skkn tiếng anh games and activities as inputs for public speaking classes (skkn viết bằng tiếng anh)

TABLE OF CONTENTS A INTRODUCTION I Reasons for choosing the topic Currently, the English language has become popular all over the world, many countries use it as a first language and people use it as a second language in communication In Vietnam, English is seen as a major foreign language today At Nghe An Continuing Education Centre, English is not only taught for language specialized students but also for younglearners of all levels We have recently applied a number of methods and techniques into teaching English in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning English as a Foreign Language Communicative method has proved their superiority as through communicative activities more language are used and students’ initiatives and active involvement are developed It can be said that communicative approach is designed to change the traditional way of presenting and practising language and it helps to shift the teacher-led classroom culture to the students-centred classroom atmosphere Games and communicative activities have widely used in my context (training teachers of English at Nghe An Continuing Education Centre) with the acceptance, eagerness and enthusiasm by teachers and students It, however, is the one requiring much knowledge and preparation as well as physical conditions, and it also requires teachers’ commitment and patience We have been trying to put some of those into practice We have been adapting and designing ourselves a repertoire of communicative activities which have been used and from which students have benefited We would like, in this paper, to introduce these games and activities to you all - teachers of English in a view of sharing experience and seeking for common thoughts to makes a change, however small it is, in teaching and learning English though it is hard work really The games and activities have been used for teaching public speaking and developing language skills and we shall not categorise them as some of them can be used for all about mentioned purposes Some of activities we have adapted from other resources, and others we have designed ourselves Public speaking courses have been successfully organised at Nghe An continuing Education Centre over the last four years A great deal of young learners have been taking part in and quite many of them have made improvement in speaking To improve the students’ effectiveness of learning English and have a good result in teaching public speaking at Nghe An continuing Education Centre, we have followed a number of steps to be able to generate enthusiasm in speaking Once they have gained, know how to make presentation, they will find speaking skill easier Above all, for teachers, the facilitators will help them be active, creative, feel responsible not only does he teach, moderate, but also inspire young learners In this paper, we would like to give some ideas about how to teach speaking skill effectivelly to help our children feel easier and more confident during their study The paper is divided into three parts: A Introduction B Content C Conclusion and recommendation II Scope of the Study In this writing, we’d like to share our suggestions that we have gathered in our during preparing lessons, on using different kinds of games and communicative activities as inputs to help our young learners practise and develop English public speaking skill The significances of this study were expected to provide some advantages for English teaching and learning process The significances of this study are: For young learners as the subjects of the study, it was expected that they would take the advantages of the study They could learn how to improve their skills of public speaking For the teachers at Nghe An Continuing Education Centre, it was expected that the teachers could improve their technique of speaking interestingly and effectively so that the pupils would enjoy the study B CONTENT I Literature Review A Public Speaking Definition What is public speaking? Basically, it's a presentation that's given live before an audience Public speeches can cover a wide variety of different topics The goal of the speech may be to educate, entertain, or influence the listeners Often, visual aids in the form of an electronic slideshow are used to supplement the speech and make it more interesting to the listeners A public speaking presentation is different from an online presentation because the online presentation may be viewed or listened to at the viewer's convenience, while a public speech is typically limited to a specific time or place Online presentations are often comprised of slideshows or pre-recorded videos of a speaker There are five elements of public speaking, and it basically boils down to who is saying what to whom using what medium with what effect In other words, who is the source of the message What is the message itself Whom is the audience, while the medium is the actual delivery method and ending in the effect Think of the effect as the speaker's intent for the speech Because public speaking is done before a live audience, there are some special factors the speaker needs to take into consideration We'll touch on those shortly, but first let's take a quick look at the history of public speaking A History of Public Speaking There's a good chance that there's been public speaking, in one form or another, as long as there've been people But most academics and others involved with public speaking, including those at The Public Speaking Project, trace the origins of modern public speaking back to ancient Greece and Rome Of course, those societies didn't have any of the electronic conveniences we've got today to help with public speaking (no slideshows) But they did have a need for public speaking and developed public speaking methods that are still studied today The ancient Greeks, in particular, used public speaking primarily to praise or persuade others At one point, all Greek citizens had the right to suggest or oppose laws during their assemblies, which resulted in a need for skilled public speakers Public speaking became a desirable skill and was taught Public speaking in the time of the Greeks was called rhetoric Later, when Rome came to power, public speaking was used during the sessions of the governing body—the Roman senate The Romans adopted the public speaking rhetoric methods of the Greeks In fact, most public speaking teachers of the time were Greek If you fast forward to modern times, what was known as the Latin style of public speaking was popular in the U.S and Europe until the mid-20th century After World War II, however, a less formal and more conversational style of speaking started to become popular Also, electronic tools became available to enhance public presentations Towards the end of the 20th century, those electronic tools migrated to the computer and evolved into the computer software tools, such as PowerPoint, that we know and use today Even though today's public speeches are less formal, it's still important that they're well organized More on that later Now let's take a look at the importance of public speaking The Importance of Public Speaking If you ask most people, they'll probably say they don't like public speaking They may even admit to being afraid of it, since fear of public speaking is a very common fear Or they may just be shy or introverted For those reasons, many people avoid public speaking if they can If you're one of those people who avoid public speaking, you're missing out Over the years, public speaking has played a major role in education, government, and business Words have the power to inform, persuade, educate, and even entertain And the spoken word can be even more powerful than the written word in the hands of the right speaker Whether you're a small business owner, a student, or just someone who's passionate about something - you'll benefit if you improve your public speaking skills, both personally and professionally Some benefits to public speaking include: • Improves confidence • Better research skills • Stronger deductive skills • Ability to advocate for causes Public speaking is especially important for businesses since they've got a need to get their message before potential customers and market their business Sales people and executives alike are often expected to have good public speaking skills To learn more about some of the benefits of public speaking, review the following article: What Are the Problems of Public Speaking? Even though many people routinely give speeches or presentations for work or school, they may still experience fear at the idea of having to stand in front of others and talk Some speakers can become debilitated by thoughts of what to say, how to keep the audience’s interest and how to calm nerves Much of the anxiety associated with public speaking can be minimized, however, if you pay attention to overcoming the most common problems of public speaking  Lack of Confidence If you don't have confidence in yourself, you'll risk alienating the audience Being obviously nervous is especially problematic because “when we are nervous, listeners are more likely to focus on negative vocal and visual cues,” says author Cheryl Hamilton in “Essentials of Public Speaking.” Allowing time to prepare and practice beforehand helps speakers gain the sense of control necessary for the audience to trust and believe the message  Lack of Attention to Audience Make sure you know the audience, or the presentation will be unsuccessful Researching their ages, culture, values and current level of knowledge is essential to shaping the speech’s tone and content Failing to relate the material to the audience, to maintain eye contact and to read their expressions can negatively affect how your speech will be interpreted Explaining how the material benefits listeners personally and using anecdotes attracts the audience’s attention  Lack of Organization You can lose credibility by not spending enough time gathering and organizing material Conducting research about the audience, topic and sources are preliminary steps Arrange the information into an attention-getting introduction, craft a paragraph for each of the three most important points, follow them with a conclusion Attempting to speak on the fly invites disaster It's standard practice to create an outline or put information on note cards to refer to as you speak This method helps both the speaker and audience stay on track  Lack of Preparedness Practice the speech in full before delivery Saying the words helps speakers hear: where they are rushing words; where to improve word flow and voice intonation; and how to project enthusiasm Using technology or other visuals beforehand makes it possible to catch glitches that could otherwise disrupt the actual speaking event Rehearsal also improves familiarity with the material, enabling speakers to field questions and maintain credibility  Lack of Time Management Run through the speech to ensure it meets time requirements Many speakers run overtime because they have not adequately rehearsed and timed the delivery of their material “If you are speaking for 10 minutes, rehearse for about eight,” advise Ronald Adler and Jeanne Elmhorst in their book “Communication at Work: Principles and Practices for Business and Professions” How to Become Better at Public Speaking Okay, so now that you understand the benefits of public speaking, you might be a little more interested Still, you might think it's not for you Maybe you gave a speech once and it didn't go well Maybe you're afraid of public speaking Or maybe you think you don't have a natural ability for giving speeches The truth is that public speaking is a skill It can be learned While some people may have more natural speaking ability than others, or a more pleasing voice, or are more charismatic-anyone who can speak can learn to be a better public speaker than they are right now It just takes some know-how and some effort To help you become better at public speaking, we'll take a look at these four areas: • Writing the speech • Overcoming a fear of speaking • Practicing the speech • Giving the speech 5.1 Write an Effective Speech The first thing you'll want to is work on writing a well-organized, engaging speech Because even if you've got a great speaking voice or a great deal of charisma, you won't give a good speech if your material isn't any good The following tutorials can help you learn to write better speeches: 5.2 Overcome the Fear of Speaking Fear of public speaking is very real and can hold you back if you let it If you don't feel confident when giving your speech, your listeners may pick up on that, making your presentation less effective Fortunately, there are some techniques that'll help most people manage their fear of public speaking and become more confident First, let's tackle fear of public speaking The following tutorials list some techniques you can use to overcome a fear of public speaking: 5.3 Practice the Speech Even if you're not afraid of public speaking, practicing your speech is still an important step to having an effective speech If you're in a rush, you may be tempted to skip practicing your speech to save time While skipping practice may seem like a good idea, it's really not By practicing your speech not only you improve your public speaking skills, but you also increase your familiarity with the presentation—making it more likely that your speech will go smoothly This tutorial includes a handy checklist to help you practice your speech (and other tips): 5.4 Give the Speech Now that you've written a good speech, feel more confident about public speaking, and have practiced—you're ready to actually give the speech There are some tips and tricks you can use on the day of your speech to make it go more smoothly, though Remember, you're giving a presentation before a live audience at a specific place and time So, you've got some concerns about the speaking venue that those who give online presentations don't have to worry about Some common concerns for public speakers include: • Will the audience be able the hear me? • Does the venue have the equipment I need? • Are there enough seats for all of my listeners? Why developing the confidence of public speaking is so important for children The idea of public speaking is understandably daunting, having to win over a bunch of strangers so it’s no wonder why most people stay away from it However, the unfortunate thing for those individuals is that they miss out on the one skill that can positively change the direction of their journey and impact their success immensely, from securing a job or investors, to increasing sales and building brand awareness There are just countless reasons why you should consider this communication technique and get into public speaking but here are my top 3:  Winning over the crowd Public speaking is a great opportunity to win over a crowd Look at it this way, the crowd you’re speaking to are in fact your potential clients It’s almost a make or break moment You have the chance to pretty much sell yourself Introduce yourself to the crowd so they can get to know you, build some sort of trust and credibility with them Being able to persuade your audience that you are worth the investment and they should trust you by telling your personal story Public speaking is a great avenue for this to happen, they see you live in action and you are able to create a deeper connection with your audience by applying story-telling secrets, tonality and more It provides the chance to express to a crowd why a particular product, service, idea or even yourself would be beneficial to them as well as allowing you to put potential customers at rest by touching on any enquiries or concerns they might have You pretty much have the power to directly influence people to buy your product or service  To Motivate people Great public speakers have the ability to push people to either something, stop something, reach a goal or drop bad habits Platforms for public speaking makes room for this Being able to encourage your crowd to take an action through testimonials or live figures of how your personal framework or technique has change your life and the life of your clients Seeing is believing, public speaking therefore is your chance to show your audience that making the specified change or action in their lives is the right move to make As a public speaker, you need to convey how passionate and driven you are, inspiring them to be driven in their own personal endeavours also  To inform I believe that public speaking is one of the best ways to get your message across Whilst other communication methods like social media marketing, ads and email campaigns is effective, there’s no doubt that physical and personal communication is far more impactful in getting a message out there to a large audience This is why public speaking is a game changer It allows you to inform people of who you are and/or what you are doing on a more personal and direct level It is an opportunity for you to spark new interests and make people who had no idea who the hell you are wonder how they survived their whole life without you thus far II Public speaking classes at Nghe An Continuing Education Centre A brief overview of Public speaking courses Running more than 15 classes so far with different learners of mixed ability and competency, a great deal of lessons and experiences have been drawn out, which are crucial for our next tutoring We have made an investigation into the matter and found that the regular mode of training and handbook activities did not seem to bring good performances to our learners Thus, we have put these initiatives afterwards on public speaking and through all class above, we are quite confident that these have brought a good return Syllabus for public speaking classes Lesso Starters Movers & Flyers ns 10 11 12 13 14 15 Introduction Hobbies Family My best friend My favourite animals Food & drink Toys Weather Field trip Daily routine My house School My city Preparation for the course end Closing ceremony Ket & Pet Introduction & Hobbies My favourite animals Subjects School Sports School uniform Holidays Cities Famous people Field trip Seasons Means of transport Festivals Food & drink Preparation for the course end Closing ceremony Holidays Celebrities Sports Field trip Seasons Natural disasters World Wonders Festivals Preparation for the course end Closing ceremony Environment Countries Health Ideal School 10 III Games and activities as inputs for public speaking classes Definition of input in second language learning Input refers to the exposure learners have to authentic language in use This can be from various sources, including the teacher, other learners, the environment around the learners and keeping them in our brain Input can be compared to intake, which is input then taken in and internalized by the learner so it can be applied Input learning consists of: • Memorize vocabularies • Study grammar rules • Take online lessons • Read English books • Watch movies, dramas, online video clips • Listen to audio files and podcasts • The brain produces sentences based on the sentences it has seen or heard (input) So the way to improve is to feed your brain with a lot of input correct and understandable sentences (written or spoken) Before you can start speaking and writing in a foreign language, your brain must get enough correct sentences in that language The role of inputs in second language learning In language learning, input is the language data which the learner is exposed to There are many factors which influence the second language acquisition The internal factors include the mental disposition of a learner, the aptitude, the ability to handle communication process and others The external factors, such as the conditions in which the learner operates might include the time and the frequency available for the exposure to the target language, the quality of the samples of the target language which the learners are exposed to, in other words the input Input that learners receive in the learning process plays a very important role in the language acquisition Learners need to be given the opportunity to make sense of what they hear or see, to notice the contexts in which the samples of the language are used, to interact with them as well as to compensate for the insufficiency The importance of the input has been advocated by a variety of learning theories In the second half of the 20th century psychologists, biologists, linguists and other researchers proposed that the acquisition process (represented by the language acquisition device) the same way as any other biological function, works successfully only when stimulated at the right time – the time they called the Critical Period (Lightbown, Spada, 1999, 10 52 Example 5: lesson “Environment”- Pet level 4.5 Storytelling Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates Story 52 53 telling fosters creative thinking It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning, development, and ending, including the characters and setting a story has to have Students also can tell riddles or jokes For instance, at the very beginning of each class session, the teacher may call a few students to tell short riddles or jokes as an opening In this way, not only will the teacher address students’ speaking ability, but also get the attention of the class  Aims: To help learners elicit vocabulary relating to certain topics  Organization: Pairs or groups  Time allowed: 20 minutes  Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sport, Animal, Festival, Technology, Wonders, Famous people  Materials Required: A computer in the classroom, powerpoint file  Procedure: - Pairs or groups look at the pictures and name the things and activities in the pictures - Using the pictures to make a story  Lesson applied: Example: lesson 14 “Preparation for course end” - Flyers level 53 54 4.6 Guided Interviews Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people It is a good idea that the teacher provides a rubric to students so that they know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but students should prepare their own interview questions  Aims: to explore learners’ vocabulary relating to certain topics  Organization: Pairs  Time allowed: 20 minutes  Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sport, Animal, Festival, Technology, Wonders, Famous people  Materials Required: A computer in the classroom, powerpoint file  Procedure: - Each pair asks and anwers the questions about the topic - Call pairs to stand up and make interviews  Lesson applied: Example: lesson “Holidays” - Ket & Pet level HOLIDAY A HOLIDAY B Ask your partner questions about You can either answer your partner’s his/.her last holiday Use the following questions by using the following notes notes to help you or by talking about a holiday you really had Where? Iceland How long for? weeks Saty where? Camping With whom? Group of students Like it? – Whay? Why not? Very nice – friendly people from different countries 54 55 Sightseeing? Sports? Food? Go again? Do anything special? Bad points Lots of Hiking, swimming in lakes A bit boring, no fruit Perhaps Climb a volcano, see a glacier Rain, cold 4.7 Riddles A riddle is a question, a puzzle, a phrase, or a statement devised to get unexpected or clever answers It is a folklore genre as well as rhetorical device, often having veiled or double meanings When someone uses it as a puzzle or a question, it could be a thought-provoking challenge for the audienceto figure it out themselves, or it could be a funny comment intended to make the audience laugh  Aims: To Provide learners vocabulary and structures relating to certain topics  Organization: Individuals  Time allowed: 10 minutes  Variations: Food, Drink, Toys, Sport, Animal, Festival, Technology, Wonders, Famous people  Materials Required: A computer in the classroom, powerpoint file  Procedure: - Deliver the handouts to the students - Students read the riddles and write the answer in the boxes  Lesson applied: Example 1: lesson “My favourite animal” - Starters level 55 56 Example 2: lesson 11 “My house” - Starters level 56 57 Example 3: lesson 12 “World wonders” - Ket level 57 58 C CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Teaching public speaking is a very important part of second language learning The ability to communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of the learners in school and success later in every phase of life Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching public speaking Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired With this aim, various public speaking activities such as those listed above can contribute a great deal to students in developing basic skills necessary for public speaking Hopefully these activities make students more active in the learning process and at the same time make their learning more meaningful and fun for them All the above mentioned activities have been used from the fourth course onwards at Nghe An continuing Education Centre, so have the additional visual materials Though not all young learners who have been taking part in public speaking courses are up to our expectation because of mixed classes and big size classes, the number of young learners follow the courses has been increasing year by year According to the statistic from 2016 to 2019 we have taught nearly 300 students After the courses students have made impression by their good presentations in the closing ceremonies which satisfied their parents.We are in a great confidence to confirm that speaking has added up its credits to our young learners’ performance Apart from using these games and communicative activities in teaching public speaking classes to develop learners’ speaking skill as well as their performance, we would like to recommend those applied in teaching other skills such as teaching vocabulary, grammar… and for different kinds of classes not only at our centre but also other schools It’s really an honor for us to share out our ideas and our thought with you All remarks and recommendations will be warmly welcome and hope that we together can get more and more experiences in our teaching Hope you all find they are of some uses and get back to us with any single feedback so that we will be able to perfect them later 58 59 REFERENCES Doff,A.(1988).Teacher English - A training Course for Teachers Cambridge University Press Penny Ur.(1996) A course in Language Teaching Cambridge University Press Ron Forseth,Carol Forseth,Ta Tien Hung,Nguyen Van Do.Methodology Handbook for English Teachers in Viet Nam.English Language Institude of America ELTTP Methodology Course Sourses from Internet CAMERON, L 2003 Teaching Languages to Young Learners Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-77434-9 CURTAIN, H A., PESOLA, C A 1988 Languages and Children – Making the Match USA: Addison-WesleyPublishing Company, Inc ISBN 0-201-12290-1 ELLIS, R 1997 Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-437212-X FOSTER-COHEN, S 1999 An Introduction to Child Language Development Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Limited ISBN 0-582-08729-5 GARMAN, M 1991 Psycholinguistics Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-27641-1 HOMOLOVÁ, E 2003 Autentický materiál ako prostriedok rozvoja jazykových a komunikatívnych kompetencií žiakov Banská Bystrica: Univerzita Mateja Bela ISBN 80- 8055-788-8 LIGHTBOWN, P., SPADA, N 1999 How Languages are Learned Oxford: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-437000-3 INDEX Sample lesson plan Sample : Lesson 2: Level: My favourite animal Movers Procedure: Student’s activities Teacher’s activities 59 60 Warm-up: (10 minutes) Let class play a game: What animal is this? - Play the game Divide the class into teams Ask them to look at icebreakers and guess what the animals are Which team can give more correct answers will be the winner Game for warm-up Hippo Gorilla Turle Crocodile Snake Camel 60 61 Elephant - Look at the picture Lesson Activity 1: (15 minutes) Show a cat on the slide, ask the class some questions about it - Answer the questions Ex: - What colour is it? - Look at the - What the cat’s eyes look like? board and they - What can it do? may write down - What does it like to eat? - Is it friendly/ fiece/ gentle ? - Do you like cats and why? …………… Then brainstorm on the board: talk about an animal 61 62 ability appearance - Work in pairs animal e character its food Activity 2: (10 minutes) Work in pairs Ask and answer - Deliver each student a picture of an animal Make questions as many as possible to ask about your friend’s animal Ex: St A: a lion St B: a horse - Work individually Where does it live ? Can it run fast ? What does it eat ? Is it small ? - Teacher goes round to check or help pairs if necessary Activity 3: (15 minutes) Prepare for the presentation Students think of an animal they like best and they will talk about it Their talk should be the following format • Introduction My favourite animal is a pet / a wild animal It’s a rabbit… It lives in… jungle / a house / the sea • Body It has got round eyes… It’s beautiful/ frienly… - Present the topic This animal likes eating… • Ending It can… I like it because… - Play the game 62 63 Activity 4: (30 minutes) Make a presentation - It’s time for students to present their favourite animal They have minutes for their presentations - Teacher feedbacks.(10 minutes) Activity 5: (10 minutes) Game: Riddle Now let students think of some riddles about animals They go to the board and read out to class to guess Homework (5 minutes) Practise speaking about the topic and students may record their presentation 63 64 Sample 2: Lesson 5: Sports Level: Flyers Procedure: Teacher’s activities 64 Student’s activities 65 Warm-up: (10 minutes) Let class crosswords about sports Divide the class into groups Ask them to look at the pictures to fill in the crosswords and find the hidden words (Key: Do you any sports?) Which team can complete the crosswords and find the hidden words first will be the winners - Do the crosswords in groups Game for warm-up SPORTS Fill in the crossword and find the hidden words 2 5 10 11 12 13 14 10 15 16 ? Lesson Activity 1: (10 minutes) Work in pairs Give each pair a handout - Work in pairs Which equipments these sports need? Match A with B and C A B C fishing rod diving Whatdo equipments Who you play you need? with? Where you play? sport Why 65 is the sport When dofor youyou? play it? good 66 66 ... history of public speaking A History of Public Speaking There's a good chance that there's been public speaking, in one form or another, as long as there've been people But most academics and others... public speakers Public speaking became a desirable skill and was taught Public speaking in the time of the Greeks was called rhetoric Later, when Rome came to power, public speaking was used during... public speaking rhetoric methods of the Greeks In fact, most public speaking teachers of the time were Greek If you fast forward to modern times, what was known as the Latin style of public speaking