Course Introduction

 

Our leading public speech textbook is The Art of Public Speaking (Tenth Edition),  which has defined the art of being the best for more than 10 million students and instructors. It is written by Stephen E. Lucas, Professor of Communication Arts and Evjue-Bascom Professor in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Lucas has directed the introductory public speaking course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1973. Over the years he has been responsible for numerous teaching innovations and has supervised the training of hundreds of graduate assistants. In addition to participating in public speaking workshops and colloquia at schools throughout the United States, he has served as a judge for the major national English-language public speaking competitions in China, has lectured at numerous Chinese universities, and has conducted workshops for Chinese instructors on teaching public speaking.

The Art of Public Speaking is the leading text for public speaking courses. Whether a novice or an experienced speaker, every student will learn how to be a better public speaker through Lucas' clear explanations and thorough coverage. It has been a textbook of authority in CCTV Cup and the 21st Century Cup English Speech Contests.

1. Course goal
    It is aimed at improving students' critical thinking, public speaking skills, and ultimately their communication ability. Every student will have chances to practice what has been learned in the class. Teacher gives sample speeches and comments on students’speaking presentation. In a word, students learn speaking by speaking on a great variety of topics.

2.   Class procedures
     Three Students in group present 1 chapter in the book.
    Teacher supplements and extends.
    Students give feed back and comments on the presentation by the 3 students.
    Students give assigned speeches in turn.
    Watch sample speech videos and discuss.

3. Course assessment
Attendence constitutes 10% of the course.
Average class performance constitutes 20%.
First speech constitutes 20%.
Mid-term speech constitutes 20%.
Final speech constitutes 30%.