Nov
06
ASSESSING SPOKEN PRODUCTION: A LEARNERS’ GUIDE TO USING ‘PECHA KUCHA’ PRESENTATIONS IN THE UNIVERSITY LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
This best practice is part of a suite of language assessment activities designed within the context of the E-Lengua project and implemented at Trinity College Dublin’s undergraduate institution-wide language programme Designed to assess speaking and writing skills within the Blackboard Learn virtual learning environment, three new teaching and assessment activities were developed in order to promote engaged and interactive language learning and assessment supported by the use of innovative ICT activities within a higher education context. The Blackboard Blog project assesses written interaction. The Pecha Kucha project assesses spoken production. The Popplet project assesses written production. Together, these three collaborative tasks were designed to form part of a cycle of group projects completed over two terms of class.
Pecha Kucha provides an opportunity to tell a powerful and memorable story. The format means
that presenters need to prepare carefully their script in advance. Below you will some tips which will
help you create a seamless and professional narrative to accompany your presentation.
Find your topic. Some topics work better than others in terms of the time available (6 minutes, 40
seconds) and the format (visual slides accompanied by a spoken script).
Think about your overall message before you start, what is your key point? Create a 'topic sentence'
which summarises the aim of your Pecha Kucha presentation before you start.
Create a beginning, a middle and an endto your script. Start with a personal story or anecdote to
draw in your audience. Plan in advance how you will end your presentation – try to end on a high
point!
Working backwards, create a story arcwhich contains a few structured sections which will take your
listener from knowing nothing to knowing your key point. It may be helpful to use two or three
sections (like the acts in a play or the verses in a poem).
Try to deliver your presentation byusing a narrative structure such as before/after, cause/effect,
problem/solution.
At sentence level, create short statementswhich will convey your meaning with more impact than
overly long or ‘wordy’ clauses.
The words which will accompany your presentation should flow from slide to slide without
interruption or hesitation. This means trying to avoid long silences, and too many ‘umms’ or ‘ahs’.
Usually a speech contains approximately 120 – 150 words per minute. Aim for a script of 750 – 1000
wordsat first, and then check your timing. When we are nervous, we tend to speak more quickly
than we intend to, which can be difficult for an audience to understand, so try to slow your speech
down a little for clarity.
Target language
Multilingual practice
Languages:
- English
Level (CEFR/ACTFL)
Multilevel
Beginning date
06 / 11 / 2018
End date
06 / 11 / 2018
Created by
Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Trinity College Dublin (IE)
Implemented at
Trinity College Dublin (IE)
Audience
Higher Education
Educational technologies and tools
- Online publishing tools [blogs, websites, robojournalism tools, curation tools, timelines, concept mapping tools and services, etc.]
- Asynchronous and synchronous computer-mediated communication [videoconference, Hangouts, Skype, email, forums, social networks, etc.]
- Online/Hybrid course management platforms and authoring software [Moodle, Blackboard, Canvas, Sakai, etc.; online course authoring software and tools, etc.]
- Assessment and feedback [questionnaires, learning analytics, surveys, pools, tests, etc.]
Teaching methods
- Face-to-face learning/blended learning/online learning
- Lectures/(Hands-on) practice/Internships/Community service/Seminars/Oral presentations/Group discussions
- Project-based learning
- Collaborative learning
Contact information
Prof. Lorna Carson,Room 4091, CLCS, Arts
Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
carsonle@tcd.ie
How to cite this best practice?
Carson, Lorna. (2018). "ASSESSING SPOKEN PRODUCTION: A LEARNERS’ GUIDE TO USING ‘PECHA KUCHA’ PRESENTATIONS IN THE UNIVERSITY LANGUAGE CLASSROOM". Online: https://foco.usal.es/en/fichas/assessing-spoken-production-a-learners-guide-to-using-pecha-kucha-presentations-in-the-university-language-classroom/. Repositorio FOCO [26-04-2024].