Course Outline: EN106 Fundamentals of Speech & Communication, 2011/2012, Semester 1
- Lucas, Stephen E. The Art of Public Speaking. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.
- Mark, Lester. Handbook of English Grammar and Usage. USA: Mcgraw Hill. 2004. Print.
- Paul, D.S. Mastering Word Power – A Treatise of Effective English Vocabulary. Asean Edition. M’sia: Golden Books, 2007. Print.
- Written materials: Oral Communication and Public Speaking, Oral Communication and Public Speaking Overview, Case studies in Scenarios I, II and III.
- Additional materials: Excerpts from Instructor’s Guide Pearson Education, Handouts for Speech 251 Maui College University of Hawaii; Oral Communication and Fundamentals of Speech Communication handouts from University of Hawaii, University of Pittsburg, University of Colorado and University of Michigan.
- Prescribed reading: chapter summaries of text, additional materials for group work and creditable Speech Communication websites e.g. Speech 1113 Fundamentals of Speech Communication by Prof Michael Leal, Principles of Effective Communication by Madame Schumacher etc.
- The Building Blocks of Good English by Reader’s Digest
Lectures (3-hr. blocks) are arranged in order as follows:
1st to 2nd block of 3 hour lecture (total of 06 hours)
Speaking and Listening
- Importance of public speaking
- Communication process-
- Ethics; plagiarism
3rd to 8th blocks of 3-hour lecture (total of 18 hours)
Speech preparation
- Choice of topic
- Importance of audience
- Information- gathering materials;
- Plagiarism and how to avoid it
- Writing the speech.
- Organization of the speech
- Exercises- outlines and drafts of speeches.
9th to 13th blocks of 3-hour lecture(total of 15 hours)
Presenting speeches- Styles and skills of presentations.
- Overcoming stage fright
- Watch video clips on presentations and evaluation of the presentations
- Skills of nonverbal communications- body language; voice/pitch variations
- Practical- In class presentations
14th block of 3 hours
Final examination on oral presentation- deliver extemporaneous speech.
15th block of 3 hours
Final written examination.
Prerequisites for this course are EN 101 English Structure and EN 103 English Composition. The course is organised on lecture basis (see schedule below). You should attend at least 80% of the classes to qualify yourself to sit for the final examinations. You are expected to keep up with the reading materials and exercises that are handed out. You are required to meet for group assignment and discussion at least once a week. There will be Reinforcement Exercises and Case Studies which you need to submit on time as interim assessment. In addition, you will prepare for 3-5 minutes informative speeches or story-telling exercises throughout the course. The best of which will be taken into consideration for your final score, notwithstanding the Informative and Persuasive Speeches on Speech Days I and II respectively. All speech outlines and power point presentations are to be handed in the latest by Speech Days for grading. There will be a take-home examination which is worth 30%, to be submitted 2 weeks before your final written examinations. Refer Allocations of marks below for the breakdown of your final examination score.
Active participation 10%
Comprehensive Quiz (class work) 10%
Take-home examination 20%
Final written examination 60%
This course is intended to provide you the skill of public speaking. You should be familiar with the ethics and techniques for the preparation, writing and presentation of speeches. These include researching, evaluating and organizing the collected information for the preparation speeches; correct use of language and style. You should also understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. In presentation, you should be familiar with communication skills such as body and non-verbal language, other skills of presentation including audience analyses and appropriate language and style.
All tests, assignments and examinations are graded as follows with grade point and numerical marks:
| Grade | Performance | Grade value | Percentage Equivalence |
| A+ | Excellent | 4.0 | 90-100 |
| A | Almost Excellent | 3.75 | 85-89 |
| A- | Fairly Excellent | 3.5 | 80-84 |
| B+ | Very Good | 3.25 | 75-79 |
| B | Good | 3.0 | 70-74 |
| B- | Fairly Good | 2.75 | 65-69 |
| C+ | Fair | 2.5 | 60-64 |
| C | Satisfactory | 2.25 | 55-59 |
| C- | Minimum Satisfactory | 2.0 | 50-54 |
| D+ | Fairly Poor | 1.5 | 40-49 |
| D | Poor | 1.0 | 30-39 |
| F | Fail | 0.0 | 29 or less |
| I | Incomplete | ||
| W | Withdrawn | ||
| WF | Withdrawn because of failure | ||
| AU | Audit | ||