Something important to me is... SPEECH

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I don't think I uploaded this one here either. This is a lesson based on page 95 of Here We Go 3, talking about something important you.
For example, something important to me is my bed because I'm a tired boy.

There are a couple versions here but they're very similar and follow the same procedure. The reason that there are a couple of different versions is because the teachers wanted something different. One version follows what is an object that is important to you and the other one is much more broad in the sense that it could be a place or an abstract thing. Maybe the ability to practice something. You could say that ikebana is important to you for example.

But, as usual, the first lesson is basically me introducing the subject, giving my example and showing/instructing the students on how to put the speech together.
First, plan your ideas. Second, write it out.

These days, we always use the tablets as a writing aid. They can use websites like DeepL and jisho or weblio to aid them in writing. I'm not a big fan of letting students use these as a crutch honestly, because then it encourages them to depend on translation software. But the teachers just want the students to write a decent speech so they often let the students write big chunks into translation services like DeepL or google translate. You'll probably find that you'll then have to figure out what they wanted to say in the first place when something has been translated very awkwardly. However, that is what it is.

This typically runs until the end of the second lesson together. The third lesson is the presentation of the speech itself.

Depending how the JTE wants to run this, you could have students go one by one at the front of the class in numerical order.

I then grade them on a name sheet, at the back of the class. I just use an attendance sheet with all their names on.

The categories can vary but tend to be;

- Voice (loudness, clarity)

- Pronunciation (is their intonation flowing well, can you make our clearly what is being said)

- Gestures and/or attitude (this is very subjective and depends on the JTE's desire. Some want students to just do something which is then awarded points. Some want real gestures which might actually be used by natives. In addition, are the gestures awkward or being used at the right time. I'm not a big fan of pausing the speech to do some big action, then continuing the speech. In regards to attitude, I usually mark this against how they hold themselves, body language and etiquette. Therefore, bad behaviour or a clearly not engaged in giving the speech result in lower marks.)

- Memorization (how well do they remember their speech, do they often have to pause and remember parts or back track. Could they recall everything they wrote)

- Content (how does what they're actually saying flow? Are the ideas clear and concise? Is there actually a message? How is the grammar level and vocab used? Is it appropriate and relevant to the topic?)

These categories and how you grade students can vary greatly, so it's best to discuss with your JTE. They could want different categories and the grade scale could be 1-10 or ABCD and the harshness with which they want you to grade students could differ greatly. So those are all good points to discuss.

After all that, I give a little feedback if there's time and congratulations to everyone. The following class I usually have chosen the top three students from the name list and award them a card certificate with some stickers attached (I usually cut the stickers out and use sellotape to put them on the certificate, just so students can affix them to what they like because I usually give the more interesting stickers from daiso or somewhere), some ink stamps on the certificate and maybe some origami if I feel like it. Whatever your heart desires (and JTE allows).

Well that's the story my dear friend. May all your endeavors be successful.

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