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The Splendid Speaking Course Volume 2 Unit 6: TOP Talks

Unit 1: The World of Music
Task: Presentation (1-2 minutes)
Topic vocabulary A piece of music Be into (‘like’ particular music) To sing at the top of one’s voice To have a sing song To listen to soothing music To express yourself To put you in a good mood/a good frame of mind To raise our spirits To unwind To de-stress Useful quotes “It was once said that…” If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing. (Proverb from Zimbabwe) Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. (Red Auerbach) Without music, life is a journey through a desert. (Pat Conroy) The history of a people is found in its songs. (George Jellinek) Without music, life would be an error. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

1. Introduction: Read the following newspaper extract and prepare a presentation outlining the importance of music in our lives.

Harmony restored
Workers at a clothing factory are singing the praises of their bosses who have gone back on a decision to ban the playing of music during working hours. Bosses had previously complained that their employees were distracted by the music and constant chatter of the local disc jockey. However, the workers claimed the music actually helped them work harder and raised their morale.

2. Planning: Spend 1 minute making notes. If it helps, use any of the following questions as the basis of your talk. What social or cultural significance does music have? In what ways can music benefit the individual? To what extent does music play an important role in your life?

3. Task focus: Try organising your talk around three main points. People often find it easy to remember and process things in threes and using this ‘rule of threes’ strategy can help both you and your audience. You could deal briefly with the three issues above or focus on one issue and give three