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Paper short abstract:

Authors developed a new online platform for intermediate and advanced level of Japanese language learners to improve their presentation skills. It provides guidance for a well-structured presentation draft. It includes typical framework, structures, and sentence patterns for each topic.

Paper long abstract:

Presentations and speeches that encourage autonomous learning among students are commonly addressed in class, but providing individual guidance during class can be difficult. Therefore, presentations are a challenging task for many students. With proper guidance and support, learners can develop their presentation skills and gain confidence in expressing their ideas. The website the presenters developed aims to provide such guidance and support to intermediate and advanced Japanese language learners.

Our research involved a corpus analysis of approximately 50 presentations delivered by both Japanese learners and native speakers. We identified typical sentence patterns in the introduction and conclusion sections, as well as typical structures in the main body for each topic. The website presents this information and enables learners to first construct a framework for their presentation, and then add specific content, thereby enabling them to produce a well-structured presentation draft independently.

Topics on the website include such as introducing a region, how to cook a dish, favorite books, and social issues. For example, the suggested structure for "social issues" topic includes an introduction section comprising "greetings, introduction of the topic, addressing the audience, giving reasons, and explaining the flow of the presentation," a main body consisting of "transition of topics, background of the problem, presentation, explanation and comparison of data, reasons and opinions," and a concluding section consisting of "summary, appeal to the audience, and greetings." The website also provides typical sentence patterns for each structure. For instance, expressions such as "Have you ever heard of/about ?" or "Have you ever thought about ?" are presented for addressing the audience, and learners can use these patterns and insert their own content in the brackets to create their manuscript.

Furthermore, the website also includes a feature that converts written Sino-Japanese words into spoken language, providing learners with appropriate expressions for their presentations.

In conclusion, the website we developed provides valuable guidance and support for intermediate and advanced Japanese learners seeking to improve their presentation skills. By adhering to the suggested structures and sentence patterns, learners can create well-organized and coherent presentations that effectively convey their ideas to their audience.