The Syllabus for Advanced English Public Speaking

Renmin University of China

The Syllabus for Advanced English Public Speaking

Offered by School of Foreign Languages

Part I Course Information

Course code: 21005781
Course type: Compulsory
Prerequisite for taking this course: RUC College English Band 4
Course period: One semester
Credits: 2
Instructor: both Chinese and Foreign Teachers
Textbook: Lucas, S.E. (2011). The Art of Public Speaking (10 th ed.). Beijing: Foreign Language Research and Teaching Press
Reference book: Carnegie, D. (2011). The Quick & Easy Way to Effective Speaking.Beijing: Central Compilation & Translation Press.

Part II Course Objectives and Teaching Contents

1. To improve your ability to write effective English public speeches. This will engage you in the full process of speech composition including the following:

a. selecting, narrowing, and focusing topics

b. generating research materials

c. adapting the topic and research materials to the specific audience being addressed

d. supporting ideas with evidence and reasoning

e. organizing the message for effective communication

f. preparing and revising drafts of the speech

g. expressing yourself accurately, clearly, vividly, and appropriately

2. To improve your ability to deliver English public speeches. This will engage you in the following activities:

a. understanding the nature of speech anxiety and how to deal with it

b. learning the vocal principles of effective speech delivery

c. learning the nonverbal principles of effective speech delivery

d. generating speaking notes from a full speech manu1111 or outline

e. rehearsing the speech prior to final presentation

f. using visual aids to reinforce and clarify the verbal message

g. reading aloud the manu1111s of famous speeches

3. To improve your ability to listen effectively to public speeches. This will engage you in the following activities:

a. distinguishing among the introduction, body, and conclusion of a speech

b. focusing on a speaker’s ideas rather than being diverted by his or her delivery

c. listening for the main points and supporting materials of a speaker’s message

d. developing note-taking skills

e. conducting analysis of classroom speeches and of speeches by well-known public figures

4. To improve your skills of intercultural communicative competence. This will engage you in the following activities:

a. learning how cultural factors affect the response to a speaker’s message

b. showing respect for the cultural values and expectations of international speech audiences

c. recognizing that intercultural communicative competences is based first on respect for one’s own cultural traditions and values

5. To improve your ability to think critically and to apply the skills of critical thinking to the analysis of public discourse. This will engage you in activities such as the following:

a. distinguishing main pints from minor points

b. gauging the credibility of sources and the reliability of claims in supporting materials

c. judging the soundness of evidence in pubic discourse

d. assessing the validity of reasoning in public discourse

6. To improve your ability to utilize research skills and strategies. This will engage you in the following activities:

a. developing skills of information acquisition, including conducting Internet and library research, creating a bibliography, and taking research notes efficiently

b. thinking critically and creatively about materials acquired from print and electronic sources

Part III Teaching Methods

This is a student-centered and skill-oriented course. Students will learn the fundamental skills of public speaking such as selecting a speech topic and purpose, analyzing the audience, gathering materials, outlining the speech, using language, and speaking to inform/persuade. Students will also read, experience, appreciate and analyze the rhetoric of famous people and common people from the past and present, and they should be able to apply its ideals and concepts to their own lives. Students will be expected to deliver speeches and read narratives in the classroom and to assess the oratory of their peers.

Part IV Teaching Schedule

Part V Speech Assignments

1. Introductory speech

For this initial assignment, you are to construct a two-minute speech introducing yourself to the class. You may focus the speech on describing a significant experience, an educational moment from your life, an important personal belief, or a favorite hobby or interest. The purpose of the speech is not to persuade the audience to share the speaker’s views but to give the audience insight into speaker’s background, personality, attitudes, or aspirations. Even though you are not expected to memorize the speech, you should use as much eye contact as possible.

2. Informative Speech

The purpose of the informative speech is to create or facilitate understanding among your listeners. You may choose to speak on an object, concept, process or event. The target time for the speech is three minutes. As you practice, you should time your speech to ensure that it ends within 30 seconds of the target time. You are required to use at least one visual aid and at least three sources. At least one of these sources must be scholarly. You are allowed to use more than one source located through RUC licensed databases. Delivery of the speech is to be extemporaneous.

3. Persuasive Speech

The purpose of this speech is to persuade your audience for or against a question of policy. Questions of policy deal with specific courses of action and consider whether something should be done. The target time for the speech is four minutes. You are required to use a minimum of four sources. At least one of these sources must be scholarly. Remember to cite your sources orally as you use them in your speech and to list them in your bibliography. You are required to highlight the sources in your outline.

4. Impromptu Speech

For this assignment, the teacher will assign you a topic. You will have ten minutes of preparation time and be expected to deliver a three minutes speech. The speech should include an introduction, a body and a conclusion.

Part VI Academic Integrity

Plagiarism or other forms of cheating on exams and/or other class assignments will result in a failing grade on the assignment in question and may lead to failure in the course or other penalties.

Cheating is violating the rules of the course. This includes copying others’ work, giving others your work to use as their own, using notes on an in-class test, looking at others’ work when you are instructed to work alone, and breaking other rules, written or announced, that are part of class policy.

Plagiarizing is representing written work as your own when you are not the original source. This includes failing to cite references, failing to set others’ work in quotation marks, and paraphrasing insufficiently even if you do give credit to someone else. This also applies to spoken work.

Both oral and written assignments are due on the assigned dates. No late speeches. Late speeches will be at the discretion of the teacher. Grades on late written assignments will be deducted to a certain extent.

Part VII Assessment and Grading

1. Daily Performance (Attendance, quizzes, assignments) 30%

2. Mid-term: Introductory Speech 10%

3. Other Speeches 60%

--Informative Speech 15%

--Persuasive Speech 25%

--Impromptu Speech  10%

4. Self Assessment or Peer Assessment or Analysis of TED Speeches 10%

Part VIII Teaching and Learning Resources

Speeches for Analysis in Class

Student sample speeches

1. Pot, Soil, Water (University of Wisconsin)

2. Confronting Myself: Color of the Wind (University of Wisconsin)

3. The Great Wall (University of Wisconsin)

4. Yoga: Uniting Mind, Body, and Spirit (University of Wisconsin)

5. Making a Difference Through the Special Olympics (University of Wisconsin)

6. Question of Culture By Sajjid Zahir Chinoy (University of Richmond)

Famous Speeches

1. I Have a Dream By Martin Luther King

2. Commencement Speech at Standford University  By Steve Jobs

3. Cultural Programs and the 2008 Olympic Games  By Yang Lan

4. Choices and Change  By Barbaba Bush

5. Yes, We Can By Barack Obama

Speeches for Appreciation after Class

1. I Have a Dream By Martin Luther King

2. The Space Shuttle “Challenger” Tragedy Address  By Ronal Reagan

3. Choices and Change  By Barbara Bush

4. A Whisper of AIDS  By Mary Fisher

5. Women’s Rights Are Human Rights By Hilary Clinton

6. Noble Peace Prize  By Wangari Maathai

7. Tony Blair’s Third Term Speech By Tony Blair

8. The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination  By J.K. Rowling

9. 2009 Shanghai Meeting with Future Chinese Leaders  By Barack Obama

10. Michelle Obama’s Convention Speech By Michelle Obama

11. The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2012  By Queen Elizabeth II

12. Gettysburg Address  By Abraham Lincoln

13. Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat By Winston Churchill

14. Inaugural Address By John F. Kennedy

15. Farewell Address By Bill Clinton

Public Speaking Websites

1. American Rhetoric: http://www.americanrhetoric.com

2. Toast Master International: http://www.toastmasters.org

3. Speech Tips: http://www.speechtips.com

4. TED: http://www.ted.com

Reference Textbooks

1. Collins, P. (1998). Say It with Power & Confidence. Paramus: Prentice Hall.

2. Carnegie, D. (2009). How to Develop Self-Confidence & Influence People by Public Speaking. Beijing: Central Compilation & Translation Press.

3. Carnegie, D. (2011). The Quick & Easy Way to Effective Speaking. Beijing: Central Compilation & Translation Press.

4. Kay, S. (2005). Practical Presentations. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

5. 《美国总统就职演说集》，郑启梅编译，武汉：武汉测绘科技大学出版社，1991。

6. 《20世纪著名演讲文录》，裴妮选编，北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，2000。

7. 《名人演说一百篇》，石幼珊译，北京：中国对外出口翻译公司，商务印书馆香港分馆，1987

8. 《世界上最伟大的50次演讲》，曲英姿编译，北京：机械工业出版社，2011.