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On first teaching speechLoren D. Reid aa Professor and Chairman of the Department of Speech ,University of MissouriPublished online: 18 May 2009.

To cite this article: Loren D. Reid (1952) On first teaching speech, The Speech Teacher,1:1, 1-8, DOI: 10.1080/03634525209376521

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ON FIRST TEACHING SPEECHLoren D. Reid

OF the troubled letters I have re-ceived from beginning teachers of

speech three stand out in memory. Theyread something like this:

"We have spent six weeks studyingpronunciation and vocabulary. The classis losing interest in this project. Whatwould you advise?"

"I worked out a series of narrativetalks as the first assignment in my newcourse. The students talked one minuteeach, instead of five, and I finished twen-ty-five minutes before the bell rang.What was the trouble?"

"I tried to interest the class in panto-mime, but the pupils misbehaved somuch that I could not get anywherewith my demonstration. What can bedone about discipline?"

The letters illustrate a fundamentalproblem: the management of the class.Professors of speech education and su-pervisors of practice teaching are askedmany questions of a factual nature: howto phrase a proposition, how to improvevoice, how to teach the art of concludinga speech. • The answers can be found intextbooks, if one knows where to look.The questions quoted above are morepersistent and most distressing. Theygrow out of the classroom, not the semi-nar. They demand an answer, and theanswer must come from somebody's ex-perience. "What I most needed tolearn," says the beginner, "on first teach-ing speech, was how to handle students."

Mr. Reid (Ph.D., Iowa, 1932) is Professor andChairman of the Department of Speech at theUniversity of Missouri. In addition to holdinghis present position, Mr. Reid has taught atVermillion High School, South Dakota, atWestport High School, Kansas City, Missouri,and at Syracuse University.

This article will suggest some promis-ing ways of managing a class.

I. PLANNING THE COURSE OF STUDY

Preparing a syllabus is often thoughtof as a dull and tedious business. Anoverview is essential, however, eventhough the plan may be modified fromweek to week. A speech teacher of na-tional reputation said that he neverwalked into a classroom without havingprepared a little plan of what he wantedto accomplish. Frequently, he wrote iton the blackboard, so that the studentscould see how the class hour was to beconducted.

Among other questions, the courseplan answers "What should I do first?What should I do second?" Many ac-tivities present themselves for considera-tion. Under the heading of publicspeaking come conversation, interviews,parliamentary procedure, introductions,informal speeches, discussions and de-bates of various types, language and vo-cabulary, choosing a topic, selecting ma-terial, ways of organizing, styles of pre-sentation, audience adaptation, and thelike. Under fundamentals come voice,articulation, pronunciation, bodily ac-tion, poise and confidence, and the ele-ments of listening. Under interpretationand dramatics come pantomime, impro-visation, makeup, line-reading, study ofcontext, characterization, movement onthe stage, elementary directing, and pro-jection. Special projects in radio andtelevision, speech contests and prizes,assembly programs, declamations, maybe added. With such a range of topicsto choose from, a teacher has little need

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to spend six weeks solely on pronuncia-tion.

Where should the teacher begin? Alogical place is by getting acquaintedwith the students. A useful and popu-lar way is to ask each pupil to tell some-thing about himself: his name, his in-terests and hobbies, his background. Ifthe talk is too brief, the teacher may askthe pupil a series of questions abouthimself. This autobiographical talk maybe the springboard for a statement ofopinions about a current question. Inan election year each pupil, after intro-ducing himself, may tell his party affilia-tion and whom he would prefer to votefor. If the school is aroused over issuessuch as "Should a girl be elected presi-dent of the student body?" or "Shouldthe school have a cafeteria?" the pupilsmay be encouraged to take a stand onone side or the other. Imagination andingenuity on the part of the teacher cankeep the assignment from becoming me-chanical. If the discussion is spirited,with a free play of good humor, everyone has a good time, fears and anxietiesare quieted, and the bell rings almosttoo soon. The students leave feelingthat the speech class is going to be allright, and the teacher has learned some-thing about guiding and stimulatingdiscussion: in short, how to take a pupilwho expected to be able to say only afew words, encourage him with a fewquestions, and thus lead him into mak-ing a talk of respectable length.

The next step is to assign an activitythat is interesting and entertaining.Since pupils speak better than they read,informal speaking should precede inter-pretation. Conversation and interview-ing activities may be worked in here,since they postpone the fearful day ofsolo presentation of a prepared speechuntil the student is better adjusted. Thesubject of conversation suggests many

activities: how to introduce people toyour friends, how to use conversationalstarters, how to nourish a struggling con-versation instead of killing it off, howto ask for or accept a date, how to bringinto the conversation the beautiful waxdummy sitting at your left, and othersituations that students themselves canreadily suggest. Conversation leads intointerviewing, a specialized form in whichone participant seeks information or aposition.

Activities such as these are perenniallyuseful at all levels of instruction. Sixthgraders or high school seniors profitequally. Once I asked university stu-dents which they would rather do well:speak in public, act in a play, announceover a radio, or carry on a conversation;and when eighty per cent selected thelast item, I offered to meet the next af-ternoon any who were specially inter-ested in improving their conversation.Most of the class appeared. The reasonis readily at hand: we converse everyday of our lives, and usually with peoplewe are eager to have think well of us.

Most teachers place a strong emphasisupon training in speechmaking in thebeginning course. We do not speak asfrequently as we converse, but the con-sequence of a good or poor speech mayhave more bearing on an individual'scareer than many conversations. No oneany longer confuses speechmaking withoratory: what the modern teacher has inmind is to teach the pupil to expresshimself clearly before the groups he willbe called upon to face. The ability tospeak well makes an inestimable con-tribution to the civic or professionallife of any one. Parents seem especiallyeager to have their sons and daughtersreceive instruction in this extremely use-ful and practical art.

Topics , used for classroom speechesshould invariably be those growing out

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of the immediate experience of eachstudent. A bad way to begin would beto assign topics: "Capital Punishment,""What Democracy Means to Me." Abetter way is to invite each student tomake a narrative speech on some excit-ing, unusual, or embarrassing experi-ence; or if assigned topics seem in order,offer a choice of several general ones,such as "What Our High School NeedsMost," or "My Favorite Book (or Mov-ing Picture) (or Comic)," or "What Imost Admire in Teachers (or Girls)(or Boys) (or Parents)." Any teachercan work out a still better list, keepingthe opportunity of free choice, and atthe same time getting close to his spe-cific school and class.

After fairly successful speeches ofthis sort, the teacher may begin to focuson specific items of instruction. Howare speech topics chosen? What varietyof material is possible for successfulspeaking? How are ideas organized?How may a speech be adapted to hear-ers? What habits of bodily action aresuitable for the beginning speaker?What about beginning, developing, end-ing, the speech? How can ideas be madeinteresting? How may visual aids beused? Any good text will suggest dozensof other activities.

Often specially planned assignmentsprove interesting and helpful. Ask astudent to explain a problem in geom-etry, making some of the common errorsin presentation, such as getting the factsout of sequence or mumbling some ofthe key words. Ask another to explainit clearly, illustrating principles of se-quence and clear language. Book re-ports are more often indifferent thanexciting; ask two students to demon-strate the reasons pro and con. Twoothers may tackle a scientific demonstra-tion. An assignment like this encour-ages students to use their newly ac-

quired speaking skills in the situationsthat daily confront them.

Oral reading opens up another groupof interesting assignments. When weread something aloud, we interpret themeaning of the words on the page bythe use of voice. This principle can bedemonstrated by several exercises. Theword "Yes," for example, may be spokento illustrate all varieties of meaningfrom great certainty to great hesitation."No" can suggest emphatic rejection ormild encouragement. "Who said that?"may imply admiration or scorn. Sen-tences like "The boy says the girl is amoron" may be given a happy and chiv-alrous turn by reading, "The boy," saysthe girl, "is a moron." Lessons gainedfrom such trivialities as the foregoingmay be applied with relish to sentenceslike "This is the forest primeval," oftenread in much the same tone as "Thisis the store on the corner."

After these and other elemental prin-ciples of good reading are explored,the class may study a simple prose selec-tion, analyzing it for meaning, andsuggesting ways of reading so as to bringout the meanings as located and defined.Teachers of greater experience and in-sight, however, point out that oftenmore instruction and entertainment cancome from the reading of poetry thanof prose, arguing that the poetic impulseis strong in every one and can usuallybe "brought to the surface. I have oftenseen teachers take passages from Shake-speare—something humorous, as fromMidsummer Night's Dream or As YouLike It, or something dramatic, as fromMacbeth or Julius Caesar, and by skill-ful questioning and explaining open upnew possibilities of interpretation forthe students in the class.

Interpretation leads to selections fromthe drama. Short scenes in which two orthree have about an equal number of

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lines are useful for classroom instruc-tion. Exercises in pantomime often pre-cede actual instruction in drama, aspantomime eloquently illustrates thetelling of a story by gesture alone. Ifmaterial is hard to locate, or even if itis not, scenes from Shakespeare are in-teresting, and books may be found inhome, school, and city libraries. "Pyra-mus and Thisbe" from MidsummerNight's Dream is an example; the partsare short and easily learned, and theopportunities for interpretation are end-less. If three or four pupils learn eachpart, various casts may be organized andwork out a variety of interpretations.

The "fundamentals" of speech shouldnot be lost sight of in this array of "ac-tivities." A student whose voice is weakor monotonous may be shown the effectof greater volume or variety both inspeaking and reading situations and inisolated drills. Gesture in speaking andbodily action in pantomime and dramaare ways of helping the stiff and awk-ward pupil to acquire poise and self-assurance. Shyness and timidity may bealleviated in exercises in conversationor reading aloud, by class discussions ofstagefright, and by analytical or intro-spective approaches. In making a courseoutline the teacher should formulatesome statement of goals or aims, thenwork out activities that will help achievethese purposes.

II. VARIETY OF PRESENTATION

My high school teacher of Latin illus-trated complete monotony in her man-agement of the course. Every day theassignment was fifty lines. Each hourbegan by calling upon Miss A to trans-late five lines, followed by a series ofquestions upon grammar and usage. Asthere were ten in the class, and as Mr.R. was seventh in alphabetical order, heregularly prepared in detail lines 31

through 35. She never failed us, and wenever failed her. I suspect we learnedCaesar's Gallic Wars only in five linesegments.

Although college and university stu-dents are patient in the presence of un-inspired teaching, the energy of youngerpupils demands a variety of lively pro-cedures if the class is to be well man-aged. They are more ready to complainabout the same old stuff.

Consider, for example, the weekswhich the teacher has decided to giveto speechmaking. In most classes a timecomes when the students are all talkedout; in that situation the teacher shouldgo to some other unit, such as interpre-tation, coming back to speechmakinglater in the term. The teacher needs alsoto be alert to special opportunities formotivation: an assembly program issufficient excuse to begin work on askit that otherwise might be deferreduntil later on. A teacher should not be-come manacled by a syllabus. Thecourse plan for "13th Wk.—Dec. 5 thru9" simply says, "These assignments rep-resent the best ideas I had last summer"or whenever the syllabus was compiled.Now that 13 th Wk. has actually rolledaround, you may have a better conceptand a nobler vision.

Variety may be achieved in more sub-tle ways than by dropping one activityand taking up another. Suppose youwant to teach pupils something aboutthe management of their bodies, and atthe same time open up an interestingnew series of topics. You may assignsomething like the following:

1. Make a talk using a blackboardsketch, drawing, or map. Suggestions:"Places to Visit in Green County,""What Makes Lightning Strike," "AFloor Plan of My Ideal School," "Howto Read a Contour Map," "Our TripLast Summer," "How to Lay Out a Sub-

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division," "Two Types of Power LawnMowers," "How to Recognize the 1952Automobiles." Variation: Prepare achart instead of a blackboard drawing.

2. Make a talk using an actual objectfor demonstration. Suggestions: "Howto Iron a Shirt," "How to Clean aTrombone," "How to Make ArtificialLures," "How to String a Racket," "Sou-venirs I Have Collected."

3. Make a talk using your body todemonstrate some skill. Suggestions:"How to Model a Dress," "How toJump the Low Hurdles," "How to TapDance," "The Basic Strokes in Tennis,""How to Play Center."

This list of assignments calling forsome bodily action on the part of thespeaker can be greatly extended: the useof pantomime, or the use of talks call-ing for various kinds of conventionalgestures. Assigned in this way, the talksshould call for imagination on the partof the pupils, and should introducevariety into the class hour.

Games, contests, and prizes may beused with interesting results. After around of talks, or interpretations, ordramatic sketches, award a prize to theperson who was the most outstanding,and a prize of equal value to the personwho has shown the most improvement.Winners may be chosen by vote of theclass. The prize itself may be negligible:the presentation of a 5c pencil with ap-propriate flourish and formality can bea memorable event. Sometimes the mostnegligent teachers in this respect are thebeginning teachers, who, although theyhave just left the whirlwind of collegerecognition and prizes, forget that prom-ising high school and grade school pu-pils also like to win a ribbon. Care inplanning will prevent competitive fea-tures from becoming too prominent andkeep educational goals in the fore-ground.

II. THE TEACHER'S PERSONALITYThose who try to interpret the art of

teaching are often baffled by the rela-tionship between the teacher's personal-ity and his effectiveness as a teacher.The problem is complex, since goodteachers have different kinds of per-sonalities. Some succeed because theyare gentle, kind, and patient; others be-cause they are stern, strict, and com-manding. The major contribution maybe made in the classroom, or outside ofit; through the specific subject matterfield, or by a sort of general wisdom; bya broad coverage of the subject, or in-tensive drill on salient points; by direct-ing instruction to average and superiorstudents, or to average and inferior stu-dents. A good teacher may be aloof inthe classroom and informal in personalconversation, or the opposite.

Since good teachers possess these dif-ferent kinds of personalities, the begin-ning teacher should consider withjudiciousness any attempt to oversim-plify the problem. For example, a gooddeal of advice is currently being circu-lated about the importance of gettingthe upper hand, tolerating no nonsense,showing pupils that you mean business,and avoiding familiarity and informal-ity. Since many beginners are inclinedto be overly shy, lacking in confidence,and so eager to please that they are read-ily imposed upon, the admonition to bestern has a commendable utility aboutit, but it is certainly lacking in bothimagination and understanding.

Suppose that a beginning teacher whowants to follow this path of strictnessand exactness decides to begin the schoolyear by laying down a certain amountof law. Students should be seated alpha-betically, in order to separate intimateswho otherwise will create a disturbance.Every one should sit up straight, keephis feet on the floor, and avoid gum-

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chewing. Short tests will be given everyFriday, and at other times, unannounc-ed, as may appear necessary. Threetardinesses equal one absence, and threeunexcused absences deduct n pointsfrom the term grade. Failure to meetan assignment will require a careful ex-planation, preferably one based on anexcuse of the order of a broken leg. Thereader may enlarge this list of rules bydrawing upon his own rich experienceas a student.

Can the personality aspects of class-room management be put more posi-tively and significantly? I think theycan. I do not associate the promisingyoung teachers of my acquaintance withany such rigamarole of rules and regula-tions. Holding in mind the vast indi-vidual differences among teachers, I be-lieve the following four characteristicstend to be prevalent:

Good teaching is alert and vigorous.One teacher may have a great andtremendous sense of fun; another mayhave unusual feeling for the dramaticand inspirational; a third may have un-canny skill in analyzing a speech or acharacterization, revealing both its mer-its and its possibilities for further im-provement; a fourth may be able to ex-plain a principle with unusual interestor clarity. The list may be extendedindefinitely. Contrast these or other de-sirable traits with those of the retiringghost-like, generally ineffectual type ofteacher who is merely a bookkeeper, apresiding officer, or an enforcer of triv-ial rules.

Good teaching draws heavily uponthe teacher's own experiences; thespeeches he has heard, the plays he hasseen, the discussions, debates, andforums he has participated in. A teach-er who knows only the precepts and theexamples given in the text defeats at theoutset the whole purpose of his profes-

sion. This statement is so profoundlytrue that if A says to B, "You can get C'swhole course by reading the text," Bdoes not conclude, "What a phenomen-ally good text!" but instead, "What apoor teacher C must be!" A teachershould choose a text that supports hisgeneral point of view, keeping to itsgeneral terminology and concepts; buthe should adapt it freely to his own sit-uation, omitting chapters, bringing inother materials, and always illuminatingthe text with additional illustrative ma-terial.

Good teaching reflects enthusiasm forthe subject. In the field of speech, onemay draw his enthusiasm from the tra-dition of the subject: many of the basicprinciples of rhetoric and poetic stemfrom Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintil-ian, and others. He may draw his en-thusiasm from the examples of prac-titioners. The outstanding speakers ofthe Anglo-Saxon world have been menof great heart and courage: in our ownday Roosevelt in time of depression,Churchill in time of war, sustained theirlisteners through periods of great dis-couragement. He may draw his en-thusiasm from the practical nature ofhis subject: the usefulness of readingand speaking skills extends to all pe-riods of life and to all fields of activity.One has a greater chance of personal orprofessional success if he can speak andread well. The teacher may draw hisenthusiasm from the experience of see-ing immediately the effects of goodteaching: students in speech classes im-prove not only as performers but as in-dividual personalities. Finally, he maydraw his enthusiasm from the friend-ships formed with his students: this re-ward comes to all teachers, but particu-larly to the teacher of speech, who hasspecial opportunities to get to knowwell a group of talented boys and girls.

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ON FIRST TEACHING SPEECH 7

Good teaching starts with an interestin students. Beginning teachers may beespecially likely to undervalue their in-fluence, and for that reason be undulyreserved in their relations with students.It is easy to forget that throughout mostof their lives pupils have been taught toregard the teacher as a symbol of wis-dom and authority: some of this atti-tude lingers on even among students atthe university level. So unless a teach-er deliberately sets out to undermine theconfidence of his students, he may feelreasonably certain that they will meethim more than halfway. A casual com-pliment even from a beginner will becarried home ("Miss Jones said myspeech this morning was the best sheheard all day"), and if the complimentis an unusual one, the student may re-member it all the years of his life. Ateacher's interest in students, however,is not limited to the giving of compli-ments, but shows itself in a lively aware-ness of home, school, church, and com-munity events.

Perhaps the idea can be illuminatedby an analogy. In a factory I used tooperate a mammoth drill press giventhe magnificently American nicknameof a twenty-one-holer. My job was topick up an aluminum casting, manipu-late a lever, and simultaneously drilltwenty-one accurately-spaced holes. Thecasting then went on to the next oper-ator. In my pessimistic moments aboutAmerican education I visualize teach-ers treating students like castings: eachstudent is casually drilled, then passedon. When eventually the drilling pro-cess loses its lustre not only for students,but, more tragically, for teachers, eventhe best of instruction about speech anddrama becomes vitiated. The remedyis for all parties to the educational trans-action to become better acquainted.When students and teachers take a gen-

uine interest in each other, a day comeswhen every one realizes that the classhas become a special event, students andteacher alike looking forward to it withanticipation. In addition to the feelingof individual accomplishment is thefeeling that real friendships have beenformed.

Students have a way of growing up,entering careers, getting married, andrearing families. From the vantage pointof maturity they will probably alto-gether forget the teacher whose princi-pal concern was the setting up of unin-teresting rules and regulations, whichafter all, have very little to do with thereal art of teaching.

IV. THE TEACHER'S RESPONSIBILITIES

A teacher is a part of the administra-tive machinery, and as such has certainresponsibilities that cannot be avoided.All kinds of forms and reports must beaccurately filled out. Various projects,drives, and campaigns call for attention.One of the most important administra-tive details is the awarding of grades.Administrators hope that each teacherwill be discriminating enough to awardonly a reasonable number of top grades,and not more than a relatively few,easily demonstrated failures. The teach-er may be asked to explain any grade,and for that reason should keep carefulrecords of class and test scores. Theeffectiveness even of superior teachingmay be undone by careless grading. Theteacher of speech has the special prob-lem of rewarding progress as well astalent. If a beginning teacher misgradesstudents, he will be acutely embarrassedas soon as they begin to compare theirmarks.

A teacher's interest should rove be-yond the walls of his classroom. Thewhole school values a teacher whoseloyalty is to the institution, not to just a

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small part of it. The speech teachermust stand up for his own area, but hemust recall that his students take othercourses, and participate in other activi-ties. Teachers should also take part inthe life of the community; a speechteacher has unusual opportunities of thesort. Those who teach in a community,but do not live in it are termed suitcaseteachers; those who teach in a school,but have no interests beyond a singleclassroom, may well be called briefcaseteachers.

A teacher should be alert to the char-acter, health, and safety of his students.While they are in his care, he has theobligation of a parent. Honesty, relia-bility, initiative, judgment, and imagi-nation are qualities to be developedalong with skill in organizing, or amend-ing motions. If a student becomes ill,teachers should immediately see thathe is sent to the school nurse, or senthome, a matter that requires good judg-ment, as he may insist on attending class.If an accident occurs, the teachers shouldput the welfare of the student above allother considerations at the moment. Iwas visiting a school one day when aninth grade girl injured her eye. Theteachers were extremely prompt in sum-moning the school nurse, administeringfirst aid, and notifying the parents; fora few moments the activities of thewhole school seemed to stop until thisgirl was cared for.

As the high school teacher works withyoungsters who are still growing andmaturing, he has a special opportunityto note any developmental disorder.Teachers who have had even a littletraining in speech pathology will notephysical or organic difficulties that af-fect voice and articulation. Sometimesthe first word to parents that their childhas enlarged tonsils or inflamed ade-noid tissue has come from the observa-

tion of an alert teacher of speech. Simpletests, or even the everyday business of re-citing, may show an observant teacherthat a student has a hearing loss. Watch-ing a child bending too low over hisbook, or peering to see something writ-ten on a blackboard, may provide a clueto defective vision. The teacher is not aphysician, and cannot prescribe, but hecan suggest to the parents that theirchild have the proper sort of examina-tion. Time is important. Neglectedtonsils may lead to more serious infec-tion; a hearing loss that is easily cor-rected today may become chronic iftreatment is delayed. Where a teacherhas the advantage over parents is thathe can see their child in comparisonwith many others of his own age, andhe therefore has an opportunity to no-tice behavior that is abnormal.

A school is fortunate that has on itsstaff outstanding teachers of wisdom andexperience. But here I want to say astrong word for the beginning teacher:the young man or woman who startedjust last September, or will start nextSeptember, and who may not even yetbe sure whether his teaching experienceswill grow into a lifetime career, or willbecome merely an episode. We fretover the beginners because they makefoolish mistakes, or because they havenot had enough hours in this or that.Sometimes they are too strict, sometimestoo bookish, sometimes overly-inclinedto give tests, but their virtues of enthu-siasm, fresh point of view, freedom fromfamily responsibilities, and willingnessto expand their time and energy highlycommend them. Exceptions quicklyleap to mind, but as a group the begin-ning teachers supply most of the energyand enthusiasm that brighten the schoolday, and it may be that they also supplytheir full share of the day's inspiration.

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