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Chapter 2. Speaking

Effective Speaking Strategies

 Chapter Outline

Speaking is the essence of the language. This skill must be well developed to have a successful conversation and communicate the message to the listeners. There are various strategies that can be used to improve a person’s fluency, accuracy, and complexity.

In this section, we will explore these strategies through various group and individual activities. We will work on fluency building, improving accuracy, organizing your thoughts, developing varied language structures, shaping your language according to the listeners, and expanding your vocabulary. The group activities can be used with a large or small group of learners while the individual activities can be used for individual, self-directed learning or as homework activities.

 

Developing Fluency

Building Natural Fluency

Fluency develops through consistent practice and refinement. This section focuses on structured activities that help speakers refine their message, practice speaking in engaging contexts, and analyze effective speech patterns to build natural fluency in communication.

2-2 Discussion

Instructions: Read the questions and discuss them with your classmates. If working alone, answer the questions in the form of an audio/video journal.

  • Do you consider yourself an effective communicator? Why or why not?
  • Share examples of times when you found it easy or difficult to communicate your ideas clearly.
  • Discuss the difference between being detailed and being clear. How can too much detail impact understanding?
  • Reflect on the role of pauses and hesitations in communication. How can they affect the listener’s perception?
  • How do you handle situations when you feel misunderstood? What strategies do you use to clarify your points?

 

2-3 Successive speaking (4/3/2)

Instructions: Select some topic of interest (e.g., a general speaking prompt [see activity 2-7 for topic ideas], an article, a movie, a concept in your field, or a common job interview question).

  • Outline (Optional): Spend 1 minute outlining key points.
  • 4-Minute Talk: Set a timer for 4 minutes and deliver your talk to a partner or record your speech using the recorder below [add h5p recorder] (continue despite mistakes).
  • 3-Minute Talk: Set a timer for 3 minutes and repeat your talk on the same topic.
  • 2-Minute Talk: Set a timer for 2 minutes and repeat your talk again on the same topic.
  • Goal: Notice and reflect on improvements in fluency with each round.

 

2-4 Communicative speech practice

Instructions: Use the picture prompts for speaking practice with your partner by using these questions:

  • Describe what you see in this picture.
  • What do you think this picture represents?
  • What comes to your mind when you look at this picture?
  • What is your opinion about this issue?
  • What is the message that the photographer is trying to send?
A group of people gathering around a table full of food in a festively decorated room, waving and smiling at a phone being held up at the end of the table.
Image Source: Nicole Michalou via Pexels
A classroom filled with small children working at desks. A teacher is crouched next to one student speaking to them.
Image Source: Arthur Krijgsman via Pexels
A person with long hair and wearing a suit is on looking at a virtual call on their laptop, where two other people dressed in similar working outfits look back at them.
Image Source: Anna Shvets via Pexels

 

2-5 Autonomous fluency buildup

Instructions: Follow the steps below following a video of your interest. The goal of this activity is to notice and observe pauses and emphasis in a person’s speech.

  • Choose a video: Select a video that interests you (e.g., Friends TV series, The Office for interpersonal; TED talks for presentational). You can start with the video example that we provided below, mark the pauses, then check the answer key.
  • Get the transcript: Copy and paste the transcript text into a text editor (e.g., Microsoft Word).
  • Mark pauses: Watch the video, inserting “/” for short pauses and “//” for long pauses in your transcript.
  • Practice phrases:
    • Say the first phrase 5 times without pauses, emphasizing the speaker’s emphasis.
    • Say the first and second phrase together 3 times, pausing only between phrases (e.g., “When you see a diagram like this, “//”).
  • Build up:
    • Continue adding one phrase at a time.
    • Listen to the video as needed, a few sentences at a time.
    • Practice until you can say an entire paragraph fluently, pausing only where the speaker paused.

 

Sample Video

Mark the pauses in the video below,[1] then click to see our answer. The video is 10 minutes long, so you can start with the first 2 minutes to avoid fatigue. Complete the remainder of the video at your leisure.

Answer key and transcript:

The human voice: // It’s the instrument we all play. // It’s the most powerful sound in the world, / probably.// It’s the only one that can start a war / or say / “I love you.” // And yet / many people have the experience that when they speak, / people don’t listen to them. // And why is that? / How can we speak powerfully / to make change / in the world? //

00:24

What I’d like to suggest, / there are a number of habits that we need to move away from.// I’ve assembled for your / pleasure here seven deadly sins of speaking. / I’m not pretending this is an exhaustive list, / but / these seven, I think, are pretty large / habits that we can all fall into. /

00:40

First, // gossip. // Speaking ill of somebody who’s not present. // Not a nice habit, / and we know perfectly well the person gossiping, / five minutes later, / will be gossiping / about us. //

00:53

Second, / judging. // We know people who / are like this in conversation, / and it’s very hard to listen to somebody / if / you know that you’re being judged / and found wanting / at the same time. //

01:03

Third, negativity. // You can fall into this. / My mother, / in the last years of her life, / became very very negative, / and it’s hard to listen. // I remember one day, / I said to her, // “It’s October 1 today,” and she said, “I know, isn’t it dreadful?” //

01:16

(Laughter)

01:18

It’s hard to listen when somebody’s that negative. //

01:21

(Laughter)

It’s hard to listen when somebody’s that negative. //

01:22

And another form of negativity, / complaining. // Well, this is the national / art of the U.K. // It’s our national sport. / We complain about the weather, / about sport, / about politics, / about everything, / but actually, / complaining is viral misery. // It’s not spreading sunshine and lightness in the world. //

01:39

Excuses. //

01:41

We’ve all / met this guy. Maybe / we’ve all been this guy. / Some people / have a blamethrower. // They just / pass it on to everybody else and don’t take responsibility for their actions, /and again, / hard to listen to somebody who is being like that. //

01:54

Penultimate, / the sixth of the seven, // embroidery, // exaggeration. // It demeans our language, actually, sometimes. / For example, if I see something that really is awesome, / what do I call it? //

02:06

(Laughter)

02:09

And then, of course, this exaggeration becomes lying, / out and out lying, / and we don’t want to listen to people we know are lying to us. //

02:15

And finally, // dogmatism. // The confusion of facts / with opinions. / When those two things get conflated, / you’re listening into the wind. You know, somebody is bombarding you with their opinions as if they were true. / It’s difficult to listen / to that. //

02:32

So here they are, // seven // deadly sins of speaking. / These are things / I think / we need to avoid. // But is there a positive / way to think about this? // Yes, there is. // I’d like to suggest that there are four really powerful / cornerstones, foundations, / that we can stand on / if we want our speech / to be powerful / and to make change in the world. // Fortunately, these things spell a word. // The word is “hail,” / and it has a great definition / as well. I’m not talking about the stuff that falls from the sky and hits you on the head. // I’m talking about this definition, to / greet or acclaim enthusiastically, which is how I think our words will be received // if we stand on these four things.

03:10 (There is not a pause here.)

So what do they stand for? // See if you can guess. // The H, // honesty, / of course, / being true in what you say, being straight and clear. / The A is authenticity, / just / being yourself. / A friend of mine described it as standing in your own truth, / which I think is a lovely way to put it. / The I is integrity, / being your word, actually doing what you say, / and being somebody people can trust. // And the L // is love. // I don’t mean romantic love, // but I do mean wishing people well, // for two reasons. First of all, I think / absolute honesty may not be what we want. I mean, my goodness, you look ugly this morning. // Hmm. Perhaps // that’s not necessary. // Tempered with love, of course, honesty is a great thing. / But also, / if you’re really wishing somebody well, / it’s very hard to judge them at the same time. // I’m not even sure you can do those two things / simultaneously. // So hail. //

04:08

Also, now that’s what you say, and it’s like the old song, it is what you say, it’s also / the way that you say it. // You have an amazing toolbox. This instrument is incredible, / and yet this is a toolbox that very few people have ever opened. / I’d like to have a little rummage in there / with you now and just pull a few tools out that you might like to take away and play with, / which will increase the power of your speaking. //

04:29

Register, for example. / Now, falsetto register may not be very useful / most of the time, / but / there’s a register in between. I’m not going to get very technical about this for any of you who are voice coaches. / You can locate your voice, however. / So if I talk up here in my nose, you can hear the difference. If I go down here in my throat, which is where / most of us speak from most of the time. // But / if you want weight, / you need to go down here to the chest. / You hear the difference? // We vote for politicians // with lower voices, // it’s true, // because we associate depth // with power // and with authority. // That’s register. //

05:07

Then we have timbre. // It’s the / the way your voice feels. / Again, the research shows that we prefer voices which are rich, / smooth, / warm, / like hot chocolate. // Well if that’s not you, // that’s not the end of the world, / because you can train. // Go get a voice coach. // And there are amazing things you can do with breathing, with posture, / and with exercises / to improve the timbre of your voice. //

05:30

Then prosody. I love prosody. This is the sing-song, the meta-language / that we use in order to impart meaning. It’s root one for meaning / in conversation. / People who speak all on one / note are really quite hard to listen to / if they don’t have any prosody at all. / That’s where the word / “monotonic” / comes from, or monotonous, monotone. // Also, we have / repetitive prosody now coming in, // where every sentence ends as if it were a question // when it’s actually not a question, it’s a statement. //

06:00

(Laughter)

06:02

And if you repeat that one, it’s actually restricting your ability to communicate through prosody, which I think is a shame, / so let’s try and break that habit. //

06:12

Pace. /

06:13

I can get very excited by saying something really quickly, / or / I can slow right down / to emphasize, / and at the end of that, of course, is our old friend / silence. // There’s nothing wrong with a bit of silence // in a talk, is there? // We don’t have to fill it with ums / and ahs. / It can be very powerful. //

06:35

Of course, pitch / often goes along with pace to indicate arousal, but you can do it just with pitch. // Where did you leave my keys? // (Higher pitch) Where did you leave my keys?! // So, slightly different / meaning in those two deliveries. //

06:47

And finally, volume. // (Loud) I can get really excited // by using volume. Sorry about that, if I startled anybody. // Or, I can have you really pay attention by getting very quiet. // Some people broadcast the whole time. Try not to do that. / That’s called sodcasting, //

07:05

(Laughter)

07:06

Imposing your sound on people around you / carelessly / and inconsiderately. Not nice. //

07:12

Of course, / where this all comes into play most of all / is when you’ve got something really important to do. It might be standing on a stage / like this / and giving a talk to people. / It might be proposing marriage, // asking for a raise, // a wedding speech. Whatever it is, // if it’s really important, you owe it to yourself // to look at this / toolbox / and the engine / that it’s going to work on, and no engine works well without being warmed up. // Warm up your voice. //

07:38

Actually, // let me show you how to do that. Would you all like to stand up / for a moment? // I’m going to show you the six vocal warm-up exercises / that I do / before every talk I ever do. // Any time you’re going to talk to anybody important, / do these. // First, arms up, // deep breath in, / and and sigh out, ahhhhh, like that. / One more time. // Ahhhh, very good. / Now we’re going to warm up our lips, and we’re going to go Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba. Very good. / And now, brrrrrrrrrr, just like when you were a kid. / Brrrr. / Now your lips should be coming alive. / We’re going to do the tongue next / with exaggerated / la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. / Beautiful. You’re getting really good at this. And then, roll an R. / Rrrrrrr. / That’s like champagne for the tongue. // Finally, / and if I can only do one, // the pros call this the siren. / It’s really good. / It starts with “we” and goes to “aw.” The “we” is high, the “aw” is low. So you go, / weeeaawww, weeeaawww. /

08:46

Fantastic. Give yourselves a round of applause. Take a seat, thank you. //

08:49

(Applause)

08:51

Next time you speak, // do those / in advance.

08:53 (There is not a pause here.)

Now let me just put this in context to close. // This is a serious point here. // This is / where we are now, right? We speak not very well / into people who simply aren’t listening in an environment that’s all about noise and bad acoustics. I have / talked about that on this stage in different / phases. / What would the world be like // if we were speaking powerfully // to people who were listening consciously // in environments which were actually fit for purpose? // Or to make that a bit larger, // what would the world be like / if we were creating sound consciously // and consuming sound consciously / and designing all our environments / consciously for sound? / That would be a world that does sound beautiful, // and one where understanding // would be the norm, / and that / is an idea worth spreading. //

09:40

Thank you.

09:41

(Applause)

 

Organizing Your Thoughts

One key to fluency is the ability to think and organize speech in real time, whether responding spontaneously or delivering a structured message. Even when the speaker is using their native language, in order to sound fluent and easy to understand, it’s important for the speaker to be able to structure their ideas quickly and logically. This section focuses on developing fluency through the ability to organize ideas quickly, practice through engaging conversation topics, and structure concise yet impactful speech.

Thinking on Your Feet: Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking involves delivering a speech without prior preparation. The MEET Acronym is an effective approach that allows the speaker to organize and present their ideas in a manner that is easy to follow.

  • Main Idea
  • Example/Explanation
  • Example/Explanation
  • Takeaway

This method helps structure thoughts quickly, ensuring clear and engaging communication.

 

image 2-6 Impromptu Speaking Activity

Instructions: Read the questions and discuss them with your classmates. If working alone, answer the questions in the form of an audio/video journal.

The table below provides several ideas for prompts on general topics that you can use to practice impromptu speaking focused on developing certain language functions. Language functions are the purposes for using language, such as describing, comparing, or hypothesizing, each requiring different language skills and structures.

Prompts for Impromptu Speaking
Functions Sample Prompts on General Topics
  • Convey abstract and complex ideas
  • Some people believe that graduate students should not have any grades. How else could grad students be motivated to study?
  • Explore hypotheses and alternative possibilities
  • If you were the president of your country, what would you do for students?
  • Small cities are often thought to be boring. What could be done to make them more entertaining for residents?
  • Express and defend opinions
  • Explain in detail
  • Describe in detail
  • Narrate fully
  • Some people believe that online learning does not offer the same quality of learning as the in-person learning experience. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  • Some people believe that wearing face masks can interfere with speech intelligibility. Argue for or against this opinion.
  • Some people think that studying in a foreign country is more challenging than studying in their home country. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  • Some people believe that watching TV can harm your eyesight. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
  • Some advisors believe that international students should live in the dorms their first year instead of an apartment so that they can meet more American students. Argue for or against this opinion.
  • Construct an argument
  • Explain in detail
  • Describe in detail
  • Narrate fully
  • A new university is often thought to be hard to get acclimated to. What could be done to make it more welcoming to new international students?
  • What do you think could be done to motivate people to go outside more?
  • What do you think could be done to motivate people to dedicate more time for self-care?
  • Some people believe that children should not spend time indoors but should focus on having fun with friends outdoors. Argue for or against this opinion.
  • What qualities are professors looking for when accepting new students? Why are these qualities important?
  • Some people believe that private companies should provide higher salaries for their employees. Do you agree or not? Support your argument.
  • What measures could be taken to make schools safe?
  • Compare and contrast
 What are some advantages and disadvantages of…

  • Being a teacher
  • Living overseas
  • Learning a new language (in a foreign country)
  • Attending a live concert vs TV
  • Cinema vs a TV movie
  • Driving a car in a big city
  • Living near the beach
  • Living in the village or a big city
  • Teaching small and large classes
  • Being famous
  • Express opinion
  • Why do you think some people buy cheaper brands of products?
  • Which do you think is a safer way to travel, by airplane or by car? Why?
  • Which do you think is more dangerous, a tornado or a tsunami? Why?
  • Explain/narrate
  • Why might it be difficult for some people to maintain a healthy diet?
  • Why may it be difficult for some people to go back to school after being away from school a long time?
  • What are some of the best and the worst aspects of being a teacher?

2-7 Conversation topics for advanced learners

Instructions: Read the questions and discuss them with your classmates. If working alone, answer the questions in the form of an audio/video journal. If you are not familiar with the words, look them up in a dictionary.

Consumerism

  • What is Consumerism?
  • What are the positive and negative effects of consumerism?
  • Did previous generations consume as much?
  • Should people be encouraged to consume less? Why? How?

Entrepreneurship

  • What is Entrepreneurship?
  • If you could start your own business, what kind of business would you start? Why?
  • Is entrepreneurship a popular dream in your country? Why or why not?
  • Is it better to be a boss or employee? Why?

Elevator speech

  • What is an Elevator speech?
  • What is the goal of the Elevator speech?
  • Have you ever had a chance to pitch your ideas?

Misbehavior & parenting

  • What type of child were you? Were you a naughty child? Quiet child? Clever child?
  • Would you consider yourself a troublemaker as a teenager? Why or why not?
  • Have you heard the phrase “helicopter parent?” What do you think about that concept?
  • What do you think about the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child?”

Service

  • What is considered “service” in the academic world?
  • What are some common types of service positions?
  • Should these positions be paid?

 

Being Concise and Impactful

In academic and professional settings, delivering a clear and compelling message in a short amount of time is a valuable skill. Whether introducing yourself, summarizing research, or making a strong first impression, brevity and precision matter. This section explores how to further improve your fluency by communicating key ideas effectively with limited time, focusing on techniques for crafting concise and impactful elevator pitches.

Elevator Pitches

An elevator pitch is a concise introduction, ideally under a minute, that explains who you are, your expertise, and what you’re working on. It should be clear, engaging, and tailored to your listeners. Practicing your elevator pitch can help you become a more concise, clear, fluent, and confident communicator. Ideally, your elevator pitch answers the following questions:[2]

  • Who are you? Make it personal—tell a story.
  • Why is this research/project important? What problem are you trying to solve? Providing this insight at the beginning of an elevator pitch is often referred to as a “hook.” Think about connecting your message to what they care about. Often you can do this by posing a question or stating a problem.
  • What makes your research/project/approach unique? Avoid acronyms or jargon your listener may not know or understand. Keep it high-level.
  • What are the short-term or long-term benefits of this research? What happens if you succeed? Think of the “so what?” rather than focusing exclusively on the “what” of your research.”

If you are struggling to present your speech in 1 minute, using the 2-3 Successive Speaking (4/3/2) activity approach can help you become more fluent and concise.

For more details and examples of Elevator Speech videos, visit the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Stem Cell Elevator Pitch Challenge

2-8 Elevator pitch activity

Instructions: Imagine you’re in an elevator with someone you’ve never met before. You have 1 minute to passionately explain one of the following:

  • A captivating topic that interests you
  • A recent article or news story
  • A compelling concept from your field
  • A common job interview question

Write down an outline for your speech and practice with a partner. Your goal is to be concise, spark your conversation partner’s curiosity, and leave a lasting impression.

 

Improving Accuracy

Practicing Pronunciation

Speaking accurately involves using correct pronunciation, grammar, and phrasing to ensure clear communication. For learners who struggle with pronunciation, focusing on sound clarity, thought groups, stress, prominence, and intonation can make a significant difference. If pronunciation is a key challenge, refer to the Pronunciation chapter of this book for detailed explanations of each concept and practice exercises to improve accuracy and clarity in spoken English. Below, we provide one example of a general pronunciation-focused activity that can be adapted to focus on different areas of pronunciation.

 2-9 Pronunciation feedback circles

Instructions: In this activity, you will practice speaking in small groups and receive targeted feedback on different aspects of pronunciation, as directed by your instructor. The steps for this activity are outlined below:

  1. Form Small Groups – Work in groups of 3–4.
  2. Choose a Focus – Each round, focus on one aspect of pronunciation (e.g., sounds, word stress, prominence, intonation), as explained by your instructor.
  3. Take Turns Speaking – Read a short passage or say a prepared sentence.
  4. Give and Receive Feedback – Group members provide one piece of constructive feedback based on the chosen focus.
  5. Try Again – Apply the feedback and repeat the sentence.
  6. Rotate – Rotate roles so each person gets a chance to focus on different aspects of pronunciation.
Additional Pronunciation Activities

  • For additional ideas, games, and discussions on the topic of pronunciation,  check out Marsha Chan’s Professional Development blog, which covers tons of speaking & pronunciation activities.

Improving Grammar/Phrasing

In terms of grammar and phrasing, learners should focus on structuring sentences correctly, using appropriate verb tenses, and avoiding common errors like subject-verb agreement mistakes, expressing plural, omitting, or overusing articles. Students are often unaware of some mistakes that are impacting their accuracy. Practicing self-monitoring, analyzing your own speech to notice errors, and engaging in activities that reinforce accurate language use can help. The activity below describes an activity for awareness raising that can help with this issue.

image 2-10 Analyze2Imitate – Grammar

Instructions: The first step in improving your spoken English grammar is to increase your ability to hear errors as errors. One way you can develop this ability is the following:

  1. Select a short TED talk or podcast from Scientific American’s “Science, Quickly” that you find interesting.
  2. Under the TED talk video, click the “Read Transcript” button, then copy and paste into a Microsoft Word the part of the transcript text you find interesting.
  3. Record yourself reading the transcript aloud (perhaps using your phone, or a tool like the Online Voice Recorder from VirtualSpeech) as naturally as possible, pretending you really are giving the talk.
  4. Highlight in different colors all potential locations of the grammar error types you find difficult. (e.g., Highlight all verbs in your transcript in green if you know you have trouble with verb tenses and/or subject/verb agreement. Highlight all plural nouns in your transcript in yellow if you tend to say things like “two factor_.” Highlight all articles—”a” and “an” and “the”—in orange if you know you tend to make article mistakes.)
    Example:
    “Unless we do something to prevent it, over the next 40 years we’re facing an epidemic of neurologic diseases on a global scale. A cheery thought. On this map, every country that’s colored blue has more than 20 percent of its population over the age of 65. This is the world we live in.” (Gregory Petsko: “The coming neurological epidemic,” TED)
  5. For each highlighter color you used, listen carefully to your recording one time, paying close attention to what you actually said for the words highlighted in that color vs. what the transcript indicates you ought to have said. Mark in bold any highlighted words on your transcript for which you made an error.
  6. Rerecord yourself giving the talk one more time, paying particular attention to any words marked in bold on your transcript (but don’t worry about listening to/checking this second recording again unless you want to).

image 2-11 Analyze2Imitate – Phrasing

Instructions: Similar to the grammar activity above, this activity will help you improve your spoken English phrasing (a.k.a. collocation).  The first step to improving is to increase your ability to hear errors as errors. One way you can develop this ability is the following:

    1. Select a short TED talk or podcast from Scientific American’s “Science, Quickly” that you find interesting.
    2. Under the TED talk video, click the “Read Transcript” button, then copy and paste into a Microsoft Word the part of the transcript text you find interesting.
    3. Record yourself reading the transcript aloud (perhaps using your phone, or a tool like the Online Voice Recorder from VirtualSpeech) as naturally as possible, pretending you really are giving the talk.
    4. Highlight in different colors all potential locations of the types of phrasing/collocations you find difficult. (e.g., Highlight all verb + noun objects in your transcript in green if you often don’t know what verb to use with particular nouns. On a second copy of your transcript, highlight all noun-preposition-noun or just preposition-noun combinations in your transcript in yellow if you often don’t know what preposition to use with particular nouns.)
      Examples:

verb + noun collocations: “Unless we do something to prevent it, over the next 40 years we’re facing an epidemic of neurologic diseases on a global scale. A cheery thought. On this map, every country that’s colored blue has more than 20 percent of its population over the age of 65. This is the world we live in.“

(noun-)preposition-noun collocations: “Unless we do something to prevent it, over the next 40 years we’re facing an epidemic of neurologic diseases on a global scale. A cheery thought. On this map, every country that’s colored blue has more than 20 percent of its population over the age of 65. This is the world we live in.”

    1. For each highlighter color you used, listen carefully to your recording one time, paying close attention to what you actually said for the phrases highlighted in that color vs. what the transcript indicates you ought to have said. Mark in bold any highlighted words on your transcript for which you made an error.
    2. Rerecord yourself giving the talk one more time, paying particular attention to any phrases marked in bold on your transcript (but don’t worry about listening to/checking this second recording again unless you want to).

2-12 Role Play

Instructions: Imagine yourself in a specific daily life situation that involves communication. The prompt describes the situation and what you are expected to do in that situation. Assign roles with your classmates, initiate the conversation, and explain the situation. Practice your speaking, paying particular attention to any grammar issues that you identified in the previous activity.

Role Play Scenarios
Situation Task
You are at a school board meeting and the board members are discussing the problems with hunger for students. Express your concerns about student hunger and what might be causing it. Propose ideas to deal with this issue.
You and your classmate are planning a trip for spring break. They want to go to the mountains, but you want to go to the beach. Try to convince your classmate that going to the beach is a better idea.
You missed an important exam and have made an appointment with the teacher/professor. Explain what happened and try to arrange for a make-up exam.
You borrowed a friend’s car and had a slight accident. Call your friend, explain what happened, describe the damage, and offer a solution.
You want to go to an online conference, but your PI partner wants to attend an in-person conference. Try to convince your classmate to attend the online conference.
You and your friend are discussing the benefits and drawbacks of living in New York. They believe that it’s better to move to California. Try to convince your friend that living in New York is a better option.
You are in Chicago. You missed your plane to Washington, D.C. Ask the person behind the counter three or four questions to find out what you need to do to get to Washington, D.C. quickly.
Your friend asks you about your favorite meals from your country and your favorite meal in the USA. Tell them what your favorite dish is, how it is prepared, and when it is served.
You bought new clothes from Kohl’s 6 months ago, but you just tried them on, and they wouldn’t fit. You want to return the clothes and have the receipt, but you are not sure about the policy regarding the date of purchase. Talk to the store manager, explain the situation and ask for a refund.
You are looking for a new apartment and you need to ask for details about the contract. Call the landlord and ask them about the amount of rent, what is included in the lease, apartment location, etc.
You are interested in enrolling in a grant-writing course, but you are not sure whether it will be too time-consuming, and it would best fit your needs as a researcher. Talk to the professor who teaches this course. Ask them to provide you with details about the course syllabus, time-commitment and benefits.

2-13 Language Practice with General Topics

Instructions:

  1. Go to https://www.esl-lab.com/ and look under Listening Activities.
  2. Select from any of the levels, Easy, Intermediate, Difficult, Academic Listening, English Culture.
  3. Within each level, choose a topic, e.g. Intermediate: College Roommates
  4. Go through the pre-listening exercise and idioms as a chat and address any other vocabulary items that might be unknown. 
  5. Then, role-play a speaking prompt for the Post-Listening Exercise.
  6. After that, you can extend to the prompt from the Online Investigation.
  7. You can use the same technique as homework. Self-record the answers, listen back to your recordings, and notice potential mistakes or room for improvement. 

 

Language Complexity

Developing Varied Language Structures 

This section explores how to progressively develop language functions, from describing and comparing to hypothesizing and analyzing, with a focus on structuring information effectively for academic and professional contexts.

Language Functions

It is important to recognize the language functions and how each of those functions differs. For example, describing requires a detailed response and the ability to use words that paint a picture, and elaborations that give a comprehensive overview of the topic. On the other hand, to compare and contrast requires a response that shows understanding of both sides while a hypothesis requires some imagination.

For more details about language functions, we recommend the following articles:

Cotos, E., & Chung, Y. R. (2019). Functional language in curriculum genres: Implications for testing international teaching assistants. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 41, 100766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.06.009

Cotos, E., & Chung, Y. R. (2018). Domain description: Validating the interpretation of the TOEFL iBT® speaking scores for international teaching assistant screening and certification purposes. ETS Research Report Series, (1), 1-24. doi:10.1002/ets2.12233

 

Signal Words & Vocabulary

With each function, there are words that you would use, e.g. signal words or specific types of vocabulary. For example, compare and contrast would need words like: On one hand, on the other hand, a list or sequence would require: First, Next, Then, and a hypothesis would include: If I were, could… You can go back to the prompt example above and illustrate by building up the level of difficulty in questions: same topic, different language functions, different approaches to response.

Sample signal words and grammatical functions 
Functions  Sample signal words and grammatical functions 
List
  • First, second, third
  • First, next, finally
  • To begin/start with, afterward, eventually
Narrate
  • Adjectives and adverbs
  • Tenses
  • Expressions: Now, in the future, in the past, meanwhile, prior to, before, after, next
Describe
  • Adjectives and adverbs
  • Prepositions
  • Expressions: appears to be, defined as, identifies as, to illustrate, for example, for instance, because, as a result, in summary, accordingly
Compare and contrast
  • Similarities: Also, In addition, as well as, likewise, at the same time, 
  • Contrast: On the other hand, on the contrary, the flip side, although, however, in contrast, unlike, nevertheless
Explain
  • Combination of the above, e.g.
  • List: First, next, then
  • Compare and contrast: Also, and vs but, on the other hand
Hypothesize
  • Combination of the above, e.g.
  • Expression: If I were, perhaps if, modals (could, would, should), imagine that,
  • Explain: Also, furthermore, however, therefore, etc.

2-14 Progressive development of language functions

Instructions: Read the prompts below and practice with a partner.

Functions    Sample prompt 
List
  •  Tell me three qualities you would look for in a roommate.
Narrate
  •  Do you have a roommate? What has been your experience living in a new country with a roommate?
Describe
  •  What are three qualities that you would look for in a roommate, and why are they important?
Compare and contrast
  •  How do people find roommates in your country? How is it similar or different from finding roommates in the US?
Explain
  •  Which would you prefer? A roommate with the same culture or a roommate with a different culture? Why?
Hypothesize
  •  If you could find a perfect roommate, what would that person be like?

Presentation Sequence for Charts and Graphs

When presenting information in the form of charts and graphs, generally a specific sequence should be followed to facilitate understanding. This sequence is as follows:

  • introduction,
  • orientation,
  • details to notice, and
  • interpretation.

The table below provides a closer description of these sequences, as well as, phrases that can be used at each presentation stage.

 
Sequence     Definition
Introduction At the beginning of each slide, the presenter introduces what is about to be presented.

Language examples: 

  • Moving on to the results…
  • As discussed in the results sections, this bar illustrates the…
  • Let’s take a look at this chart, which illustrates
  • This graph provides a visual representation of…
  • As you can see in this figure, we’re examining
  • I’d like to draw your attention to this graph, which compares.
  • Here, we have a chart depicting
Orientation The presenter familiarizes the audience with the chart or graph by drawing attention to each part such as the X/Y axes, bars, wedges, etc. and defining what they represent.

 Language examples: 

  • At the bottom
  • …while the left side shows
  • The different colors/patterns on the bars represent…
  • The x-axis represents [variable], while the y-axis shows [variable].
  • The size of each bubble indicates…
  • The data points on the scatter plot represent…
Details to notice The presenter points out important data illustrated by the chart or graph. This might be high or low points, trends, etc.

Language examples: 

  • It should be noted that…
  • However, while…, it’s important to acknowledge
  • As you can see on the slide…
  • It’s worth mentioning that…
  • As you can see, the highest value is…
  • Notice the sharp rise/fall in…
  • The data peaks/reaches a plateau at.
  • There’s a noticeable trend of…
  • From this, we can observe…
  • There’s a clear difference between…
  • In contrast to [category A], [category B] shows.
  • While [category A] increased, [category B] decreased
  • Interestingly, …
  • Now, let’s turn our attention to…
Interpretation The presenter explains their interpretation of the data. This could include what the data means in a broader sense, actions that should be taken, etc.

 Language examples: 

  • Given the findings…
  • X is greater than Y
  • X correlates with Y
  • C has greater cost than D
  • C generates more income than D
  • Y makes D generate more income
  • X has no effect on C or D
  • These results indicate that…
  • The findings suggest that
  • It can be assumed that…
  • This might be due to…
  • Based on these findings, we can infer…
  • Therefore, we can see that…
  • In summary…

Example

Below is a sample bar chart followed by examples of the sequence in action.

An example of formats for charts and graphs.
Source: Image from “Images, Charts, and Graphs” by Jordan Smith; Melissa Ashman; eCampusOntario; Brian Dunphy; Andrew Stracuzzi; Stacey Taylor; Joshua Touw; Alana Michelin; and Paige Hagan. In Building Relationships With Business Communication by Linda Macdonald, licensed CC BY NC SA 4.0.
  • Introduction: “Here we can see a bar graph illustrating the profitability of our three most popular product types in 2018.”
  • Orientation: “At the bottom, we have our three product types, laptops, monitors, and tablets, while the left shows prices in Canadian dollars. The blue bars represent revenues, the gray bars expenses, and the red bars profit.”
  • Details to notice: “It should be noted that laptop sales generated the most revenue. However, while monitors generated the least overall revenue, they generated the most profit due to their low production costs.”
  • Interpretation: “If we can find a way to decrease the cost of producing laptops or increase monitor sales, we stand to reap even higher profits.”

 

2-15 Practicing data presentation

Instructions: Use the bar graph and pie chart below and practice the sequence of presenting charts and graphs. If you have your own chart/table to interpret, share it with your partner and practice with your own slides.

A bar chart showing hours spent each day on activities like eating, household chores, working, and leisure by age group.
Source: Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Average hours per day spent in selected activities by age“

 

Pie chart of M&M color by frequency from a sample of 712 M&Ms.
Source: Data taken from “Fun with M&Ms” by Chuck Powell, licensed CC BY SA 4.0.

Tailoring Your Language to Different Listeners

The language we use in everyday life changes based on our relationship with the people we communicate with, the context (formal/informal), cultural backgrounds, and familiarity with the topic. In this section, we will understand and practice how our language changes based on our listeners.

Strategies to understand & connect with your listeners

To ensure that people can understand your message effectively, you can use the following strategies:

Listener (Audience) analysis:

  • Understand your speaking goal and consider your listeners’ general background characteristics, such as age, educational background, work experience, and nationality.
  • Assess their motivational background and assess their knowledge and interest levels in the topic.
  • Consider their attitudes, beliefs, and values to make sure you are using cultural-appropriate language.

Make it engaging and relatable:

  • Tell a story that would matter to your target listeners, capture interest, and clarify the purpose of your speech.
  • Use a problem-solution-importance structure to highlight why the topic matters and why people should care.

The exercises below will help you understand and practice adjusting language complexity appropriately to different listeners.

2-16 Discussion

Instructions: Read the questions and discuss them with your classmates. If working alone, answer the questions in the form of an audio/video journal.

  1. How much do you consider your listeners during different contexts, such as teaching your classes, giving presentations in your graduate classes, presenting at a professional conference, or having an everyday conversation with a colleague?
  2. How do you help your listeners:
    1. Want to listen
    2. Feel personally involved
    3. Process content
    4. View your speech as relevant?
  3. How does your language change when talking to different listeners/audiences?

2-17 One concept in 5 levels of difficulty

Instructions:  In pairs or small groups, listen to one of the videos from the website below, where the speakers explain the same concept in 5 different levels of difficulty.

  1. Listen: Take notes regarding the various ways in which the language is different at each level.
  2. Discuss: Discuss your observations with your partner/group members.
  3. Practice: Choose 2-3 different audience “levels” you might share your content with and then practice presenting one concept from your field.

Website: https://www.wired.com/video/series/5-levels

2-18 Recognizing your listeners

Instructions: Choose two of the listeners below and your scenario. In pairs, talk about your scenario, tailoring your language to the first group of listeners, for example, children, and then talk about the same topic with the second group of listeners in mind, for example, parents.

Listeners:

  • Children (age 6-10)
  • Teenagers (age 13-18)
  • College students
  • Seniors (age 65+)
  • Scientists or researchers
  • Parents
  • Farmers
  • Postdocs

Scenarios:

  • Talking about healthy food
  • Giving a motivational speech
  • Explaining what you do
  • Explaining your research
  • Convincing them to join a fitness class
  • Presenting a book review
  • Explaining what you do
  • Explaining your research

 

  1. Treasure, J. [TED]. (2014). How to speak so that people want to listen [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved August 14, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI ↵
  2. Created based on materials from https://www.pdhub.org/ ↵
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License

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Oral Communication for Non-Native Speakers of English, 2nd Edition Copyright © 2025 by Agata Guskaroska; Erik Goodale; Timothy Kochem; Monica Ghosh; Lily Compton; and Elena Cotos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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