Public Speaking
Some readers have asked me about my new job. Yes, I am still teaching English. My new students are adults working in Beijing. They are highly motivated so every day, though busy, is also very interesting. The best thing for me is that my students really appreciate my lessons.
One unique feature of my school (better called a “learning center”, actually) is that there are many clubs and activities where students can practice English in a variety of situations. We have cooking clubs, a karaoke club for singing songs, a photography club, a philosophy club, and even a poker club!
I think some of you know that I am a member of a public speaking club called Toastmasters. To help the more advanced students, I plan to start a new Toastmasters club in our schools soon. One idea I have is to write some articles giving all kinds of practical advice for becoming a better public speaker. I would hope to write these articles especially for non-native English speakers, but the advice would be appropriate for anyone who wants to give better speeches and presentations.
What do you think about such articles? Good idea or not?
hanane Said,
September 3, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
Hi Dear Teacher,
I am sure it is going to be a good idea if you provided us with some of your articles or videos of your pieces of advice. As i can notice, you seem to be excited and so satisfied with the new conditions of your new place of work, and I can imagine the anthusiasme of the activities of your language center. really I do envy your students.
But while reading your today’s subject, an important question comes to my mind; why all these efforts, budgets, projects and plans just aiming to learn a language and achieve the level of being a speaker of that language? Is that so important?
What do you think SIR?
teacherjoe Said,
September 3, 2008 @ 2:37 pm
Hi Hanane,
What “efforts, budgets, projects and plans” do you mean? I only mentioned one possible plan, with no mention of how much effort or how big a project. And there is not, nor will there ever be, a budget, as no money is involved.
Perhaps you are asking if learning a language is so important. Learning itself is quite important in our world. Learning a language is just one of many ways that we can improve ourselves. Being able to speak well in public can possibly mean the difference between great success and just doing very average work. Public speaking is not important for everyone, but it can be extremely important for some people.
hanane Said,
September 4, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
Hi Dear Teacher,
Please do not misunderstand My Question. My question is a general one, it does not at all specify your language center. I myself to learn English, I was to make a plan, to make efforts, to manage time as well to afford money to be able one day to understand English, write it, speak it and obtain my BA Degree in it. so, all I wanted to know is why learning a language is to that importance?
Best Regards
Nafis Said,
September 4, 2008 @ 4:07 pm
Hi Hanane,
There are a lot of reasons to learn English language and become a good speaker in it.
First of all, we live in information age and communication is the center of this age. In this age, we communicate with each other more than before. One wants to send emails to a foriegn company or more simply search through Internet. Some people wants to study overseas or to get promotion in their profession.We have satellite televisions, foreign books and articles, etc. So, language and specially English has became more important than before.Moreover, most people speak with English language. More than 400 millions of the population speak English as their native language and one every five people on earth can speak English to some competence. If one does not know English, I think she or he loose many important things in life. That is why most people invest to learn at least a foriegn language.
To learn a language, the second major skill is speaking. Without speaking, it is really difficult to communicate with other people. Imagine that you are in a forign country and want to buy a food. To order a food, you have to speak and becoming a very good speaker needs a lot of efforts. I think Toastmaster is one of the places that we can practise speaking more effectively.
Best of luck,
Matt Said,
September 15, 2008 @ 4:21 pm
Hello Teacher Joe,
Great posts. Great comments Great questions.
I too am pleased to hear you are enjoying your “teaching centre” and will be helping start up a new Toastmasters Club there to help non-native English speakers to improve their public speaking skills. I think it’s a great idea as it could give the learners a chance to use their English language skills in a fun environment.
Your students can learn a lot from your speaking skills, and I’m sure you can learn a lot from your students about how being a Toastmaster, speaking in public in a second language, is different from doing it in your first language.
Best of luck and please do keep us posted on your progress.