Oral Presentations

Some students are fearful of giving oral presentations and reports in the classroom. When the language is not their native one the fear becaomes even more intense. Maybe their pronunciation is not good enough, maybe they will forget the material, maybe they cannot memorize everything, maybe...
It as worked for many of my students to bring in their oral reports pre recorded. The student can record their work from a comfortable (non-scary) place they know, have cue cards, and have friends or family help them with their work. If they are not happy with how they have delivered their oral presentation they can do over. This is one thing the students have said they like the most.
By asking the student to hand in the tape or CD, the teacher can see all the effort put into creating their final work. The skills the students acquire are many in the use and management of technology, oral practice, planning, time management, just to mention some.
It has happened that when the student presents their video they tend to be more confident and speak freely about how they completed their work demonstrating their sense of accomplishment.
In my English language class students have recorded stories in historical places like el Morro, Old San Juan and El Yunque, familiar palces like their backyards, local beaches, local plazas. They have presented dramatizations using photos, dolls, puppets and role playing as characters.