Topic Speech Performances - Mr. Brooks' class

In June 2006, freshmen students have each been performing a 1-2 minute speech in English on a topic of their choice. We have worked on learning how to organize the logical structure of a short speech, and also worked on how to polish a spoken performance so that it communicates with the audience -- not simply reading a written composition. Some of the students have been quite succcessful -- even though it may have taken a couple of tries - in some cases. As the instructor, I would like to make some of the very good and excellent performances available for others (both inside our university community) and also in the outside world. In the following days and weeks, some of those speeches will be posted here for you to watch. Please remember that ours in NOT a professional broadcasting course or even a public speaking class. This is a required English-As-A-Foreign-Language (EFL) course for freshmen at our medical and health sciences university located just outside Tokyo, Japan. We have nothing better than a digital video camera to make the recordings. The speeches are not expected to be 'media-quality' (like a TV broadcast). However, some of them are quite well done and succeed in getting their message across. I think it was a great learning project. [No comments are allowed at the moment].

Much Improved Performance - 再発表

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Video sent by kujp999

The same student below gave his speech again a week later. I hope you can notice the big improvement. Not only is his self-confidence stronger but he succeeds in getting across his message more effectively and with more impact. Our comprehension of his ideas is easier too because he makes us want to listen to him by the improved style of stronger delivery, better audience awareness and much more eye contact. His main message about what he has learned personally about the benefits of sports is unchanged, but the power and impact of the message is much greater. Give a speech is much more than just writing (and reading) a good composition. A good public speaking performance can make people take notice, give us attention and also understand a new, important and meaningful lesson or idea.

RE student's first Topic Speech performance

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Video sent by kujp999

The is S's first try at performing of his topic speech He doesn't really look up at the audience so he wanted to do the speech performance again (above). I am sure you see and hear the difference in the previous video (above) when he performed it again with the goal of speaking with better audience awareness (not just reading from the paper but trying to communicate to the listeners).