Welcome to English Core II-C, which to me is much clearer as simply "Presentations". This is an integrated-skills offering in which students will engage in and with the four basic skills of language acquisition. Using a series of topics from our textbook, we will explore the art of oral presentations, both done alone and as a member of a group. This course will focus on language useful in university contexts. This is a 15-week course offered by the Department of Science and Engineering during Autumn, 2020.

Note: this course will be conducted entirely online. The information for our Zoom class meetings is available on CoursePower.

The principal focus of this course is on enhancing English presentation skills English that students can and hopefully will use during and also after their university career. Although the primary focus is on speaking, this course will include reading and writing as necessary.

Class material will be provided by the instructor and will also be available online. Students are encouraged to bring any electronic devices they feel might be helpful, including by not limited to e-dictionaries, smart phones, and personal computers.

Note that all homework will be submitted using Dropbox's File Request function; the links are highlighted in light green.

 Week 1 (September 14, 2020) — Course Overview 

Good day, everyone, and thank you for enrolling in this course. We will endeavor, as you certainly know, to expand your knowledge of presentation skills necessary to function in English both in your university context(s) and in the wider world.

Good People, you know, of course, that vocabulary knowledge is important, and supplementing your knowledge will again be part of our class. On your vocabulary page in Google Drive, all students are required to continue adding new words or phrases each and every week. More words would be better, so I'll expect more words this term. For example, if you had a total of 65 words last terms, how about aiming for 50% more this term? (Do the math, folks: 65 + 32.5 = 97.5 words ... oh, let's call it an even 100.)

 Homework: 

Today we will explore the use of PowerPoint, Microsoft's very useful presentation software. However, please note that there are other software programs that may be used; some of note are Keynote and Prezi. The latter, Prezi, is a Flash-based program that zooms in, out, and around a single image, and I find it quite effective (and perhaps more interesting than PowerPoint).

Text here ...

 Homework: 

 Week 2 (September 21, 2020) — Presentation Preparation 

Today we will spend our classtime preparing for your presentation next week. More specifically, you will be planning your PowerPoint slides and preparing your script. Of course, both of these must be handed in next week.

 Homework: 

 Week 3 (September 28, 2020) — Presentation #1 

This day, my Good Students, you will be making presentations to your classmates in small groups. This means that you will be presenting in a Breakout Room with a total of 4-5 members. Of course, you will speak while sharing your screen and showing your smiling face. Because each group will have 4-5 presentations, you will finish rather quickly, so we will then repeat the process, time permitting.

 Homework & Class Material: 

 Week 4 (October 5, 2020) — TBA  Today, folks, we will be working on further polishing the dialog that accompanies your presentation. As you will recall from our earlier classes, I have a particular beginning in mind as you open your presentation, but I would like you to consider how you can make that more interesting. You might, for example, begin with a question or a number. You could also describe the context of your topic.

I would again like to emphasize that you will not read your slides. That is boring, folks. Your slides exist to support your speaking, and as such you should talk about the images and limited text on your slides. That is why you prepare and practice (and practice) your dialog. Today we will be adding dialog to the bridge presentation from textbook (pp. 32-33), and I would like also you to consider how you could add more to that presentation to enhance it.

Today we will be talking some about your upcoming presentation, about which you may well be wondering. On the 9th of November you will make a presentation about a topic related to science or engineering. Of course, the PowerPoint should be in the required format, which we will review in class and for which you will see examples below. I am also expecting a longer, more developed presentation with, for example, more slides and thus more content.

 Homework & Class Material: 

 Week 5 (October 12, 2020) — Script Practice and Refinement; Evaluation 

Today, Gentle Students, we will continue with some exercises in our textbook as well as have some time for you to work on and ask questions about your upcoming presentation. Incidentally, the picture to the left is an example of a pueblo, which is a traditional First Nation (Native American) dwelling found in the American Southwest. If you're wondering why I have it here, you'll have to ask me for a definitive answer.

Today I would like to introduce another small task for you good people. You may well be familiar with TED Talks, the 'TED' of which is not the teddy bear of movie fame but an acronym for technology, entertainment, design. Your job will be to watch at least two talks and prepare a critique of them.

In addition, as you'll know from class, during the presentations you must to evaluate three of your classmates. This is an essential step in your development as a presenter, for you will consume far more presentations than you will make, I suspect. Thus, recognizing what constitutes a good presentation is an important skill. The form we will use is linked below; we will talk about it in today's class and look at the evaluation form we will use (in the Class Material below).

 Class Material: 

 TED Talk homework (due by November 2 and by December 25, 2020): 

 Week 6 (October 19, 2020) — Presentation English 

Today we will be considering common English phrases used in presentations. This means, of course, that you really should use these in your presentations. OK?

One more point that you need to remember is to do your e-learning, and please be aware that you also can earn bonus points (and have fun) in the Chat Room.

 Helpful English presentation language: 

 Week 7 (October 26, 2020) — TED Talk 

Today we will have no live class meeting. However, you will spend this time viewing and writing a critique of one TED Talk; the critique is due by November 2, which is a holiday. Note that we will have no class on November 2nd because of the university festival.

 No class (November 2, 2020) — TED Talk submission 

Today we will have no class meeting, but please hand in your first TED Talk review via this File Request.

 Week 8 (November 9, 2020) — Presentations 

As you'll recall, today we'll have presentations to half classes. This means that we will split into two groups; half will present in one Breakout Room and the other half will be in a different Breakout Room. We will record your presentations for you to critique (see the handout below).

As you will remember from last week's class, today you will evaluate your classmates. This is an essential step in your development as a presenter, for you will consume far more presentations than you will make, I suspect. Thus, recognizing what constitutes a good presentation is an important skill.

 Homework: 

Week #8 (November 16, 2020) —  Cause & Effect 

Today we will be working more with out textbook. I'd like to look at two chapters as we lead into our third presentation, which will take place before the Christmas and the New Year holiday; more specifically, you will be presenting on December 21.

We will also spend some time practicing the cause-and-effect outline.

 Homework: 

My apologies for the sudden cancelation on November 16. As you are aware, I had to attend an important meeting that morning, but I am planning to hold a makeup class at some point in the near future.

Note that November 23 is a holiday, meaning that we will have NO class.

Week #9 (November 30, 2020) —  Group Presentation Basics 

Today I would like to begin with a few minutes to check on your progress in our class Word Bank and in the e-learning you are required to do. While I am checking with individuals, please use your time to work on your group presentation or on the Word Bank.

Our second task this morning is to consider the group presentation format. You will, of course, need to make presentations as groups as you continue your academic journey.

From our textbook, we will be examining the intricacies of the 4-stroke internal combustion engine, which you'll find on pp. 26ff. Just for your enlightenment, here we have two videos on how such engines work: construction and movement and with narration.

Week #10 (December 7, 2020) —  The Mighty Pinhole Camera 

Today I would like to remind you about our class Word Bank. As you can cleverly discern, this is our 9th class, which means you should have at least 60 words.

An addendum to the group presentations on December 21: after watching presentations that day, you will need to evaluate three groups using this evaluation form. After we finish presentations you will receive feedback from your classmates and perhaps also from Dr. Elwood.

Today, we will be learning some about pinhole cameras. These are quite simple devices, yet the photographs they take are of reasonable quality: How a pinhole camera works and a 5-minute introduction to pinhole cameras. In our book, you'll find our material in Unit 8 (pp. 50ff).

 Week 11 (December 14, 2020)  Practice for Group Presentations 

Your group rehearse (i.e., practice) your presentation today, so you will need to have the PowerPoint and script ready.

 Presentation Material: 

 Week 12 (December 21, 2020) — Group Presentations 

In this class we will be enjoying group presentations. Please hand in your group's PowerPoint and script (just one per group) via this File Request

Remember that you will need to evaluate a total of three presentations (due by Christmas, December 25).

A reminder, everyone: You will remember that you have a TED Talk assignment from several weeks ago. In case you've forgotten, you need to watch a total of 25 minutes of TED talks and write a critique of the second TED talk.

 TED Talk homework (due by December 25, 2020): 

 Week 13 (January 18, 2021) — Description 

Good morning, and welcome back after your winter holiday. Today we will talk some about describing things, which is a vital skill for you engineers-to-be. Often I encounter very good speakers who cannot 'talk around' a word that they don't know; this is called circumlocution and is a common technique that allows the speaker to overcome a missing vocabulary item. (Yes, this happens with native speakers as well as language learners.)

A reminder, too: Have you completed your Word Bank? Remember that the goal was and still is 100 words.

 Your complex machine homework assignment: 

 Week 14 (January 25, 2021) — Group Presentations 

Inasmuch as this has been a busy, hectic term, we will finish our class with the final group presentations from December 21. Please attend class even if you will not be presenting. Because we will have just a few presentations, this will be a short class.

 Your final homework assignment: