Read the following short case study:

"Alice is Danish. When presenting her ideas in group crits she describes feelings of being trapped. She finds that she has complex ideas in her head in Danish but struggles to articulate these ideas in English. The effect is to speak a lot, giving the impression of confidence, but the reality is that she feels she is just talking around the more delicate or sensitive aspects of her work – she is only able to remember everyday vocabulary when speaking, especially when under pressure."

Consider the following questions and propose some responses in relation to your own teaching practice:

What are the key issues the student is facing within this learning situation?
How as a teacher can you respond to support the student?
How could you adapt your teaching practice to pre-empt some of the challenges the student is facing?

Once you have thought through each question move on to the next page to explore some suggested actions from the literature.

Reflections

The following audio provides some reflections from the session leader and a colleague discussing particular aspects of the case study.

Drawing upon the wider research literature the following strategies have been identified as good practice examples for responding to the issues highlighted within the case study.

Suggested strategies:

Establish the purpose and aims of the presentation. Make these aims available in written format, on the VLE, in advance of the presentation.
If the presentation is assessed make the assessment criteria available in advance to support student preparation.
Encourage students to record their presentations for further study and analysis. Audio? Film?
Consider the format. If the student is presenting their own work, and this is the basis for group discussion in a group crit or in a review, allow the student group to view and discuss the work first, then the presenter will have the benefit of being reminded of some of the relevant vocabulary. It will also allow the presenter to focus on areas that were not covered or were of particular focus during group discussion.
Encourage students to structure presentations – pre-arranged and agreed structure is helpful, perhaps using a template available on the VLE. A structure which identifies an introduction, includes the main sections to be covered, and allows for a summing up at the end, will enable second language students to more confidently prepare their presentations.
If one section of the presentation is difficult for some students to understand, with a clear and previously agreed structure, there is opportunity for the presenting student to re-engage with the listeners in subsequent sections.
Encourage students to prepare short written statements about their work prior to presentation day and make these statements available to the student group using the VLE. This will improve the efficiency of the discussion and will significantly improve the ability of students to prepare vocabulary and questions in advance. It will also encourage students to consider the language they use in the context of, and in comparison with their studio peers.
Discourage second language students from reading directly from notes – this is often difficult to understand, instead encourage the use of flash cards, key phrases or reminders of key vocabulary.
If presentations are causing distress, consider the extent to which they are contributing to student learning. Is there another way?
Encourage students to pair up and assist each other to record questions and discussions following the presentation.
If students are presenting their own work, would it be possible for the student group to view this work prior to presentation and submit written questions?

To return to the case studies please click: Exploring Your Practice