HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN ORAL PRESENTATION
As a student, you are often given a task to prepare an oral presentation such as
a book report, debate or power point presentation. How can you speak to the
class in an interesting way, avoid getting nervous and get a good grade? Here
are a few tips* to help you achieve all three of these goals.
Many people are good speakers, but most weren't born that way. What's the
key to their success? Practice. Everyone who speaks well from Angelina Jolie
to the president rehearses speeches and presentations ahead of time and asks
others for their opinion. Practising your presentation in front of a mirror is
also helpful because it gives you ideas on how to improve your posture, body
language and gestures.
If you're allowed to use notes or a plan when speaking, write only main points
on note cards. Avoid writing long sentences on the cards because they're harder
to read and encourage you to read your speech rather than speaking to the
audience.
One of the most important things to remember about public speaking is that
you're speaking to an audience. Is the audience a group of your classmates? If so,
what are some points about the topic that they find interesting? Add anecdotes
from the class or bits of humour to keep your listeners interested. The more you
can connect it with their own experiences, the better — and the more positively
they will listen to you.
The biggest mistake teenagers make is talking too fast. It happens to most of us
when we're feeling anxious. However, you can teach yourself to be slower by
practising your speech ahead of time for a friend. You can also record it using a
tape recorder and play it back to hear how fast you're speaking and how many
times you say things such as 'like' and 'urn.'
Making eye contact with your audience members makes you look confident*
and competent about your subject. If you're particularly nervous about speaking
in front of the class, you can also try looking at an object just behind the people
in the audience, such as a clock or board on the back wall of the room.
2. The article says that practice is very important while preparing for
a presentation. Read aloud the extract which says about it.
3. What mistakes do presenters make?
4. Which pieces of advice do you find useful? Why?
№26
I. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
PABLO PICASSO
Pablo Picasso* was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He experimented
in many different styles and changed the world of art during his time.
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain in 1881. His father was a drawing
teacher. At 10 Pablo became his father's pupil and at the age of 13 he held his
first exhibition. His family moved to Barcelona in 1895 where Pablo joined an
art academy. In his early period the young artist painted life as he saw it around
him — in cafes and on the streets. Then they moved to Paris, the centre of art
and literature.
In 1901 a close friend of Picasso shot himself. This had a great influence on
Pablo. He was very sad and began painting his pictures in grey and blue tones
instead of bright, vivid colours. This part of his career is called his Blue Period
(1901-1904).
Later on, he changed his painting style and started using more earth colours —
rose, pink or brown. He liked to paint pictures of circus life with dancers and
acrobats. This Rose Period lasted until 1907.
When Picasso started working with his friend and fellow painter Georges Braque
in Paris they started experimenting with a new style that was called cubism.
Picasso and Braque didn't want to show nature as it really was. They thought
that all objects in nature had geometric* forms. In cubism, objects were cut into
many flat shapes, which looked like a puzzle. All the sides of a person's face, f
example, were shown at once, maybe even with three eyes instead of two.
In 1936 Civil War broke out in Spain. During this period he painted his
masterpiece Guernica*. It shows the terrified people of the ancient Spanish town
which was bombed during the Civil War. Picasso was shocked by this inhuman
act and in his painting he shows people running in the streets and screamii
with their mouths wide open. To display his sadness and anger he used only
black and white as well as shades of grey.
He continued his work up to his death in 1973. For his great imagination an
skill he is called 'El Maestro' of modern art.
2. The most famous painting of Picasso is Guernica. Read aloud the extract about it.
3. Where did Picasso learn to paint?
4. Picasso worked in different styles. Which styles are mentioned in the article?
What are their typical characteristics?
№27
1.Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
PERFECT METHOD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Students in my English classes sometimes ask for my opinion on the best method
of learning a foreign language. The answer I give is always the same: learning
a foreign language can never be quick and easy. There is no single method that
can guarantee success.
In the Callan Method, the teacher talks a lot and makes the students repeat
questions and answers. By contrast, in the Silent Way Method, invented by
Dr Caleb Gattegno, the teacher tries not to talk at all! The teacher uses pictures,
diagrams, objects to give the students problem-solving activities. The idea is
that students learn better if they can discover the rules by themselves. Certainly
that is an important part of learning. But I'm not sure it can guarantee success.
I think that it is wrong to look for a method of teaching/learning that gives
all the answers. Often, the method is not so important. Obviously, you need
good materials (e.g.: a good course book, etc) that are interesting and clear.
And you need a good teacher too. The individual qualities of the teacher are
very important. The teacher and the students must have a good relationship.
The students must like their teacher. That is one important way to help make
learning fun.
At the same time, we have to recognize that you can't make progress without
doing some old-fashioned hard work. There must be a method involved in
teaching and learning, but the same method doesn't work for everyone. People
are different and they have different reasons for wanting to learn. The method
will naturally change depending on the purpose of the lesson. However, it is
important that each lesson should have a clear objective. The material should
be presented in a context. There should be practice and consolidation work.
Students should use all four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and
writing.
There is nothing revolutionary about these ideas. But they give the best chances
of success for different kinds of learners.
2.The article says about the Silent Way Method and the Callan Method. Read
aloud the extract which says about it.
3.What does the writer answer when asked about the best teaching method?
4.What is really important for learning a foreign language according to the
author?
№28
I. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Iron
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