ESL Speech Stem

The following exercise can help students work up to speaking on topics in English. It is best to have a teacher help you through this process.

Instructions:

1. Follow the patterns below to create sentences that
   • Ask the questions that your speech needs to answer.
   • Answer the questions.
   • Summarize the information or argument.
2. Perform the sentences in front of class or native speaking friends. Try to do this without reading from notes. Be ready to talk more about your topic and answer questions.
3. Remember: If you talk about something that is an opinion or not common knowledge, you need to say where the information comes from.

Informative: talking about a person, a place, a time in history, a product.

Welcome, everyone!

Today, I would like to tell you about _________________.

I will describe

• Who _________________.
  • __________________________________.
• What _________________.
  • __________________________________.
• Where_________________.
  • __________________________________.
• When _________________.
  • __________________________________.
• How _________________.
  • __________________________________.
• Why _________________.
  • __________________________________.

Thank you for listening. Any questions?

Example:

Welcome, everyone!

Today, I would like to tell you about Zhuge Liang.

I will describe

• Who Zhuge Liang was.
  • Zhuge Liang was one of the smartest people in Chinese history.
• What Zhuge Liang did.
  • He helped Liu Bei fight for the Shu-Han kingdom.
• Where Zhuge Liang lived.
  • Zhuge lived in Shu-Han, which was around present day HuBei province in central China.
• When Zhuge Liang lived.
  • He lived between 181 and 234 C.E.
• How Zhuge Liang became famous.
  • Zhuge was a genius and a general who helped Liu Bei achieve military success. He also invented steamed meat buns and carts that carried food for soldiers.
• Why Zhuge Liang fought for Liu Bei.
  • Zhuge Liang was loyal to Liu Bei because he saw that Liu was kind to his people and wanted to restore the emperor.

Thank you for listening. Any questions?

Persuasive: Telling your audience to believe something is true or false, believe something is good or bad, or do or stop something. 

The same information as would be collected for an informative speech should be present in a persuasive speech, but with the following pieces added:

Today I would like to persuade you to think that _________________.

How do we know that this is (true/false; a good/bad idea)?

• What examples show _________________? 
  • __________________________________. 
• In summary: _________________ because _________________.

Example:

Today I would like to persuade you to think that Zhuge Liang should be learned about in American schools.

How do we know that this is a good idea?

• What examples show that Zhuge Liang is a good person to teach about?
  • Zhuge is one of the great geniuses of world history. He helped build the Shu-Han kingdom in the third century. He was a master of war and invented things that kept soldiers safe and healthy. He was loyal to his king because he saw him as a good man.
• In summary: Zhuge Liang should be learned about in American schools because he is a good example of a loyal general and one of the great geniuses in world history.