skip to Main Content

Speech Creation

Students are guided through the process of creating a speech to be presented to their Japanese class. The topics covered by the flowcharts are: About Japan, Event/Festival, My Hobby, My Dreams and Social Problems. The speeches are 1 to 2 minutes in length.

Speech Making: Class Project

Step 1

  1. Teacher or students suggest a theme for the speeches.
  2. Teacher gives the Flowchart and useful expressions to students as a guide.
  3. Students in small groups discuss possible topics and what they will say.

Step 2

  1. Students write their speeches. While writing, students may ask the teacher or other students about grammar, usage and vocabulary.
  2. After writing their manuscript, students exchange it with a partner to check.
  3. After peer checking, students start practicing for the presentation.

Step 3

  1. Students present their speech in front of classmates.
  2. While listening to the speeches, classmates fill out the Speech presentation evaluation.
  3. After listening to the speech, teacher or classmates ask questions about the speech.
  4. The presenter collects the Speech presentation evaluation from classmates and uses it for future reference.

Although we highly value students’ ideas and creativity, as teachers, we need to guide students with their use of language so they do not try to use language beyond their control. Use the flowcharts and useful expressions provided for different topics. There is also a blank version which teachers can use to meet the needs of their students.

Flowchart and useful expressions 1 – Blank

Speech flowchart: Blank (Word 24KB)
Speech flowchart: Blank (PDF 34KB)

Flowchart and useful expressions 2 – Event / Festival

Speech flowchart: Event/Festival (Word 31KB)
Speech flowchart: Event/Festival (PDF 97KB)

Flowchart and useful expressions 3 – My hobby

Speech flowchart: My Hobby (Word 29KB)
Speech flowchart: My Hobby (PDF 133KB)

Flowchart and useful expressions 4 – My dream

Speech flowchart: Dreams (Word 30KB)
Speech flowchart: Dreams (PDF 141KB)

Flowchart and useful expressions 5 – Social problems

Speech flowchart: Social Problems (Word 31KB)
Speech flowchart: Social Problems (PDF 89KB)

Flowchart and useful expressions 6 – About Japan

Speech flowchart: Japan (Word 30KB)
Speech flowchart: Japan (PDF 99KB)

What makes a good speech?

Here are some possible answers to this question with some general tips.

A good speech …………

  • attracts everyone’s interest
  • has humour
  • is unforgettable
  • is easy to listen to
  • is easy to understand
  • quotes famous phrases or proverbs
  • tells your own experience

A good presentation …………

  • has eye contact and a smile
  • isn’t just read
  • is given in a loud voice
  • is given at a slow pace

You may ask the audience questions during the speech.

The pronunciation of keywords should be accurate.

Australian Japanese Language Speech Contest

The Japan Foundation, Sydney conducts a speech contest every year in co-operation with the committees of each state. The object of this contest is not only to encourage competition between students or schools but also to increase students’ Japanese proficiency, intercultural competence and thinking skills through the process of creating a speech.

Speech making is not only beneficial for language learning but can also promote students’ cognitive development. From the language learning aspect, through making speeches, students will have the opportunity to use sentence patterns which they have learned so far, and to enhance their vocabulary. Also, by memorizing and practicing the speech for the presentation, students can absorb grammar and improve their pronunciation. And from the cognitive development aspect, students can develop their thinking skills, including critical thinking skills and logical thinking. Also, when students go through the process of creating their speech, they need to notice, compare, and reflect deeply. The theme of the speech usually involves some comparison of cultures, so the process can increase students’ intercultural ability. Although speech making is usually considered an individual activity for students, as we will explain, it can be incorporated into a class project. In this project, students will exchange their ideas and presentations and interact with other students. Through this kind of interaction, students can learn from each other.

Participate in the Speech Contest

To share and showcase your classroom project, we suggest you participate in the annual speech contest. You can explain to students that the purpose of participating in the speech contest is not just to compete with other students in their state, but to give them an opportunity to speak in Japanese in front of an audience. This will help build their self-confidence, as well as improving their language. Please contact your local speech contest committee for information about the contest in your state. You can also get information about the speech contest from this site. Here you will find the judging criteria that will be used for the national final. You can also see the video of last year’s winners’ speeches in each division.

 

Back To Top