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As a teacher, it's sometimes difficult to investigate students' progress in a productive (holistic) way. Simulations can help by providing a culturally familiar scaffolding that can guide a fluency experience. They are also a lot of fun!

While the talk show simulation described below can be done outside the context of a staged production or Readers Theater version of a play, it can be especially interesting to include as part of the production process.

Specifically, the improvised talk show energizes students in the days leading up to a public performance. Also, because the "actors" have been working on the characters and themes, they have "stored content" that they can use in a purposeful way. Through the task of explaining the plot or relationships among characters, they may gain new insights into the play.

In either case, the talk show format affords you, the teacher, a snapshot of potential transfer of skills from focused pronunciation or script work to a more spontaneous public performance.
Activity
You can do all the steps or cut it down to suit your purpose. It can work in one class period or over two days.

1. Introduce the format of talk shows, and possibly watch a clip of one to notice details about how it is structured. Elicit the guest actors' purpose, which is to promote a movie. Talk show guests should be enthusiastic about the project, not say little, but show enthusiasm and give details.

2. Tell student actors that their "play" has been made into a movie. They will go on a talk show as a group to promote the movie.

3. Elicit/suggest questions that filmmakers get asked in an interview as examples.

What is the show about?

How did you prepare?

What do you like or not like about your character?

What do want people to understand about the show?

Is there anything that has surprised you while you developed your story?

What was it like to work with the other actors?

What was your favorite moment?

What did you learn while working on this project?

1. Put students into their production teams if they are doing different plays, or otherwise put them in at least two groups to prepare. You'll need an audience as well as performers.

2. Give them index cards or slips of paper and have them write down a set of questions they would like to answer (in character) about their experience, one on each card. Tell them these questions will be asked during the "show,"

3. Have the groups put the question cards in a pile. Then have the members of the team take turns as host. The host picks a card, reads the question and invites one or two of the actors to respond. They can ask a follow up question if they like. Tell actors they should try to answer for at least one minute. Suggest they use their phone timer as a tool to work on elaborating. Give them time to work through their questions. (Here, you can also give them a night to prepare, but it's not imperative.)

4. Bring the class together and collect the questions from each group and prepare for the talk show.

Tell them how long the show will last. (I generally multiply the number of actors by 2 minutes.)

Ask for a volunteer from another group to be a host. Give the host a minute to go through the questions with their cast to make sure they understand and can read the questions.

Arrange chairs at the front of the room to look like a studio.

5. Start the Talk Show. Have the host come on stage and introduce the show using their name, e.g., "Welcome to the Sandra Garcia show!" The host then introduces the actors, invites them to sit and conducts the interview. - Tell them that they must continue until the timer goes off. Then set your timer. Watch and take notes. You can examine the prosodic elements (the way they use stress and intonation to communicate feelings and intentions), other pronunciation features, vocabulary and grammar, or simply general fluency. (See feedback form below)

6. Repeat with the next group.

7. Use your notes to give a general feedback session to the whole class and/or give individual feedback to the students.

Talk Show Feedback Name: ______________________________

Variation: If you want to do this as a stand-alone activity, you could have students pretend to be the cast of a popular film.

Categories: Alice Savage, Alphabet Publishing, Conversation, Drama for ELLs, Drama in ELL, Drama in ELT, EFL, ELT, English Language Teaching, ESOL, Fluency reading, group work, lexical chunks, pragmatics, pronunciation, Prosody, readers theatre, Roleplay, Theatre and English Language Learning

Tagged as: Conversation, language, Theatre

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As a teacher, it's sometimes difficult to investigate students' progress in a productive (holistic) way. Simulations can help by providing a culturally familiar scaffolding that can guide a fluency experience. They are also a lot of fun! While the talk show simulation described below can be done outside the context of a staged production or...

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If you really want to challenge your gifted kids, have them come up with a truly original i dea or new perspective. A solution, a new invention, a new argument. This is indeed a challenge.

That is the whole premise behind the popular TED Talks videos featured on the Internet. TED, a non-profit organization, promotes the spreading of ideas by inviting people from all walks of life and disciplines to give talks on different subjects. This is also the premise behind the TED Talks ELA unit I created for my gifted students, which you can also use with your students if you like.

The unit incorporates a host of Common Core English language arts standards, from reading, researching, speaking, and writing, and engages students in creative and critical thinking skills. I broke the unit into four phases, which I will explain below.
Phase 1:
Students read a series of articles from the TED website, explaining the organization's mission, requirements for speakers, etc. Students learn about concepts such as non-profits, bias, and pseudoscience. After each reading, I test students with a series of multiple-choice and short answer response questions, which I designed using the required articles.
Phase 2:
Students learn about the different types of talks and evaluate various TED Talks speakers (using a rubric I designed). I provide them a list of links to pre-approved videos. Many of the videos feature children giving talks (warning: not all TED Talks are appropriate for children. Watch them ahead of time!) Students study the speakers' delivery, use of technology, topic, and organization.
Phase 3:
Now, students are ready to write their own TED Talk. The talk must be based around an approved idea, which must be either a new idea or invention or a new argument or way of approaching an old idea. This differs from many school speech competitions, where students, for example, can talk about any topic they're interested in, such as bullying or cats. I tell them that unless they have designed a new technology to curb bullying, then it's an overused, over-talked about topic that has been exhausted (not to say, of course, it's not important, but it must be addressed in a new fashion). During this phase, you can have students write an essay or speech in an opinion paper format. I also asked students to consider how they will incorporate technology into the speech (a requirement). When finished, students practice rehearsing the speech in front of classmates, who can provide positive feedback.
Phase 4:
It's time to videotape the talks. Students have a time limit (5 minutes) to film their talks. When done taping, they must consider how they want to share their talks, possibly with the class, school, or community. The talks could be aired over the school's morning news, for example.

TED Talks are a fantastic way to use technology to expose students to new and different ideas, perspectives, and topics. They will watch people who are passionate and skilled in their various fields. But to take the experience to a new level, why not have them create their own "talk," which will develop valuable 21 st century skills in the process?
Steve Haberlin is a graduate assistant and Ph.D. student at the University of South Florida and an educator with 10 years of experience.

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Engaging Assignment: Have Students Create Their Own TED Talks

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If you really want to challenge your gifted kids, have them come up with a truly original i dea or new perspective. A solution, a new invention, a new argument. This is indeed a challenge. That is the whole premise behind the popular TED Talks videos featured on the Internet.

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Updated March 02, 2021 - Dom Barnard

An impromptu speech is when you're asked to speak in public without prior notice. It can be one of the most terrifying speeches you'll ever do; standing up in front of a crowd and having to speak for a few minutes without preparation is daunting, even for the most seasoned speakers.

It's not likely to happen often, however when it does, you don't want to be caught completely off-guard. Here are a few things to bear in mind if you're asked to speak at short notice.

Impromptu speech definition

An impromptu speech is given with little or no preparation, yet almost always with some advance knowledge on the topic. This is sometimes referred to as "off the cuff" or "spur of the moment".

For example, in class, a teacher may ask a student to give a short impromptu speech about a topic that was in the assigned readings. Business meetings may also start with everyone talking briefly about what they have done recently on the project.

In small informal meetings, the audience will interrupt an impromptu speech and ask questions, which helps guide the speech and the information that is presented.

When campaigning, politicians sometimes respond to reporters or voters almost anywhere and at any time.

Comedians are well known for their impromptu replies to hecklers, which are sometimes planned, but usually made up on the spot.

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Tips on giving an impromptu speech

If you are about to make an impromptu speech and have a few minutes to prepare, follow these two tips:

1. Make some quick notes

The first thing you should do when asked to speak is to grab a pen and a piece of paper (or napkin - whatever you can find to write on). Jot down a few initial ideas, or even just a few words that you can expand upon during your speech.

If you don't write anything else, make sure you've written down your starting and ending sentences, as these are the most important.

2. Decide on the tone

Next, think about what tone to speak in. This will depend on the type of event you're at. For example, at a wedding, you would speak informally, and you can have fun with the speech, whereas at a business conference you would speak more formally and stick to a professional tone.

Impromptu speech frameworks

This is when it gets easy. Pick one of these frameworks to use as a structure for your impromptu speech, and you'll instantly feel more prepared. They're easy to remember, so you won't have to write them down - instead write down keywords for each point.

1. The 5 Ws
Useful for when you're speaking about a person or specific event
Following the 5 Ws provides instant structure to your speech, and you'll be able to organise your thoughts in an easy-to-follow way. You don't even need to change the order - starting with 'who' gives context to the speech and ending with 'why' leaves the audience with the most important, relatable point.

1. Who - who is involved in the event or who is attending

2. What - what event are you at and what are the common goals?

3. Where - where is the event, how did the initiative the event revolves around start?

4. When - is the timing of the event important? What does the future hold?

5. Why - why is everyone there? Why are you there?

For example, if you're talking about a fundraising event, you could say who started the charity, what the goals are, where it is heading, when the event is happening, and why it's important.

2. Diplomatic framework
Useful for formal occasions such as a business conference.
For this impromptu speech, start by talking about the advantages and disadvantages of the subject topic, then end with a conclusion.

This will make your speech informative and enable you to talk for a longer period of time than the 5 Ws. It's important not to be afraid of silence when using this framework.

Given that there is less room for creativity, you may find you need to pause to think about what you're going to say next. While you think, you could walk up and down the stage slightly as if you are letting your last point settle, ask if there are any questions, or ask for a glass of water.

These techniques all buy you more time if your mind goes blank and save you (and your audience) from feeling awkward about a prolonged silence.

3. Storytelling
Useful for informal events such as weddings and book launches.
Storytelling is a powerful method of speaking and is an easy way of connecting with the audience. When having to speak when you aren't prepared, start off small, then medium, and end large. Basically, talk about the event from an individual perspective, then a group or national perspective, and end with the bigger picture.

For example, if you're asked to give a speech at a wedding, you could talk about when you met the couple and your experiences with them (small), what their relationship and marriage means to the rest of the wedding guests (medium), and end with the future of their relationship and their family legacy.

Practice impromptu speeches

Impromptu speeches, by their nature, are hard to practice for. You don't know what the topic will be or the type of audience you'll be facing. However, the more you practice, the better you'll be when the impromptu situation arises.
Practice giving an impromptu speech in an interactive exercise.
We've designed an impromptu speaking exercise with the following:

Speak about what's on a random slide for 30 seconds each slide

Feedback on your performance so you can identify areas that need improving

Audio of the practice session is recorded so that you can listen back and self-evaluate your performance

You'll practice quick thinking by talking about a series of random slides for 30 seconds each. You'll be able to give speeches at short notice and answer questions more easily with this brain training.

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Examples of an impromptu speech

Here are two examples of impromptu speeches. The videos skip the short preparation time and start when the speaker starts speaking.

Example 1

Example 2

In summary

Being able to deliver an impromptu speech is an important skill to have and will save you a lot of anxiety when you're asked to speak at the last minute.

To prepare yourself for the unknown, try an impromptu practice exercise so that your brain is trained to think on the spot. Not only is this an effective way to learn, but it's also fun!

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How to Give an Impromptu Speech, with Examples

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Updated March 02, 2021 - Dom Barnard An impromptu speech is when you're asked to speak in public without prior notice. It can be one of the most terrifying speeches you'll ever do; standing up in front of a crowd and having to speak for a few minutes without preparation is daunting, even for the most seasoned speakers.

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Inquiry questions
At the beginning of the lesson present a question to be addressed in the lesson. Pupils discuss in pairs what they already know and what activities we could do in lessons to investigate

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Presentation + Q and A
Students are practicing presentation skills as well as interactive skills in understanding and responding to questions

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Taboo - vocabulary game
Students are given key words on cards, they have to describe what is written on the card without using a set of predetermined forbidden words (also displayed on the cards). Students are practicing their communication and describing skills whilst examining key words