This class is taught in English.

Students Will:
-learn why being able to state one’s opinion and speaking skills in general are of great benefit in many areas of life
-be encouraged in how to deal with butterflies, nerves and/or shyness before and during public speaking
-learn how to speak on a topic in persuasive, positive terms instead of negative terms
-practice “thinking on one’s feet” when public speaking and how to expand on point form notes
-practice speaking clearly and confidently, with purpose and expression 
-practice positive non-verbal ways of communicating such as sitting up straight, smiling, looking up, using hand gestures
-learn and practice active listening when others are speaking
-learn how to give classmates encouraging feedback
-respect a differing opinion 

I am a certified teacher with 26 years of experience in Canadian classrooms.  I specialize in Middle Years English and have taught and led hundreds if not thousands of lessons/activities involving speaking in small groups, large groups, concerts, plays, readers theatre, debates, assemblies, and projects. My students have won individual awards at speech festivals and I regularly entered my classes in the choral speaking division of the festival where we would perform poems and readings, three times achieving the top score.  Best of all we had so much fun together, and it was pure joy for me to see how proud the kids were of themselves!

There is no need for learners to prepare speeches ahead of time for this class.  We will brainstorm points for the speeches together and then learners will use these points to give their mini-speeches during our meetings.  

No formal assessment or grade will be given, but during the class, attention will be given to how much knowledge students already know about public speaking and teaching will be adjusted accordingly. 

25 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.