HELPING OUR STUDENTS BECOME BETTER PRESENTERS IN THE SECOND LANGUAGE

I have been posting in my YouTube channel several videos of my AP students presenting some of the topics found in the Contextos readings in Vista Higher Learning TEMAS.

I also get a lot of questions about how do them reach the level of confidence and proficiency to prepare and present a clear, compelling and well put together presentation. Here I share some strategies I have found have helped my students put together good presentations on the TL.

1- Be clear and direct with your project directions.  Use simple rubrics that guide instead of confusing the students.  The more you include in the rubric, the more overwhelmed and confused the students will get. See my example HERE (when you see this rubric, please keep in mind that this is the type of rubric that has helped my students feel confident that they can prepare extraordinary presentations.  

2- Talk about the topics students will be researching and presenting on.  Do not blindside them by asking them to present on something you have not created any expectation or interest about.  

3- Show them a video of you presenting or teaching, or find a really great talk on TED Talk.  After watching the video ask them what they think makes a great presentation based on what they saw.  We can’t expect or assume that they know what a good presentation is.

4- Allow them to have some key words in their slides or in an index card.  This communicates that you are not expecting them to memorize a script.

5-Encourage them to use the L2 they already know (plus one) to explain what they are presenting.  Kids tend to believe that they must memorize a bunch of new words and expressions in order to satisfy the teacher. 

6- During the presentation look at students eyes, smile, knot  and DO NOT correct those silly mistakes that do not get in the way of comprehension. 

7- During the presentation take notes of those things that you find quite unique about the students presentation.  Complete the rubric later an in private.}

8- AND MOST IMPORTANT:

Before any “big” presentations/projects have your students practice with “small” presentations/projects.  HERE is a list of topics for no more that 2 minutes presentations that your students can use  to practice. While presenting this mini-presentations (formative assessment) give them feedback regarding all the things you will be looking for during “big” presentation/projects.

@Copyright 2019 Diego Ojeda,  this material is intended for educational purposes and it’s free.  It is prohibited to profit from it in any way or form. For questions contact Diego Ojeda @ diego@srojeda.com

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