EIC 1 orientation packet

Department of International Communication English for International Communication 1

Unit 1: Orientation

Introduction In this unit, we will start to get to know each other by asking and answering questions. We will also look at some of the best ways to learn English. Some of these ways may be new and different to how you have learned English up to now. By trying different learning strategies, you can find the ones that suit you best, so that you can learn actively and independently – for yourself.

Strategies learned in this unit and this semester will help you, not only during your time here at KUIS, but also after you have graduated.

Orientation Unit Goals The main goals of the Orientation Unit are: •

To make you feel confident in speaking English with each other.

•

To show you how to take responsibility for your own learning.

The Orientation Unit will also: 1. Show you how EIC 1 is organised and graded, and what you will accomplish during the first semester.

2. Introduce you to your classmates and your teacher, help you learn more about each other, and create a friendly learning environment.

3. Help you become familiar with different ways to learn English.

4. Show you how to become an active learner.

5. Give you a chance to practice your presentation skills and learn from your classmates’ presentations.

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English for International Communication (EIC1) Syllabus Teacher Office E-mail

What is EIC1?

•

Communication Goals: Now that you have studied English for six or more years,

•

Language Learning Goals: In EIC1 you will learn to notice what is important for

•

Personal and Social Goals: EIC1 will give you many opportunities to develop the self-confidence and positive attitude that will help you grow to become a fluent user of English.

•

Learning-How-To-Learn Goals: By learning how you learn best, you will start to gain the knowledge and skills that will help you continue to improve your English ability—both in and out of the classroom—for the rest of your life!

you know a lot about English but may not have used English very often. There is a big difference between knowing how English works and being able to communicate successfully in different situations and with different people. To help you develop your communication skills, the Department of International Communication offers you the chance to use English with people from all over the world. Classes will also prompt you to think about the language you have used, to question the choices that you and others make, and to practice your English without fear of mistakes. In EIC1, we hope you will work hard at becoming an effective user of English in an international environment.

you to improve your English skills. This means not just learning information about grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and pragmatics, but actually trying to use what you have learned when you use English.

What will we be doing this year in EIC 1?

Following this first unit (The Orientation Unit), we will cover 7 more units in EIC1 this year.

•

In Units 2-4, you will study how language works so that you can become a better language learner.

•

In Units 5-8, you will actively use your new skills in units designed to be interesting, thought-provoking, and fun.

EIC1 Units in the first and second semester are: Department of International Communication EIC1 Orientation Unit

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Semester 1

1. ORIENTATION

(How to study focus)

2. THE SOUNDS OF ENGLISH

(Pronunciation focus)

3. BUILDING BLOCKS OF ENGLISH

(Vocabulary focus)

4. USING ENGLISH NATURALLY

(Pragmatics focus)

Semester 2

WORLD ENGLISHES THE CULTURES OF JAPAN GLOBAL ISSUES TRAVEL

General Points If you want to have a positive, successful, enjoyable experience in EIC 1, there are some basic things that you must understand and do. These are:

1. Attendance and Participation: These are the most important parts of the class;

they make up 40% of your grade! You must come to every class, be on time and actively participate. Sometimes there are good reasons for being late or absent. If you are ill or late because of train problems, please show a note and your absence or lateness will be excused. However, if you miss a class for any other reason, your grade will be affected by each absence or lateness.

•

Participation means coming to class regularly and on time, trying hard to be active and positive in class, and completing and handing in all assignments on time. This is expected of all of you. Being present in class is not enough; you must actively participate in everything we do.

2. Absence: Every class missed will go against your grade! If you miss more than a

third of the classes then you will automatically fail for the semester and have to repeat the class. Don't feel that you are safe if you miss fewer than one third of classes. You could still fail because of all the work you will miss.

•

If you miss class for any reason, you are expected to contact the teacher to 1) find out what work you need to make up; and 2) reschedule any exams or quizzes you have missed.

3. Lateness: If you are late three times without a valid note, it is counted as one absence.

4. English Only: EIC1 follows a strict ENGLISH ONLY rule and speaking English is a part of your participation grade. It can be very challenging at first to use only English for 90 minutes, but it will get easier the more we speak. Speaking English will help you improve your English and you are encouraged to work with your classmates as much as you can. I am here to help you, too.

Department of International Communication EIC1 Orientation Unit

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5. Assignments. There will be a number of assignments throughout the semester.

You will be expected to work both in groups and individually. Assignments are worth 40% of your grade.

6. Quizzes. On occasion there may be quizzes to check that you are keeping up with the class material. You should be able to pass the quizzes if you attend class, participate, and complete all of your assignments. Quizzes will make up a small percentage of the overall Assignment grade.

7. Speaking Journals. Speaking Journal assignments are to be completed outside of class. To do your Speaking Journal, you will need to speak with a proficient speaker of English. You can go to the ELI lounge where the yellow sofas are and talk to one of the teachers there or speak with an English-speaking friend. After your English conversation, you will write a summary of what you talked about and a reflection on your speaking performance. You will also make a plan in order to improve your speaking/conversation skills before your next Speaking Journal conversation.

Speaking Journals are worth 20% of your grade.

How will my grade be decided?

Attendance and participation is the most important part of this class and the biggest part of your grade. The second most important part of your grade comes from your end-of-unit projects and presentations. Since there are no big exams in EIC 1 - like those you may have in your other classes - the work that you do in class is what really counts! Your grade will be decided like this: Attendance and Participation: Assignments/Quizzes: Speaking Journals: TOTAL:

40% 40% 20% 100%

90 –100 80 – 89 70 – 79 60 – 69 0 – 59

points = points = points = points = points =

A+ A B C F

What do I need for EIC1?

• • •

A dictionary – paper or electronic (the IC department recommends Oxford, Longman, or COBUILD).

A clip drive (USB memory stick).

An A4 binder to keep all of your hand-outs in order.

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Approaches to Learning There are different ways of learning languages. We will look at two ways: the traditional approach and the communicative approach.

Please look at the PowerPoint slides your teacher will show you.

TASK 1: Guessing from Pictures Look at the traditional approach picture and, with your group members, discuss what you think may be some qualities of the traditional approach. Write some key words in the box below:

Now, look at the communicative approach picture on the next page and discuss what you think may be some qualities of the communicative approach. Write some key words in the box below:

TASK 2: Learning from Video Please watch each of the videos as many times as necessary and discuss what you have discovered about the traditional and communicative approaches to language learning. Please use your answers to complete the chart below: Video Which Approach?

Qualities

Benefits

Challenges

1

2

3 4

Department of International Communication EIC1 Orientation Unit

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TASK 3: What has been your experience with learning English?

Answer the questions below by putting an X on the line between ‘Not at all’ and ‘Very much’.

1. How much did your high school English classes resemble the Traditional Approach?

Not at all

Very much

Explain your answer below. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

2. How much did your high school English classes resemble the Communicative Approach?

Not at all

Very much

Explain your answer below. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

•

Write a description of a game or an activity that your partner really liked in English class in high school.

•

Write down what your partner would like to change most about learning English in high school, if he or she could.

Department of International Communication EIC1 Orientation Unit

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What is Active Learning?

This year, you will work towards becoming an Active Learner. Becoming an Active Learner is an important part of language learning because you: • Take responsibility for your own learning • Do not depend only on the teacher for improving your English, but also yourself and your classmates • Cooperate with other classmates so that everyone's English can improve • Understand that it is important to study outside of class on your own (class time is only 90 minutes a day; if you do not use your time outside of class to study, you may forget what is said in class) • Understand that your English skills must be used and practiced actively as much as possible in class • Are very active and eager to learn and improve • Can develop your own ideas of how to learn, practice, and study English

Task 1: Read the following ideas for Active Learning: These ideas are strategies for improving your English.

 I will speak only English in class.  After class, I will think about and review what was done in class.  I will do my homework and prepare everything I need to before coming to class.  I will try not to worry about making mistakes.  I will try to say something and/or answer at least one question in every class.  I will listen to radio programs in English during my free time.  I will ask others for help.  Outside of class, I will speak in English to my classmates and to exchange students as often as possible.

Discussion Questions: • Which of the above ideas do you think are good? Why do you think so?

• Which ideas do you use already?

• Which ideas would you like to try?

Now, try to write down 3 new ideas of your own that will help you become an active learner: (1)

(2)

(3)

Now, find a partner and discuss the “discussion questions” above. Then, tell him/her the 3 ideas you wrote above and why you think they are good ideas. Also, listen to your partners' ideas and why he/she chose those ideas. Write down your partner's ideas below: (1)

(2)

(3)

Hopefully, you now have 6 new ideas to help you become a more active learner!

Look at your list of ideas often and make sure you try them. Even if you just try 1 or 2 ideas each week, you'll be on your way to improving your learning and your English skills.

Task 2: What do teachers and learning advisors think about active learning?

One ELI teacher says: Being an active learner is creating moments to learn. When I was studying Spanish, I would create opportunities to learn. If I were studying new vocabulary, for example, I would twist the conversation so that I could use that vocabulary.

Do you Agree? Why / Why not?

One Learning Advisor says: Active learning is taking responsibility for your learning. It means noticing the language around you, noticing how people use language naturally, noticing mistakes, noticing how you use the language. It also means noticing the gap, what you don’t know, and filling those gaps. So if it’s a grammar point, it would be finding a grammar book or worksheet or teacher to help you fill that knowledge gap. If it were a skill, it would be finding ways of improving the skill and seeking help to improve the skill if necessary, be it in a book or human form. Active learning is seeking opportunities to use and practice the language.

Do you Agree? Why / Why not?

Task 3: Interview a Teacher or Learning Advisor Please go find a teacher or learning advisor and ask them what active learning means to them.

Please remember not to knock on office doors and/or interrupt people at work. A good strategy is to go to the ELI sofas and practice center and politely ask if a teacher or learning advisor has some time to spare for you.

Working in Groups One of the best parts about Active Learning and Communicative Classrooms is working together in groups. During your time at Kanda, you will spend a lot of time working in groups with your classmates.

Task 1: In groups of five, take some time to write down reasons why group work might be useful. Write down as many reasons as you can in the box below

Task 2: As a group, discuss the following questions about how your group finished Task 1.

1. How many reasons did your group write down?

2. Who wrote down the reasons?

3. Who spoke the most in your group?

4. Did everyone in your group have a chance to speak?

5. If you could change one thing about how your group did Part 1, what would you change? Why?

Group Roles To help us work better in groups, it is often useful for group members to have their own jobs, or group role. Group roles help every member participate in the task and help the task go more smoothly. Below are five common group roles: •

•

•

•

Leader: You make sure your group understands the task. You make sure your group is doing the work.

Facilitator: You make sure every one in your group has a chance to say something.

You encourage quiet members to talk, and ask talkative members to give others a chance to speak.

Time Keeper: You make sure your group completes the task on time. You remind your group how much time they have left for the task.

Spokesperson: You present your group’s work to the class.

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•

Recorder: You write down your group’s answers.

Task 3: Let's practice a little bit. Assign group roles to each member in your group.

Then, read the following situations that may happen during group work. Who should take action? What are the phrases/expressions this person may use? Each group member should practice their own role. You have 15 minutes.

Situation 1. The teacher is making an announcement to the class but some group members are still talking.

2. Some members are talking about their friends when they are supposed to be doing their work.

Whose responsibility?

Useful Phrases/ Expressions Shh …

Hey, please be quiet!

3. One member of the group talks too much.

4. One member of the group has not said much in the discussion.

5. One member of the group arrives late and needs to find out what the rest of the group is doing.

6. Your group has to answer three questions but is spending too much time on the first question.

7. Some people in your group do not seem interested in the work.

8. Your group does not have paper or markers to make a poster.

9. Your group does not understand what you are supposed to do.

10. One member is absent and someone needs to tell him/her what to do for homework.

11. One member keeps speaking Japanese.

Question: Are there other group roles we could use for this task?

Learning Strategies One of the most important steps to learning a language is understanding that everyone learns language differently. Successful learners experiment with different ideas of active learning until they find out what methods of learning, or learning strategies, work best for them.

Read the following messages from former IC students about some of their learning strategies. Then discuss the questions that follow.

(Yukiko 2002. Excellent pronunciation.) "I did a homestay in the US and noticed that my pronunciation was worse than I had thought. So I just concentrated and noticed my errors more than before. By focusing on pronunciation like this, I improved slowly."

(Makoto 2001. Excellent fluency.) "There are two things I do. The first is that I always talk to English speakers. They don't have to be native-speakers. I take every chance. The second is that I write many letters each week in English to pen pals.

Because of that, I can put English grammar together very quickly inside my head. I have never been outside Japan."

(Kaori 2002. Excellent communication and fluency.) "I think that learning in class is not enough. I love Rave and Eurobeat music so I go to Jimbocho every week and buy the music magazines from London. So I read a lot by myself and I try to think in English and not translate when I do it. I read the articles several times and it helps me to think and speak in English.

(Lin 2003. Excellent listening skills.) "I have always liked American and English rock and pop music, not just the sound, I want to know the message of the music. So I read the words to the music and then listen. I have been doing this for about five years so my listening has improved. I especially like The Beatles and The Carpenters because the words are usually clear."

• •

Which of these learning strategies do you think are useful?

Which person would you like to talk to more about their learning strategy?

Why?

Making English Work / No perfect route to fluency Yoko Mizui / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

Regular reading in English and acceptance of imperfection are the keys to becoming proficient in the language, according to Megumi Nishimura, who teaches English at Wiz English Academy, a school she established in Nagoya seven years ago.

"I read a lot of English paperbacks, skipping the words I didn't know. I ignored these unfamiliar words, but I didn't skip any pages. I guessed the meaning of words from the context and read on," Nishimura said.

She focused on paperbacks that had been made into movies so she could watch the movie before reading the novel.

"I made up my mind to read a lot of books quickly regardless of my understanding. By reading many books, I found I could understand more and more," she said.

All the same, Nishimura eventually decided that to boost her vocabulary, she should start subscribing to a weekly newspaper carrying news both in English and Japanese. She read the Japanese stories first and then the corresponding English. She continued this comparative and intensive reading approach for two years.

Although Nishimura now scores a nearly perfect 980 points in the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and teaches how to prepare for the test at her school, she struggled as a student at an English conversation school she attended after graduating from Waseda University.

She decided to attend the school to improve her English pronunciation. At that time, she was teaching Japanese and English to middle school students at a cram school in Nagoya.

Nishimura went to an English conversation school that was run by only native speakers of English.

"I couldn't understand what those teachers said at all. As I couldn't follow the English conversation in the classes, I gave up on trying to follow the lessons themselves and concentrated on catching casual remarks that teachers said during the lessons such as 'Hey, what's up?,' 'Amazing!' 'How about that!' and 'Come on!"' she said. She noted these phrases and tried using them between or during classes, taking every opportunity that she could to use them.

Although she was called "silent Megumi" by teachers for the first six months or so, she gradually started to enjoy English conversation with teachers at the school.

"It became fun to attend the classes once I decided to focus on communication rather than the topics I was supposed to learn in each class," she said.

While she was attending the school, she began to teach Japanese to native English speakers. She majored in Japanese and Japanese literature and enjoyed speaking in her own classes so her Japanese lessons quickly became popular and she was soon teaching

about 30 foreigners, including teachers at the English school. Through these lessons, she learned many natural English expressions.

She also listened to English Conversation on NHK radio. As she was working, she couldn't listen every day, but she often listened to a cassette tape of the program and would practice reading the texts in a book that goes with the program until she could read them smoothly.

As the daily dialogue introduced in the program was short, it took only 15 minutes a day to study in this way. She tried to use the expressions she learned from the radio program in her English conversation classes.

"Just knowing these expressions doesn't mean you can use them," she said.

Nishimura attended the English conversation school for two years and on the day of what was to be her last class at the school, she was asked to teach classes for beginners at the school. She accepted the offer as she thought it was a good chance to utilize her English in a job. As all the staff at the school were native English speakers, apart from a reception clerk, she was the only Japanese teacher. It was a dramatic change of working environment, as every meeting was conducted in English and all documents were written in English.

Nishimura decided to stop trying to be a perfectionist and chose to speak out even if she didn't understand all the English she heard or read. At the school, she gained the ability to deal with everything by relying on what she could understand.

"Even if you cannot understand everything you hear, you will be able to hear more gradually.

Even if you don't understand everything, say what you think. If you say something, other people will respond to you," said Nishimura, who believes "silence is not golden, silence is nothing."

She worked at the school for five years before establishing her own.

Through her experience, Nishimura believes it is not necessary to study English for hours a day right from the beginning.

A collection of quick hints and techniques that are part of her approach for becoming a fluent English speaker are introduced in her book Perapera ni Nareru San-punkan Eigo Benkyoho, published by Beret Co. in 2002.

"Although the book didn't sell so well, I received a lot of e-mails and letters from readers," she said.

Nishimura said she was better at motivating people to study English than technically teaching English. The book is the fruit of this belief.

This month, her latest book Sarariman/OL no Ichinichi o Eigo ni Shitemiru was launched by the same publisher. Featuring daily conversations by workers in natural settings, the book, which comes with a CD, introduces a lot of common English expressions that would be useful for the TOEIC test.

"I don't think it is necessary to study difficult grammar for the test. Learning expressions that are commonly used in our daily conversation is more important," she said. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm

Making English Work Vocabulary Notes

Reading Comprehension 1) According to Megumi, what are the keys to becoming proficient in English? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

2) What was Megumi’s strategy for dealing with unknown words when reading? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

3) While teaching Japanese to foreigners, what did Megumi learn? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

4) How did Megumi use the NHK program cassettes? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

5) What does Megumi mean when she says “Silence is not golden”?

______________________________________________________________________

1. Mark the three activities you think are most similar to language learning.

Learning English is like … because … learning to ride a bike



learning mathematical formulae



learning to play the piano



learning to swim



learning to play chess



learning dates for a history exam 

learning to walk



learning to play cards

learning words in a play





2. Which strategies do you think are the best ways for you to learn English?

Number them as follows (1=very useful; 2=useful; 3= not very useful). If you want, you may also add two more strategies of your own which you think are very useful. learning lists of vocabulary by heart



writing down the translation of every new word or phrase



learning grammar rules, with example sentences



reading as much as possible in class



speaking as much as possible in class



writing everything down in a notebook and learning it



forgetting about grammar and listening to people talking instead



doing lots of grammar exercises

- written



- oral



getting the teacher to correct you every time you say a sentence



trying to think in English and not translate into your own language



writing essays and getting them corrected by the teacher



•



•



3. What aspects of language do you feel you need to practice most? Number them in order (1=need to practice most; 7=need to practise least). grammar



listening



writing



vocabulary



speaking



pronunciation



reading



Learning from Experience One of the most important parts of learning a language is learning from our experiences. In this section, we will explore what it means to “learn from experience.”

Case Study Yoko, Tohru and Hanako are students in KUIS. They want to learn how to speak English. Let’s look at how they went about doing this.

They read a lot of books about how to speak English and they listen to English conversations on CDs. Yoko reads more than Tohru and Hanako.

However, she does not practice speaking very much. Tohru and Hanako, on the other hand, practice as much as they can.

Who do you think will make more progress in learning how to speak in English? Why?

Do you think it is possible to learn how to speak English without practicing speaking? Why?

Case Study (continued) Both Tohru and Hanako practice speaking English almost everyday. They practice with a teacher in the ELI lounge. When they were learning how to ask someone for repetition, for instance, they practiced saying, “Pardon?” in their conversations. Tohru went to the lounge more often than Hanako and practiced saying “Pardon?” a lot more than Hanako. However, he was not pronouncing it properly and sometimes other people could not understand what he was saying.

However, he was not aware of this and he continued practicing the wrong pronunciation. Hanako, on the other hand, had less practice than Tohru. Each time she used, “Pardon?” she checked to see that she was understood and if her pronunciation was correct. She also asked the ELI teacher if she was pronouncing the word correctly. Each time she pronounced the word, her pronunciation got better and better.

Why do you think Hanako learned more effectively than Tohru?

What lesson can you learn from Yoko, Tohru, and Hanako?

Experiential Learning Cycle Many people believe that learning works the best when we experience what we are trying to learn. However, an experience alone, as we saw in the case of Tohru, is not enough to become a perfect learner. We should also think about our experience, try

to understand what happened, identify ways to improve, and then practice again.

This is shown in the following diagram, called the Experiential Learning Cycle.

1. Experience

4. Plan for Improvement

2. Summary of Experience 3. Analysis of Experience

1. Experience: The experience! (what happens) 2. Summary of Experience: Think about the experience, what you learned and any challenges you faced.

3. Analysis of Experience: Think about what you want to improve for next time.

4. Plan for Improvement: Make a plan to improve and carry out your plan.

Discussion Questions • Take a moment and think about an experience you had; for example, learning to drive, burning your finger on a hot pan, or learning a new word in English. Discuss how the Experiential Learning Cycle can help you to learn • In EIC1, you will have conversations for your Speaking Journal. What can from such experiences. you do after each conversation to improve your conversation skills?

• Choose one of the topics below and discuss how you can use the • Take a look at your Speaking Journal. Identify how the different tasks in the Experiential Learning Cycle to improve. journal match the four stages in the Experiential Learning Cycle.

A) Writing skills B) Pronunciation C) Listening skills D) Using new vocabulary

Additional Discussion Questions

Presentations Next we are going to look at an idea for helping you present information to others.

One of the major challenges students face is how to give presentations effectively.

Often, students prepare a long script and then have to decide whether they should try to remember the script or read it.

Discuss which you think is best with your partner - remembering or reading.

Write your ideas below.

Some students might say that neither remembering nor reading a script is the best way to give a presentation. If you try to memorize your script, it will take a lot of time.

You may forget parts and have to keep pausing to try and remember. Also, it is difficult to put much feeling into a speech when you are concentrating very hard on simply remembering the words.

If you just read from your script, you will lose eye contact with your audience and your voice will probably sound boring, having little inflection. Your audience will soon lose interest!

The best way to tell somebody something is to know your topic well and say what you want naturally! If you are nervous, you should use small cards, called note cards, with the main ideas written on them to help you to not forget anything important. And, of course, you should practice.

Using Using note note cards cards helps helps you you remember remember what what you you want want to to say say without without reading reading your your script. script.

Example Text The best time of year to visit Tokyo is probably the Spring when the weather is warm and the cherry blossoms can be seen in any of the parks in the city.

It is probably not a good idea to arrive in the first week of May however - this is a national holiday, called Golden Week, and many hotels will be full and the trains and highways packed with people taking a short break.

Example note card:

Visit Tokyo - best time - Spring - cherry blossoms Golden Week – bad time – crowded trains & roads – hotels full

PRESENTATIONS A ‘presentation’ is a way of giving information and ideas to a group of people.

In university you will often have to read or gather information and tell someone else about it. Some of the information will be written with words and phrases that are difficult to understand; the problem is that you need to tell your classmates (and your teacher!) this information so they can understand it. It is much easier for them to understand you if you use your own words instead of just reading from a prepared script. You may also want to explain any difficult words you plan to use at the beginning of your talk – you can write key words and perhaps definitions on the board or in your PowerPoint slides.

When giving a presentation, you need to think about the following things:

Clear explanation

Voice

Body Language

Eye contact

Read the story below. You will need to tell the story to your partner in your own words.

Reading One The case of the foot fetish fiend A local man, Ichiro Irie, was arrested last week after being spotted late at night wandering around the corridors of a hospital in Usu with some women’s shoes. When police arrested him, he confessed to the theft of the shoes from two female patients. They later went to his house and found a total of 442 women’s shoes.

While his passion for women’s shoes was considered very strange, even stranger was the discovery that all of the shoes he stole were for the left foot. When arrested, it was found that he had been stealing left-footed women’s shoes from a hospital in Usu for the past five years.

Use the example note card below to write down the main points of the story.

Now tell the story in your own words using only the words from the note card to help. Remember to try to give a clear explanation, speak with a clear voice, use suitable body language, and maintain frequent eye contact with your partner.

Check whether your partner presented his/her story well. Give your partner feedback by putting numbers in the boxes below (1 is lowest – 5 highest) and writing your comments below.

Clear explanation

Comments

#

Voice

Body Language

Eye contact with you

PRESENTATIONS A ‘presentation’ is a way of giving information and ideas to a group of people.

In university you will often have to read or gather information and tell someone else about it. Some of the information will be written with words and phrases that are difficult to understand; the problem is that you need to tell your classmates (and your teacher!) this information so they can understand it. It is much easier for them to understand you if you use your own words instead of just reading from a prepared script. You may also want to explain any difficult words you plan to use at the beginning of your talk – you can write key words and perhaps definitions on the board or in your PowerPoint slides.

When giving a presentation, you need to think about the following things:

Clear Explanation

Voice

Body Language

Eye contact

Read the story below. You will need to tell the story to your partner in your own words.

Reading Two Mouse munches a mint!

A mouse munched its way through millions of yen of cash last week after climbing inside a cash machine in Arao, Fukuoka-ken.

The animal was found in the cash machine after a customer withdrew some money and received partly-eaten banknotes.

Bank security experts are investigating how the mouse managed to get into the machine. Miho Miyao, a spokeswoman for Arao Bank, said: “Over the weekend, the mouse seems to have spent its time chewing money and turning the notes into bedding for itself and its babies. It probably was attracted by the warmth from the machine and decided to make itself at home.”

Use the example note card below to write down the main points of the story.

Now tell the story in your own words using only the words from the note card to help. Remember to try to give a clear explanation, speak with a clear voice, use suitable body language, and maintain frequent eye contact with your partner.

Check whether your partner presented his/her story well. Give your partner feedback by putting numbers in the boxes below (1 is lowest – 5 highest) and writing your comments below.

Clear explanation

Comments

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Voice

Body Language

Eye contact with you