Lesson video

Hello and welcome.

Thank you for joining me for today's lesson.

My name's Mrs. Butterworth and I will be guiding you through the learning.

Now, this lesson, we will be using our spoken language skills.

So we're going to be thinking about how we can strengthen ideas for a presentation by using discussion and debate.

So are you ready to get started? Let's go.

So in this lesson you will generate, refine, and organise ideas for a presentation through structured discussion and debate.

But before we delve into the lesson, let's look at some key words that will pop up throughout and help with your understanding.

These words are articulate, discourse markers, refine, and rebuttal.

Now to articulate yourself is to express thoughts or ideas clearly and effectively.

So we're going to be thinking about how you can articulate yourselves well in your presentations.

Discourse markers are words or phrases that help organise and connect ideas in speech or writing.

So we're going to be looking at those and how we can use discourse markers in spoken language and presentations to really structure our ideas and make it clear for our audience.

And then refine, refining is all about improving something by making small changes.

So you may refine your presentations or how you deliver your presentations.

And a rebuttal is a part of our debate skills.

So you see rebuttal in debate, and a rebuttal is a response that argues against or contradicts a statement or claim.

So we'll be thinking about how we can use rebuttal to really strengthen our ideas and arguments for our presentations.

So the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to start by using our discussion skills and generating and refining ideas through this.

And then we're going to look at developing an argument through debate.

So let's start with the first part of our lesson, generating and refining ideas through discussion.

Now, in this lesson, you'll be required to be a critical friend.

Okay, so this is a really important skill in itself, actually, learning to be a critical friend.

And before I give you the answer, I would like you to discuss, please, what do you think this means? So pause the video so you can discuss your ideas, or you may want to think quietly to yourself, or even jot some ideas down.

Pause the video and off you go.

Great, thank you everyone.

What I really enjoyed was that some of you weren't really sure what a critical friend might mean, but you still had a go.

You drew on those words and thought about what being critical is, what being a friend is, and you made some excellent predictions about what that is.

So well done.

So let's just share some of those ideas.

So a critical friend is someone who helps you improve by giving honest feedback in a supportive way.

Okay, so I think that's really key there.

It's about being supportive but also giving honest feedback.

So what this means, it means being supportive, but honest.

So giving helpful, truthful feedback to help you improve.

Okay, so again, it's that that balance between being supportive but also being honest as well.

You can't just be a critical friend giving all positive feedback, which would be lovely, but we do need some honest feedback too.

Constructive with criticism.

So pointing out areas for growth in a positive, respectful way.

So a critical friend won't just say, "Your presentation is bad," or, "You are rubbish." Because that's just really offensive and quite rude.

So you are constructive with your criticism.

So for example, "I think your presentation could be improved by using some discourse markers." So you can see how that is much more respectful, much more constructive than just saying something is good or bad.

And then encouraging as well.

As a critical friend, you are encouraging.

So not only will you give that feedback, but you will also highlight strengths and motivate the other person to keep going.

So a critical friend is a really important role.

Not only can you help the person that you are being a critical friend to to improve, but you can also motivate them to keep going.

And remember, it's all about being respectful and supportive as well.

So in this lesson, you'll ask questions, you will listen, and respectfully challenge to help develop ideas for a presentation.

True or false time.

Okay, let's see how much you remember.

Being a critical friend means finding all of the faults in another person's work.

Is that true or false? Come up with your answer now.

Okay, well done to everyone who said false, okay? But we now need to justify why that answer is false.

I'm gonna give you a few moments to come up with your idea.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

So I'm going to share the answer now.

Hopefully you have something similar.

If not, then maybe have a read of this, just to make sure you really understand what being a critical friend means.

So part of being a critical friend is also finding strengths and motivating the other person.

Your aim is to provide honest and supportive feedback and not to just lift faults.

So we thought about being a critical friend.

Now let's move on to think about our own presentations.

So you want to ensure that you have a clear idea of what your presentation will focus on.

So you may have already picked a topic, but it is also useful be able to articulate simply the focus and the main points you are going to cover.

And you may have even written down your topic or written down some ideas, but it's important that we also practise articulating that verbally as well.

So using those spoken language ideas, because saying your ideas out loud can feel differently to writing or thinking them.

So it is really important to practise.

So whenever you get the opportunity to use your spoken language skills to articulate yourself clearly, it's important to take it.

So let's have a look at an example.

So Laura knows that her topic is, small personal changes can have a big impact on climate change.

So a really good topic there with a clear focus.

Now Laura's aim is now to summarise and explain what her presentation will focus on.

Okay, so she's going to articulate, and summarise, and explain what her presentation will focus on.

So she decides to consider three main points.

So she's going to talk about reducing energy consumption, she decides to talk about sustainable eating habits, and minimising waste and plastics.

So you can see there that Laura has got three clear focuses for her presentation.

So now Laura has those three main ideas.

She can begin to articulate them and develop them further.

Okay, so you can see how we're building up this presentation.

So she's got her topic, she's got her three areas that she's going to focus on, and now she's going to begin to articulate them and develop them further using discourse markers.

So discourse markers include words or phrases, like initially or to begin, in addition and then, and finally and to conclude.

Now you may have your own examples of discourse markers, which is great, but these are some that you can use.

So here is Laura.

She's going to talk about her focus points and articulate her ideas for her presentations.

So she says, "Initially, I'm going to focus on reducing energy consumption and detail some ways on how to achieve this." You can also see how Laura has really summarised so clearly and explained well what her first point will be.

So that summary and clear explanation is really good.

"In addition, I will explore and explain what sustainable eating habits are and their advantages." So she could have used the discourse marker, "Then I will explore and explain." Either of those would work.

And, "To conclude," or finally, "I will emphasise the importance of minimising waste and plastic, detailing the harm these cause." So you can see just how clear Laura's ideas are and how she's going to develop them.

She's summarised it really well, she's articulated herself really clearly, and she's used those discourse markers to really help structure her ideas.

Time for a quick question to check your understanding.

So which of the following sentences does not include a discourse marker? So does not include a discourse marker.

You need to pick A, B, or C, now.

Are we ready for the answer? Great, okay, so well done to everyone that said B.

B does not include a discourse marker.

So, "I will explain how the transition to another school helped me to overcome my fear of change." It's a really well articulated, clear sentence, but it does not use a discourse marker.

So if we look at A, you can see it uses furthermore and C uses initially.

So they're using those discourse markers there.

Well done everyone, let's keep going.

So using discussion skills can help to further refine and develop initial ideas.

Okay, so discussing your ideas before delivering a presentation can really help this.

Probing questions are questions that dig deeper into a topic to get more detailed or thoughtful information.

So like open questions, they go beyond yes or no answers.

So as well as our discussion skills, we're going to think about using these probing questions to really develop those ideas.

So let's look at some examples.

Why do you think this is important? Can you give me an example of what you mean? And what would happen if we approached it differently? So you can see how these questions require the speaker to give more information or to develop their answers further.

They can't get away with just saying yes or no, they have to give a full answer.

Now I'd like you to discuss, please, can you think of any examples, any other examples of probing questions? Okay, can you think of any other examples of probing questions? Pause the video so you have time to discuss your answers to this question.

Off you go.

Okay, so I'm gonna give you some examples now, you may have something similar, you may have something different.

But let's just do a quick comparison and see where we are at.

So can you explain that further? What do you think caused that outcome? How does this affect the bigger picture? Can you clarify what you meant by that? What are the possible alternatives? And what do you see as the next steps? So again, you can see how using these probing questions would require the speaker to move beyond a yes or no answer.

They have to develop their answer, they have to give a detailed response.

True or false time, probing questions can be answered with a simple yes or no.

Hmm, is that true or false? Tell me your answer now.

Okay, well done to everyone that noticed that was false.

But you now have to justify why that answer is false.

Okay, so tell me why now.

Okay, so hopefully you've got something like, probing questions dig deeper into a topic to get more detailed or thoughtful information.

If the answer is yes or no, it is not developing this discussion further.

So those probing questions are all about moving beyond yes or no answers.

So your first task, what I would like you to do, please, so you'll need to be in pairs or small groups.

The first thing I would like you to do is to take turns to present your initial ideas for your presentation.

So aim for three points, like we saw earlier in the lesson, and use discourse markers to structure them.

Then you need to discuss the ideas further by posing and answering probing questions.

So you'll need to make sure that you have a turn presenting your initial ideas, and also a turn to ask questions to somebody else.

Okay? So when you are ready, pause the video and get going.

Okay, well done.

That's really great.

And I can see how some of you are really starting to think about how to articulate those ideas verbally.

As I said, it does take a bit of practise, because speaking feels very differently to writing.

But as ever, the more you practise, the easier it will get.

So what I would like you to do is just to write down and make a note of your three main ideas and any interesting points or information that arose from your discussions, because we don't want to forget what amazing stuff came out of these discussions.

So just write down your three main ideas, your three points, and any interesting points or information that arose, because this will be really useful when you are practising your presentations.

So I have an example here.

So my point is, I'll explore and explain what sustainable eating habits are and their advantages.

And what I'm going to consider or add from the discussion is, how does this affect the bigger picture? So I'm gonna think about reduces waste, lowers carbon emissions, and a more balanced ecosystem.

So you can see how that discussion has enabled that point to develop further.

Okay, so thinking about what the advantages are of sustainable eating habits.

Okay, so when you are ready, pause the video and complete that grid.

Off you go.

Well done everyone.

Let's keep up that really great work as we move on to the second part of our lesson, which is all about developing an argument through debate.

So using some of the elements of a debate can be an effective way to develop a presentation.

So one of the ways that we can do this is creating and presenting an effective opening argument or statement.

So those debate skills can be really useful in our presentations, because we also need an opening.

And also using the process of rebuttal can be useful to locate any flaws or issues with your presentation as a whole.

So that's what we're going to use today to think about developing our presentations further.

So I'd like you to discuss, please, what makes an effective opening argument or statement, and how could this be applied to a presentation? So pause the video so you've got time to discuss your answers to this question, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Off you go.

Okay, let's just gather some of those ideas and share them.

So you may have considered some of the following.

So what makes an effective opening argument or statement? So adhering to the time limit.

So actually this can be very tricky, okay? Especially when you are speaking.

So it's important to practise your presentations to time.

Because when you speak, you might find that you speak slower or quicker.

So it's important that you are adhering to the time limit.

You need to make sure, in your opening statement, that you are addressing the statement clearly.

So you will have picked a specific topic, and it is important that this is clarified from the outset in your presentation.

So you are addressing the statement clearly.

You need to use specific examples and evidence to support, you need to use appropriate formal vocabulary, and include some rhetorical devices.

So all of these things can be used in your presentations.

And actually we're going to use this as a success criteria when creating and practising our presentations.

So what I would like you to do now is I would like you to read the abridged transcript of a presentation on the following slides.

Now, in case you don't know, abridged means it's been edited.

It's not the whole presentation, it's just a small part of it.

So shall we read it through together? And then we'll answer some questions on it.

Okay, so pupil sets posture, takes a deep breath and begins.

"Imagine standing in front of a crowd, every eye on you, your heart racing, and your mind screaming for you to run.

Now imagine that fear holding you back every time you're called to speak.

That was me.

Good morning, everyone.

Today I want to share the story of how I conquered one of my biggest challenges, my fear of public speaking.

So, yeah, public speaking was more than just a fear.

It felt like a mountain I could never climb.

Every time I stood up to speak, my hands shook, my voice trembled, and my thoughts scattered.

Has anyone else felt this way before? But I, I practised, I stumbled, I learned, and slowly I grew.

And um, today, standing here in front of you, I know I've overcome something I once thought was impossible." Okay, so you may wish to go back and read that again for yourselves.

And then once you've done that, I'd like you to discuss, please, how can you tell this is spoken language? And how has the presentation adhered to the success criteria? So you'll need to pause the video so you've got time to discuss those questions, and as I said, maybe reread the transcript through again.

Pause video, and off you go.

Right, great.

True or false time.

You should use rhetorical devices in your presentations.

Is that true or false? Yes, well done to everyone that said that was true.

So a lot of you picked up in the transcript there was use of metaphor, and simile, and even a rhetorical question.

So you can always use rhetorical devices in your presentations and when you are completing spoken language tasks, but you should use rhetorical devices in your presentations is true, we now need to justify why, please.

So why is that true? Come up with your answer now, please.

Okay, let's look at an answer.

Rhetorical devices can be effective in engaging the audience and making your presentation more interesting.

So we just, excuse me, just like writing, we still need to think about engaging our audience.

And rhetorical devices can do just that.

Okay, so we've thought about our opening statement or our opening arguments.

So we're now going to think about using a rebuttal.

So when creating a rebuttal in a debate, you need to identify any flaws or problems with the argument being presented.

So actually this process can also be used as part of the planning and preparation of a presentation to help strengthen the ideas and arguments in it.

So as a critical friend, and we know what that is now, you can use this process of rebuttal to identify and respectfully challenge areas of the presentation.

So again, what we're thinking about is how we can help the person giving the presentation really refine and develop their ideas and their arguments.

And we want their presentation to be the best it can.

So if in the planning process we are looking for flaws, or contradictions, or anything like that.

If we're doing that in the planning process and they stand up, they will have an excellent presentation.

So as a critical friend, you may choose to focus on the following things.

So if you are watching someone practise their presentation, you may choose to think about these things.

So clarity, so think about are the main points confusing or poorly explained? Okay, so that's something that you can look at.

Structure, does the presentation have a clear middle, clear beginning, middle, and end? And can you follow the flow of ideas? So have they used things like discourse markers? Is it really clear where the presentation is going? You may also want to focus on evidence or support.

Are there any claims made in the presentation? And are they supported with sufficient evidence or examples of data? Could you challenge the person giving their presentation to maybe include some of this? And presentation and engagement, does the speaker engage the audience through content and presentation? So think about this.

This is quite an interesting one for delivering a presentation, because you also want to focus on how they are speaking, how they are presenting, as well as the content.

Are they going to engage their audience? So then once you've considered those things, as a critical friend, you can challenge respectfully.

So this is all about that constructive criticism, that respectful, honest feedback.

So you can provide useful points for the speaker to consider.

So this can be done in the following way.

You can identify what the speaker has said or done, you can explain why you are challenging, and then you can provide some constructive feedback.

So let's look at some examples.

So you may say you have identified three clear points.

Unfortunately, they lack clarity or a clear structure.

So you can say, "Well done, you've identified those three points, but they lack clarity or a clear structure." So here's the feedback.

"Could you use discourse markers to provide a logical structure?" So you can see, by creating this rebuttal or this challenge, it's really clear what the speaker needs to do to improve, and you've given a useful suggestion of how they can remedy that.

Let's have a look at another one.

"You referred to a statistic about achievement increasing by 90%." So they're identifying what they have done.

This is why they're challenging.

"I challenge this, as I believe it is an exaggerated statistic." Providing constructive feedback.

"Could you use a statistic from a reputable source to add credibility to your presentation?" So again, a really great example of identifying, explaining the challenge, but then offering that constructive feedback.

And you can really see how that's gonna help the speaker.

Okay, so A, B, or C, quick question for you.

When challenging the content of a presentation, you should do so, can you pick A, B, C? Off you go.

Okay, so let's see who picked up that it was actually two answers.

So A and C.

So when challenging the content of a presentation, you should do so respectfully and in a constructive way.

Okay, so final practise task.

So again, I would like you to work in pairs or small groups, and I would like you to take it in turns to be the speaker and the one providing feedback as the critical friend.

So you need to make sure you have a go at doing both of those things.

So as the speaker, you will present your presentation.

As the critical friend, you need to identify and respectfully challenge areas of the presentation exactly how we have looked at.

Okay, so, pause the video and get ready to present your presentation and to be that critical friend.

Off you go.

Okay, lovely.

Some really excellent rebuttals and challenges happening there, which I can see already are improving those presentations.

So that's great.

So what I would like you to do now is just spend a few moments considering the challenges you received and then answer the following questions, please.

What changes are you going to make to your presentation? So having those challenges, what changes are you going to make? And are there any points that require further research or development? So it's really important that we consider these things, because you've had this great feedback.

So we now need to think about how you are going to implement it.

So in a moment, pause the video, consider those challenges and answer those questions.

Pause the video, and off you go.

Well done everyone, some really excellent work today.

And as I say, I always say, the more you practise, the better and easier this is going to become.

So let's just remind ourselves of everything we have looked at.

We now know that being a critical friend means helping others to improve by giving honest feedback in a supportive way, that being able to articulate the main points of a presentation verbally is good preparation for developing ideas, discussion and probing questions can help to refine and develop ideas.

When creating a presentation, you should consider the time limits, evidence, clarity, and structure, and the process of rebuttal can be useful to strengthen arguments or viewpoints in a presentation.

Again, very well done, everyone.

Don't stop practising those presentations.

Keep going, because the more you practise the better it will be.

And I will see you next time.

Goodbye!.