Learning-to-Speak (LTS)

vs. Speaking-to-Learn (STL)

erin mcclellan, Department of Communication, Boise State University

Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC) involves both “learning-to-speak” (LTS) and “speaking-to-learn” (STL). This distinction (much like the LTW and WTL emphases in WAC) affects how we teach classes, promote emphases, and assign and facilitate learning activities. The distinction can help instructors refine goals and purposes for assignments as well as focus feedback on student speaking, both formally and informally. It can also help instructorsthink about the role of speaking in their classes beyond the goal of meeting a CID requirement. Learning a new repertoire of assignments and wider range of responses to student speaking is the goal. We see this as a collaborative endeavor and hope that you will continue to reflect upon your own experiences in the classroom and add to this initial guide in ways that can continue to help us all grow as both teachers and learners.

The table below summarizes the basic differences between LTS and STL, although we should, in some sense, see them as mutually beneficial, not mutually exclusive.

Learning-to-Speak / Speaking-to-Learn
Takes place in speaking-intensive courses—undergraduate and graduate—that focus on improving oral competency and practicing the art of speaking / Takes place in any course—undergraduate and graduate—that utilizes the “speech” as a way to primarily display knowledge or understanding rather than as a process of invention, organization, and presentation
Emphasis is on mastery of deliveryand successful adaptation techniques, strategies, and skills that help to accomplish “goals” of public speaking / Emphasis is on displaying mastery of disciplinary course material and information presentation
Instructor teaches formal conventions of public speaking as a process and a product (topical invention, organizational pattern, extemporaneous delivery, audience adaptation strategies) / Instructor evaluatesknowledge of disciplinary course material via students’ ability to formally present ideas to the class
Students practicespeakingforvarious reasons, situations, and audiences / Students attempt to summarize, inform, cite, and synthesize disciplinary material
Instructor assesses student speaking as both an art and a skill (or science) / Instructor assesses student speaking for its ability to succinctly and coherently present understanding of course material
Instructor provides students with extensive feedback—often including peer evaluation (as part of audience) / Instructor provides students with feedback about “accuracy” or “correctness” of course material
Corrections include attention to clarity of purpose and topical organization, language choice, persuasive use of support, and ability to engage a live audience / Feedback and evaluative measures do not typically address apresentation’s ability to engage its audience, use compelling language, or be successfully persuasive
A “process approach” is often used, asking students to take into account feedback from early speaking assignments and incorporate them into successive speaking assignments / Often includes a single, and final presentation, with no ability to incorporate feedback into another speaking assignment in that course
Impromptu speaking is integrated as part of the course requirements, providing opportunity for low-stakes, immediate feedback about speaker tendencies, peer collaboration for improvement, and opportunity to ask questions as they arise / If impromptu speaking is required, it is most often in the interest of “practicing”for the end of semester formal presentation (i.e., “the group practice” speech to get out jitters or practice organizing thoughts into a speaking outline)

This distinction between LTS and STL opens the door to many kinds of speaking activities in STL classes. For example, instructors can:

  1. Individual reports.Students are assigned a topic (or they select one that meets the instructor’s guidelines). They prepare and present their reports individually.
  1. Group reports.Students are assigned to or form small groups on their own. Each group researches the topic, prepares a report, and then presents it to the class.
  1. Videopaper.In lieu of a written paper, students may submit to the instructor a videotaped oral presentation of their research, along with a bibliography of sources they consulted.
  1. Convention panels. A group of students is assigned (or selects) a broad topic relating to the course’s content. Each student writes a paper focusing on a specific aspect of that topic. Students orally summarize their research in class, as if at a professional convention.
  1. Oral exams. The instructor prepares a list of questions which students use as a study guide for an upcoming exam. The instructor prepares slips of paper, with one of these questions on each slip, and places them in a hat. On the day of the exam, students draw from a hat one or more slips of paper. The student is given a brief moment to collect his/her thoughts, and then answers the question(s). The instructor may ask follow-up questions or may involve other students in asking questions.
  1. Advocacy presentations. A nursing processor, for example, could have students identify community health concerns. Students then prepare and present arguments designed to secure financial support from a mythical funding agency.
  1. Mock Parent-teacher conferences. An education professor solicited actual scenarios for parent-teacher conferences from K-12 teachers, and then distributed these situations to her students. One student role-played the teacher, and another student assumed the role of the parent.
  1. Mock Employee appraisal conferences. Students play the roles of supervisor and subordinate in employee evaluation meetings.
  1. “Talk Shows”. A group of students presents their information as if their classmates were audience members at a talk show (such as Oprah). One member of the group is the moderator/questioner, and the other members play the roles of topic experts. The moderator involves the audience (the rest of the class) by encouraging them to ask questions of the panel of experts.
  1. Role-playing. Students role play situations individually or in groups. For example, students may play roles of defendant, victim, police officer, and juror to illustrate different perspectives and issues in criminal justice.
  1. Team debate. Instructors may assign students to debate ethical, legal, and/or policy issues related to course content. Instructors have been innovative in adapting debate formats to their classes. Teams typically range from two or four in number. In a media studies course, for example, one could even include a media expert on each team.
  1. Group-assisted team debate. A class can be divided into groups of ten. Each group is assigned a different “side” of a topic. Although only a few members of the group may actually debate, all members research the topic and prepare possible arguments. Following the opening speeches, the debaters meet with their group to plan their next speeches. A member of the group can volunteer to trade places with one of the debaters.
  1. Moderating case studies. Instructors have students read and be prepared to discuss specific cases. A different student is assigned to moderate each discussion. The moderator prepares a list of questions that highlight the key and controversial points of the case, and conducts the discussion.
  1. Interviews. Students schedule outside-of-class interviews with experts on course-related topics. Often, they record these interviews on audio or video tape. They transcribe quotations for use in their papers, or they play excerpts from the tapes for their in-class oral reports.
  1. Listening: Breaking up long lectures. After lecturing for twenty minutes, the instructor asks students to discuss with a person seated next to them the key points presented. The instructor may want to use an overhead projector to display a list of questions students should answer in their discussion. After five minutes have elapsed, the instructor proceeds with the lecture, interspersing occasional discussion to allow students to digest and reinforce key points.
  1. Listening: Using student summaries. Instructors begin each class by calling on a student to present a five-minute summary of the material covered in the previous class period. This random selection encourages all students to take careful notes before the next class period.

List Adapted from:

When students engage in creating and deliveringspeeches in response to such a wide range of speaking prompts, instructors have more options for giving feedback to students. Since speaking-to-learn activities are fundamentally different from learning-to-speak assignments, they often require fundamentally different ways of providing feedback. These can range from little formal feedback (or even no formal feedback at all – only self-reflection or informal peer review) to more rubric-orientedevaluation that mirrors a final presentation form of feedback. The table below illustrates a range of responses to STL activities.

minimal (or no) response / Immediate Feedback / Formal Evaluation
Checkoff “speakingactivity completed” in gradebook / Provide informal advice “off the cuff” – both positive and to improve next time / Ask other students to write one strength and one area for improvement for each of their peers and collect after each speaker – give to speakerwithout reading them
Use speaking activity as “practice” for upcoming formal speech or presentation / Take notes during speaking activity presentation and provide one positive reflection and one focused comment on area for improvement / Use a rubric distributed prior to speaking activity to organize brief comments around common speaking measures of success
Use speaking activity to “practice” one particular aspect (organization, adaptation, vocalics, etc) / Give students opportunity to sketch ideas into outline form and use as speaking notes / Provide formal feedback on both outline and delivery (organization, main point, support, leave on a note of impact)
Have students choose from list of “topics” to use in impromptu speaking / Grade for ability to organize thoughts, demonstrate engaged delivery, or imagine appropriate types of support / Provideformal feedback response to the entire class about trends of success and areas for improvement

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