Teaching Pack

Speeches
Cambridge IGCSE™
First Language English 0500

Version 1
 In order to help us develop the highest quality resources, we are undertaking a continuous programme
of review; not only to measure the success of our resources but also to highlight areas for
improvement and to identify new development needs.

We invite you to complete our survey by visiting the website below. Your comments on the quality and
relevance of our resources are very important to us.

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GL6ZNJB

Would you like to become a Cambridge International consultant and help us develop
support materials?
Please follow the link below to register your interest.

www.cambridgeinternational.org/cambridge-for/teachers/teacherconsultants/

Copyright © UCLES 2019

Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge
Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES),
which itself is a department of the University of Cambridge.

UCLES retains the copyright on all its publications. Registered Centres are permitted to copy material from
this booklet for their own internal use. However, we cannot give permission to Centres to photocopy any
material that is acknowledged to a third party, even for internal use within a Centre.
Contents

Lesson plan 1: Language choices .................................................................................................... 5

Lesson 1 Teacher’s notes ................................................................................................................. 7

Lesson plan 2: Vocal and physical techniques ................................................................................. 8

Lesson 2 Teacher’s notes ............................................................................................................... 10

Lesson plan 3: Delivering a speech ................................................................................................ 11

Lesson 3 Teacher’s notes ............................................................................................................... 14

Lesson resources............................................................................................................................ 15

Icons used in this pack:

Lesson plan

Teacher’s notes

Lesson resources
 Teaching Pack: Speaking and listening - Speeches

Introduction

This Teaching Pack focuses on supporting learners to develop the skills needed to prepare and
deliver a speech. The lessons presented here are designed for learners that already have some
experience of identifying language choices and their effect. They should be familiar with rhetorical
devices such as rhetorical questions, repetition, use of powerful language and contrasts as well as
a range of vocal and non-verbal techniques. This is one approach to preparing students for the
individual talk/conversation element of the assessment.

The second lesson in this pack is designed for learners that already understand the importance of
language choice in writing speeches and are now ready to examine the role that delivery plays in
an effective speech.

By the second lesson, learners should have written a short speech that they can practise in class
and then present in the third lesson. If your learners require more time to prepare and practise then
you can reduce the time of some activities or spend a whole lesson on preparation and practice.

The third lesson is designed for learners that have completed Lessons 1 and 2 and have learnt
about effective use of language and delivery in individual presentations. By this stage, learners
should have practised their speeches and should be ready to present. Learners should also
understand the importance of active listening and how to be a good audience.
.

4 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Lesson plan 1: Language choices

Resources • Video 1: Speech: The Power of Words

• Video 2: Speech: The Power of Words (with animations)
• Worksheet 1: Speech transcript
• Worksheet 2: Be a speech coach
• Worksheet 3: Speech writing guidance

Learning By the end of the lesson learners will be able to:

objectives
• identify the language choices which make speeches more powerful
• use in their own speeches the language choices which make speeches
more powerful

Timings Activity

Starter / Introduction
Task: In pairs learners discuss the question:
Who do you think is the most powerful speaker in contemporary times and why?
If learners seem to be struggling to come up with suggestions, ask learners to think of
people who might have to make speeches, e.g. teachers, politicians, royalty, the
president and then get them to list any famous examples of these people. From this
list, learners then try to evaluate who they think is an effective speaker.
Allow time for learners to share some of their answers with the whole class.

Main lesson
Task: Watch Video 1. While learners are watching, they should look for examples of
words, phrases or techniques that make the speech powerful (they could take notes on
these or just watch for the overall impression and remember the key points).
Discuss, in pairs first and then as a class, what choices they feel the speaker made to
make the speech powerful.
Watch Video 2. This shows the speech again with some of the features highlighted.
In pairs, learners discuss what they noticed this time, comparing their ideas to their
initial list or thoughts.
Development: Distribute Worksheet 1. Learners read the transcript and identify
effective words, phrases and features in the text. Learners should highlight or underline
different features, labelling each feature as they find them. This can be done
individually or in pairs.
Learners now write one paragraph of a speech. They should write as a passionate
campaigner delivering a speech to a conference on the topic ‘All yoghurt pots should
be round’. The aim is to use as many rhetorical devices as possible. Give them 7
minutes to write, 5 minutes to share in small groups and 5 minutes to share some of
the speeches with the whole class.
Extension activity: If learners finish identifying features in Worksheet 1 they could
analyse some of the words, phrases and features that they have found, explaining the
Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 5
 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Timings Activity
effect on the reader. Learners should think about the effect of the language features on
them and how these features make them feel.

Plenary
Task: Distribute Worksheet 2 ‘Be a speech coach’. Learners use the worksheet to
come up with three top tips for helping someone who is new to public speaking to write
a speech. Learners need to be reflective about what would be useful for a speaker
when writing a speech in order to make their advice effective.
Homework
Learners write a two-minute speech on something they feel passionate about. Remind
learners to pay close attention to their language choices and other powerful language
features. They should bring this to Lesson 2 so that they can use this in the lesson.
We have provided a speech writing guidance sheet (Worksheet 3) that learners can
use to help them.

6 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Lesson 1 Teacher’s notes

Key words and concepts you could highlight during the lesson, or have pre-taught before the
lesson:

• rhetoric – the art of effective or persuasive speaking

• metaphor – a figure of speech in which something is said to be something else it cannot
be. For example, ‘The moon is a pearl, gleaming in the sky’.
• simile – a figure of speech where something is compared to another thing using ‘like’ or ‘as’
• alliteration – where the words in a sentence start with the same sound or letter
• assonance – the repetition of similar vowel sounds in words that are close to one another
• rhetorical question – a question asked in a speech to make a point rather than to get an
answer
• climax – a figure of speech where words, phrases and clauses are arranged so that they
increase in importance

Videos

The videos are roughly five minutes each and are designed to be watched straight through but you
may pause them at any time for discussion. Video 2 is the same speech, but this time, features
flash up on the screen as the learner is talking. This should help learners to identify different
features in the speech which they can then use in their own work.

The features identified include:

• repetition
• contrasts
• adjectives and adverbs
• metaphors
• alliteration
• lists of three
• interesting details, facts, stories and examples
• quotations
• powerful word choice

The point of the writing exercise is to give learners a ludicrous topic so that they focus purely on
the rhetorical devices they are using rather than becoming too concerned with the content. ‘All
yoghurt pots should be round’ is a good level of unimportance, but feel free to change it for
something equally insignificant or to let learners choose their own trivial policies.

Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 7

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Lesson plan 2: Vocal and physical techniques

Resources • Video 3: Public speaking: The Man in the Arena

• Worksheet 4: Mamamoo
• Worksheet 5: Notes on the video
• Worksheet 6: The Man in the Arena transcript
• Worksheet 7: Self-assessment

Learning By the end of the lesson learners will be able to:

objectives
• understand how vocal and physical techniques can make a speech more
powerful
• use a range of vocal and physical techniques to make their own speeches
more powerful
• make considered delivery choices which significantly add to the power of
their speeches

Timings Activity

Starter / Introduction
Task: Distribute Worksheet 4 and explain to learners that they are going to play a
game called Mamamoo. Learners choose an emotion from the list on the worksheet
but they should not tell anyone. Using only their body language and facial
expressions, they must convey their emotion by only saying the word ‘mamamoo’
and their classmates need to guess what emotion they are trying to convey.

Learners could demonstrate some examples in front of the whole class before
splitting into groups of 4–5 so that everyone can participate.
Main lesson

Task: Watch Video 1. Using Worksheet 5 learners make notes about the
differences between each performance of the speech, thinking about vocal
techniques, body language and facial expressions. Discuss the answers in pairs
and as a class.

Using Worksheet 6, learners take turns to perform the extract from ‘The Man in the
Arena’ (or they could do half of the extract if there is not enough time).
Encourage learners to make notes or annotate their transcript with any points that
they wish to make about pauses, changes of volume or pace, hand gestures and
facial expressions. Learners then deliver the speeches in groups of 3–5.

Learners should consider:

• What are the main emotions in the speech and how will you convey
these?
• Are there good places to pause?
• When will you change speed or volume and why?
• What hand gestures would be effective?
• What facial expressions will you use?

8 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Some learners could perform this speech in front of the whole class with time for
learners to give feedback on what was effective or any areas for improvement.

Now put learners into pairs to practise the speech that they wrote for homework,
thinking about how they convey emotions, their vocal techniques, hand gestures
and body language.
Learners give their partner feedback on how to make the delivery even more
effective.

Plenary
Learners complete Worksheet 7 to reflect on their strengths and areas for
development when they deliver their speech in the next lesson.
Homework
Transfer the speech you have written to cue cards and include any delivery notes to
remind you to change speed/volume/tone or to smile / make eye contact / use a
hand gesture etc. Practise delivering your speech in front of the mirror or to
friends/family.
This speech will be delivered to the class in Lesson 3.

Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 9

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Lesson 2 Teacher’s notes

Starter

You could change the word ‘Mamamoo’ for any other nonsense words. ‘Bananabanana’ can be a
funny one. In a literature lesson you could also use a phrase from a play to show how delivery
affects interpretation e.g. ‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ or ‘Is this a dagger which I
see before me?’ This exercise can be adapted to work with different group sizes and available time
slots.

Video

The video is 3.25 minutes long and is an actor delivering a short extract of Theodore Roosevelt’s
The Man in the Arena speech from 1910. The transcript of the full speech can be found here:
http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/images/research/speeches/maninthearena.pdf if you or any of
your learners would like to read it.

The actor delivers the extract twice and you can find the transcript on Worksheet 6. The video asks
you to pause after the first version but you can go straight through or add extra pauses for
discussion as you wish. Learners can fill in notes on Worksheet 5 as they watch.

10 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Lesson plan 3: Delivering a speech

Resources: • Worksheet 8: Audibility and engagement

• Worksheet 9: Peer assessment
• Worksheet 10: Peer assessment mark scheme

Learning By the end of the lesson learners will be able to:

objectives
• deliver a speech they have prepared to their peers
• use a range of vocal, non-verbal and language techniques to make their
speech as engaging and interesting as possible.

Timings Activity

Starter / Introduction
Task: Give learners a copy of Worksheet 8 and explain the concepts of audibility
and engagement:

• audibility: the ability to be heard

• engagement: keeping the audience interested and engaged

Remind learners that it doesn’t matter how fabulous the speech they wrote is if
nobody can hear it. The first steps to delivering an effective speech are to make sure
that they can be heard.
If a speaker talks too quietly or mumbles, the audience will not be able to hear the
words of the speech. Learners should try to speak clearly and loudly enough for the
room they are in, without shouting.

Learners should also think about their pace. If they speak too quickly, the audience
will not be able to follow what they are saying, but go too slowly and they will lose the
audience’s attention. Remind them not to rush and trip over their words.

Choose learners to read the first section (on audibility) of Worksheet 8 aloud and
then complete the activity. Pairs of learners should spread across the classroom to
practise their audibility using the techniques outlined on the worksheet.

Then learners return to their seats and some learners could read the section on
engagement aloud.

Development: As a class, learners discuss guidelines for a being a good active

listener in an audience. Some features that you may want to draw out of the class
include:
Do
• make eye contact
• nod to show agreement
• think of questions
• smile to put the speaker at ease
• clap at the start and end of a speech
• listen carefully

Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 11

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Timings Activity

Don’t
• fidget
• talk
• distract the speaker
• interrupt the speaker
• daydream

Main lesson
Task: Assuming there are 28 learners in a class, there is time in a one-hour lesson
for all learners to deliver their speeches in front of their classmates.
All learners take turns in delivering their speeches to the rest of the class. They
should use the techniques covered in the previous lessons to make sure that they
are audible, engaging and that they are using a range of vocal, linguistic and verbal
techniques.
Give the audience Worksheet 9 and Worksheet 10 to assess the speakers as they
listen. There is room for five speeches to be marked on each sheet. If you wish the
audience to assess every speech then they will need multiple copies. Worksheet 10
is a learner-friendly version of the mark scheme and is a useful tool to help learners
to understand what will be expected of them in the examination. It may be useful to
allow learners to see this mark scheme before they present their speeches.
Alternatively, learners could choose, or be allocated, eight speeches to assess so
that the whole class receives feedback from a range of people.
Alternative models:
• If you have more than 28 learners in your class, or if you wish to have a
question & answer period after each speech, you will need two lessons.
• If you do not want the class to be an audience for a whole lesson, you may
choose to break these up and do five at a time at the start of lessons until
everyone has had a turn.
• If you want to raise the importance of the speeches, you may wish to arrange
for them to be delivered to another class or year group or even as an after
school event to which parents are invited.
Additional ideas:
• If the facilities are available, it would be powerful to book out a theatre or hall
space and take this lesson out of the classroom.
• If one is available then you could consider getting the learners to speak from
a lectern, though some may prefer to come to the front.
• Data and child protection policies allowing, you could video record the
speeches and schedule a further lesson where learners watch and self-
critique their speeches.
• The final speeches could carry a grade equivalent to an essay, but make sure
learners know the criteria they are being marked against in advance.

Next steps/ taking it further

• Set up a public speaking club

• Consider having an inter-form or inter-house public speaking competition
• See if there are local or national public-speaking competitions your learners
12 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500
 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Timings Activity
could enter
• Enter learners in spoken-word examinations such as those run by the English
Speaking Board (www.esbuk.org)
• Give learners the opportunity to speak in form, year and whole school
assemblies and at school events such as open days and prizegivings
• Talk to colleagues in other subjects about swapping some of their written
assessments for marked oral presentations
• See www.noisyclassroom.com, www.esu.org and www.voice21.org for more
ideas and resources

Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 13

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Lesson 3 Teacher’s notes

Key words and concepts you could highlight during the lesson, or have pre-taught before the
lesson:

• audibility – the ability to be heard

• engagement – keeping the audience captivated and interested

This lesson is the climax of the three-lesson series and it gives the learners the opportunity to
demonstrate what they have learnt. This is also a good opportunity for the class to practise their
skills of active listening and being a polite and positive audience.

Worksheet 8

The activity on audibility involves getting learners out of their seats. Pairs need to be on opposite
sides of the classroom to practise their audibility. You can arrange this in two straight lines if your
classroom allows or have all the learners find a space around the room.

Warning: this exercise is loud and can feel a bit chaotic. You may want to warn other teachers
and/or put a sign on the door announcing that some noisy learning is taking place. If you prefer a
quieter approach, then pairs can take turns rather than all talking simultaneously, but this will of
course take longer.

Development

Use this time to encourage learners to share ideas about how they might be an effective audience.
They should think about how to make the speaker feel comfortable and also how they too might
benefit from actively listening.

14 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Lesson resources

Video 1: Speech: The Power of Words

Video 2: Speech: The Power of Words (with animations)
Video 3: Speech: The Man in the Arena
Worksheet 1: The Power of Words transcript
Worksheet 2: Be a speech coach
Worksheet 3: Speech writing guidance
Worksheet 4: Mamamoo
Worksheet 5: Notes on the video
Worksheet 6: The Man in the Arena transcript
Worksheet 7: Self-assessment
Worksheet 8: Audibility and engagement
Worksheet 9: Peer assessment
Worksheet 10: Peer assessment mark scheme

Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 15

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 1: The Power of Words transcript

Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying
it. Albus Dumbledore.

Ladies and gentlemen, the art of speech has long attracted critical debate. From Aristotle to
Churchill, J K Rowling to Barack Obama. In spite of our staggering technological advances, our
language – but crucially the alchemy of words – still yields the immense ability to empower or
belittle.

Now, we are all familiar with the twenty-seven-year incarceration of Nelson Mandela, but it’s a
little-known fact that it was a copy of Shakespeare’s first folio, disguised as a religious text, that
prisoners cherished. And Henley’s Invictus, the mantra that Mandela would recite to himself every
single day to imbue himself, and by extension others, with hope. It is this same mantra that
empowered Mandela to become the symbol of political oppression. In fact, it is this same poem
which gave prisoners of war in Cambodia the strength to consider the possibility of a future, no
matter how dark their prospects may have been. In the absence of family and in the midst of
torture they would write on the walls of their huts in rat droppings. In the absence of food,
equipment, and health it was words that gave them faith.

Nonetheless, this is just one instance where words have triumphed in the face of adversity. Martin
Luther King’s famous ‘I have a dream’ speech had a defining influence on the history of the United
States. It was through the power of speech that he made his thoughts resonate across the world. It
is through the power of speech that he put across his deep-rooted feelings and emotions in a way
that they became embedded in society and are still changing our attitudes today.

Take our phones, take our laptops, take our iPads but we will still have infinite power in our words.
Ladies and gentlemen, words can inflict extensive damage when deployed incorrectly and so we
must empower the next generation with the skills to use language appropriately. Because in the
end, both Hitler and Churchill were gifted in the art of linguistic manipulation, yet their stories could
not have ended more oppositely.

For some reason it seems to be universal belief that language is the weapon of the privileged elite,
becoming the next prime ministers and politicians of our nation. But ladies and gentlemen, in a
time where it seems the world is against us, it is of extreme importance that we all have the
opportunity to learn how to use language in a way that empowers us. The one hundred and
seventy-one thousand four hundred and seventy-six words of the English language must not be
the weapon of the elite but the food of the masses. In the age of the two-hundred-and-eighty-
character Tweet, and the disappearing Snapchat, language is becoming all too disposable. People
are becoming less and less accountable for the language they use. In the digital age we all now
possess the power to abuse facelessly. We don’t always own our words, but words can injure.
They do break bones. But they can heal. Whether it is the inscriptions on a war memorial, or a
fleeting word of comfort we offer to a stranger in need, we never truly appreciate the effect of a
kind word and the capacity this can have for change.

Now, the individuals I mentioned at the beginning of my speech are all famed for the hardships
they experienced in their lifetimes and the suffering they endured, but if nothing else ladies and
gentlemen, I implore you to learn from their lessons in language. Remember them for the language
that binds them, the language that liberated them. The biggest irony of all is that we are a space-
age generation living with stone-age prejudices. We inflict indignity, not always realising the
ramifications of our linguistic strength. But I am hopeful that the one thousand words added to our
dictionaries each year signal to each of you a thousand opportunities for kindness, a thousand
opportunities for creativity and a thousand opportunities for change.

Thank you.

16 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 Copyright © UCLES 2019

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 2: Be a speech coach

Imagine you have been hired as a speech coach for a novice speaker. Tonight they are going to
write their speech.

What are your top three tips?

1.……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

2………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
.………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Copyright © UCLES 2019 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 17

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 3: Speech writing guidance

You have been learning about how language choice is important when writing a speech.

Now it is your turn to write a two-minute speech which you will eventually perform in front of the
rest of the class, or another audience.

Choose a topic which you feel passionate about. It could be a persuasive speech about a cause
that you support or a law you think should be changed. Or it could be a more informative speech
about, for example, a hobby, an inspirational figure or a country. Or you could write a more
analytical speech that explores an issue, similar to the speech we watched on the power of
language.

Here are some tips as you prepare:

1. Think about the structure of the speech. Make sure you have a clear beginning, middle and end.

2. Make an impact by planning for a strong opening and closing. Perhaps use some rhetorical
techniques that stick in the audience’s mind.

3. Do some research so that you can include interesting facts and quotations in the speech.

4. Including analogies, examples and anecdotes can help bring your speech to life.

5. Think about what your audience are likely to know already and what they will need to know to
be able to follow your speech.

6. Explaining why you are particularly interested and passionate about an issue or activity can
draw the audience in and make your speech more personal.

7. If your topic is very specific, try to link it to wider themes and ideas to engage with your
audience.

8. Time yourself delivering the speech so that you write the correct amount to fill two minutes.

18 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 Copyright © UCLES 2019

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 4: Mamamoo

We communicate through our voice, face and body language as much as we do our words. In this
game, to make us concentrate on non-verbal communication, you are only allowed to say the word
‘Mamamoo’.

You can say it as many times as you need to until someone guesses what emotion you are
showing through your non-verbal cues.

Choose one of the following emotions, or make it harder by selecting one of your own that is not on
the list:

• happy
• angry
• excited
• embarrassed
• surprised
• disappointed
• scared
• shy
• bored
• arrogant
• sad
• aggressive

Extension
Instead of communicating an emotion, see if your classmates can guess what situation you are in,
using just ‘Mamamoo’:

• telling a joke
• asking directions
• asking someone to marry you
• saying sorry
• presenting the weather forecast
• reading the news

Copyright © UCLES 2019 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 19

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 5: Notes on the video

1. Make notes on the physical and vocal techniques used in the delivery of the speech.

Speech 1 Speech 2

Facial expressions

Vocal techniques

Body language

2. What are the main differences between the two speeches?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Which version did you prefer and why?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

20 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 Copyright © UCLES 2019

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 6: The Man in the Arena transcript

This extract is taken from a speech by Theodore Roosevelt, delivered in Paris in 1910 and known
as ‘The Man in the Arena’. Read the speech twice:

‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out
how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds
could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust
and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who
comes short again and again, because there is no effort
without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive
to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great
devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the
best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid
souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’

1. Summarise in one or two sentences what you think is the message of the speech.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
2. Here is a list of rhetorical devices and features. Can you find examples of them in the extract?
Tick them off as you find them and mark them on the transcript. (Hint: not all of them are there.)

Alliteration Repetition Adjectives Adverbs Fact

Metaphor Simile Lists of three Rhetorical questions

Contrasts Quotations Visual imagery

Powerful words Assonance Climax

Copyright © UCLES 2019 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 21

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 7: Self-assessment

We have been learning about how language and delivery add to the power of speeches.

You have written your own speech and practised delivering it to a partner.

Soon you will have the opportunity to deliver it to a larger audience. Before you do, take a moment
to think about your strengths and also what you would like to work on:

My strengths:

Areas to work on:

22 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 Copyright © UCLES 2019

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 8: Audibility and engagement

Audibility: It doesn’t matter how fabulous the speech you wrote is if nobody can hear it. The first
steps to delivering an effective speech are to make sure that everyone can hear you. If you speak
too quietly or mumble, your audience will not be able to understand the points you are making.
Make sure you speak clearly and loudly enough for the room you are in, but don’t shout.

If you speak too quickly, your audience will not be able to follow what you are saying, but go too
slowly and you’ll send them to sleep. Make sure you don’t rush and trip over your words.

Activity:
Stand on the other side of the room from your partner. Choose a few lines you know from a
song or a nursery rhyme. Concentrate on delivering the lines loudly, clearly and slowly
enough for your partner to hear.

Engagement: Being audible is the foundation, but it is not enough for delivering a powerful
speech. You also need to be engaging. There are engaging speakers of all ages, races,
nationality, accents and genders. Engaging speakers have different styles and do not all sound the
same. Having said that, there are some tips and techniques that will help you to deliver your own
engaging style.

Ten top tips

1. Vary the speed, volume and tone of your voice. If you sound monotone like a robot, your
audience will get bored.

2. Make eye contact with your audience so that they feel like you are talking to them.

3. Stand up tall with your shoulders back and feet hip width apart and you’ll appear more
confident and authoritative.

4. Use hand gestures to emphasise key points in your speech, but avoid repetitive gestures
which will distract your audience.

5. Use pauses to draw your audience in and keep their attention.

6. Make sure your tone of voice and facial expressions match the content of your speech. If
you look and sound happy when you are talking about a tragedy, the impact of your words
will be lost.

7. If appropriate to the speech, smile. It will relax you and the audience.

8. Speak with energy and conviction. Your audience will find you more dynamic if they can feel
the passion you have for what you are talking about.

9. Know your audience. Presenting to a small group of classmates is different from delivering a
speech in a large conference hall. Match your tone to the occasion.

10. Be yourself. Audiences respond best to authenticity. Don’t pretend to be Winston Churchill
or Martin Luther King Jr. – be your best self.

Copyright © UCLES 2019 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 23

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 9: Peer assessment

Use the attached mark scheme to give a score to the speeches. Comment on particular strengths.

Name Mark Comments

1. Write down some particularly effective or memorable phrases.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Make a note of some examples of powerful delivery.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

24 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 Copyright © UCLES 2019

 Teaching Pack: Individual speeches

Worksheet 10: Peer assessment mark scheme

Level Marks Description

5 17 – 20 • The content of the speech is clear and easy to follow.
• The delivery of the speech is interesting and makes you feel
engaged.
• The way the speaker delivers their speech is very effective.
• The speaker uses lots of language devices in an effective way.
• The speaker varies their tone, pace and uses their body language
for effect.
• The speaker uses a wide range of sophisticated vocabulary.

4 13 – 16 • The content of the speech is clear and is mostly easy to follow.

• The delivery of the speech is interesting and you sometimes feel
engaged by the speech.
• The speaker delivers their speech effectively.
• The speaker uses a good range of language devices.
• The speaker varies their tone, pace and their body language.
• The speaker uses some sophisticated vocabulary.
3 9 – 12 • There is some interesting content throughout the speech and it is
usually easy to follow.
• The delivery of the speech is sometimes interesting and the
speaker attempts to engage you.
• The speaker delivers their speech well but it could have been
more effective.
• The speaker uses some language devices.
• The speaker sometimes varies their tone, pace and body
language.
• The speaker’s vocabulary is good.
2 5–8 • There is some content and the speech is sometimes hard to
follow.
• The delivery of the speech is basic and you don’t feel very
engaged by the speech.
• The speaker uses very few language devices.
• The speaker varies their tone, pace or body language a few times
but it is not consistent or effective.
• The vocabulary is simple and sometimes incorrect.
1 1–4 • There is not much content and the speech is hard to follow.
• The delivery of the speech is very basic. You don’t feel engaged at
all by the speech.
• The speaker has not used any language devices.
• The speaker doesn’t vary their tone, pace or body language.
• The vocabulary is very simple or might be used incorrectly or
inappropriately.
0 0 • Does not meet the above criteria

Copyright © UCLES 2019 Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 25

Cambridge Assessment International Education
The Triangle Building, Shaftsbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8EA, United Kingdom
t: +44 1223 553554 f: +44 1223 553558
e: [email protected] www.cambridgeinternational.org

Copyright © UCLES March 2019