Impromptu Speech Testing: How We are doing it Wrong
by B.A. Umaña
There is no denying that among the tests we take as En-
glish and English Teaching majors, the exam model that strikes
the most fear into our hearts is the impromptu speech test.
Semester after semester, I have had to encounter an endless
number of worried glances and tight throats, all belonging to
distressed students that hope their speech will go according
to plan. As they wait outside the testing room, many look over
pages and pages of information about two topics that they
have chosen beforehand, knowing that the evaluating commit-
tee may choose either for them. Being there myself, I know we all make an attempt to remember as many sources and ci-
tations as mentally possible, because if we forget anything of importance, the outcome could be tragic.
As I got ready for the impromptu speech I presented this se-
mester, I started thinking. Sitting there, looking at the infor-
mation for my speech, I wondered: are these tests fair from
-an educational standpoint, that is-?
Well, according to the research I did about impromptu speech testing, it isn’t. According to Stephen Lucas, author of the book The Art of Public Speaking, an impromptu speech “is delivered with little or no immediate preparation” (2008). Boundless Learning, that writes an article on Impromptu speeches, also states that “when called to speak ‘off the cuff’ on the ‘spur of the moment,’ it is usually because the speaker is quite knowledgeable about the subject.” (N.D) Keeping this in mind, we can already say that our school’s method of testing faulty. We are told by teachers to prepare two topics two weeks in advanced, but based on my experience –as well as the experience of many others- this amount of time provided is not enough to become “knowledgeable about the subject.” We are merely introduced to the topic, and must resort to having the information we have gathered in hand in order to take our test. This leads me to believe that these tests don’t even ask for an impromptu speech, but rathera poorly prepared extemporaneous presentation of recently gathered knowledge.
Well, according to the research I did about impromptu speech testing, it isn’t. According to Stephen Lucas, author of the book The Art of Public Speaking, an impromptu speech “is delivered with little or no immediate preparation” (2008). Boundless Learning, that writes an article on Impromptu speeches, also states that “when called to speak ‘off the cuff’ on the ‘spur of the moment,’ it is usually because the speaker is quite knowledgeable about the subject.” (N.D) Keeping this in mind, we can already say that our school’s method of testing faulty. We are told by teachers to prepare two topics two weeks in advanced, but based on my experience –as well as the experience of many others- this amount of time provided is not enough to become “knowledgeable about the subject.” We are merely introduced to the topic, and must resort to having the information we have gathered in hand in order to take our test. This leads me to believe that these tests don’t even ask for an impromptu speech, but rathera poorly prepared extemporaneous presentation of recently gathered knowledge.
According to Boundless Communication, in their article on impromp-
tu speeches, “Impromptu speaking is rarely appropriate for occasions
which require more reasoned discourse with supporting ideas or more
formal events.” Our impromptu speech tests should therefore be
about topics that require little reasoned discourse and no supporting
ideas. If this cannot be the case, then students should at least be al-
lowed to prepare as they should for any extemporaneous speech.
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