Dear 350 GLS Students,



Oral Presentations

Level 4 OCS Fall 2016

You will have 4 individual oral presentations and 2 pair/group presentations in this course.

Presentation 1: Your Favorite Hobby—Due Friday, September 16

For your first individual presentation, you will create a Power Point or Prezi presentation about your favorite hobby. The purpose of the presentation will be to inform us about your hobby.

Your presentation should be a minimum of 4-5 slides and last around 3-5 minutes. Feel free to bring in props or real materials that might get us interested in your hobby.

You are free to structure your presentation any way you like, but things you could discuss include:

• What is your hobby and how long have you been doing it?

• Why is this hobby special to you?

• What is the history of this hobby?

• Is this a popular hobby or a more unusual one?

• Is this an expensive or an inexpensive hobby?

• What materials would someone need to get involved with your hobby?

• What are the advantages to this hobby?

Presentation 2: Your Major—Due Friday, September 30

For your second individual presentation, you will create a Power Point or Prezi presentation on your planned academic major when you get into an American university.

Again, this is an informative presentation, and your presentation should be a minimum of 4-5 slides and last around 3-5 minutes.

Some ideas include:

• What is your planned major and why did you choose it?

• What types of courses do students in your major take?

• What types of job opportunities exist for students with your major?

• Who are some well-known successful people who share your major?

• What types of skills and personality traits does someone with your major need in order to be successful?

• What are the best universities for your major in the U.S.?

Presentation 3: Your Favorite Place—Due Friday, October 14

For your third individual presentation, you will create a Power Point presentation on your favorite place. It can be a place in your country, in this country, or in another country. Try NOT to do a place that will be too familiar to your classmates; pick somewhere unusual.

Again, your presentation should be a minimum of 4-5 slides and last around 3-5 minutes.

Some ideas include:

• What is your favorite place?

• Where is it?

• What are the unique features of your place?

• Why is it special to you?

• Would it be special to others? Why?

• How can people get there if they want to go?

Presentation 4: OPEN TOPIC—Due Friday, October 28

For your third individual presentation, you will create a Power Point presentation on ANY TOPIC YOU CHOOSE. It can be an informative or persuasive presentation.

Again, your presentation should be a minimum of 4-5 slides and last around 3-5 minutes.

Some ideas include:

• A custom from your country that you want to share

• Your favorite singer, actor, or inspirational person

• Your favorite place in DC

• A period of history that interests you

• Your favorite type of food or restaurant

• A review of an English-language movie that you have seen

• Any other topic that interests you and that you want to learn more about

Remember, it is the enthusiasm of any speaker that makes a talk interesting, so pick something you care about and want to learn and talk about.

Presentation 5: Pair Debate—Due Friday, November 11

Presentation 5 will be a pair presentation in which you and a partner present two opposing sides of a controversial issue. One person will take one side of the issue, and your partner will take the other side. This will be a persuasive presentation—you are each trying to convince us to think like you do.

For your presentation, you will work with 1 other classmate to create a Power Point or Prezi presentation. It should be between 8-10 slides and last around 6-10 minutes. You may pick your own partner. Remember: your slides must be in your own words—no copying text from the Internet!

For this presentation, you should think of a controversial topic that has two opposing points of view. Some ideas include:

• Do cats or dogs make better pets?

• Should smoking be illegal?

• Should students have to wear uniforms to school?

• Is it better to live on-campus or off-campus as a university student?

• Do video games help or hurt people?

• Should governments control what their people see on the internet?

• Should people be vegetarian?

• Should the U.S. lower the drinking age?

Each of your topics has advantages and disadvantages. Your job will be educate your classmates about each side of the debate so they can make up their own minds. Remember that you may have to argue a point of view that you don’t necessarily agree with personally—your ability to do this shows your skill as a user of language and research!

Your presentation should have an introduction to the issue in general so everyone can understand what you are talking about, and then you and your partner should discuss the pros and cons of each side. There should also be a conclusion that sums up the main points that each person made.

Presentation 6: U.S. Tourist Destination—Due Friday, December 2

Presentation 6 will be a group presentation in which you present information on a famous U.S. national park or other U.S. tourist destination. You will work with 2-3 other classmates to create a Power Point or Prezi presentation to go with your talk. It should be between 8-10 slides and last around 6-10 minutes. Your presentation should also have a 1-page handout that lists the names of the group members, summarizes your main points, and lists any references.

You may pick your own partners. Each person must have a speaking part in the presentation, and the work done by all group members should be equal.

Some ideas include:

• What is the destination you selected and why did you choose it?

• What is the history of your destination?

• What is special about your destination?

• Do many people visit your destination?

• What do people do when they visit your destination?

The website may be of use to you in your research. But remember, no copying text from websites on slides. All slides must be in your own words.

Advice on Presentations

• Practice, practice, practice! Don’t think you can just “wing it.”

• Make your PowerPoint look as professional as you can. Don’t put too many words on a slide; your slides are there to remind you of what to say—you shouldn’t just read your slides. Use nice pictures. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes.

• All slides must be written in YOUR OWN WORDS. No copying text from Wikipedia or other websites!!!!!

• Practice your presentation at home. Time your presentation to make sure it is long enough but not too long. If it is less than 3 minutes long, you do NOT have enough detail and need to add more. If it is longer than 5 minutes, you have to cut information to make it shorter.

• Please bring your presentation to class on a flash drive! Test the flash drive file before the day of your presentation to make sure that it works. DO NOT DOWNLOAD FROM EMAIL!!!!!!!!!

• You will be graded on how well you structure your presentation, grammar, appropriate vocabulary, pronunciation, if you speak loudly enough to be heard, how well you know your material, etc.

• Remember that you need introductions, transition words, and conclusions in formal oral presentations just as much as you need them in academic essays.

• If you are talking about a well-known person, place, or thing, try to teach us something new—don’t just go for the obvious stuff that everyone already knows. Ask yourself: “Would I want to sit through my own presentation?” (

• Have fun—you are among friends who want you to succeed!

• If you have a question, just ask me! (

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Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

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