Oral Presentation（self-evaluation）

Lydia

Back in high school, I excelled among my peers in English, so my English teacher always assigned me as her assistant to help other students.  Gradually, I came to believe that I was very good in English.  But ever since I got into this department, and especially during these few months, I』ve realized that in this place of English experts, I』m far from good.

I』ve taken the ability of talking for granted.  It seems like such a natural thing that you just open your mouth and let the words come out.  But never have I thought that talking involves the interaction between both the speaker and the audience.  You』re speaking because you want to affect other people, so the words are meaningful only when your audience has the interest to follow.  That』s why Jo keeps demanding the 「fake voice」 from us: the fake voice actually builds up your professional image.  I now keep the habit of enlisting my ideas before giving a speech, not only to make it more organized but also to spice it up a bit so as to arouse interest.

As for the interviews and songs that we studied in the course, they really opened up a whole new world for me.  Not until all the songs were introduced to me did I become aware of the immenseness of the world.  When we were introduced to the songs of the 60s, Jo told us that the singers were quite well known in those days, but I was surprised that I barely knew any one of them.  I remember the first song assigned to me was 「Abraham, Martin, and John.」  And the line, 「It seemed the good they died young,」 puzzled me for a long time because I just couldn』t figure out why would it be good that the men died young if the songwriter meant to praise the men?  After Jo explained the line, I realized that I read it completely wrong.  In fact, the original line even has a Chinese equivalent: 好人不長命

Jo once told us that she used to go to the movies and write down the lyrics of every theme song.  「This is what makes me who I am today.」  By saying so, she proved the saying: 「You become what you』ve done.」  And I secretly promised myself that I should also take everything seriously just to become better.  Jerome often asks me, 「Have you improved since your first year here?」  Well, if this oral training course has put any effect on me, it has not yet turned me into a professional speaker, but it has already shown me the way to enhance myself.  Thanks for everything, though this semester doesn』t seem to be long enough.