English Oral Discussion 2011 - Topics, Tips and Strategies

[homosapiens]

Our first English sac for 2011 is fast approaching! Anyone who has done it or will be doing it have any ideas for the oral presentation on an issue that has been in the media since 1st Sept '10? I can't think of anything that is not too cliche...

[lexitu]

Are you sure that your school has freedom of choice? We were assigned a specific issue.

This year I did it on Australia's treatment of asylum seekers and I'm sure this is still relevant because of the recent protests and High Court ruling. So that's an idea. Apart from that... The republic issue which always reoccurs, perhaps the issue of how our parliament should run....

Love your username

[Chavi]

Our first English sac for 2011 is fast approaching! Anyone who has done it or will be doing it have any ideas for the oral presentation on an issue that has been in the media since 1st Sept '10? I can't think of anything that is not too cliche...

So many things!
-The Chilean Mine rescue
-Obama's worldwide visits
-Parliamentary debate on the merits of the Afghanistan war
-Global Financial crisis: have we weathered the storm (can tie this in nicely with rising interest rates and the effect on working families)
-Intrusive Airport scanning: full body scans

For my Oral, I took the divisive issue of acclaimed director Roman Polanski, and contrasted the different political views on him and the rape-charges he faces in the US. For example, I contrasted an example of an editorial for the right-leaning Fox news, with the left-leaning Huffington post. It was essentially a study in media bias, and it was hilarious.

Good luck

[werdna]

Our school prescribes the oral presentation topics.. the year before, students could choose whichever issue they wished and it was a disaster!

This year, we had to choose between the Hey Hey It's Saturday racial skit or smacking children.

[Albeno69]

Our first English sac for 2011 is fast approaching! Anyone who has done it or will be doing it have any ideas for the oral presentation on an issue that has been in the media since 1st Sept '10? I can't think of anything that is not too cliche...

our school did the same there is plenty to choose from but make sure it is something you have an interest in.
it makes it easier speak on.
EG-
sport and the soccer and applying for the world cup.
you can easily talk about this as it is current and there is lots of info, from this you can branch of and talk about afl not putting season on hold and ext.

[Tan]

My teacher said our school orals next year will be based on gay issues o_O

[LOVEPHYSICS]

HeHe, I did the full body scanners!!

[Comma]

I'm planning my oral for next year too Trying to decide between the legalization of marijuana and the building of a Muslim prayer center near the World Trade Center.

However, my school gave us a guide list of topics, which could give you some ideas...
The Murry Darling/water supply
Immigration policy
Executive salaries
Republicanism in Australia
Stem cell research
School bullying
Violence on public transport
Asylum seekers
Police use of tasers
Celebrities - the right to privacy
Should city buskers have to audition
Should same sex couples be allowed to attend school formals?
Mine safety
Imported food - how safe is it?

Anyway hope it helps

[Tan]

How many minutes does the english oral usually need to be about?
And do you get to write it up at home? o.o

[werdna]

Roughly 5 to 6 minutes... and yes.

[pi]

Some more ideas:
State election
Outcomes of a hung parliament
National Broadband Network
Cyber bullying
Police corruption
Bush fires


Could a sporting issue be used for an oral task? (eg. drugs in sport or a particular event such as The Ashes)

[lexitu]

I don't see why it couldn't. Just be sure to check with your school. Maybe not the Ashes though because there has not been anything to create public discourse (EDIT: Selection of players I suppose, but that could be stretching it for some teachers). Perhaps another controversy that has created debate... Pakistan cricket team match fixing maybe. To what extent should gambling and sport be associated? Things like that.

[coletrain]

internet censorship

[Ghost!]

Hey hey.

Getting ready for English Orals is now underway for the class of 2011, and I noticed that in the Worked Examples section, which has some of the most fantastic writing ever in it, there's nothing on orals.

So, could anyone post any high scoring examples of their orals? I'd love to have a read of how people went about it, and I'm sure many others would as well.

Thankyou

[taiga]

I didn't have a written transcript of my speech, I just compiled notes/articles on my issue, wrote summaries of them, and formulated my opinion around them.

I had dot points of what I was going to say. But my single palm card that I took for the oral just had 5 headings of what I was talking about. I don't think that approach is for everyone, but if you are able to argue a point without referring to notes, you immediately look alot better (providing you deliver well), and if you are confident enough to do that, it probably means you are well prepared for your speech, and knowledgeable about what you're talking about.

Attached are the notes for my issue, I took out my arguments though, if someone wants to use the topic and resources that's cool, but you should always formulate your own opinion.

Also, some teachers like to see you use the "persuasive techniques" you identify in language analysis. I personally think that is a load of rubbish, but you'll find alot of teachers are formulaic about their marking, so you might want to intentionally throw in some obvious ones.