Transcript
Are you likely to be called upon to give a spontaneous, off-the-cuff talk, perhaps for an examination, in your studies or at work? Having to talk on a subject with very little time to prepare can be quite a challenge. In particular, in a situation like this it is important to avoid rambling on rather incoherently without a clear structure to what you want to say.
This recording features Corina from Romania.
In this interview we decided to focus on structuring a talk and also on using signposting words or expressions to show when you’re moving from one subject to the next. Examples of signposting words and expressions include contrasting expressions such as ‘on the one hand’, ‘on the other hand’ or addition expressions such as ‘to begin with’, ‘next’, ‘finally’. Corina was asked to talk on the following subject:
‘How important is it to have good role models?’
and Corina was offered three suggested areas to look at where having good role models might be important: school, leisure and work.
As you listen, decide how well Corina managed to structure her talk and whether she managed to use any signposting expressions to help us follow her. Finally, make a note of Corina’s use of English, which we’ll look at in the feedback section. Let’s listen to Corina:
… In my opinion it’s very important for young people to have good role models in life … because what does a good role model mean? It means that the young people can choose what’s best to do or see the difference between good and wrong. And first of all let’s look at some positive aspects of having a good role model. Certainly a good role model at school, for example. A good teacher would be …a person that the young can choose to follow as an example of good behaviour or hard working, or dedication or … how much … or to see how much that person is getting involved in the process of education. Also, these good role model in leisure time would be appreciate to have. Because think about a parent who likes to play with his or her son or daughter and … and know the meaning of winning or losing. It’s very important to learn how to … put the value on time and … what losing means you just have to know how to win and how to lose in life … and a good role model would teach the child that it’s not very important to be a winner just by having won a prize, and the child should learn that being a winner means to have run the perfect race at the final … at the end of a … of an experience. Also having a good role model at work is very important. Having a boss … a boss who is not always trying to micro manage your work is very important. So, to sum up having a good role model in life will certainly bring a lot of advantages for you as a person and for you as … a person who is trying achieve performance in life.“
Feedback
First of all, a big ‘thank you’ to Corina for agreeing to be recorded. I’m sure she’d appreciate any comments you would like to make on her talk. Let’s see what feedback we can give her. Starting with the content and structure of her talk, Corina gave a very interesting and full account responding precisely to the question that was asked of her.
Corina chose to use the three suggested topics of education, leisure and work and made it clear to us at what point she was moving on to each section. However, can you think of other expressions Corina could have used to introduce these new sections of her talk?
“…And first of all let’s look at some positive aspects of having a good role model…”
“…Also, these good role model in leisure time would be appreciate …”
“…Also having a good role model at work is very important …”
Other signposting words instead of ‘also’ which could have been used here include expressions like ‘turning now to leisure’ or ‘let’s now look at leisure …’
She also made it very clear when her talk was coming to an end by signposting the conclusion very well:
“…So to sum up having a good role model in life …”
Another nice feature of Corina’s talk was her use of questions directed at the listener. This has the effect of involving the listener in the talk:
“…What does a good role model mean?”
“…Think about a parent who likes to play with his or her son or daughter …”
Finally, Corina’s English was very accurate but can you spot the mistakes in these extracts:
“… these good role model in leisure time would be appreciate to have …”
“… as an example of good behaviour or hard working or dedication …”
OK, here are the corrections.
“… these good role model in leisure time would be appreciate to have …”
There are two issues here. The first, pronunciation. The pronunciation of this word, ‘leisure’. Secondly ‘role model’. This is pronounced with the stress on the first word, ‘role model’. Also the point Corina was trying to make could have been expressed better and more naturally as ‘would be very advantageous’ or ‘would be a great benefit’.
“… as an example of good behaviour or hard working or dedication …”
Good behaviour and dedication are both excellent choices of nouns here. Hard working, however, is an adjective and should be expressed as ‘being a hard worker’ or ‘hard work’.
That’s it for this week. You’re listening to Pete Travis. Come back soon for another Splendid Speaking podcast.