One of the fears of teachers is public speaking. Teachers have dreaded this endeavor although they know the importance of this can offer.
A teacher who lives in an educational environment cannot get along with his/ her co-workers without some form of communication; andbyits nature,oral communications, aside from sign language which is, at best, limited in scope, is more direct than any other non oral form of communication devised by man. There will be different occasions wherein the expertise of a teacher well be utilized through oral communication.
As a teacher, one needs to be good in oral communication. It would be good start that beginning teachers to concentrate on six basic factors of delivery: platform behavior, posture, loudness, clarity, pronunciation and grammar.
Platform Behavior. A general rule to remember is everything that a speaker does and everyrhing that aspeaker does not do must have proper motivation. There must be always agood reason for any pause or for any movement.
Male beginners have the tendency to constantly shift the body from one leg to another. Girls are prone to swing and sway. Avoid them and other mannerisms: scratching your head, rubbing your head, rubbing your nose, looking at the ceiling, playing with your fingers
and the like. Mannerisms are inconsistent with the characteristics of a good speaker.
Posture. Good Posture is something that has been founded on us since our childhood days. Fot one valid reason, the speaker must pay attention to his posture. Bad posture is an uncomfortable sight to the listeners. Balance the weight of your body on both feet at all times,There is no fixed rule as how the feet are to be positioned. It can, however, be said that the feet must reasonably be apartor close together.
Loudness.Most of the teachers ordinarily have well-modulated voice, however, there are times that they underestimates the volume of his/her voice. He/she thinks it is loud enough; often it is not. He/she must therefore, be fully aware of his audibility while speaking. It is only when you sre actually speaking that you will know the exact requirements of volume. Teachers must be fully aware and must pay attention to the persons in the last row. Remember, if they can hear you, everybody can. The immediate problem of a teacher are those with natural soft voice, the solution to this is Shout. He/she is generally capable of doing thisfor,as he may realize, he sometimes shouts to his/her students or when he/she talks to a person far from him/her.
Clarity.Thereis a difference between the riction used in orsinary conversation aand the diction used for audiences. In conversation, you may be clear even If you mumble because the listener is near you. ordinary conversation.
Therefore, speak slower and enunciate the words a little more deliberately than in ordinary conversation.
Pronunciation.You must not be artificial in pronouncing words in a public speaking. One big help is observe whom you respect for their good command of the English language. Whenever in doubt as to your pronunciation, consult a modern dictionary.
Grammar. This is a big problem for most ordinary Filipinos, some teachers not excluded. This is because English is only our second language. Grammatical mistakes can be disconcerting. Teachers must be vigilant in avoiding grammatical errors. The most practical thing to do is to expose him/herself to the language as often as possible.
If a teacher constantly expose and practice him/herself in the English language, to his/her amazement, he/she will achieve improvement.
Reference:
Gupit, Jr.,F. Elements of Public SpeakingREX Book Store. Manila , Philippines. 1998
By: Rosalyn B. Angeles | Teacher III | Cabcaben Elementary School | Mariveles, Bataan
