After successful completion of the course, students are able to speak and give talks about technical and scientific matters in English. Through giving and observing presentations on a wide variety of subjects, analyzing form and content, and providing and receiving feedback you will increase your technical vocabulary, acquire a natural and confident use of scientific English, and improve your grammar and pronunciation.

This course will make you an effective presenter in English. Each student will give a 10-minute technical presentation with a question and answer session followed by a feedback round. Students will get practice with a variety of presentation media: flipchart, whiteboard, and Powerpoint. Special focus will be given to the following: Presentation Structure and Take-home Message, how to deal with stage fright, the effective use of visuals, how to give and receive feedback and how to use it to improve yourself, vocabulary building, and pronunciation, spelling & word differentiation, avoiding Typical Germanisms.

Every student gives a 1-to-2 minute Self-Introduction, which in combination with an English assessment quiz provides a baseline of the student's abilities in both presentation and English. Each student then gives a 10-minute presentation on a technical, scientific, or business topic of their choice. All students train the art of giving corrective feedback on the topics: Structure - Story & Message, Visuals, Body Language, and Speech & Articulation. There is a written and oral midterm exam, where grammar, pronunciation, and the principles of effective presentation are tested.  This is followed by each student giving a 1-2 minute Elevator Pitch, followed by the final exam. 

AUSKÜNFTE ZUR LVA per e-mail an jeff.crowder@gmx.at, oder claudia.zwittmajer@tuwien.ac.at, oder zu den Sprechzeiten direkt in der Gusshausstrasse 28, 1.Stock bei Claudia Zwittmajer

(20 points)       1-2 minute Self-presentation

(100 points)     10-minute Presentation on a Technical or Scientific Topic 

(15 points)        Feedback: Structure, Story, and Message 

(15 points)        Feedback: Visuals

(15 points)        Feedback: Body Language

(15 points)        Feedback: Speech & Articulation

(20 points)       1 Role: Chairperson, Camera Technician, Heckler, or Coordinator

(100 points)     Midterm Exam: written and oral (Pronunciation)

(100 points)     Final Exam: written and oral (Elevator pitch)

Grading Scale: 

360 – 400              1

320 – 359              2

280 – 319              3

201 – 279              4

   0 – 200               5

Target group: Students of all faculties with English at "Matura" level and above, basic knowledge of the technical language of science according to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) B1/B2 Description of course: Short presentations, communication skills training for discussions and negotiations, Business English.