TEACHING public speaking and assessment go hand in hand. Not only does assessment allow us to determine how well students are learning the subject, but it also provides a guide for improving instruction. To be most effective, however, assessment must take into account the unique nature of public speaking ;there are differences between public speaking as an act of communication and proficiency in the purely technical skills of spoken English. Proficiency in the technical skills of spoken English includes such things as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
To become an effective communicator in any language, the first step is to acquire technical proficiency in the language--to have a large enough vocabulary to express one's ideas, to be able to pronounce the words correctly, and to understand the grammatical structure of the language.
But there is a difference between being technically proficient in a language and having the kinds of skills required for public speaking. To be an effective public speaker, one must go beyond technical proficiency and be able to use English (or any other language) as a working language. Having command of a language at this level is not just a matter of mastering vocabulary tests, of going through pronunciation drills, or of memorizing the rules of grammar. It is, rather, a matter of being able to use the language effortlessly and effectively in the full range of communication situations encountered on a daily basis, whether in business, in government, in education, or in civic life.
In addition, public speaking involves a number of specific elements that must be considered in any program of assessment, including:
(1) The content of the speech: the ideas the speaker is trying to communicate, and the manner in which the speaker develops and supports those ideas;
(2) The structure or the organization of the speech: the manner in which the speaker organizes his or her ideas to make them clear and compelling to the audience;
(3) The vocal delivery of the speech: the volume of the speaker's voice, the rate of speech, the use of pauses, and the general tone of the speech;
(4) The speaker's nonverbal communication: personal appearance, gestures, eye contact, facial expression, confidence, use of visual aids, and overall impression.
What's more, the speaker should still keep in mind that his or her language must be clear, accurate and vivid.
Above all, one must keep in mind that public speaking is an act of strategic communication. The aim of the speaker is not merely to display his or her skills, but to use the available rhetorical resources as effectively as possible in communicating his or her ideas to a particular group of listeners. While assessment of public speaking must look at individual elements of a speaker's performance--content, language, structure, voice, nonverbal communication--it also needs to take into account the speaker's overall effectiveness or lack thereof. This cannot be accomplished by standardized testing. Rather, it requires the work of evaluators who are trained specifically in the assessment of public speaking.
An additional aspect of assessment involves evaluating the effectiveness of instruction in public speaking. There are several methods of such assessment, including self-reports from students, evaluation of student portfolios, peer observation of instructors in the classroom, and comparative studies of students who have received public speaking instruction with those who have not.
Assessment of instructor performance is important to the long-range success of a public speaking programme, for there is usually a strong correlation between the quality of instruction and the quality of work produced by students. The more feedback instructors receive on their teaching, the better they will be able to adjust the content and method of their instruction for the maximum benefit of students.
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Prof. Stephen Lucas，美国威斯康星大学（University of Wisconsin)教授，国际知名演讲专家，著有《公众演讲的艺术》。研究领域：语言交际技巧和政治演讲艺术。
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