A Handbook for Engineering Students

General English

2024
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 UNIVERSIDADE LÚRIO
FACULDADE DE ENGENHARIAS

PLANO ANALÍTICO DE INGLES PARA ENGENHARIAS

Disciplina: English for Engineering I Código:

Nível: 1º ano Semestre: 2º Período: Laboral Tipo de aula: Teórico-
Prática
Carácter: Nº de Aulas Teóricas: 10 Créditos: 4 Carga Horária:
Semestral Nº de Aulas Práticas: 54  Semanal: 4
 Semestral:64
Precedências: Língua de Ensino: Inglês
Regente: dr. Arlindo Domingos Simao Nihawe; contacto:828343970, 840512079; e-mail:
arlindo.nihawe@unilurio.ac.mz
Assistente:

The recent boom in the engineering education has given rise to new issues and problems.
Although engineering graduates are highly qualified academically, employers that are
Multinational Companies require proficiency in the language. It is a need of time to produce
world class graduates to meet the demands of the changing and competitive engineering
industries. Having realized the status of English as an international language and its importance
as a major communication tool. The course syllabus have to provide proper technical skills,
English competency, communication and presentation skills and the ability to work as a part of
a team.
Furthermore, it is equally essential to ensure that the English language syllabus that have been
designed and implemented for engineering students at university level matches with the
communicative situations.

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It is essential to ensure that our engineering students are equipped with the necessary
communication skills to face their challenging professional environment. The syllabus needs to
be more relevant to industry because this will help enhance human-capital development in the
country. We can also seek recommendations from the private sector on what to include in the
syllabus, so that we can equip students with the knowledge and skills that are needed.
In today’s corporate world, engineers are not only required to effectively convey technical
information but they also need to have appropriate communication skills in order to excel in
the workplace.

General Objective:

 Empower with English language command.

Specific Objectives:

 Give detailed personal information about him/herself

 Ask and answer basic questions
 Identify differences in tenses
 Use appropriately language commands
 Read and comprehend passages
 Speak about general life issues using the target language

Reading Techniques

1. SKIMMING & SCANNING

Skimming and scanning are reading techniques that use rapid eye movement and keywords to
move quickly through text for slightly different purposes.

Difference between Skimming and Scanning

Key Difference: Skimming and scanning are two different techniques for fast reading.
Skimming is all about reading the article in order to get the general idea of it. On the
other way, scanning is about locating a specific text or phrase in a document.

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Reading is often treated as a technique. People read an article, book, etc, in order to gain some
information or knowledge. Many times, one needs to read at a faster rate due to various reasons
like lack of time, etc.
Skimming and scanning are two such fast reading techniques adopted by a reader. Skimming
often refers to the way in which one reads at a faster rate to gain the general idea about the text.
It does not involve a thorough reading and understanding. However, it often depends upon the
skills of a reader to understand the text quickly. Generally, a reader quickly reads all the words
or the text that seems to be important and then tries to gain the general idea about the
document. At times, when time is a constraint, skimming is achieved by reading that text only
which is considered to be relevant. For example, one may read only the topics.
On the other hand, scanning generally refers to that technique when one looks into the
document for searching some specific text. One does not need to read the document fully. One
requires the skill of pattern recognition for a speedy scanning. Many people use it in day to day
life – while searching a particular phone number in phone directory, etc.

Skimming is about going through the whole article, whereas scanning is just finding out the
specific text or pattern. Therefore, scanning requires a higher understanding of word
recognition than compared to scanning. Unlike skimming, in scanning the reader is already
aware of the text he wants to search in the document. However, in skimming, the reader
usually has no or little idea about the document. Skimming is more about reading and
understanding, whereas scanning is all about searching or finding. Therefore, both are different
from each other.
Comparison between Skimming and Scanning:

Skimming Scanning

A technique for fast reading. A reader A technique in which a reader tries

Definition reads the article in order to get the to search a particular text or word
general idea of it. in the document

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Ability to go through the article quickly
Requirement
Ability to understand what can be
relevant and not in reading
Ability to find quickly
Use of fingers can be effective
while looking for a specific
information
Focus on key words

Generally to search a telephone

Generally to get the general idea of an
number from a list
Purpose article
To sample a book before actually
To find a particular quotation in a
purchasing it
book

Read the title carefully

Reader must be clearly aware of the
First paragraph and introduction need to specific information that needs to
be read carefully be searched in the document.

Emphasis on the reading of first Clues must be used to find the

sentence of every paragraph answer – like if one is searching for
a date, then only numbers should
Heading and sub headings should be be looked for
Method read
Headings can be helpful in
Pictures, charts or graphs should be suggesting the location of the
noticed desired information

Words or phrase that are italicized or One should be careful in reading

boldface must be noticed and skipping the sections of the
passage
Summary or last paragraph is important
to understand the conclusion

First Day at University

Read the short essay below and answer the questions.

At first, I was confused and lost. I didn't know where to go. I had to ask a stranger where the
first year students were going to meet. This person was very polite and showed me the way. I
walked through some big buildings, and when I arrived I saw many students and I felt scared.

I am always going to remember that day because I had the opportunity to meet many people.
Most importantly, I met the best friends that I have ever had. Finally, I think that it is natural

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that on the first day at university we feel nervous, but often difficult experiences have happy
endings. That's why I say that my first day in the university was very memorable.

After a while, I told myself to be braver. I asked one girl what was happening and we
discovered that we were in the same group. We introduced ourselves. Her name was May. We
joined in with the activities for “freshie” students. Soon, I started feeling much better. The
activities helped me feel part of a team and I was beginning to feel that I had become a
university student.

Later, we began our classes. However, all our classmates were quiet. The teacher talked for a
while and then we introduced ourselves. I met two girls. Their names were June and Apple.
Soon we became good friends and started chatting and learnt more about each other. Although
we came from different provinces we had a lot in common. We spent the rest of the day
together until we had to go home.

1. How did the student feel at the beginning of the first day at university?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. When did the student’s first day start to improve?
___________________________________________________________________________
3. What do you think was the best thing that happened to the student on this day?
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Do you think the writer is male or female? Why?
___________________________________________________________________________
. 5. Do you think this person went on to be a successful student? Explain?
__________________________________________________________________________

Reading

Leaving home
Going away to university is always a tricky time, both for the students who are leaving home
and their parents who are staying behind. We got advice on how to cope from a student
daughter and her dad.

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A daughter’s advice to parents
My parents drove me to uni at the beginning of the first term. That was great, but then they
hung around, so it was hard to chat to the people in the rooms near mine. It’s best if you leave
us to unpack ourselves.
Don’t ask us to come home during term time. There’s a lot going on at weekends, there just
isn’t time.
Get another interest or a pet if you feel lonely without us. Don’t make us feel guilty about
leaving home!
It is quite interesting to hear about your experiences at uni, but remember that it was a LONG
time ago so don’t go on about it so much. Things have changed a lot. Now we have a lot more
debt and it’ll be harder to find a job in the future.
Please don’t check up on us or our friends on Facebook. I know it’s a public site, but we have
the right to some privacy.
Don’t change anything in our bedrooms. We have only half left home - we’ll be back in the
holidays, so please don’t touch anything.
We’d still like to come on family holidays with you. Don’t forget to include us just because
we’re not there all the time.

A father’s advice to students

Don’t complain so much about how much work you have to do. We work a lot too. You’re an
adult now, get used to it.
Put up with the fact that we refused to get a dog while you were at home, then suddenly bought
one as soon as you moved out. We miss you!
Just because you’re at university studying very complex subjects, it doesn’t mean that you’re
more intelligent than everybody else. Don’t treat your family as if they were stupid; we’re
really not.
Let us come and visit you now and again. We promise to try not to embarrass you in front of
your friends. We just want to see you for a short time and take you out for a meal.
Don’t waste so much time on Facebook. You need time for all that work you have to do,
remember?
We might make a few changes to your room, so deal with it. It’s great to have a guest room at
last, but we won’t change things too much, promise.
Don’t forget to call home from time to time and don’t get annoyed if we phone you. It’s not
pestering. If we didn’t call, you wouldn’t know that we care.

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Read the text and answer the questions below.
1. Do you think the text is fiction or nonfiction?
2. Is there any similarity or contradiction on the advice given by both daughter and
Father?
3. What do you think the father didn’t agree with the daughter?
4. How do you find the advice you parents gave to you, if so? Can you share?

2. Reading abstract of projects

Abstracts must include sufficient information about the nature and significance of the topic, the
adequacy of the investigative strategy, the nature of the results, and the conclusions. The
abstract should summarize the substantive results of the work and not merely list topics to be
discussed.
Abstract Content

 An abstract is an outline/brief summary of your paper and your whole project.

 It should have an intro, body and conclusion.

 It highlights major points of the content and answers why this work is important, what
was your purpose, how you went about your project, what you learned, and what you
concluded.

 It is a well-developed paragraph and should be exact in wording.

 It must be understandable to a wide audience.

 Do not include any charts, tables, figures, or spreadsheets in the abstract body.

Abstract Heading Layout

1. Title of paper
2. First name, middle initial, and last name of author.

3. Name(s) of faculty mentor(s)

Abstract Body Format

Abstracts should follow these guidelines:

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  In Microsoft Word format
 In Times New Roman font, size 12

 No more than 250 words in length

 Single-spaced and a single paragraph

4. Reading written instructions/Advice

Writng

Sentence connectors in English

Connectors are the words which combine two words, phrases and sentences together. They have the same
meaning of a conjunction but differ in their function. Difference between conjunction and connectors:
Conjunctions are used to connect a noun with another noun; two independent clauses; different sentences; a
group of words. Connectors are used to connect a large groups of words; phrases; sentences.

For example: Lisa and Rita are friends. Here "and" connects two nouns. It is a conjunction
I broke my leg. However, I still feel great. Here "however' connects two groups of words, which relate to each
other.

The functions of connectors in English grammar are to combine sentences and to express relationship
between ideas. Connectors in English grammar help in improving writing style by adding maturity and
sophistication. It is important to use connectors in English grammar to impart clarity to writing, and to
make it easy to understand.

Time practice
I. Rewrite each of these simple sentences as one sentence using the connectors
in the brackets.
a) They are only five. They’re good at using the computer. (although)
b) We trained hard. We wanted to win the race. (in order to)
c) The river was flooded. We couldn’t drive further. (so)
d) The piano was big. We couldn’t get it through the door. (so …. that).
e) It’s late. We better take a taxi. (as)
f) You can set the table. You have nothing to do. (since)

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g) I invited Mike to my party. He couldn’t come. (but)
h) Jill is singing. Lue is playing the piano (and)
i) You are doing very well. He has not helped you at all. (even though)
j) This is the office. Mr Ram works here. (where)

II. Choose the correct conjunction from the bracket and fill in the blanks.
a) I bought an ice cream ___________ I was hungry (although, because, though).
b) ____________ we don’t know the way, we should look at the map (since, due to, in case).
c) Stand still ____________ I can brush your hair. (so, so that, in order to).
d) ____________ people take exercise, they become fat and stiff. (unless, if, as long as).
e) I shall enjoy the race, ____________ if I don’t win it. (although, even, though).

Connectors or linking words are extremely important because they help us organise and
connect our ideas in a logical way. Therefore, they have a double role:
a) a grammatical function: connecting structures(words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs...)
b) a meaning function: explaining the relationship between the ideas (if two ideas go in the
same direction, if they express a contrast, if one is cause/consequence of the other...)

1. Connecting two ideas which go in the same direction (similar to and, or and
and not)
And: besides; what’s more; in addition; not only..., but (also)..., etc. We find them at the
beginning of the second idea followed by a comma. Both ideas appear usually in separate
sentences, but we can also include them in the same sentence:

I don’t have time to plan a holiday this year. Besides, I haven’t saved enough money.
I don’t have time to plan a holiday this year and, besides, I haven’t saved enough money.

Or: either... or... . This connector introduces two different possibilities in a positive sentence:
We can have dinner either at a Chinese or a French restaurant. What do you prefer?

And not: neither... not... . This connector introduces two different possibilities in a negative
sentence:

We can’t have dinner neither at the Chinese nor the French restaurants because they are
closed on Sunday. We could go to the Mexican one, instead.

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 2. Connecting two contrasting ideas (similar to but)
However, nevertheless, despite this and in spite of this usually appear at the beginning of the
second idea followed by a comma.
They link contrasting ideas the ideas in different sentences. We can also find however at the
middle or the end of the sentence, specially in spoken English:

I tried to finish the book. However, I didn’t manage to.

I tried to finish the book. I didn’t manage to, however.
I tried to finish the book. Despite this, I didn’t manage to.

Although, even though, though, while, despite the fact that and in spite of the fact that link
contrasting ideas in the same sentence. They usually appear at the beginning of one of the
ideas, but though can also be found at the end of the sentence, specially in spoken English. In
this last case both ideas appear in different sentences and, therefore, though is more similar to
however:

Although the film had good reviews, I didn’t really liked it.
I didn’t really liked the film, even though it had good reviews.
The film had good reviews. I didn’t really liked it, though.
Despite the fact that the film had good ideas, I didn’t really liked it.
Despite the good reviews, I didn’t really like the film.
I finally saw the Italian film, while my boyfriend preferred an American blockbuster.

3. Connecting a cause and a consequence (similar to because)

As, and since usually appear at the beginning of the first idea:
As it was starting to rain, we decided to go home.

Because of (the fact that) and due to (the fact that) can appear at the beginning of the both
ideas: Due to the rain, we decided to go home.
Due to the fact that it was starting to rain, we decided to go home.
We decided to go home because of the rain
We decided to go home due to the rain.

For this reason, as a result, as a consequence, therefore, so and consequently usually

appear at the beginning of the second idea. The ideas can be in the same sentence or not.
It was starting to rain and, consequently, we decided to go home.

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It was starting to rain. As a result, the concert was cancelled.

4. Connecting a fact and a result (similar to for)

In order to, to, so as to and so (that) appear at the beginning of the second idea. Both ideas
are always in the same sentence.

They had to go in order to get the last bus.

They had to go so as to get the last bus.
They had to go so that they could get the last bus.
So... (that) is used with adjectives and such... (that) is used with nouns. They intensify the
quality of the word they go with.

The book was so exciting (that) I simply couldn’t put it down.

It was such a good book (that) I simply couldn’t put it down.

5. Practice Fill in the gaps with the correct connector.

There may be more than one correct answer.
1. ____________ I’m not used to interpret simultaneously, I did it quite well during my first
day of work.
2. ____________ the computer manufacturers have agreed to replace the computers free of
charge, the new computers will not be installed for at least three months.
3. ____________ the car is old, it is still reliable.
4. Be careful when handling a knife ____________ not to get injured.
5. Buying a house is expensive. It is, ____________, a good investment.
6. Guardiola trained hard for years and, _______, he became one of the best football players in
Spain.
7. Handle the flowers carefully ____________ not to damage them.
8. He chose this University ____________ he could study English.
9. He spoke Russian ____________ well ____________ everyone thought he was Russian.
10. He was ____________ tired ____________ he went to bed early.
11. His wife left him and, ____________, he became very depressed.
12. I don’t really want to go out tonight. ____________ there is a good film on TV.
13. I studied a lot. ____________ I got an excellent mark.
14. I turned off the radio ____________ I could hear my thoughts.
15. I went to the music shop ____________ buy the last Eagles CD.
16. I’m determined to buy a house this year. I don’t know where exactly, ____________.

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17. ____________ it was snowing, the festival took place as usual.
18. ____________ the noise, the students could study for their test.
19. ____________ the rain, I went for a walk.
20. It was late ____________ he decided to take a taxi home.
21. It was ____________ a difficult exam ____________ he knew he wouldn’t pass it.
22. You really must make up your mind. It’s a big decision to make, ____________.
23. It’s ____________ a cold day ____________ I will stay in bed.
24. John is very rich ____________ his friends are extremely poor.
25. Many of the deaths of older people are ____________ heart attacks. 26. Many people think
scientists are abusing of animals. ____________, those people do nothing to stop the problem.
27. Mrs. Dean was sleeping, ____________ she didn’t hear the thief.
28. Mrs. Smith is an intelligent and stimulating teacher. ____________ she takes an interest in
the personal well-being of her students; ____________ is Mrs. Smith an intelligent and
stimulating teacher _________ she ____________ takes an interest in the personal well-being
of her students.
29. She ____________ writes novels ____________ she ____________ teaches.
30. ____________ we arrived late, all the best seats had been taken.
31. Students have learnt a lot ____________ this new project.
32. Computer manufacturers have agreed to replace the computers free of charge,
____________ the new computers will not be installed for at least three months.
33. Computer manufacturers have agreed to replace the system free of charge. ____________,
the new equipment will not be installed for at least three months.
34. ____________ computer manufacturers have agreed to replace the system free of charge,
the new equipment will not be installed for at least three months.
35. The film was ____________ boring ____________ I went out before the end.
36. The food was bad and, ____________, we didn’t eat it.
37. The house was ____________ large ____________ it was ____________ modern.
38. The painting is ____________ valuable ____________ a work of art.
39. The Pope couldn’t travel ____________ the bad weather.
40. The secretary types ____________ quickly ___________ she always has her work in time.
41. We are unable to go by train ____________ the rail strike.
42. We came to the countryside ____________ find some peace and quiet.

FORMAL AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE

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What is the difference between formal and informal language?

Formal and informal language serve different purposes. The tone, the choice of words and the
way the words are put together vary between the two styles. Formal language is less personal
than informal language. It is used when writing for professional or \ academic purposes like
university assignments. Formal language does not use colloquialisms, contractions or first
person pronouns such as ‘I’ or ‘We’.

Informal language is more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating with
friends or family either in writing or in conversation. It is used when writing personal emails,
text messages and in some business correspondence. The tone of informal language is more
personal than formal language.

Examples of formal and informal language are shown below:

Contractions
Informal: The improvements can’t be introduced because of funding restrictions.
Formal Improvements cannot be introduced due to funding restrictions.
Informal I don’t believe that the results are accurate.
Formal The results are not believed to be accurate.
Informal The research project won’t continue next year.
Formal The research project will not continue next year.

Phrasal verbs
Informal: The balloon was blown up for the experiment.
Formal The balloon was inflated for the experiment.
Informal The patient got over his illness.
Formal The patient recovered from his illness.
Informal The results of the study were mixed up.
Formal The results of the study were confused.

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Slang/Colloquialism

Dictionary of Formal & Informal English

Type Informal Formal
Prep. About … Regarding / Concerning …
Idiom Agree with … Be bound by …
Conj. And As well as …
Idiom Bearing in mind Reference being made to …
Conj. Because … As a result of / due to (the fact) …
Verb Begin Commence
Conj. But While / Whereas
Adj. Careful / Cautious Prudential
Verb Carry out Effect
Verb Check Verify
Adj. Enough Sufficient
Verb Fill me in Inform / Tell
Verb Find out Ascertain
Verb Follow Duly observe
Verb Get Receive
Verb Get in touch Contact
Verb Go over Exceed
Verb Has to be Shall be
Verb Have to give Submit
Conj. If … Should …
Conj. If … or not. Whether … or not.
Idiom If you don't … Failing / Failure to…
Idiom If you've got any questions … Should you have any queries …
Idiom In accordance with … Pursuant to
Idiom In the red Overdrawn
Verb Involve Entail
Idiom Lost Inadvertently mislaid
Verb Make sure Ensure
Adj. Many Several / Numerous
Verb Order Authorise
Verb Pay Settle

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Idiom Put in writing Provide written confirmation
Idiom Sorry! We regret …
Verb Supply Furnish
Verb Take away Withdraw
Verb Tell Disclose
Verb Trusted Entrusted
Idiom We don't want to do this … This a course of action we are anxious to avoid
Idiom We'll call the law … We will have no alternative but involving our legal.
Idiom When we get … On receipt
Idiom Whenever we like … Without prior notice …
Verb Write (e.g. Cheque) Issue (e.g. Cheque)
Verb Written Shown / Indicated

Formal and Informal English Page 7 of 8

EXERCISE 1
Insert formal expression which correspond to the ones in brackets.

1. I ________ to ________ you that our prices have ________. (sorry - tell - gone up)

2. This is _____ to ______ ______ that costs have risen. (because)

3. Unfortunately, I have to___ you that I___ not __ __ to __the meeting. (tell
- can’t - come to)

4. ______ ______ _____ some brochures describing our products. (Here [in this letter] are)

5. We have ________ ________ to increase our prices. (had)

6. You are 90 days past due on invoice #2792, please __ ___ __ as soon as possible. (pay up)

7. Please write ________ ________ ________ any ________ (if you’ve got - questions)

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8. Your account is ________. (in the red)

EXERCISE 2
Transform the following sentences from informal to formal English.

1. We are not going to renew the sole representative agreement again because you haven’t
produced enough business for us.
2. The machine should work because it has been tested.
3. Our bank has told us that you haven’t made this month’s payment.
4. We can’t send you the engineering blueprints on disk until the full joint-venture agreement
is signed in full next month.
5. We’re too busy to go to London for the meeting in this period. Can you come over here?
6. Your client didn’t complete the documents properly. Please get him to do it and then send
them back to us as soon as possible.
7. If you’ve got any problems give me a call.
16. There’s a problem on the computer system. It won’t work between 10 and 12pm tomorrow.
8. This is because we think it’s necessary.
9. We’ll help you if you need it.
10. If we don’t receive payment we’ll call our lawyers.
11. We’ll give you 8 days to solve this problem.

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Summary of Differences between Formal & Informal English

Formal Informal
1. Active Voice Passive Voice
2. Phrasal Verbs Latinate Verbs
3. Direct Language Formulaic Language
4. Possible use of Slang No use of Slang
5. Personal Form Nominator
6. Little use of Conjunctions Linking Words
7. Few Revitalised Sentences Revitalised Sentences

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8. Direct Style Modal Usage
9. 1st Person Singular 1st Person Plural

Writing business letters

Types of Formats
Jonah knows he needs to write a progress report for his boss, but he's not sure how it should
look. Does he need to put it in a binder with a cover? Should he put it on company letterhead?
Or should he just jot some notes down in an email?
Progress reports can come in many different forms, but there are three primary formats that
most people use for their progress reports:

1. Memo: Often, a short memo is all that is needed for a progress report that is shared
within an organization. For example, Jonah's progress report is going to his boss, and
he'll also give copies to all the project members. Since all of them work at the same
company, he might choose to write the progress report as a memo.
2. Letter or email: Sometimes, instead of a memo, people choose to write progress
reports as letters or, more commonly today, emails. Like memos, these types of
progress reports are generally short. However, unlike memos, letters and emails are
reports that can be shared either within or outside of an organization. So if, for
example, Jonah needed to share the progress report both with his boss and with his
company's client, he might choose a letter or email.

3. Formal report: Both memos and emails are pretty informal. But the third common
format is a formal report. This is a longer document, and it is often bound in a binder or
presentation folder. Formal reports are usually used for progress reports that are shared
outside of an organization. For example, if Jonah were writing a progress report for the
client, he might choose to share in a formal report.

Since Jonah's progress report is going out to his boss and coworkers, he probably won't want to
format it as a formal report. He could present it as a memo or letter, but Jonah thinks that email
is a good format for it. It's convenient, and everyone can have an electronic copy saved.

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 Building Coherent Paragraphs

In most paragraphs, the topic sentence is at the beginning, summing up what the paragraph will
cover. Following that are the supporting sentences, covering the thoughts and ideas that hold
the topic sentence in place, giving it validity and weight. Explain the structure of a paragraph
to your students and let them see a visual of this structure on the board or in a handout.

You can then give them examples of a topic sentence and a few supporting sentences before
letting them give their own paragraph-building a shot. Good visuals and easy-to-understand
directions will go a long way in this crucial area Language learning.

5. Writing daily/periodic reports

Progress reports can be important documents, both to communicate within an organization and
to communicate with clients and others outside an organization. Watch this lesson to find out
how to write a progress report

Including a section for topic sentences and supporting sentences will keep their writing
minds organized and focused.

In English writing, there are many forms and styles to suit different writing scenarios and
needs. Teaching students a basic structure (introduction, body, conclusion) before you put a
label on any one structure is best, but the time will come when they’ll be hungry for more.

writing incorporates:
 letters
 essays
 stories
 reports
 reviews
 emails

Build on structure basics piece by piece, giving your students more challenging tasks as they
progress into exceptional English writing.

Delivering oral presentations

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Oral Presentations: Tips on How to Deliver a Speech for School or Work

This section shows how to write and deliver a formal oral presentation on an academic or
professional subject.
The content is the most obvious component of any oral presentation — after all, if you are
talking, you had better have something worthwhile to say. But a presentation is only as
effective as its delivery.
Part 1: Planning the Content
1. Determine your goals.
2. Prepare your material.
3. Study a model.
4. Arrange with your strongest points first.
5. Practice, practice, practice.

Part 2: Delivering the Content

6. Make eye contact with your audience.
7. Engage actively with the audience.
8. A slide show is not a speech.
9. Watch the time!
10. Take questions in the middle, not the end?

Part 1: Planning the Content

1) Determine Your Goals as a Speaker

Why are you delivering this oral presentation?
Be honest with yourself. If your answer is “for a grade” or “my boss told me,” your
audience will certainly figure it out soon enough. What do you want to accomplish?
If this is a class assignment, look very carefully at the assignment instructions. If
your instructor wants you to analyse, don’t fill time summarizing. If you’ll be
evaluated according to how much evidence you present, don’t fill time sharing your
personal opinion.
How can your audience help you meet your goals?
A good speaker keeps in mind the needs of the audience. Who is your audience? What does
your audience want?

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Your most important auditor may be your professor or your boss, but that person will
measure your performance — at least in part — according to how the rest of the audience
responds.
2) Prepare your material
Good speakers usually aim to look like they are speaking effortlessly, tossing off words as
they come to mind. What you don’t see is the preparation that paved the way for the
polished performance. It’s all an act! You can do it too, if you plan ahead.
Once you know what your goal is, and you know what your audience wants, you can start
strategizing. There is no single strategy that will guarantee success. How you plan depends on
many variables.
How many minutes long is your speech? About how many words do you speak per minute?
Will your audience be lost if you use jargon? Will they feel talked down to if you spend time
defining terms they already know?
Do you expect that your audience will disagree with you? (If so, you might need to give more
examples and more evidence and spend more time addressing reasonable objections in order to
sound convincing, which may mean talking a little faster.)
Do you expect your audience already agrees with the position you will take? (If so, they may
check out if your speech simply rehashes arguments they already accept without question.
What can you say to an audience that already agrees with you? Why would you listen to a
speaker who is restating things you already accept as the truth?)
Graphics, inspirational quotations, and anecdotes are all well-respected methods of maintaining
audience interest. However, images of Dilbert and The Far Side, fancy computer transitions
between slides, and vaudeville tricks get old pretty quickly (see Don McMillan’s hilarious
“Death by Powerpoint“), and they eat up time that you could use more effectively.

Whether your goal is to convince your audience to accept your position on a complex topic, to
provide as much useful information as you can to the decision-maker who needs to know it, or
something else, keep that goal in mind first. How will the words you say help you and your
audience to reach some mutual goal?

Instead, think about “talking to people“.TV talk show hosts don’t think about talking
to millions of people at once… they think of talking directly to one individual person
who wants to be part of a conversation. Make your audience feel welcome.

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  Remember that your audience wants your conclusions. Many, many speakers spend
too much time on background, which forces them to rush through their final statements.
 Rehearse your explanations of charts and diagrams, your demonstrations of
software, or your visits to web pages just as thoroughly as your introductory and
concluding statements. When you “wing it”, you will tend to eat up too much time.
 Know the venue. Find out how to shut off the lights, to lower the screen, to focus the
overhead projector, etc.
 Prepare for disasters. The network may crash, your monitor may start to flicker, or
you may drop your notes. These things happen. Prepare a low-tech backup —
overhead projections or paper handouts, a discussion question to engage the audience,
whatever.

3) Study a Model
The internet is of course full of examples of good speeches, but the YouTube users who vote
on videos may not have much in common with the audience who will hear your oral
presentation.
Do you have access to speeches that your discourse community values? Your instructor or
supervisor may not have ready access to video recordings from last year’s class or last
quarter’s budget meeting, but you can pay attention to the speaking techniques deployed by
people with authority in your field.
For instance, I have a colleague who never says, “This is taking too long, and I’m watching the
clock, so let’s get on with it already.” Instead, this person says, “I’m conscious of everyone’s
time, so shall we move on to the next item?”
Bear in mind that
 if you have been assigned to deliver a speech that defends a position on a topic (such
as, whether Huckleberry Finn should be taught in middle school)…
 but your instructor usually refrains from stating any one answer is the best (preferring
instead to present several viewpoints and letting the students decide for themselves)…
 then your instructor’s open-ended lecture (intended to spark a discussion) is not a good
model of a position statement (intended to showcase your ability to latch onto a specific
solution).
While this handout aims to provide general tips, you should ignore any general tip that
contradicts something specific you learn about the goals, context, or genre of the specific
speech you are preparing.

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General Model
Successful oral presentations typically share some basic characteristics, owing to the nature of
the spoken word.
1. Tell them what you’re going to tell them.
2. Tell them.
3. Tell them what you told them.
When we read, we can go back and reread passages we skimmed over the first time, and we
can skip ahead when we’re bored. In a live oral presentation, the audience can’t re-read or skip
ahead. If the audience doesn’t know why they are listening to your anecdote about winning the
spelling bee, or why they should care what version of the software was installed on the
computer that you used to crunch your numbers, their attention will wander and it will be hard
to get it back.
When we listen, we gratefully cling to orientation phrases that help us understand what the
whole shape of a speech is, where we are within the overall structure, and when we are
transitioning from one section to another.
Your specific occasion for delivering a speech may involve specific contextual details that
don’t mesh with the general advice I’m providing here.

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English for Engineering I
Scheme of work
Week Lesson Topic Approach Facilities
1.Reading techniques (scanning, skimming)
 Reading comprehension (First day at
University)
1. Reading abstract of projects Hand-out
 Students bring different samples
2. Reading written instructions/Advice
 Reading instruction manuals

3. Communicating through E-mails

4. Writing daily/periodic reports
 Concept of report
 Types of report
Test 1
5. Writing business letters Hand-out
 Basic letter

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  Application letter
 Letter asking for information
6. Delivering oral presentations
 Language command for oral presentation
 How to call audience attention?
 How to value contributions
7. Telephonic conversations with boss/ clients
Polite language
8. Public Speeches: formal/ informal
Formal Vs informal Language
9. Essay writing Hand-out
Skills
 Basic techniques for writing a
descriptive essay
 Selecting appropriate linking words
 Making the main points.

Test 2