Project - Research Presentation

The aim this project is to practice reading (news articles), listening (lectures), note taking, summary writing, presentation skills, asking good questions, making slideshows, leading discussions, discussion participation, learning reflection, and APA referencing.

Step 1: Listen to a lecture

• Visit the TED website https://www.ted.com/talks
• Select “6-12 mins”
• Look for an interesting topic and title
• Listen to 20 seconds, English only.
  • Hard accent? Super fast speaker?
  • Maybe choose another
• Need help?
  • Try English subtitles or transcript
  • Still need help? Check the Japanese transcript.
  • However, if you use these, watch in English one time after
• Take notes
  • I will review options in class (mind map, bullets, cornell)
  • Notes in Japanese OK. Notes are for you only, presentation is for class.

Step 2: Find a related news article

• Google the topic covered in the talk.
• ENGLISH ONLY. Japanese sources OK in essays, not here.
• Find a NEWS article about the topic
  • Less than one year old
  • A newspaper or news magazine is best
  • NGO news OK if it’s a large reliable group (check wikipedia)
  • Try Google’s News tab
• It doesn’t have to be an exact match. For example if talk is “problem caused for penguins in Galapagos by global warming”, your reading could be about:
  • a) The Galapagos
  • b) OR penguins
  • c) OR global warming
• Take notes

Step 3: Check your notes

• How long is your presentation? Do you have enough notes?
• You need about 9 ideas
  • 3 steps, times, reasons, problems, solutions
  • 3 detail keywords on each step
• If you are short, read another article!
• Remember to keep the URL (http addresses) of the talk and article

Step 4: Get your Presentation ready (9 slides minimum)

• I will share “Template for RR”
• Follow the template carefully.
• I will review in class, but common mistakes are:
  • Titles: keywords, in title case, consistent format
  • Every body slide needs EITHER
    • Image and text
    • Image and no text - if image has meaning (map, chart, graph, etc)
  • Try to use free images search
  • Formatting has MEANING in presentations
    • e.g. bottom right 14pt gray Arial = “this is a citation”
    • Check size, colour, font, position is consistent
  • No more than 3s to read a slide
  • If you are going to SAY it don’t WRITE it
  • No sentences! Keywords only
  • Bullets are LISTS - use ≥2 or delete
• Spellcheck and proof read!
• No penguins!
• Script is optional
• Question slide follow rule- ask good questions
• References slide
  • in alphabetical order.
  • TWO citations - TED+News. Maybe three if your news article was short

Step 5: Prepare to Present

• Homework: Decide on script, notes, or nothing. I’ll review the options in class.
• Homework: Practice 3-4 times for fluency
• Common mistakes include
  • No floppy A4 notes
  • No tiny scripts on your phone.
  • Start your presentation, don’t just show your file
  • During discussion, Keep speaking to everyone. You are STILL PRESENTING

Step 6: Present

• Present (I’ll give tips in class)
• Feedback
• Lead discussion

Assessment

• Body Language
  • Control you hands - don’t fiddle with your notes, clothes, hair
  • Don’t wave your notes.
  • Don’t shuffle your feet
• Eye contact
  • Speak at the audience
  • Look down, read, look up, then speak. Don’t speak at your notes.
  • Keep your notes near your eyes (in hand, or if Zoom on keyboard)
• Voice
  • Speak in phrases, not word by word
  • Interesting voice!
  • Practice until you have few hesitations