Instructor tips

1. Selection of person/topic – look through the various choices to figure out which one(s) are appropriate for your class. For instance, if you’re teaching an ESL course, starting with Robert Frost or Sara Teasdale makes sense. They are the most contemporary of the poets here, and the language won’t be quite as daunting as that of, say, Phillis Wheatley. If you want to emphasize vocal variety and tone of voice, the Native American speeches are an excellent choice. Those are sad, angry, and defiant speeches, so the students’ tones of voice need to convey those emotions.
2. Overall tips
   1. Introduce the pieces in class. Give students time to look at them in class and ask questions.
   2. Tell students that the recordings are examples. They do not have to copy them, Encourage them to be creative.
   3. Students will probably need to record the piece a few times. The first recording tends to be rough. Tell them this.
   4. If possible, give time in class to do this. It cuts down on possible technological glitches.
   5. You can’t expect perfection. You’re giving students a limited amount of time to do the assignment, and most students probably haven’t done much interpretive performance.
   6. Listen to the recordings two or three times maximum.
3. Grading criteria
   1. Pronunciation
      1. it can be easy to be too nitpicky about pronunciation of individual words, which can be unfair to ESL speakers.
      2. Remark on systemic issues that interfere with comprehension. For instance, many people tend to drop the final /t/ or /d/ sound from words. There are times when this doesn’t really matter, but sometimes, like when someone wants to say “closed”, but it ends up sounding like “close”, it does. Another example would be words that have more than one acceptable pronunciation, like “record”. Here, the pronunciation has to match the context.
   2. Rhythm
      1. In poetry, this can be rather obvious, though you should make clear that students should be able to interpret the poem how they want, so long as what they do is consistent.
      2. When dealing with speeches, this is mostly about when to pause. Discuss how pausing can affect how others perceive the speech.
      3. Sometimes, students will stumble over a word or phrase. They may hesitate, or cough, or suddenly pronounce a word really slowly or quickly. Deduct points for this. Students have sample recordings and annotated texts. Further, they can just re-record the piece.
      4. Verbal fillers are the last part of rhythm. If a student says “um” or “like” only once or twice, let it go. Everyone uses verbal fillers, so expecting students not to is unreasonable. However, if it’s systemic, like every line of a poem or after every few phrases in a speech, deduct points and comment on it. Many times, people are unaware that they use verbal fillers so much,
   3. Vocal Variety
      1. Tone of voice – this can show emotion. For instance, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is an inspirational speech, so the tone of voice needs to match that. Students also need to sound like they’re interested in what they;re saying, because if they aren’t, their audience won’t be.
      2. Volume – This can also show emotion. Loudness can equal anger or other strong emotions, while whispers can indicate fear. However, this can go too far. Students might want to whisper, but it still needs to be loud enough to be heard, for example.
      3. Rate of speed – Students can get nervous, which can make them talk faster, which makes the piece more difficult to understand. I tell students that no one wins an award for the fastest recitation and that they should aim for conversational speed. They could speed up a little if they’re trying to convey a sense of fear or emergency, but do this in moderation.