COMMENTARY: SPEAKING WITH DIFFERENT ACCENTS On Classroom Presentations
المؤلف:
Tara Goldstein
المصدر:
Teaching and Learning in a Multilingual School
الجزء والصفحة:
P110-C6
2025-09-30
186
COMMENTARY: SPEAKING WITH DIFFERENT ACCENTS
On Classroom Presentations
Student presentations, performed both individually and in small groups, were a popular assignment among English and social studies teachers at Northside because they provided students with an opportunity to practice their public-speaking skills in English. For most English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) students, giving an effective classroom presentation was an extremely demanding activity. Students were evaluated on their use of Standard English grammar and Standard English phonology (pronunciation). They were also evaluated on their strategies for repairing and enhancing communication (for example, their ability to paraphrase and effectively use gestures and eye contact) and their understanding of the sociolinguistic and cultural norms associated with giving a classroom presentation.
The presentations given by the ESOL students at Northside were assessed in comparison to the performances of students who used English as a primary language and/or had attended elementary school in Toronto. For many of these students, giving classroom presentations was not perceived as an unfamiliar or particularly difficult activity. To illustrate, when the character of Timothy tells his Canadian-born friend, Mike, that he is nervous about his upcoming presentation in scene 1 of No Pain, No Gain, Mike thinks he must be kidding. Timothy's speech is already completed, and all Timothy has to do is "say it in class." Mike, on the other hand, hasn't finished his speech. For Mike, preparing the speech is the difficult task, not presenting it. Elementary school students in Ontario begin making classroom presentations as early as in grade 1. This means that students like Mike have already accessed what sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has called the linguistic and cultural "capital" needed to produce effective classroom presentations. However, for students like play-wright Timothy Chiu, who did not (completely) do their elementary education in Toronto (Timothy arrived in Toronto at the age of 10), performing a presentation in front of other students required learning new and uncomfortable ways of talking and acting.
In Chiu's play, the character of Timothy demonstrates that he has mastered quite a few of the linguistic and cultural norms associated with doing a classroom presentation at Northside. For example, in scene 2, we hear that he knows it is common and appropriate to begin a presentation with a greeting such as "Good afternoon, fellow students." He also knows that such a greeting needs to be delivered in a bright and enthusiastic manner. As well, the sample of his presentation speech we hear in scene 2 has been edited so it follows the rules of Standard English grammar. Finally, Timothy understands that his presentation must contain a well-planned analysis and appeal to a wide range of political opinions on the colonial history of Hong Kong. In scene 3, when Mom tells Timothy that he has to tell his classmates that Chinese people are no longer enslaved by Whites, Timothy replies that he doesn't plan to "be cocky."
Yet, despite the sociolinguistic, grammatical, cultural, and political expertise Timothy displays in scene 2 and scene 3 of the play, and despite the 4 hours of practice (which is later critiqued by the playwright as being over-zealous when it is described as a symptom of a fictional disease named "Nerdkazophobia"), the presentation does not go as well as Timothy had anticipated. After a strong beginning, Timothy's hands and body begin to shake. He lowers his voice, and then hides his face behind his presentation script so it is no longer possible for other students to hear or understand what he is saying. Mr. Kendall, who appreciates Timothy's effort, gives him a mark of 85% for his presentation, but comments on his nervousness. Timothy, who had practiced for 4 hours and had been anticipating a higher mark, is disappointed.
The audience knows why Timothy became nervous even after 4 hours of practice. Earlier, in a conversation that he had with his friend Mike, Timothy told us that he didn't feel comfortable speaking when lots of people were staring at him. As Victor Yu tells us in the quotation, in Hong Kong, Timothy was not required to make a classroom presentation and it is hard for him to get used to speaking on center stage. The audience also found out that the last time Timothy spoke out in front of his classmates in English class, they made gestures, which Timothy interpreted as a sign that his classmates did not understand what he was saying. The anticipation of not being understood and having to, once again, continue speaking despite distracting and disturbing gestures from classmates contributed to Timothy's nervousness, which, in turn, contributed to his disappointing performance.
At the end of play, Timothy and Mr. Kendall talk about Timothy's nervousness. Mr. Kendall suggests that Timothy practice speaking English in public whenever he has the opportunity to do so. In the last scene of the play, Timothy, speaking in the third person about himself, tells the audience that he followed Mr. Kendall's advice and began to practice English wherever he could. In the process of practicing, Timothy met a lot of new friends and his ability to speak in public improved. The play has a happy ending.
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