A LECTURE PLAN FOR TEACHING BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS IN ENGLISH

Brieger, N.; The York Associates Teaching Business English Handbook , York: York Associates, 1997 , pp. 42-43.

Ellis, M.; Johnson, C., Teaching Business English, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994, p. 95.

Al-Nouh, N . A., Abdul -Kareem, M . M. and Taqi, H . A; EFL college students’ perceptions of the difficulties in oral presentation as a form of assessment. International Journal of Higher Education , 4(1), 2015 [online], pp. 136-150.

Chan, M.; English for Business Communication, Abingdon: Routledge, 2020, p. 142.

Grussendorf, M.; English for Presentations, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 73.

Harmer, J.; The Practice of English Language Teaching ,4th edition, London: Pearson Longman, 2002 , p. 276.

Ellis, M.; Johnson, C., Teaching Business English, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994, p. 95-97.

Ciortescu, E.; Public Speaking in a Nutshell, Iași: Tipo Moldova, 2020, p. 15.

Powell, M.; Presenting in English. How to Give Successful Presentations , Boston: Thomson -Heinle, 2002, p. 110.

The first nine are provided as discussion points at an activity about presentations designed by coursebook authors Cotton, D.; Falvey, D. and Kent, S.; Market Leader Intermediate: Business English Coursebook, 3rd edition, London: Pearson Longman, 2010, p. 108.

Carnegie, D .; The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking. Modern Techniques for Dynamic Communication, New York: Pocket Books, 2017, p. 94. Annex 1 LECTURE PLAN UNIVERSITY: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania FACULTY: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration COURSE NAME: Business English 2 LEVEL: First-year undergraduate SEMESTER OF STUDY: 2 LEVEL OF ENGLISH: Intermediate NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 100 LECTURE TOPIC: Preparing and Delivering Business Presentations in English LECTURE DURATION: 50 minutes APPROACH: Communicative OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lecture, the students will be able to: - understand the specificity of business presentations in English - plan a presentation following the basic structure - use appropriate language, vocabulary and register - deliver a short presentation on a business-related topic TEACHING AIDS: video projector, laptop, Power PointTM presentation PROCEDURE: Stage Teacher’s activities and language Students’ activities and language Time Skills Warm-up -The teacher ( T.) announces that students (Ss.) will be expected to deliver a presentation in one hour. -T. elicits the first questions that come to Ss. ’ minds when presented with this challenge. -T. lists examples of common questions and informs Ss. that they will not in fact have to complete that task, mentioning however that if they had to, the following lecture would help them navigate the situation. -T. points out that public speaking in general and delivering presentations in particular are not only work skills but also life skills and provides examples of various situations that might require Ss. to put this into practice, such as: presenting one ’s contribution to a project during a business meeting, making a sales pitch, attending a -Ss. state the questions they have about delivering a presentation, prompted by the T.’s announcement. -Ss. mention any other concerns they may have on the topic. -Ss. take note of the possible scenarios which would require 5’ 2’ 3’ Listening Speaking Speaking Listening Main Part conference or a trade fair etc. -T. proceeds to present the two main par ts to a presentation: preparation and delivery. -Starting with preparation, T. lists the key points to be considered when planning for a business presentation. These encompass the basics such as date, time and venue but also specifics like the how audience and their cultural background impact the selection of content, language and register to be used. -T. introduces a short matching exercise to illustrate the distinction between formal and informal language in English. -T. moves on to talk about the content of a presentation, listing some key points to be considered, such as: topic, purpose of the talk, identifying three main points, the topic’s importance to the audience, structure, visuals. -T. mentions that designing the slides for a PowerPoint TM presentation is as important as the content itself. -T. illustrates how the Rule of Six (or five, according to other sources) applies to a well-designed slide. -T. asks Ss. to count the objects on a slide (which contains 10 ducks) as quickly as possible and raise their hands as soon as they have. Then, on the next slide, there are 6 ducks, and Ss. will have to count them again, this time noticing that it takes less time. T. explains that the human brain is capable to process information quicker if there are fewer elements to look at, which illustrates the importance of the Rule of six. -T. also provides practical examples of a good slide (which observes the rule) and a poorly designed one to further prove their point. -T. moves on to the second main them to deliver a presentation and add more examples to the list. -Ss. discuss what each element mentioned by the teacher entails in terms of preparing for a presentation and provide practical examples where possible. -Ss. complete the matching exercise and share the answers with the class. -Ss. take notes, ask and answer questions based on the T.’s input. -Ss. count the elements on the slide and raise their hands as soon as they are done. They do the same thing for the second slide. 5’ 3’ 5’ 2’ Speaking Listening Speaking Reading Writing Speaking Listening Speaking Speaking Closing remarks part of a pr esentation, namely delivery. As this is a language course, the T. focusses on expressing oneself in English and discusses some tips such as: speaking clearly, using simple grammar, checking and practising pronunciation, learning topic - specific vocabulary, emphasizing key points and using signposts. -T. invites Ss. to add anything they think is important to the list. -T. moves on to the last point concerning delivery, which is answering questions. T. lists different types of questions and invites Ss. to su ggest possible ways to answer them. -T. ends the lecture by listing some final tips on presentations. T. asks Ss. to express their opinion on the importance of each tip. -T. leaves Ss. with a final quote about public speaking. -Ss. comment on the two examples of good/bad slides. -Ss. take notes and ask for clarification if necessary. -Ss. discuss the T.’s recommendations and suggest other points to be added to the list. -Ss. discuss together with the teacher what the best ways are to give answers to various types of questions. -Ss. go through the final list of tips together with the T. and say whether they think they are essential, somewhat important or best avoided. -Ss. comment on the quote, stating what it means to them. 5’ 2’ 3’ 5’ 10’ Reading Speaking Listening Speaking Writing Speaking Reading Speaking Listening Reading Speaking Source: Author’s own lecture plan