230284 Speaking (S) (SoSe 2005)

Speaking in public is never easy, and it is even more nerve-wracking if you have to do it in another language. This course is designed to improve your confidence, your fluency, your flexibility and also your accuracy when speaking English. It will include a wide range of classroom activities and topics which will allow you to practise various types of spoken discourse. There will also be a strong focus on pronunciation, and the chance to identify your personal strengths and weaknesses in this area. Since one major objective of the course is to equip you with speaking skills you can put into practice in your other seminars and possibly during a period of study in an English-speaking country, a further major focus will be on using sophisticated (though not necessarily academic) spoken English, for instance in fairly long stretches of explanation or persuasion, or in discussion and argumentation. You will also practise the language of polite interruption or disagreement, and how to assert yourself in a culturally appropriate way.

You will be required to make at least one presentation. Your grade will be based on your presentation(s) and on a short interview that will take place near the end of the course.