Teaching oral presentations at work

Abstract

The ability to deliver successful oral presentations is often considered an important and enviable asset both personally and professionally. Yet the ways in which oral presentations for professional purposes are taught are far from being understood. Specifically, very few studies have examined the teaching of workplace oral presentations in textbooks and the extent to which textbook prescription, presentation and practice mirror actual communicative needs. In an attempt to compare how oral presentations are taught in textbooks and realised in workplaces, this study investigates the coverage of oral presentations in teaching materials designed respectively by three commercial publishers and the government of Hong Kong for a senior secondary module on learning English through workplace communication. First, it compares the nature and frequency of English-language presentations in such textbooks and in Hong Kong’s business world. Second, it determines whether and the extent to which the challenges identified and discussed by Hong Kong professionals in giving oral presentations in authentic business workplaces are addressed by such textbooks. Findings from this study can provide practitioners with concrete guidance on textbook selection. They will also better inform ESP teachers of the actual communicative needs at work and help bridge the gap between textbooks and workplaces.