First Language English IGCSE: Speech Writing

Summary

In this video lesson, Taughtly explores the nuances of writing speeches for the IGCSE English examination. The lesson dives into the essentials of crafting a speech, emphasizing the significance of understanding the speaker's voice, audience, register, and the balance between persuasive and informative communication. Using the example of a fictitious teacher, Miss Salmon, the video guides viewers through the emotional and structural components of an impactful speech, highlighting techniques like rhetorical questions, repetition, and emotive language. The goal is to equip students and teachers with practical tools to express ideas clearly and effectively in a formal context.

Highlights

• Learn the speech-writing technique using the VARP method! 🎯
• Understanding audience is key - relate through shared experiences. 👥
• Rhetorical questions can make your speech more engaging and thought-provoking. 🧐
• Repetition in speeches can reinforce your message and make it memorable. 🔄
• Emotive language in speeches helps to connect and persuade your audience emotionally. 💓

Key Takeaways

• Understand your VARP (Voice, Audience, Register, Purpose) to craft a speech effectively 🗣️.
• Balance inform and persuade: Speeches often aim to inform while using persuasion as a secondary goal 📚.
• Use rhetorical devices: Questions, repetition, and emotive language to engage and move your audience 🗯️.
• Maintain a formal yet relatable tone for professional contexts like a teacher's conference 🎓.
• Remember: You're speaking to a live audience, so make it engaging and interactive! 🎤

Overview

This engaging video lesson by Taughtly uncovers the art of crafting speeches for the IGCSE English exam, focusing on various speech types. It guides through the delicate balance between informing and subtly persuading, essential for effective communication. Using a hypothetical scenario of a teacher, Miss Salmon, the video illustrates key speech-writing strategies while maintaining a formal tone suitable for professional settings.

Key speech-writing insights like the VARP method (Voice, Audience, Register, Purpose) are highlighted to structure impactful speeches. Techniques such as rhetorical questions are showcased to drive engagement with the audience, while repetition is suggested to emphasize and reinforce critical points. The use of emotive language further enriches the speech's influence by appealing to the audience's emotions and values.

Designed for students and educators alike, this lesson combines instructional depth with practical advice, featuring an exemplar speech that balances emotion with clarity. It ensures the effective delivery of speech content and structure, preparing viewers to excel in creating compelling speeches, particularly in contexts like teacher conferences where formal communication is paramount.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction The introduction provides an overview of a video lesson focused on teaching how to write the six main text types for IGCSE English. It mentions additional resources available for viewers, such as a worksheet, PowerPoint, and a review quiz. The content is designed to aid both teachers and students in preparing for exams, emphasizing the utility and accessibility of the material on the website.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Speech Prompt and Audience Analysis The chapter "Speech Prompt and Audience Analysis" dives into the intricacies of preparing a speech, focusing primarily on a fictional scenario involving a character named Miss Salmon. Having quit teaching, Miss Salmon is set to deliver a speech at a Teachers Conference. The chapter emphasizes the importance of understanding the speaker's voice, audience, register, purpose, and format in crafting an impactful speech. It serves as a guide to analyzing these key components to effectively convey the intended message and resonate with the audience.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Purpose and Format of Speech The chapter 'Purpose and Format of Speech' discusses the characteristics and considerations when preparing a speech for a specific audience. The speaker is a female teacher in her mid-30s, implying a semi-formal approach to her speech presentation. The transcript highlights the importance of understanding both the speaker's persona and the audience's nature to tailor the speech accordingly. The audience in focus is other educators at a teacher's conference, suggesting that the speech will be professional, avoiding slang and inappropriate language.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Key Elements of Speech Writing The chapter focuses on the key elements of speech writing, particularly in the context of addressing an audience of teachers. The speech's register should be slightly formal yet respectful, given the shared professional background between the speaker and the audience. The speaker might use inside jokes to build camaraderie, emphasizing a 'We're All in This Together' sentiment. The primary purpose of the speech is to discuss the need to improve working conditions.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Use of Rhetorical Questions The chapter explores the use of rhetorical questions in speech writing, focusing on crafting speeches that are persuasive and informative without necessarily being political or emotionally charged. The emphasis is on speeches that resemble informative talks, discussing the examples of notable speakers like John F. Kennedy, Greta Thunberg, and Martin Luther King, while pointing out that Cambridge-style speech assignments usually do not involve crafting political speeches, but rather, more neutral and informative talks.
• 04:30 - 05:30: Repetition in Speech The chapter titled 'Repetition in Speech' highlights the importance of creating a connection with the audience during a speech. While persuasion might be a secondary goal, the primary aim is often to inform. The chapter emphasizes that a speech is a live, spoken interaction, requiring the speaker to engage their audience directly. It suggests opening a speech by addressing the audience with greetings like 'ladies and gentlemen' or 'hello everyone' to establish a sense of presence and interaction.
• 05:30 - 06:30: Emotive Language in Speech The chapter titled 'Emotive Language in Speech' focuses on how to effectively engage and persuade an audience through speech. It emphasizes the importance of using pronouns strategically, suggesting that using collective pronouns like 'we,' 'our,' and 'us,' as well as personal pronouns such as 'you,' 'your,' and 'yours,' can create a connection with the audience. Additionally, the chapter points out that rhetorical questions, which don't require an actual answer, are a valuable tool in speeches to provoke thought and engage listeners.
• 06:30 - 07:00: Useful Phrases for Speech This chapter explores the use of rhetorical questions as a persuasive technique in speech. These questions are designed to make the audience think deeply about a topic or to suggest that the answer is so obvious that it doesn't require a response. For example, asking 'Don't you love studying English?' implies that the answer is obviously 'yes'. The chapter provides further examples to illustrate the point, such as 'Do you think it's right to watch our children starve?' and 'What will you do to help your community?' These questions challenge the audience to reflect on important issues.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Speech Example Analysis - Introduction The chapter titled 'Speech Example Analysis - Introduction' introduces the rhetorical strategies used in a speech to evoke a sense of responsibility and urgency in the audience. It addresses the use of rhetorical questions aimed at highlighting the disparity between wealth and poverty, particularly concerning children suffering from starvation while others grow wealthy. The questions are intended to provoke a sense of personal accountability in the audience, urging them to consider how they would explain their inaction to their children, thereby encouraging them to contribute more actively to resolving the situation.
• 08:00 - 10:00: Speech Example - Addressing Challenges The chapter elaborates on the use of repetition within speeches to accentuate key ideas, emphasizing how this linguistic tool enhances the auditory appeal of a speech. It underscores the spoken nature of speeches and how repetition not only reinforces the message but also engages the audience more effectively. The chapter references Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous 'I Have a Dream' speech as a quintessential example. It stresses that dreams and collective efforts towards them can propel societal healing and unity, highlighting the transformative power of shared visions and cohesiveness in addressing challenges.
• 10:00 - 13:00: Speech Example - Mental Health and Conclusion The chapter delves into the techniques of effective speech delivery, taking cues from powerful historical speeches like Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream'. It emphasizes the use of repetition, not just for emphasis but for its poetic quality. The chapter highlights the use of emotive language, urging the consideration of vocabulary that elicits emotional responses from the audience. This is illustrated with examples, notably questioning the morality of ignoring starvational issues affecting children. The chapter aims to illustrate how these techniques can be employed to engage and provoke thought within audiences.
• 13:00 - 14:00: Final Remarks and Additional Resources The chapter, titled 'Final Remarks and Additional Resources', delves into a critical evaluation of societal responsibilities, especially focusing on the disparities between the rich and the poor. It uses emotive language to highlight the plight of innocents, such as starving children, who have been neglected by society. The text argues that society has failed in its duty to protect these vulnerable groups, painting a dramatic picture of innocence withering in the face of abandonment. It ends with a promise of providing useful resources, although these are not detailed within the transcript itself.

First Language English IGCSE: Speech Writing Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 this is an excerpt from a longer video Lesson about how to write the six main text types for IGCSE English if you would like to watch the full video Lesson which is 1 hour and 15 minutes long you'll find it linked below get the worksheet PowerPoint and even take a review quiz as well as find more exclusive content to help you with your exams on my website whether you're a teacher or a student you'll find something over there that can help you now all of the text types are based on
• 00:30 - 01:00 this story right here I'll flash it up on the screen if you're not familiar feel free to pause and read but otherwise let's get into it let's take a look at speeches now here is our speech prompt imagine you are Miss salmon after quitting teaching you give a speech at a Teachers Conference about your experience and the need to improve working conditions for teachers write the words of the speech so what is your voice audience register purpose and format what is your vault so voan we are Miss salmon so we
• 01:00 - 01:30 are a mid-30s female teacher right so that's me not mid-30s yeah okay so therefore we're going to be semi foral I mean it depends on her personality we haven't got a sense of it yet but certainly she wouldn't be using lots and lots of slang she wouldn't be swearing and so on and so forth um who is her audience she's talking at a teacher conference so she's talking to other
• 01:30 - 02:00 teachers so that's our audience therefore her register would definitely be I think slightly more formal than she would normally speak she would be respectful and she is someone who's doing the same job as them so she might have some inside jokes and try to create a sense of We're All in This Together I understand you you understand me because we do the same job or did the same job the purpose then is to talk about the need to improve working conditions so it might be be
• 02:00 - 02:30 persuasive and informative and what is the format while you are writing a speech now for speech writing probably you guys might think of people like this John F Kennedy Greta thumberg Martin Luther King but Cambridge will not ask you to write a political speech usually the speeches on Cambridge are more like a talk um rather than being like very very emotive so usually the purpose is more to inform
• 02:30 - 03:00 than to persuade persuade might be a secondary purpose but your main purpose will be to inform like in this task now remember that a speech is a spoken form you're giving a speech using your mouth to a live audience so you need to create that sense of Audience by talking to them in other words you need to address your audience and reference them throughout your speech so you can even open your speech with phrases like these ladies and gentlemen thank you for Gathering here today hello everyone and
• 03:00 - 03:30 welcome to my talk about blah blah blah I'm so pleased to see such bright and smiling faces here to learn more about blah blah blah because of this it's really useful to think about your pronouns so you should speak directly to your audience to be more persuasive so you can use Collective pronouns like we our o and personal pronouns like you your and yours speeches are often a good opportunity to use rhetorical questions I remind you that a rhetorical question is a question doesn't require an answer
• 03:30 - 04:00 it's a persuasive technique and its purpose is to make your audience think about something to ponder the topic or to suggest that the answer to your question is so obvious it doesn't need a response like we can all agree on this right for example don't you love studying English that's rhetorical because the answer is so obvious it's yes some examples here do you think it's right to watch our children starve will the rich grow fatter in their Mansions what will you do to help your community what will you tell your children in
• 04:00 - 04:30 years to come so these rhetorical questions here suggesting clearly the answer is no it's not okay to watch children starve while other people grow rich and also the second one to make the reader think genuinely what will you tell your children about what you did to help in this situation probably because the speaker is assuming the audience isn't doing enough they want them to do more so they want them to think what will I tell my children are I will have to tell them I did nothing feel ashamed
• 04:30 - 05:00 hm maybe I should do more in a speech you can also use some repetition which is where you repeat words or phrases for emphasis because remember a speech is supposed to be spoken out loud and so when we repeat things it sounds good an example from Martin Luther King I Have a Dream that one day all people will be equal I have a dream that one day our society can heal itself and my dream our dream we can only achieve this dream if we dream together as one strive together as one United Force course so we have
• 05:00 - 05:30 the repetition of I have a dream and just dream more generally and repetition of as one as one right because it sounds good maybe it doesn't sound as good with it definitely doesn't sound as good when I read it as Martin Luther King but you get the idea and similarly we can also use some emotive language so emotional and Powerful language to try and create a response in the reader to do this really think about your vocabulary choices example do you think it's right to watch our children starve will the
• 05:30 - 06:00 rich grow fatter in their Mansions should we watch as Innocents wither and die their mouths empty their souls abandoned by this very society that was charged to protect them um so some emotive language in here children starving um they are innocent they are withering they are dying their mouths are empty they've been abandoned their souls and that we as a society were supposed to protect them so being quite dramatic and emotional in the language choice is here here are some useful
• 06:00 - 06:30 phrases for speeches ladies and gentlemen I'd like to share let's take a moment to fellow professionals enthusiasts citizens I'm here to discuss I want to talk to you about each of you plays a crucial role in everyone in this room knows the importance of I'm speaking to you today because think about this let's consider how this affects each and every one of us
• 06:30 - 07:00 as individuals who care deeply about I know many of you may have experienced for those of you who've been through to the Future Leaders and innovators in this room in your daily lives you might have encountered As We Gather here I want you to reflect on now let me ask you I'm sure you can relate to it's a privilege to be speaking to such an attentive group remember that together we can so our common theme Here is is lots of you
• 07:00 - 07:30 and lots of O right so you see that the whole way through these speeches now let's take a look at my speech examplar which remember is Miss salmon talking to a group of teachers at a Teachers Conference ladies and gentlemen educators of the UK and esteemed colleagues thank you for allowing me to address you today I stand before you not as a cautionary Tale But as a fellow educator sharing a pivotal moment that changed the course of my career on on one fateful day at Elmwood High School I
• 07:30 - 08:00 found myself at a Crossroads where the challenges I faced in my year 11 English class seemed insurmountable an impending classroom observation weighed heavily on my shoulders and the lack of control over challenging classes had me feeling like a captain steering a ship caught in the storm in my quest to create an environment of learning and growth I made a choice that in highsight I recognize as both desperate and misguided I'm sure many of you here today know the heart pounding dread that
• 08:00 - 08:30 accompanies an observation but that day I think I transcended heart pounding and skipped straight to beautiful Madness I walked out of my classroom and set off a fire alarm so beginning straight away then with ladies and gentlemen and recognizing that they are also teachers she calls them colleagues like workmates so we've definitely got a sense of audience and she's being very polite so she's being formal polite and inclusive like we all understand because
• 08:30 - 09:00 we've all done the same job she's addressing them directly using you and she calls herself a fellow educator because she's talking to a room full of students also notice here she addresses them she's trying to get some sympathy really I'm sure many of you here today know the heart pounding dread that accompanies an observation like you guys know how stressful it is so like give me some empathy essentially now please do not mistake me at that moment I didn't want either chaos or a simple Escape and just wanted one moment of peace and that
• 09:00 - 09:30 would have been enough that might tell you something about what my mental state was because you see it wasn't this one observation or this one class no as Educators you all know that the stresses of teaching cannot be Quantified in single measures the stress workload and pressure were unrelenting six periods a day 5 days a week plus meetings plus duties plus extracurricular activities plus trips plus parents evenings Plus open evenings plus attempting to improve
• 09:30 - 10:00 my teaching enough to get a promotion because I certainly couldn't afford a decent house and a teacher salary so I'd have to climb the greasy pole no at that moment I just needed 10 seconds with a wailing fire alarm Bell to allow myself to breathe for the first time in 12 months so here getting into the argument about mental health workload stress basically it was all too much that this was the most relaxed she had been in the
• 10:00 - 10:30 last year pulling the fire alarm was the most relaxing moment for Miss Salmon's life according to her and we're seeing in this paragraph here she's direct she's directly addressing her audience please do not mistake me she's begging them to kind of understand her and again we've got lots of you the whole way through this too and because you see but then we've also got some persuasive techniques we've got this repetition right the plus plus plus plus
• 10:30 - 11:00 to kind of emphasize how many things teachers have to do all piling up and up and up and a sense of irony too that the most quiet and relaxation she's getting is with this wailing fire alarm which should really tell you the reader and the audience just how stressed Miss salmon was my dear colleagues this experience has taught me the invaluable lesson that we are people first educator second it's about recognizing when we need help and recognizing when our jobs become untenable I loved my students I
• 11:00 - 11:30 loved teaching but somewhere in that classroom I forgot how to breathe and the great irony is that many would describe what I did as a false alarm true in terms of fires but in terms of my mental health it was anything but I needed that moment to be honest with myself that my time as a teacher had to end so here the argument okay it was a false alarm for a fire but it wasn't a false alarm like I pulled that because I needed help I did need
• 11:30 - 12:00 help and so I quit don't worry don't worry I owned up first my apologies to Mark Jang who initially got the blame for my actions but yes I handed in my resignation on that same day now I work as a mental health advocate for those in the education sector trying to find ways to keep passionate teachers in the classroom and reassuring those on the verge of setting off the alarm that it's okay to say when enough is enough thank you for being a fantastic audience take care of yourselves so here we have got again
• 12:00 - 12:30 addressing the audience my dear colleagues and thank you for being a fantastic audience take care of yourselves um and also like this kind of conversational tone here with don't worry don't worry like like you're teacher so I know you're going to be annoyed at me that a student took the blame I owned up so she's she's recognizing the audience there again we've got some repetition I loved my students I loved teaching and overall just creating this emotive and passionate tone without being informal in any way way you will see that there
• 12:30 - 13:00 is no slang and the tone is pretty formal the whole way throughout but that's because of our V right because it's a teacher talking at a teacher's conference in a professional context of course this is going to be a more formal talk if you liked this video Lesson and you want more content like this if you want PowerPoints worksheets quizzes and lots of different resources to help you with your studies heading over to to.co where you'll find more materials like this for teachers and students
• 13:00 - 13:30 thank you so much for your attention today and I'll see you there