you can't interrupt yourself to tell a joke or a story,

or digress a bit from the main thread — those can be important techniques for maintainingattention What it does mean is that when you're rehearsing, you must rehearse thosethings as well, because they take time If you haven't practiced, you won't know how longthey take Like a professional comedian or actor, you need to rehearse everything you plan

to do

10) Summarize your talk at the beginning and again at the end “Tell them what

you’re going to tell them; and tell them what you told them”: this ancient principle stillholds Following this rule helps your audience get your main points Even more important,

it helps them remember what you said

11) Notice your audience and respond to its needs If people seem to be falling asleep

or getting restless or distracted, the problem may not be you Is the room too hot or toocold? Is it too dark, or too noisy? Can people see you? Is the microphone on? Is somethingoutside the room distracting people? Don’t hesitate to stop talking in order to solve theseproblems Alternatively, you may have gone on too long, or you may need to speaklouder

Whatever the case, notice what’s happening and use it as feedback If you can’t figure outwhy your audience is responding poorly, ask somebody later and fix the problem nexttime If you’re not sure whether people can see or hear, ask someone in the back rowdirectly (This is also a good technique for setting up initial communication with youraudience It makes listeners feel included, and puts you in touch with them as humanbeings.)

Tip: NEVER let someone else take control of room conditions Many audiences —

thinking they’re being helpful — react to slide or computer projectors by jumping up toturn off lights and close window shades Unless this is truly necessary, avoid it at all costs,especially at conferences, which often take place in exceedingly dim rooms Takingcharge of the talk environment is part of your job as a speaker

12) Emulate excellent speakers Perhaps the best way to become an excellent speaker

yourself is to watch really good, experienced speakers and model your talks on theirs.Notice not just what they say, but what they do: how they move, how they use theirvoices, how they look at the audience, how they handle timing and questions If you find

an excellent model and work hard to emulate that person, you can't go wrong

2.6 Strategies for learning public speaking

Public speaking has been concerned thousands years ago It has been teaching and studying with avariety of methods The number of methods of public speaking is increasing day by day Manywell-known public speakers have many good methods to practice public speaking Here are someexamples

Chalmers

There is a rugged type of speaker who transcends and seemingly defies all rules of oratory.Such a man was the great Scottish preacher Chalmers, who was without polished elocution,grace, or manner, but who through his intellectual power and moral earnestness thrilled allwho heard him

He read his sermons entirely from manuscripts, but it is evident from the effects of hispreaching that he was not a slave to the written word as many such speakers have been.While he read, he retained much of his freedom of gesture and physical expression,doubtless due to familiarity with his subject and thorough preparation of his message

John Bright

You can profitably study the speeches of John Bright They are noteworthy for theirsimplicity of diction and uniform quality of directness His method was to make a plainstatement of facts, enunciate certain fundamental principles, then follow with his argumentand application

His choice of words and style of delivery were most carefully studied, and his sonorousvoice was under such complete control that he could speak at great length without theslightest fatigue Many of his illustrations were drawn from the Bible, which he is said tohave known better than any other book

Lord Brougham

Lord Brougham wrote nine times the concluding parts of his speech for the defense ofQueen Caroline He once told a young man that if he wanted to speak well he must first

learn to talk well He recognized that good talking was the basis of effective publicspeaking.

Bear in mind, however, that this does not mean you are always to confine yourself to aconversational level There are themes which demand large treatment, wherein vocal powerand impassioned feeling are appropriate and essential But what Lord Brougham meant, and

it is equally true to-day, was that good public speaking is fundamentally good talking

Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke recommended debate as one of the best means for developing facility andpower in public speaking Himself a master of debate, he said, "He that wrestles with usstrengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill Our antagonist is our helper This amiableconflict with difficulty obliges us to have an intimate acquaintance with our subject, andcompels us to consider it in all its relations It will not suffer us to be superficial

Burke, like all great orators, believed in premeditation, and always wrote and corrected hisspeeches with fastidious care While such men knew that inspiration might come at themoment of speaking, they preferred to base their chances of success upon painstakingpreparation

(Grenville Kleiser,2006)

Public speaking is the one skill no successful person can afford to be without (Anonymous, n.d)Good practice in teaching presentations includes three key points - dealing with anxiety and fear ofspeaking, guiding learners in preparation and performance stages, and delivering feedback afterperformance Students need to learn (1) use language structures easily and fluently, adapt languageusage to a variety of situations; (2) take part in discussion and express opinions in a culturallyacceptable way, be flexible and be able to respond appropriately to unforeseen situations; (3)demonstrate the ability to apply learned vocabulary accurately and use a right style, tone, register,body language, etc (Galina Kavaliauskiene, n.d)

According to surveys, people are more afraid of public speaking than dying And, we’re not justtalking about a conference with 500 people We find employees are just as afraid to present to fivepeople as they are to 500! There are four tips on how you can incorporate comedy skills intosuccessful presentations: (1) use Storytelling to Engage Your Audience; (2) Read the audience; (3)

make Nervous Energy Work in Your Favor; (4) show vulnerability (Brad Phillips

@MrMediaTraining, 2012)

According to Paul de Burger it has been said that the number one fear for people is public speaking.Death, apparently, ranks lower on the list Therefore, as the old Seinfeld joke goes, if you findyourself at a funeral you would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy

Here are seven public speaking tips for beginners: (1) Know your material; (2) Know youraudience; (3) presence is everything; (4) practice, practice, practice; (5) be a storyteller; (6) checkout the room before you speak; (7) have fun

5 Foolproof Ways to Boost Your Public-Speaking Skills: (1) study with the best; (2) pick a passion;(3) plan ahead; (4) use examples; (5) practice makes perfect (Matt Villano, 2012)

When learning Speaking of Speech, we need to regard the structures of each unit and catch thesystematically explain (1) what the target skill is; (2) why it is important; (3) how to use the targetskill, and give activities to practice the target skill; (4) having more time interacts how and practicesections The Emcee's physical skills, his posture, eye contact, facial expressions, and gesturesmake him a great model for students to emulate (David Harrington Charles LeBeau, 2009)

According to Andrew Dlugan every public speaker must have the 25 public speaking skills: (1)research a topic; (2) Focus; (3) Organize ideas logically; (4) employ quotations, facts, and statistics;(5) master metaphor; (6) tell a story; (7) start strong and close stronger; (8) incorporate humor; (8)vary vocal pace, tone, and volume; (10) punctuate words with gestures; (11) utilize 3-dimensionalspace; (12) analyze your audience; (13) connect with the audience; (14) connect with the audience;(15) interact with the audience; (16) conduct a Q&A session; (17) lead a discussion; (18) obey timeconstraints; (19) craft an introduction; (20) exhibit confidence and poise; (21) handle unexpectedissues smoothly; (22) be coherent when speaking off the cuff; (23) seek and utilize feedback; (24)listen critically and analyze other speakers; (25) act and speak ethically (2007)

2.7 Practicing public speaking

According to Jenny (2011), there are 8 ways to practice and improve our public speaking skills

1 Download a free recording app on your phone Practice saying something at your

normal pace, then practice slower, then EVEN slower Playback so you can hear for yourselfwhat the three sound like, and even ask a friend which is most clear

2 Take three deep breaths before starting For non-yogis: this means taking a slow, steady,

even inhale through the nose (fully engaging your lower belly, ribs, and chest/throat), thenexhaling slowly and evenly through the nose During both the inhale and the exhale, practice

making the sound of the ocean in your throat These breaths are always incredibly calmingfor me and help clear any nervousness in my system

3 Make it a challenge for yourself to bring more awareness to your speech in every day

interactions Sometimes even when I’m talking with friends, I will practice not saying “um”

and other speech quirks that come across as unprofessional Even though these are stakes situations, it helps me change my default speech to something that works in anysetting

low-4 Give yourself a rating on scale of 1-5 after every class you teach (or training, or

meeting you present at) How do you do? This will bring awareness to the area/s you are

hoping to improve and help you track progress over time

5.Pretend you are speaking to a non-native English speaker or a five year old Does your

pacing change? Another trick I use: pretend you are on The Today show, or speaking for thepresident, or some other super important thing with high visibility How would you talk?How do you want to sound or come across?

6.Channel /observe a speaker or teacher you really respect What do they do well? Ask if

you can observe them at future events/meetings (if they live locally) – or look for moreexamples and videos on YouTube or TED Bookmark the speeches/speakers you most want

to emulate

7.Probably most important: ASK FOR FEEDBACK – often! Make sure you have people

who are willing to be honest with you Ask them one thing you did well, and one area youcan improve (if you just say, “what’s your feedback?” they’ll be hesitant to sharedevelopment areas) You might also have people track when you speed up (certainsegments?) and when you slow down, so you get more granular data about where to focus

8 Clench and release a muscle several times before going up to speak Try making your

fists into tight balls (or any other muscle — ahem, butt cheeks work too), then release andrepeat This will give your adrenaline something to do, and often helps stop shaking (whichmakes you appear more nervous than you really are) by the time you start

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY3.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the methodology of the research In order word, this chapter describes theinstrumentations and process by which data were collected and analyzed during the study to answerthe three research questions:

1 How are English majored sophomores at AGU aware of the importance of public speaking?

2 What is the reality of English sophomores’ English public speaking ability?

3 What difficulties and challenges English majored sophomores have to face in public speaking? This chapter consists of six sections The first section of this chapter states the research hypothesesare mentioned The second section presents the research population and the research sample whichstates who belongs to this section and why they are selected The third section provides theinformation of what instrumentations were applied to carry out the study, and gives the evidences oftheir reliability and validity The two next sections present the data collection and data analysisprocess The last section describes how the researchers can control the validity of theinstrumentations in particular and the study in general and how to settle the reliability of theinstrumentations as well

The second group includes 69 students of 12AV and 12TA They are the second-year students

of the Department of Foreign Language Overall, they are at the ages of from 21 to 23 and havestudied English for an average of 7 years; i.e they are supposed to have an intermediate level ofEnglish as a foreign language These students are also considered as the research sample They havealready learnt Public Speaking 3 time per week Definitely, both students and teachers frequentlyuse English to communicate with each other in their classroom setting and outside activities as well

with other people in English A large number of them sometimes admit that they have a limitedpreparation which usually is a barrier to have successful speeches or presentation in classroom Inaddition, students’ body language and eye contact are inadequate to express their speech messageseffectively Their lack of confidence and preparation when communicating also drives them not tospeak fluently and naturally Besides, Public Speaking with its big issues is rather difficult forstudents talk about so it sometimes can frustrate students from achieving the high effectiveness ofcommunication However, with these big issues, students have more opportunities to practice theirPublic Speaking skill As a result, their Public Speaking skill may be improved more and more.

In short, the section consists of the background information of the research population of thestudents and teachers and the supplement of an explicit description of their communication ability

3.2.2 Instruments:

3.2.2.1 Questionnaires for students:

The questionnaire for students consists of two parts:

The first part of the questionnaire gives us some personal information of students

The second part of the questionnaire include in three parts with 33 questions The questions focus

on the student’s awareness about the importance of public speaking, the reality of Englishsophomores’ English public speaking ability, and what some difficulties and challenges of Englishsophomores’ English public speaking ability are Particularly, the first seven questions ask thestudents’ awareness how important public speaking is and its role in life The four next questionsrefer to the physical message which the students use in public speaking The two next questionsdiscuss on the students’ attitude when they speak in front of the crowd How the students

’preparation in public speaking are refer in two next questions The 2.9 question investigate thestudents’ appearance when they are in public speaking The 2.10 question asks whether the studentsadd humor in their speech The two next questions ask the students for using the visual messageeffectively or not The question 2.13 talks about transitions and sequencers The 2.15 and 2.16questions explore the students’ attitude answer their audience when they get confused someinformation The 2.14 and 2.17 questions talk about the ways help students present their speecheffectively The three next questions check whether the students’ performance is good Question2.21 and 2.22 refer to activities to improve the students’ public speaking The final four questionsdiscuss the difficulties the students deal with speaking in front of the crowd

3.2.2.2 Informal interview with teachers

The purpose of these interviews is to explore teachers’ ideas about the reality of publicspeaking ability of English majored sophomores An interview checklist including 3 questions weredesigned to ask 2 the teachers teaching English majored sophomores public speaking The threequestions were in Vietnamese, and the interviews were taken in friendly and comfortableatmosphere so that the teachers could feel free to share their ideas Besides, the researchers also toldthem in advance the information they provided will be kept in secret The researchers listened to theteachers’ answers carefully and took notes at the same time

The questions for informal interview with teachers included these following questions:

How do you think English majored sophomores are aware of the importance of public speakingskill? How do they learn in class?

What is your idea about English majored sophomores’ public speaking ability?

In your opinion, what difficulties English majored sophomores have to face in public speaking?

3.2.3 Study time-frame

Table 3.1: Study time-frame

1 General outline for the proposal 07/01/3013 to 13/01/2013

2 Designing and piloting the instruments 18/02/2013 to 24/02/2013

3 Delivering the questionnares and making the

survey

25/02/2013 to 03/03/2013

6 Getting ideas from supervisor and

experts in the field

06/05/2013 to 12/05/2013

3.3 Validity and Reliability

The study is believed to be valid and reliable because of the following reasons:

Firstly, the questionnaires for students and teachers were designed carefully in order to answer theresearch questions

Secondly, the collected data from the students and teacher, and the informal interview with theteachers were synthesized and analyzed by SPSS software Therefore, the findings were reallyprecise and suitable

In conclusion, this chapter has discussed the information of collecting and analyzing the data fromboth the instructors and the students The validity and reliability could be surely guaranteed Thenext chapter will show the results of this survey

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION4.1 Introduction:

This chapter presents the results of the research derived from the survey at An Giang University.The discussion of the obtained results is organized in three main parts First, that is the discussion

of findings from the teachers and students’ questionnaires The second part focuses on the testresults The last part analyzed the data collected from the informal interview with the teachers andthe students

4.2 Findings and discussion:

4.2.1 Findings from the questionnaire for students

4.2.1.1 General information

According to the survey, the amount of females (84.1%) is more than the amount of males (15.9%),because the majority of students in English department are females There are only a small number

of males studying English

It can be seen clearly in chart 1:

Chart 1: Students’gender