Oral Communication · Oral Communication: Critical Listening, Academic Discussion and Persuasive Speaking

Oral Communication: Critical Listening, Academic Discussion and Persuasive Speaking: Unit Review

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 3.1 3.2About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can review the listening, speaking and reflecting skills from this unit.
I can identify which lessons I need to revisit.

Words to know

purpose-product-plan
A three-part listening goal: why I'm listening, what I'll have afterward, how I'll listen.

voice tracking
Noting whether ideas are reported, conceded or the speaker's own view.

warrant
The assumption that connects evidence to a claim.

kairos
The right moment, and the right words for that moment.

STAR
Situation, Task, Action, Result: a structure for interview answers.

if-then plan
A goal linked to a trigger.

Let's review!

In this unit you worked through all three parts of the Grade 12 Oral Communication strand:

Listening to understand (1.1 to 1.9): purpose-product-plan goals for lectures, debates, information sessions and peer feedback; active listening in interviews, Harkness discussions and sharing circles; strategies for demanding texts; the Toulmin model and the rhetorical précis; subtext, ambiguity and critical lenses; connections that complicate and synthesis; the rhetorical situation and kairos; hidden agency, loaded language, identity and power; and evaluating presentation strategies.
Speaking to communicate (2.1 to 2.7): debate speeches, oral defences, interviews and pitches; difficult questions, negotiation, feedback and virtual meetings; extended and impromptu talks; academic diction and devices; voice and body in verse, performance and professional settings; and academic audio-visual aids.
Reflecting (3.1 and 3.2): feedback literacy, evidence of growth, if-then goals and interconnected skills.

Work through one section per lesson below, then try the 10-question quiz.

Three parts of one strand. Many listening tools have a speaking partner: the Toulmin model helps you hear weak warrants and build strong arguments; voice tracking helps you report views fairly when you speak.

Choosing the right tool for the situation is a key Grade 12 skill. Cover the right column and test yourself.

How to use this review

Do three or four sections at a time. Answer aloud whenever you can: this is an oral communication unit, so saying a reframe, a PREP answer or a précis sentence is better practice than writing it. For each question you miss, note why and reread that lesson's worked examples. Finish with the 10-question quiz, and check the parent notes to see which lesson to revisit for each kind of mistake.

Listening With Purpose: University Lectures, Judging Debates, Information Sessions and Peer Feedback

Write a purpose-product-plan goal for a college information session.

In a debate, the Negative never answers the Affirmative's second argument. What is it called, and how is it usually treated?

Why should you read the success criteria before a classmate's presentation?

Active Listening in Interviews, Harkness Discussions and Sharing Circles

Write a probe for: "Things changed a lot after the plant closed."

What does a star-shaped Harkness map (every line touching one person) show?

How should you listen in a sharing circle?

Strategies for Demanding Oral Texts: Background Building, Voice Tracking and Synthesis

Label the voice: "Some critics say the ending is hopeful."

Name one before, one during and one after strategy for a demanding lecture.

Why is reconstructing from memory a better check than rereading notes?

Identifying Important Ideas in Complex Arguments: The Toulmin Model, Qualifiers and the Rhetorical Précis

Find the unstated warrant: "She has a million followers, so her advice must be good."

A speaker says "most"; a summary says "all". What went wrong?

What goes in sentence 1 of a rhetorical précis?

Interpreting Oral Texts: Subtext, Ambiguity and Critical Lenses

Interpret: someone says "No, really, I'm thrilled" in a flat voice while looking away.

Name two critical lenses and the question each asks.

What should a strong interpretation of an ambiguous text do?

Extending Understanding: Connections That Complicate, Intertextuality and Synthesis

Turn into a complicating connection: "The speaker says teens are always on their phones. Same."

What is writing back?

Start a synthesis statement about two speeches on climate.

Analysing Oral Texts in Their Situation: Exigence, Kairos, Structure and Sound

What is the exigence of a speech?

Name the device: "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!" addressed to the wind.

Why does Churchill's "we shall never surrender" stand out after the repeated "we shall fight"?

Critical Listening: Hidden Agency, Loaded Language, Identity and Power

Rewrite in active voice: "Errors were made in the budget."

Identify the presupposition: "When will the coach stop playing favourites?"

What does it mean to comment with sensitivity?

Evaluating Presentation Strategies: Idea Talks, Debates, Spoken Word and Documentary Narration

What are the three moves of a pivot?

State the transparency test.

Write an evaluation sentence that names a criterion.

Just for fun

This unit as a PREP answer:

Point: listening and speaking are skills you can train. Reason: every strategy here can be practised and measured. Example: filler words fell from nine a minute to two. Point: so keep training. (The debate club would like to flow this.)

Speaking for Academic and Real-World Purposes: Debate Speeches, Oral Defences, Interviews and Pitches

What does A-R-E stand for?

Which STAR part gets the most time?

Name the four moves for a hard oral-defence question.

Interpersonal Strategies: Difficult Questions, Negotiation, Feedback and Virtual Meetings

Reframe neutrally: "Why would anyone think a later bell is a good idea?"

What is the difference between a position and an interest?

Turn into SBI: "You were rude in the meeting."

Clear and Coherent: Extended Academic Presentations and Impromptu Speaking

Where should the thesis go in a 12-minute presentation?

What does PREP stand for?

What is missing if listeners hear quotations but don't know what they prove?

Diction and Devices: Academic Precision, Hedging and Devices of Rhythm

Replace the booster: "This quotation proves the theme."

Identify: "After the bus, the snow and the long walk, we finally arrived."

Give an example of litotes.

Voice and Body: Speaking Shakespeare's Verse, Performing Monologues and Professional Presence

What is a caesura?

How should an actor handle enjambment?

Where should you look on a video call when making a key point?

Audio-Visual Aids for Academic Presentations: Clips, Citations, Posters and Accessibility

What are the three steps for using a clip?

Name two accessibility practices for slides.

What makes a chart annotated?

Reflecting for the Next Step: Feedback Literacy, Evidence of Growth, If-Then Goals and Interconnected Skills

What are the four habits of feedback literacy?

Turn into an if-then plan: "I want to speak more in seminars."

Name one way writing supports oral communication.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which listening goal names a purpose, a product and a plan?

A lecturer says, "Many argue the novel is pessimistic. I disagree." The lecturer's own view is that the novel is:

In the Toulmin model, the assumption linking evidence to claim is the:

"Mistakes were made" hides responsibility through:

Lear's "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!" is an example of:

The best structure for answering "Tell me about a time you resolved a conflict" in an interview is:

A hostile questioner asks, "Why waste money on this?" The best first move after listening is to:

Which verb best fits an interpretation based on one quotation?

Before playing a clip in a presentation, you should:

10.

Which goal is an if-then plan?

For parents and teachers

How to use the review results:

Listening goals with no product, judging debates on delivery instead of arguments, or feedback without specific evidence → revisit Listening With Purpose: University Lectures, Judging Debates, Information Sessions and Peer Feedback.
Interview questions that ignore the answers, dominating or silent roles in group discussions, or treating every discussion format the same → revisit Active Listening in Interviews, Harkness Discussions and Sharing Circles.
Quoting a reported view as the speaker's own, skipping preparation for difficult talks, or rereading notes instead of testing recall → revisit Strategies for Demanding Oral Texts: Background Building, Voice Tracking and Synthesis.
Missing unstated assumptions, dropping or adding qualifiers in summaries, or vague précis verbs → revisit Identifying Important Ideas in Complex Arguments: The Toulmin Model, Qualifiers and the Rhetorical Précis.
Interpreting only the script, treating a critical lens as an answer, or getting stuck on ambiguous texts → revisit Interpreting Oral Texts: Subtext, Ambiguity and Critical Lenses.
Surface connections, lists of similarities instead of synthesis, or connections that only ever agree → revisit Extending Understanding: Connections That Complicate, Intertextuality and Synthesis.
Listing techniques without the situation, ignoring structure, or mixing up anaphora and epistrophe → revisit Analysing Oral Texts in Their Situation: Exigence, Kairos, Structure and Sound.
Missing hidden agency and presuppositions, calling everything biased, or critiquing people instead of language → revisit Critical Listening: Hidden Agency, Loaded Language, Identity and Power.
Judging without criteria, vague suggestions, or not distinguishing persuasive from manipulative strategies → revisit Evaluating Presentation Strategies: Idea Talks, Debates, Spoken Word and Documentary Narration.
Using one style for every purpose, STAR answers that are mostly situation, or defensiveness in an oral defence → revisit Speaking for Academic and Real-World Purposes: Debate Speeches, Oral Defences, Interviews and Pitches.
Defensive answers to hard questions, arguing positions instead of interests, vague feedback, or treating cultural ideas as rules → revisit Interpersonal Strategies: Difficult Questions, Negotiation, Feedback and Virtual Meetings.
A thesis that arrives late, plot summary instead of analysis, or rambling impromptu answers → revisit Clear and Coherent: Extended Academic Presentations and Impromptu Speaking.
Overclaiming, casual register in academic settings, or devices used as decoration → revisit Diction and Devices: Academic Precision, Hedging and Devices of Rhythm.
Sing-song verse, delivery that doesn't match the subtext, or weak presence on camera → revisit Voice and Body: Speaking Shakespeare's Verse, Performing Monologues and Professional Presence.
Long unintroduced clips, missing citations, inaccessible slides, or charts with no clear message → revisit Audio-Visual Aids for Academic Presentations: Clips, Citations, Posters and Accessibility.
Reflections without evidence, too many vague goals, or no plan for the next setting → revisit Reflecting for the Next Step: Feedback Literacy, Evidence of Growth, If-Then Goals and Interconnected Skills.

Tip: Oral skills improve through short, frequent practice: a 60-second PREP answer at dinner, a mock interview on a laptop, a news clip analysed for hidden agency. These are the skills students need in first-year seminars, tutorials, interviews and workplaces, and they connect directly to the other units of this course: Reading Literary Texts; Reading Informational and Graphic Texts; Writing: Essays and Literary Analysis; Writing: Research, Forms and Conventions; and Media Studies.