1. Definition of Oral Presentation
Oral presentation is a speech that aims to deliver a message to an audience. Baker (2000, p.115) states “oral presentation is speaking to a group as a natural activity in order to inform and persuade”. This means that oral presentation is similar to talking to large groups. De Grez (as cited in Ginkel et al, 2016) defines oral presentation as “the combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to speak in public in order to self-express, to relate and to persuade”. In other words, oral presentation is a competence that requires a set of skills; it is where presenters show their knowledge about a particular subject in front of an audience. In addition, Mandel (2000, p.8) describes oral presentation as “a speech that is only given in a business, technical, professional, or scientific environment .The audience is likely to be more specialized than those attending a typical speech event”. Accordingly, oral presentation is an audience-specific activity that is used in different contexts to transmit a given message.
Moreover, oral presentation is an organized and structured activity that involves different steps. This activity should be carefully structured and occurs in an organized setting in a limited period of time.Meloon and Thompson (1980,p.503) believe that the more OPs are guided and organized,the more they will be beneficial for learners through teaching them important skills that will be used in their education and later in their job. Furthermore, oral presentation is concerned with the spoken language and not the written one i.e., the message will be transmitted orally using appropriate language. Thus, oral presentation is considered as an effective strategy that is used by foreign language teachers to improve learners’ speaking proficiency in the target language.
2. Types of oral presentation
Oral presentation in EFL classrooms can take different forms, and they can be prepared in different ways depending on the teacher’s objective and learners’ proficiency level. Al-Issa ; Redha, 2010(as cited in TESOL Journal, 2010) mention that oral presentations can be classified into three types: controlled, guided and free oral presentations.
2.1 Controlled Oral Presentations
In this type, both the selection of the topic and students’ activities are controlled by the teachers. The teacher should not expect a perfect performance from students since they are not supposed to make long presentations. The aim of this type is to give students an opportunity to gain self-confidence and practice the target language in context. Thus, it is useful for lower-intermediate or intermediate students’ language proficiency level.
2.2. Guided Oral Presentations
Guided presentations are relevant for students who have already acquired some language background and developed some competencies. Teachers should guide them to make sure they use relevant grammatical structures and lexical items. Teachers can also guide students to prepare their projects, using visual aids to make them more persuasive, interesting and professional.
2.3. Free Oral Presentations
In this type, students are given freedom to choose the topic. At this stage, they are expected to deliver longer presentation and use complex language structure. As long as they were exposed to guided practice, students gain confidence and the ability to make longer presentation by collecting data from different sources. Once the presentation is over, there will be a question-answer process about the topic and students are expected to answer the questions asked by both the teacher and their peers. Al-Issa ; Redha, 2010(as cited in TESOL Journal, 2010).
3. Preparation of Oral Presentation
Preparing a good oral presentation goes through different stages. Tracy (2000, p.18) notes “fully 90 percent of your success as a speaker will be determined by how well you plan your speech”. This means that learning how to prepare an oral presentation is a crucial step after teaching students speaking and listening skills.
3.1. Planning and Preparation Stage
In the planning and preparation stage, the speakers will clearly determine the objectives of the presentation. The more the reasons are clear and straightforward, the more the presentation is effective .In addition, time plays a great role in the result of the preparation. Chivers and Shoolbred (2008, p.22) stat “a short amount of time creates pressures on what you can achieve and may limit the quality of the final presentation and a long amount of time can result in a lack of focus with tasks”. Thus, giving the students enough time to prepare their project can be useful to create a better result.
Moreover, Chivers and Shoolbred suggest that the preparation of a good oral presentation involves: first, listing all the tasks that need to be complete before the date of presentation and placing them in an order of propriety. Second, allocating the time needed to complete each tasks. Third, reallocating the remaining time to ensure that all the tasks are completed.
So, if students plan and prepare their presentations carefully, they will succeed in answering all the questions because each student will know everything about the topic.
3.2 Preparation of the Content
The content of oral presentations needs to be relevant and interesting. Chivers and Shoolbred (2008, p. 23) points “choose the content which is relevant to the context and module studied”. It is useful for learners to relate the topic to real life situations and to provide vivid and relevant examples to the audience to raise their interest and clear ambiguity. As stated by Warner (1996, p.64) “gross errors of fact, gaps in the investigative process, and demonstrations that do not work, will destroy the most elegant presentation”. In addition, links for further sources of information should be provided to help them to get information about the topic. Chivers and Shoolbred (2008, p.23) emphasize “the source could be related to the content that you have not been able to include but can be used for further reading and knowledge development”. Therefore, the sources of information should be written at the end of the presentation.
3.3. Delivery of Oral Presentation
To achieve the objective of an oral presentation, learners should know how to manage time appropriately and to deliver the presentation in a coherent way that helps the audience make connection between the ideas. A key characteristic of a good presenter is the ability to use time allocated appropriately. Chivers and Shoolbred (2008, p.23) note” the use of time during the presentation is related to the content”. This means that if the presenters do not have enough time, they can just introduce the main points without going into details. Therefore, learners need to structure and organize the work accurately to achieve the objectives of the presentations.
4. Structure of Oral Presentation
In order to affect the audience, presenters should provide a clear, well structured outline. Chivers and Shoolbred (2008, p. 22) claim “a clear structure usually helps the audience to gain a quick understanding of the content of the presentation” .This means that a well structured presentation makes it easier for the listener to understand its content. Storz et Al (2002, P.5) divide a typical presentation into the following parts:
Introduction is the most important part of the presentation through which the audience attention is attracted. Storz et Al (2002, p.5) state that in English countries, the audience attention is attracted through jokes to surprise them and raise their interest. Engaging introductions involve greeting the audience, informing them about the title and the outline of the presentation and raising their awareness about the objective of the presentation. So, being intelligent in attracting the audience attention will help you to engage and involve them in your talk.
4.2. The body
This section is wholly dictated by the topic, it consists of the content, which should be relevant and serve the objective of the presentation. Learners should sequence information from the general to the specific and to focus on the quality rather than how much information is included in the presentation. Also, learners should make a connection between their ideas and maintain a smooth transition in order to achieve coherence and cohesion in their presentation.
It is important to inform the audience that the presentation is finished. Storz et Al (2002,p.11) state “the end of your talk should include four parts: a brief reminder of what you tried to show in your speech and how you tried to do so , a short conclusion , make comments or open a discussion”. So, conclusions should include a signal that it is the conclusion, summary of points, and an appropriate ending (such as “Thank You”).
4.4. Voice and Pronunciation
In oral presentations, the voice is the main means of communication with the audience. In order to be understood, voice qualities including loudness, speed (fast or slow), pitch (high or low) and silent moments or pauses are used to indicate importance, to create atmosphere and to avoid sounding monotonous. Storz et Al (2002, p.18) points “voice is important in giving the audience the exact meaning”. This implies that when speakers raise their voice, they will attract the audience. Also, it is vital to ensure that, at least, the key technical terms of the presentation are pronounced correctly. Therefore, the difficult words should be checked before the delivery of the presentation.
5. Oral Presentation as a Communicative Learning Activity
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is widely adopted by language teachers around the world because of its importance in the improvement of learners’ communicative competence. In EFL classrooms, teachers shift from traditional drills that focuse on grammar and vocabulary towards tasks, which help students to develop their oral proficiency and communicative skills. Stern (1992, p.177) defines communicative activities as” activities that involve learners in authentic communication”. In other words, this kind of activity puts students in a real life situation and requires them to share knowledge and express thoughts using English.
Oral presentation, as an option of communicative activities, is assigned by language teachers in order to maximize student-teacher interaction as well as to improve and to assess students’ oral proficiency since it provides them with an opportunity to speak, to share and to discuss their ideas. King(2002,p.402) states “having students give oral presentations in front of their classmates is one of the learner -centered activities that has been widely included in teachers’ lesson plan to improve students’ oral proficiency”. Moreover, oral presentations improve learners’ interaction skills and encourage their intrinsic motivation; they will learn new communication skills including: physical and non-verbal skills such as, eye contact, gesture and posture. They will, also, learn how to use presentation skills to perform and to communicate in cooperative learning environment.
Indeed, oral presentation is an activity that satisfies the main goal of CLT, which is to make learners investigate, articulate, and directly share their ideas with their teacher and peers, and if this method is adopted appropriately in EFL classrooms, it will give learners a chance to use English to communicate with their classmates.
6. Teaching Oral Presentation skills
In EFL classroom, many students perceive oral presentation as an anxious activity because of the lack of experience and the necessary skills. Teaching students oral presentation techniques provides a chance to gain insight into knowledge and skills that lead to a good performance. In the past, the main focus was to teach grammatical rules, and vocabulary, nowadays, the communicative approach aims to train students on how to organize the main idea about a given topic in a logical coherent process and, also, how to develop their ability to produce correct language King ( 2002, p.406). Thus, teaching some prerequisite skills such as the mastery of the topic and the ability to interact with others will allow learners to actually enjoy sharing their knowledge constructively and lead to successful communication.
6.1 .The Teacher’s Role
The teacher’s role in oral presentations involves preparing detailed guidelines, organizing groups, helping students to select topics, guiding their research and helping them learn the use of various visual aids. In addition, Teachers, also, hold question and answer sessions to discuss the content of the presentation, then provide feedback about the sequence of ideas and finally evaluate students’ performance. King (2002.p.408) suggested the following step-by-step procedures to prepare students for successful oral presentations:
6.1.1. Handing Out Guidelines
Oral presentations require many skills. A carefully planned and constructed guideline with clear instructional objectives will motivate students and increase their participation, which in turn will improve their performance.
6.1.2 .Grouping and Scheduling Student Presentations
Group presentations of four to five students in each group will save class time, develop cooperative learning skills and reduce anxiety. In order to have a dynamic group with a feeling of cooperation, teachers need to be familiar with a variety of cooperative group techniques. Therefore, it is better to let students choose their own partners so that they feel more comfortable.
6.1.3. Handling Technical Problems
It is important for students to know in an advance how to handle the equipment themselves. Usually, students concentrate on performance and forget to check machines, and expect the teacher to fix any technical problems. To avoid such situation, teachers should discuss with students the equal importance of both rehearsal and performance in preventing technical problems and panic in the day of the presentation.
7. Evaluation of oral presentation
Evaluating oral presentations offers the teachers the opportunity to assess the structure and content as well as students’ capacity to answer any subsequent questions. Two methods are used to evaluate oral presentations namely: oral and written evaluation. Oral evaluation may be given after each presentation, Students receive immediate feedback. However, oral evaluations may be forgotten or misinterpreted by speakers in the “let-down” after the presentation performance. On the other hand, written evaluation can be helpful by providing a record of response for each student, and it encourages those responses to be more thoughtful and deliberate. Using evaluation forms rather than free-form comments facilitates the consistency of feedback and the application of the full criteria of evaluation
7.1. Preparing Peer and Teacher Evaluation Forms
The peer evaluation form (see appendix 1) provides the presenters with feedback from their class mates who will not only evaluate their peers, but also identify each group’s strengths and weaknesses. Girard, Pinar and Trapp (2011, p.78)note “We believe that peer evaluation could be a good way to get non-presenting students involved and engaged in the presentations in order to get the most benefit from the learning experience”. Thus, asking students to list what they learn from presentations through taking notes will promote a greater involvement in the presentations. On the other hand, teacher’s evaluation form (see appendix 2) should be given to students while assigning the work in order to be used as a guideline to prepare their presentations. Hence, learners should be informed in an advance of the criteria by which their presentations will be evaluated.
7.2. Evaluating students’ oral Presentations (criteria to Consider)
Girard, Pinar and Trapp (2011, p.79) suggest the following criteria to evaluate students’ oral presentations:
The content of the presentation is evaluated based on a set of pre-determined criteria. Teachers have to evaluate: first, the quality and the quantity of information; whether students were informative enough without overwhelming the audience with excessive details. Second, the appropriateness of the supporting materials the group has used to develop and explain the main points. Third, time management, students are supposed to respect time allocated whether the group fulfills time expectations or not.
To evaluate the organization, teachers focus on the extent to which student have developed an effective plan and respect the structure (clear introduction, body and conclusion).In addition, the co-ordination between group members such as the use of transitions and other oral organizing devices are also evaluated.
7.2.3. Oral Communication
Teachers evaluate the ability to introduce clear and concise information without reading from complete texts. Teacher’s evaluation will focus mainly on how students maintain their classmates’ attention through avoiding physical and vocal distractions.
7.2.4. Role Performance
Presentation tasks are assumed to be equally distributed between members of the group. Therefore, each member will be responsible for his/her specific task and evaluated accordingly.
8. The importance of oral presentation in foreign language classroom
Oral presentations have been shown to be extremely successful to improve learners’ speaking skills. Girard, Pinar and Trapp (2011, p.78) found that using oral presentations in EFL maximizes class participation, an increases interest in learning and results in noticeable improvements in students’ communication and presentation skills. This implies that the EFL teacher should assign oral presentations to promote interaction and make the class more interesting. King (2002, p.402) adds “oral presentations bridge the gap between language study and language use”. This confirms that such activity will maximize student-talking and engage them in cooperative tasks that require the use English to explain ideas and to negotiate meaning.
In addition, oral presentations are student-centered. Learners, who are presenting, are free to choose the language and the items they will to use to introduce and explain the topic for their teacher and classmates. This contribution to the course can lead to higher level of motivation; students will be extremely motivated, especially, when they succeed after their hard work which in turn will develop confidence, self-esteem, and autonomy.
Even for non-presenting students, Girard, Pinar and Trapp (2011, p.78) claim “the potential benefits for them include learning different perspectives about the course material and improving communications skills by observing others”. In other words, oral presentation helps students to become active listeners through note-taking and discussion.
Indeed, oral presentations as a teaching technique provide a chance for learners to gain a set of knowledge and skills that make a good lecturer which often turns to become their vocation.
8. Visual aids in oral presentations
8.1. Definition of visual aids
Visual aids can be used as a supporting tool that enhances quality of oral presentations and increases the persuasion of the audience. Beebe and Beebe (2007, p.321) state “a presentation aid is any object that reinforces your point visually so that your audience can better understand it” .This means that when words and images are used together, they add more power to the presentation.
In addition, Warner (1996, p.124) argues “visual aids can help to maintain the attention of the audience as humans require visual stimulus which is not found in the speech alone”. King (2002, p.402) notes that the integration of technology in oral presentations such as videos, slide, power point, VCD/DVD makes them more interesting than traditional ones.
8.2. Types of visual aids
There are many different types of visual aids that learners can use in their oral presentations to maintain interest and assist comprehension. Beebe (2007, p.325) categorized visual aids into: graphs, charts, videos and power point slides.
A graph is a pictorial representation of statistical data in an easy format. Displaying graphs can greatly reinforce key points in the presentation because they make data more concrete. Beebe (2007, p.325) notes that graphs are particularly effective in showing overall trends and relationships among data. So, this visual aid is very useful for presenting a detailed statistical data.8.2.2 Charts
Charts are used to summarize information and to show the steps of a process. Beebe (2007, p.329) states” charts should not include much information in, but to be brief and concise”. This means those charts are very useful to make summary, comparison and ennumerate steps.
When learners videos, they have to ensure that the clip is relevant and avoid using long videos. So videos make the presentation more vivid through showing simulating visual information.
8.2.4 Power point slides
Microsoft Power Point is widely used education as it allows learners to present colorful, interesting visuals and manage and combine a range of multimedia information. The slides can be displayed via a computer screen or printed in the form of overhead transparencies. Power point slides should be carefully designed; otherwise they will distract the audience and lead to a poor presentation. Imam and Alalyani (2017, p.6) emphasize “learners should avoid overloading slides with an excess of information and numbers and to carefully choose the colour of text and background” in other words, the content of the slide should be brief and concise. It is also advisable to avoid distractive colours which can divert the focus of the audience.
In addition, the same authors point that an adequate font of 32 point for text and 36 point for the headings should be used to ensure the legibility of the text. To attract the audience attention, it has always proven to be of great success to highlight important text with prominent colours. This will also help in better retention of the text. Learners can also reinforce their message by adding simple and easily understandable figures. In this case, it is required to make sure the image maintains its impact and resolution when projected on a larger screen to avoid distraction.Moreover, Imam and Alalyani stress the importance of sequencing the slides properly so that the audience can easily grab the topic matter being discussed.
Certainly, visual aids are a powerful tool in creating clear, well structured presentation that has a strong visual impact, but learners, also, should rehearse their aids, use eye contact, explain the aids, and use technology effectively to achieve a better performance.