Dear colleagues! Do you have your students learn special textson each topic studied, and if so, how do you balance understanding and exact reciting? In my case, reciting will do the job (I teach English in a governmental institution), but I want to introduce as much understanding as I can.
Thank you for any responses!
Some web sources¹²³ advise to:
- Use the planning time to prepare what you’re going to say. Write short notes in point form on a note card, and use them as a guide during your presentation¹.
- Use more formal language and short, simple sentences to express your ideas clearly. Avoid using very informal language or slang¹.
- Use expressions to give your opinion, such as "I think", "I believe", "In my view", etc. Support your opinion with reasons and examples¹.
- Use linking and signalling words to organize your presentation and guide your listeners, such as "First of all", "Then", "However", "In conclusion", etc. Underline these words in your notes or transcript².
- Pause from time to time and don’t speak too quickly. This allows the listener to understand your ideas and gives you time to think. Include a short pause after each idea¹.
- Speak clearly and at the right volume. Make sure your voice is loud enough for everyone to hear you, but not too loud that it sounds aggressive or unpleasant¹.
- Look at the people who are listening to you. Make eye contact with them and show that you are interested in their reactions. Don't only look at your note card or the teacher¹.
- Practise your presentation before the exam. If possible, record yourself and listen to your presentation. If you can’t record yourself, ask a friend to listen to you and give you feedback. Check if your pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and fluency are correct and appropriate¹³.
(1) Speaking Tips - Oxford University Press. https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/oxford_test_of_english/documents/ote-speaking-tips.pdf.
(2) Oral presentation | LearnEnglish Teens. https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/exams/speaking-exams/oral-presentation.
(3) Student presentations | TeachingEnglish | British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/planning-lessons-and-courses/articles/student-presentations.
Dear Andrew, what a peculiar learning goal your institution has set for your students. Being able to recite a piece of English text, without having to understand what it means? I wonder how this knowledge is going to help them in their future lives?
Dear Andrew - I second what Andreas said. Memorizing without understanding seems like a waste of valuable learning time.
One thing you could do that involves memorization is to focus on chunks of language that students use in various contexts. I suggest you check the fllowing website for more information on such a lexical approach: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/professional-development/teachers/knowing-subject/articles/lexical-approach-1-what-does-lexical
If your school / governing authority really requires you to have students learn by heart, I would perhaps opt for short literary excerpts that are intrinsically more evocative (and possibly also interesting) than random texts.
I hope this helps.
Best,
Eloy
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