Blowing bubbles: Developing speech skills through drama and poetry

Abstract

This workshop forms part of ongoing research into using children’s stories and poetry to teach delivery skills to tertiary students. In this workshop I would like to share my methods and experiences of using drama, children’s stories and poetry to develop speech delivery skills and confidence to international and domestic students studying towards a business qualification. Many business degree and diploma programmes have a compulsory communication module which includes a presentation or seminar. Other modules also include presentations which are assessed. However, because of curriculum constraints, little time is spent developing speech and delivery skills. At best, students are encouraged to share information during classes as part of learning and are given clear guidelines about the presentation assessment with a few impromptu speeches in front of the class. In the present educational environment where many classes have a high proportion of international students this approach seems ineffective. International students often lack the confidence to “give it a go” and when they do try, anecdotal evidence suggests that domestic students do not understand them. I propose that in communication classes we incorporate drama, children’s stories and choral verse to build confidence and skills before moving to presentation mode.