The main purpose of speaking education is to enable individuals to express their thoughts accurately and effectively in every environment they communicate. This is possible with the teaching plan and measurement tools for different speech types. This research focuses on students' persuasive speaking skills. In this study, we aimed to develop a…

Workforce variables routinely place top-of-mind for corporate decision makers in choosing where to locate. This article presents an experiential exercise in which students simulate human resource consultants in a site selection exercise. Suitable for face-to-face or online classes, students work individually, pitching their chosen state to other…

This research examines the implementation of virtual reality into an effective speaking course at a small business college in New England. The researchers detail how they piloted the use of MetaQuest 2 headsets to students for round-the-clock availability of public speaking software in an Effective Speaking course. Students were administered a…

This paper investigates how an assessment roleplay task was being interpreted and performed by its student test-takers. The rationale for this is that we need feedback into whether the task is functioning as intended and to ensure that our interpretation of the scores from grading these students correctly informs our decision making about their…

We gathered data from business practitioners to learn how they describe successful online business presentations. We found that many--but not all--successful examples were described in terms of classical rhetorical concepts (e.g., source credibility and content). We also found that about 20% of the examples were described as successful because of…

This essay analyzes the rhetorical framing tactics of a group of disability activists to understand how they use key words, topic shifts, and other framing maneuvers to amplify marginalized voices in public debates. Focusing on a town hall meeting and a legislator update meeting between activists and lawmakers, the author uses "stasis"…

Students select, research, organize, and effectively present information (oral and written) using appropriate language, voice, articulation, and nonverbal communication in a mock interview setting.

While psychologists often use a combination of physiological and self-reported data to examine the dynamic effects of stress on performance, the impact of affective states on Foreign Language (FL) speaking performance has almost exclusively been assessed using self-report methodology (e.g., questionnaires, interviews). In fact, studies that…

Public speaking anxiety inhibits students in the basic course classroom, whether face-to-face, hybrid or online, and beyond. Equipping instructors with the tools necessary to empower students to manage that anxiety and excel in their basic communication course is a goal of scholars and practitioners. In this study, the researchers examine applying…

Public speaking, especially in a foreign language, is associated with increased anxiety. Research has shown the potential of virtual reality (VR) for simulating real-life experiences, allowing for public speaking practice in an ecological and safe environment. This between-subjects study investigated the effect of VR on foreign language anxiety…

The assessment of English speaking in EFL environments can be inherently subjective and influenced by various factors beyond linguistic ability, including choice of assessment criteria, and even the rubric type. In classroom assessment, the type of rubric recommended for English speaking tasks is the analytical rubric. Driven by three aims, this…

The three-minute thesis (3MT™), developed by the University of Queensland, is a tool that has been used to help graduate students articulate their research in a concise and engaging manner. This article describes processes for using a three-minute presentation (3MP) for classroom use to improve students' research literacy, critical-thinking, and…

Learners' anxiety has drawn widespread attention in the field of second language/foreign language (L2/FL) teaching and learning (e.g. classroom anxiety, communication (with foreigners) anxiety, and anxiety associated with the four macro-skills, namely listening, reading, speaking, and writing). However, this topic is under-explored in L2/FL public…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate an innovative teaching and learning method developed to address the limitations of 'normal' classroom instruction during the unprecedented health crisis of 2020. The course redesign for the digital classroom discussed in this paper details one instructor's journey of adjusting to a new way of teaching,…

This action research aims at exploring the contribution of self-assessment checklists on improving oral presentations of two participants that were taking an initial-level English as a second language course at a technician professional institute in Talcahuano, Chile. The intervention was carried out in four weekly sessions in which the…