I've been working with a couple of newish teachers this term, and have been asked this question a number of times "What are good topics for presentations"?  Which is quickly followed by should they use powerpoint.

Usually my impression is that language learners don't really need to use powerpoint in their presentations.  I know that may sound like heresey coming from a guy that writes a blog about CALL and runs a University Language Lab, but for me the primary goals of a presentation are for the student to display

1. the ability to come up with the needed ideas and content,
2. organize it logically so they reach the objective of their presentation
3. have confidence to deliver it
4. make use of good language (grammar, vocabulary)
5. speak clearly so all can understand what they are trying to present. 

I've found that in more cases than not, a computer based presentation just ends up getting in the way of their language production because

• they read the slides verbatim
• they look at the screen and not the audience
• the technology fails in some way (there are hundreds of ways this can happen)
• the computer portion is so flashy that it is distracting and irrelevant

This has so far been a little off the topic of "topics for presentation", but not really.  It is those first five points above that should guide the choice of presentation topics in an average language classroom.  Your topics should focus on materials and ideas that are relevant, and meaningful to your students.  If they are within a content area that you have been studying recently, all the better as they will be more familiar with the content and language. Here are a few guiding principles that I suggest you follow when you as a teacher decide on topics for presentations

1. make sure they are age appropriate - don't give kids 'adult' topics like politics, economics, or law
2. make sure they are knowledge appropriate - focus on what your class knows, not what they don't know
3. be sure they are language level appropriate - some topics simply require more vocabulary and higher levels of grammar knowledge
4. unless there is good reason not to, give your students a lot of opportunity to explore the topic in a way that is interesting to them - basically assign general topics rather than specific ones. 

As an example of this, I recently had my upper intermediate ESL class do a presentation.  The basic assignment was for them to think of a problem in the world (ideally a social/environmental problem), explain why it is a problem, and offer a possible solution.  I did not care if it was a global issue or an issue local to their hometown or even neighbourhood.  We had 15 totally different presentation topics, which made the class more interesting and added to their overall knowledge of such issues.

There is no magic secret to presentation topics.  The magic comes in the presentations themselves.  If you follow some of the suggestions I've offered here, you and your students should be OK.    

Cheers,

Eric  

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Somebody dropped me a note the other day asking about intonation and what exactly intonation is.  Well it isn't that hard a concept, although it is a little subtle at times.

Basically, in language, intonation is the rising, or falling pitch in the speakers voice as they say words or phrases.  In many languages, changes in pitch reflect a change in meaning of what is being said. 

Some languages are considered to be 'tonal languages'.  That is, the language makes use of different tones to signify different meanings.  Mandarin Chinese, and Thai are two that quickly spring to mind.  What this means is that in tonal languages, words that are the same in all ways except the intonation will have different meanings.  Of course the use of tones is not limited to distinguishing different words.

Other languages, like English are said to be non-tonal.  This is of course not entirely correct.  English speakers make great use of intonation to, among other things, signify mood, or differentiate questions from statements (as well as yes/no questions from wh questions).  Additionally some Englishes have tonal variations like the raising of dipthongs in Canadian English (known as Canadian Raising).

Intonation works at word, phrase, and sentence levels to vary meaning, intent, and emotion.  There are also tonal differences noted between male and female speech patterns in most languages.

Intonation is a subtle, but critical component of full spoken fluency in any language.  For language learners, it is often one of the last things to be mastered as it requires tremendous levels of exposure to and interaction with native speakers of the language being learned.

Hopefully this sheds a little light on what intonation is, and why it is important to master.

Cheers,

Eric

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If you aren't familiar with the real Rosetta Stone, it is a stone artefact found in the middle east that is a critical piece of history in the understandingn Egyptian writing.  It contains multiple types of writing (translations of the same text) all in one stone slab and is perhaps the single most important 'document' in the understanding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.  It is because of the multiple languages on this stone that early linguists were able to discover the meanings of many previously unknown hieroglyphics.

OK, so what does this have to do with computer assisted language learning? Well there is a great piece of software called "The Rosetta Stone" that was developed to help students learn language more quickly.  I had the opportunity to review a demonstration copy of the software recently and found it very easy to use, well designed pedagogically (it builds very naturally from easier topics and materials to more complicated as a student works with the software).  The software works on developing a students vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and reading skills primarily.  For what it provides (hundreds of hours of practice and materials to work on), it is very affordable.

I'd say that it is very well suited to use in public school language programmes, for home study, community language programmes, and in private language schools that focus on communicative language development.  It may not be ideal for programmes with a heavy academic focus, but would still provide a great deal of practice for students.  The software is also available for teaching/practice in dozens of different languages (not only English instruction), so if you are teaching Italian, French, Turkish, Thai, Greek, and any of 20 or so other languages, the sofware is available for study in those languages as well.

When I was talking with a rep recently I found out that they are now offering the software with a free headset (that includes a microphone), and free shipping.  Considering that they also provide a 6 month return guarantee, it is a really great opportunity to get a copy of the software.  You can also send your students to read this page so they can look into getting a copy for themselves.

You can read more about it in detail here: 

Cheers,

Eric

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For students who are learning a new language pronunciation is a hurdle that seems to take a long time to jump over.  Long after grammar and reading skills have developed and vocabulary knowledge has been built, pronunciation lingers as a problem area.  Often, the problem is more in the speaker's mind then a real source of comprehension problems - however that in itself is a problem that needs to be dealt with.

For teachers who are working in classes with students from a variety of backgrounds working on pronunciation issues can be a challenge as pronunciation problems vary according to a student's first language.  Koreans have touble with f/v, p/b; French speakers with th/d; Japanese with r/l if we are only looking at individual sounds.  Move into rhythm and intonation and you've added in another whole level of complexity.  Despite having a tonal language (Mandarin for example), Chinese students of English are notorious for flat, monotonous speech in English.

So can English pronunciation software help teachers and students with their pronunciation problems?  The most basic answer is yes.  There are a selection of good pronunciation software packages that can help both teachers and students alike.  As a teacher, you can work on more global issues in class and then have your students work on problem areas that they are personally experiencing with pronunciation software.  Students can also do self-access or self-study with pronunciation software on their own time to further work on their spoken English.

Here are some English pronunciation software packages that I'd suggest checking out:

• eyespeak - Good for word and sentence level practice.  Also provides some good practice on phoneme level issues.  Provides good visual cues on a student's voice patterns
• Pronunciation Power I and II - Very easy to use software that provides a TON of practice opportunities over roughly 60 different phonemes.  Provides practive at both word and sentence level.  Corrective feedback and suggestions are not really a part of this software, but it is very well liked.
• Connected Speech - A good package of listening and speaking activities that are theme based.  The focus of this pronunciation software is to work on sentence level issues (prosodics: suprasegmentals, rythm, stress and intonation)

Using software to work on English pronunciation isn't the end-all and be-all.  A student must get real life exposure and practice speaking as much as possible.  Improving pronunciation is a lot like playing professional sports.  You can practice all you want, but until you get into the game, your skills don't really shine or let you down.  It is in the 'game' that you learn where you need to work on your pronunciation and what is already OK.  Getting students to do that…well that is an issue beyond any pronunciation software.

Cheers,

Eric

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