Highlights: ENGL E101F Wk 10 S1_L21

Signpost or provide markers

• Purpose:
• Listeners can follow what you are saying and where you are going more easily
• How:
• Using sequence markers and words which show the relationships between ideas

Signpost or provide markers

For example:

• tell your listeners clearly when you have finished the first part and that you are now moving on to part two, then part three and so on.

Signpost or provide markers

Introducing your topic:

• Today I'd like to discuss ...
• I'm going to explain ...
• I want to consider ...

Sequencing your points:

• First/ To begin with, I'll
• I will then go on to ...
• Next, I'll
• Finally/ My final point concerns ...

Signpost or provide markers

Introducing a new point:

• I'd like to turn now to ...
• Moving on now to ...
• Having looked at ..., let's now consider ...

Conclusing your speech:

• So, we can see that ...
• So, we can conclude from all this that ...
• By way of conclusion, I'd like to review my main points where are ...

Clarity and organization

• Be clear and concise
• Have a clear structure
• Tell your listeners how you have organized what you are going to say.

Clarity and organization

• Today I would first talk to you briefly about Antarctica, its geography, its wild life and its significance. I would also like to make use of this opportunity to introduce to you some unusual activities it offers and give you some tips to anyone who is planning to visit Antarctica in the near future.

More repetition

• cannot go back and review
• the key ideas/terms need to be repeated to ensure that the content is clear

Activity

Listen again to the introduction and the first argument of the lecture, 'The Functions of Examinations'. Pay attention to the organization of the lecture and how the lecturer uses repetition to help his students to understand his argument.

Activity

The lecturer repeats the idea of stimulating healthy competition 3 times, once in the introduction when he provides the outline of sections and twice within the first argument.

He mentions that students are stimulated by the competitive atmosphere to produce the best work they are capable of. And before moving on to the second issue, he reinforces that examinations stimulate hard work and a healthy competition, which reflects the reality of the outside world.

Strategies to help listeners

Less referents like pronouns

• If too many pronouns have been used, listeners will feel confused

Strategies to help listeners

presenting old days in a slightly different way making them seem new and original

Task 1: Look at the example:

John and Sam were sitting in the kitchen. John really wanted to talk about what he'd done in the last ten years, but he seemed more interested in rehashing the days of their childhood. He was saddened by the fact that he couldn't share all of the successes of the past decade with him - but alas, Sam didn't seem to care.

Can you identify what each 'he' and the 'him' refer to?

Strategies to help listeners

(1) John

(2) Sam

John and Sam were sitting in the kitchen. John really wanted to talk about what he (1)'d done in the last ten years, but he (2) seemed more interested in rehashing the days of their childhood. He (3) was saddened by the fact that he (4) couldn't share all of the successes of the past decade with him (5) - but alas, Sam didn't seem to care.

(3) John

(4) John

(5) Sam