Informative Speech

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Topic: *The experience of tutoring Etienne Ndele.*

General Purpose: To tell the story of teaching Etienne.

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about the usefulness of the communicative teaching approach and phonemic awareness in teaching.

Central Idea: Internationals can experience success when they come to the U.S. depending on their educational background, their level of motivation, and the intervention they receive.

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I. Introduction

 

    A. Attention Getter: Have you ever been faced with something you knew would be a tough challenge? Maybe you were in a challenging situation, whether by   

    choice or not by choice, and you didn’t know if you would make it through. 

 

    B. Reason to listen: Second language learning is extremely difficult and it’s a challenge that many internationals face. Maybe some of you have faced this   

    challenge. There are many who have succeeded at learning a second language and we can learn from their stories.

 

    C. Credibility statement: I have been teaching for the past fifteen years in various situations – as an ESL (English as a Second Language) tutor, a substitute

    teacher, and a paraprofessional.

 

    D. Thesis statement: Etienne Ndele was an ESL student who achieved his goals. Phonemic awareness and the communicative teaching approach are effective

    teaching strategies for ESL students.

 

    E. Preview of main points:

       1. First I will talk about Etienne Ndele’s story.

       2. Second, I will tell about how two teaching methods, phonemic awareness and communicative learning, helped Etienne achieve his learning goals.

 

II. Body

Transition: Etienne Ndele broke the mold when it came to acclimating to a different culture and learning a new language.

   

     A. Etienne Ndele came to the U.S. with his family when he was fifteen. His family had experienced tragedy in Zaire, their home country. There were other family       dynamics that were hard for me to completely understand.

        1. Etienne had received an education up to this point and had a natural academic curiosity. He arrived with his younger brother, Gianny and his older brother,

        Fiston. Both of his brothers were my students as well. Although they had received education, they weren’t as academically minded as Etienne. They also     

        didn’t possess the same study skills as Etienne.

           a. Etienne was very disciplined and motivated. He had a strong drive to achieve and to succeed.

           b. Etienne was also social. He was comfortable around adults, highly respected teachers, and had a learning attitude.

           c. Gianny and Fiston didn’t possess the same drive as Etienne, but I always had the sense that this wasn’t entirely their fault. They weren’t as encouraged as               Etienne by their parents to succeed.

 

     B. Etienne came to the U.S. with very little English, but his educational background and discipline would take him far. One day while I was working with Etienne 

     and he was going through phoneme cards (which I’ll explain later) something occurred that was inspiring for both of us.

      1. Although Etienne came with very little English, he had excellent speaking ability in his first language and very good study skills. Www.education.com, a 

      common website used by educators, explains that it’s generally accepted that internationals with high speaking skills in their native tongue and high cognitive        development and study skills will acquire a second language quicker.

      2. He was always asking me questions and asking for more reading materials.

      3. One day while Etienne was going through an activity, the words he was reading began to come easier and quicker.

         a. He began reading the words faster.

         b. At the end of our activity I knew that Etienne had mastered most of the sounds of English – and I told him this.

         c. From this point on we were able to move into more academic assignments.

 

Transition: That little story serves as a good segway into what I’d like to talk about next, which is the use of phonemic awareness and communicative learning in teaching English as a second language.

     

     C. Phonemic awareness is similar to phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is a way to help listeners to be able to hear, identify and manipulate

     phonemes. As defined by SIL’s glossary of linguistic terms, phonemes are the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language, or the smallest unit

     of sound that has meaning. Teacherspayteachers, another common website used by educators, says “that phonological and phonemic awareness provides a

     strong foundation for early reading success.” This is the main approach to reading that I used with Etienne.

        1. When we separate the word "cat" into three distinct phonemes, /k/, /æ/, and /t/, it requires phonemic awareness.

        2. I used phoneme cards with Etienne. Each letter of the alphabet had its own card, with all the sounds that letter could make.

        3. We used not only cards with letters or letter combinations, but also rhyming games, and activities where he’d have to sort words based on their sounds. All          of these helped Etienne develop essential reading skills.

 

     D. Another approach I used with Etienne was communicative learning. Teachingenglish.org.uk, a site put out by the British Council, defines communicative

     learning as: “…the idea that learning language successfully comes through having to communicate real meaning. When learners are involved in real       

     communication, their natural strategies for language acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language.” Etienne was very social - so

     I developed activities where he would have to use language in real life settings. This would turn out to greatly assist him with his academic goals.

        1. We would have conversations about our weekend, current events, or sports events. We developed and practiced dialogues that could take place in stores,

        restaurants, and the classroom.

        2. In the beginning of our time together, I met with him at McDonalds for tutoring. Here, he had to use English to order his food.

        3. Using communicative learning helped Etienne to express himself verbally. It also helped him to develop a personality in the U.S. This contributed greatly to

        his success because he was able to converse freely and intelligently with adults.

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III. Conclusion

     A. Review of Main Points

       1. Today, I told you a bit of Etienne Ndele’s story.

       2. We also talked about how phonemic awareness and communicative learning helped Etienne achieve his academic goals.

 

     B. Restate Thesis: Etienne was an ESL student; phonemic awareness and the communicative teaching approach were instrumental in helping him succeed.

 

     C. Closure: Good educators truly care about their students and they are always learning.

       1. It was very exciting to be a part of Etienne’s life and to help direct him on his journey.

       2. In working with Etienne, I learned more about teaching and about the benefits of using phonemic awareness and the communicative learning approach.