Module FourSession 2

English Tour Guiding Speech

Lead-in Questions:

1. What can be a good tour-guiding speech?

2. If you are going to guide a group soon, what preparation should you do for the tour-guiding speech?

I. Writing :

---Information: detailed, specific, sufficient, reliable…

Criteria: to be reliable, to be smooth, to be artistic

---Expression:

clear, smooth, fluent, easy to express---Wording: artistic, elegant, melodious…

II. Oral Expression1.Basic skills:

Pronunciation, intonation, fluency, correctness ( grammar, terminology, information), completeness of guiding contents, knowledge sphere (questions), proper guiding manners.

Try to be a natural speaker!

2. Be familiar with the outline for your tour-guiding speech:

• Keep a general framework in your mind.• Highlights in the scenic area, important historic events, religion, construction, festivals, food, costumes, tradition…

• If you forget sth and stop: please skip that part and continue to tell judges the contents you can remember. • to get familiar with the tour route in the scenic area: to draw a tour map by yourself ( e.g. Stone Forest: mark the highlights)

Do not keep silent!

3.To use transitional words and sentences.

---Let’s move on. Follow me please. ---Let’s go ahead. This way please. ---Now we have to say farewell to…and continue our journey. ---Don’t you think it’s wonderful / amazing! ---Our next highlight is…

4.Use oral style English:• No reciting. Please reorganize your own guiding speeches in your own words. Do not copy the text book ( bookish style).

Function of text books: words, special terms, figures, enough information….

To reorganize: to change into oral style. To use sentence structures and expressions you are familiar with.

5. Realize your own shortcoming and try to make compensations.

---Terminology: to use synonyms, underline special terms in the text.

For example: Lamaism---Tibetan Buddhism, scripture---sutra, elevation---altitude…

---To distinguish some words that are often confused:

county( 县 )-country(国家 )

altitude(高度 )-attitude(态度 )-

latitude(纬度 )-aptitude(天才 )

custom(风俗 ,海关 )-costume(服饰 )

-consume(消费 )…

6. The proper way to communicate with visitors:

---independent tour-guiding: 10 minutes at least

---Greetings: Good morning / afternoon Madam / Sir. My topic today is … and the major concern of my introduction is…..Shall I start?

---Questions from judges/ visitors: a free talk to test your English, background knowledge, flexibility, abilities to solve problems in travel

---End: That’s all for my introduction. Hope you enjoyed your journey today. Thanks a lot.

---If you can not understand the question:

I beg your pardon. / Pardon please. Do you mean …..?

A printed speech is like a dried flower: the substance , indeed, is there, but the color is faded and the perfume gone. ----By Paul Lorain

1. Overcoming Stage Fright

•Positive nerveousness is necessary.

•Courageis resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.

Tips

Reasons for nervousness:

---insufficent preperation for the topic ---lack of experience of applying audio-visual facilities, ---compulsory mental state for perfection

Tips :---being well-prepared (material-collecting, organizing, memorizing)---Try to communicate with visitors. (shorten the distance)

---a correct attitude towards any problem in your speaking. (tongue slips)

2.Volume

• Change volume according to different needs (emphasize, encourage, narrative, analyze...)

“Ladies and Gentlemen, our destination today is Stone Forest. " therefore, however, furthermore, consequently, finally..., seldom, hardly, no, not yet, neither nor, merely..., rather than...

3. Articulation ( 吐字 ) and pronunciation

•Tongue twisters can be helpful to improve your articulation:

---The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain. ---Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. ---Susan sells seashells on the seashore. ---The big black bug bit the big black bear, but the big black bear bit the big black bug back. ---The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday. ---Think like a man of action and act like a man of thought.

4. Pitch •high, medium and low

Four dollars? ↑( Is that all?) Four dollars. ↓(That what it costs.) Four (↓) dollars. (not five dollars)..., isn't it?↑( not sure) isn't it?↓ (make sure , get agreement)5. Rate• common rate: 110 words per minute

Rate should vary according to various needs: normal rate --- greetings, retelling (fairy tales, stories,legends,etc.) slower rate --- terminology, sth unique,

6. Pause:

• between sentences, between sentence groups, after questions, intend to emphasize...

eg: "Too many students lack one important characteristics of successful speaker /---confidence. " " I have nothing to ofter / but patience // kindness // smile // and sincerity."

7. Nonverbal Communication

---Eye contact: Five-point eye contact (four corners and the central area). Your may find some head nodders.

---Posture: to keep proper speaking manners (hands, head, foot...)

---Gestures: to describe, to ask questions, be natural and spontaneous (自然且与内容一致 ), to mark them and the relevant details in your printed speech.

---Facial expression:

•The audience are looking at you more than listening to you.

•Diversified facial expressions ( to smile, to frown, to be serious, to be relaxing...)

Animation(生机活力 ) is the best cosmetics.

8. Practice makes perfection

Role play: 1.Team-work: some visitors ----a tour guide

2. Pair-work: a visitor ---a tour guide

•The successful independent tour-guiding comes from enough practice and critical feedback from audience / visitors.

Scoring Criteria in final exam:

•Guiding manners: 20%

•language (Pronunciation, intonation, fluency, grammar, terminology):30%

•Contents: 40%

•Questions:20%

FarewellLife is a process of solving problems. People can grow up by overcoming difficulties and frustration!

Everybody is a treasure house.

Try to discover your potential!

Don’t complain! Don’t be scared! Have a good start today!