Learners are required to do ‘orals’ (mini-speeches) on a fairly regular basis at school, particularly from Grade 4 onwards. We assess their presentation in terms of audibility, eye contact, confidence, interest level and content.
My little Grade 2’s did their first oral the other day. The great assignment required them to relate 5 facts about a place in South Africa that they had been to visit. Overall they did very well and I could tell that moms and dads had helped them to prepare and rehearse. However, three have to re-do their orals due to the following simple errors:
You cannot simply download information from the internet and learn it
As with projects, all sentences must be written in your own language, with words that the children will understand. One of my 8-year-old’s orals about Port Elizabeth named “bird species which have been recorded as being sighted in neighbouring regions.” The poor boy battled through this adult-speak, and the class had no idea what he was talking about.
Little children don’t use words like “surrounded” or “situated”. The following sentence from the internet printout: “The oceanarium’s great attraction is the dolphin show presented daily”, could have been reworded as an 8-year-old would speak, eg. “There is a dolphin show every day at the oceanarium which many people come to see.”
Check that your child has fulfilled the requirements of the assignment
As they get older, you need not write orals for them, but at least let them rehearse for you so that you can check the content and the standard of their oral. One of my little boys rambled on about his news from the time he visited his friend in a nearby area, but couldn’t tell us one ‘fact’ nor point out the area on a map, which was stated as a requirement in the notice about the orals.
Check that your child is adequately prepared
Again, you need not pack their props or pictures for them, nor write their notes for them, but ensure that they have done it themselves. Helping them to be independent does not mean that you leave them “out to sea”, especially with young children who need supervision. Encourage them to pack their own goods, or write their own notes, but check and guide gently.
Another little boy could not do his oral because he could not read his mother’s handwriting on his notes. She should have checked on this, and even better, gotten him to write it in his own writing. In fact, she had not altered her barely legible scrawl at all. Children need clear, printed notes. Teach them to use keywords so that they will not be tempted to read their oral rather than look up and present it.
Good public speaking habits can be learned and practised. I make a big show of mimicking incorrect habits, such as mumbling, speaking into my hand, staring at the ceiling while talking, fiddling with my clothing or wringing my hands, rocking on my heels or chair, or fiddling with my hair, much to my class’s amusement. They do become much more conscious of when they are doing these things, however, and I give direction such as ‘look at the children’, and ‘loud enough for me to hear at the back of the class’.
Not many people enjoy public speaking. It is, however, a life skill which comes in handy many more times than one would think. Let your child know that nerves are normal and healthy, but that it is worthwhile trying to improve upon this skill.
Originally published on the GetAhead website
Melanie Loxton is a grade 3 teacher at Stirling Primary School, South Africa. She writes articles for GetAhead Educational Software. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/tips-to-improve-your-childs-public-speaking-1162742.html
