Speech 2

Foreign Language in Elementary Schools 

Introduction/The Problem/Topic:

-      Statistics: only 18% of Americans are well versed in a language other than English, while 53% of Europeans can speak at least 2 languages 

-      The number of public elementary schools that offer foreign language education has declined from 24% in 1997 to 15% in 2008 

-      (https://dailytrojan.com/2014/11/06/foreign-language-should-be-taught-early-on/) ^^^ cite 

-      Talk about how foreign language is seen as a chore in high school or just a graduation requirement. Foreign languages can be hard to absorb and learn especially with a harder course load, work load, ACT/SAT prep, etc.… More on students plates. 

-      Administrators need to realize that by adding foreign language into education earlier on, it would be easier to learn, have a higher fluency rate, and would make the bridge between the United States and other countries less, making it easier to function and survive as a country, as well as furthering the country by being more aware of the cultures of other languages. 

The Solution:

-      Implement foreign language study time into education early on, for example in elementary school.

-      Hire teachers who are certified in another language that would be able to teach that.

-      This will only begin to help to solve the problem, there is more that could be done, like language clubs or other cultural events that could be offered to educate kids. 

The Justification: 

-      Math and reading and science are absolutely fundamental to a child’s education, but leaving language behind early on hinders a child’s ability to understand cultural diversity which is essential for our country to prosper economically and improve relations with other countries. 

-      “some estimates project that only half the world’s population will be speaking English by 2050”. Teaching only English in elementary education is unacceptable. Our country cannot afford to be left behind 

-      Being proficient in English is an important skill to have, as well as having a proficiency in a second language and should be a crucial part of American education. 

Conclusion:

-      There is a need for students especially at an early age to gain a proficiency in a language separate from English. It would be easier for students to learn it early on, improve knowledge of other cultures, and lessen the tension to take a language later on “just to graduate”. 

Sample Proposals

Individually:

1. Two strengths: organized well, comes off very clearly
    Two weaknesses: explain how it can be improved in more detail, seems a little complicated
2. the proposals ranked in terms of how they make their argument:
#1: NY Times course requirement
#2: Off campus purchases
#3: Nuclear Power

Speech Proposal

Foreign Language in Early Education

Problem
In education today, foreign language can be seen more as a chore than something exciting or something to look forward to. A lot of the time, children won't learn a second language until high school.

Focus
My intended focus on this speech is to emphasize the need for foreign language to be integrated into elementary level education. This can be done by having a specials time or an elective block during the day to learn another language they can carry with them and continue learning in upper and secondary education.

Rationale
This is important because society today is extremely diverse and learning a second language from early on can help to integrate differences in society and classmates in schools. Learning another language wouldn't be the answer to bridging the gap between cultures, but is definitely a start.

Resources
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/world-view/foreign-language-study-should-be-mandatory
https://www.pandatree.com/reason_foreign_language
http://www.meits.org/policy-papers/paper/learning-foreign-languages-in-primary-schools-is-younger-better
https://casls.uoregon.edu/roadmap/resources/data/RoadmapTalkingPoints.pdf

Speech #2

This assignment asks us to create a speech with information on an issue that needs to be fixed. In other words, a proposal. We are asked to include a possible solution to the problem and why it's important that it needs to be solved. We must explain it in a way that's the overall solution, not what people can do individually to solve the problem. We must use at least 3 outside sources to back our argument.
Questions: can this be about anything we want or is it in a specific category? Do we need to use more than 3 sources or just 3?

Reflection on Peer Review

I peer reviewed a paper and some of the comments I wrote could also be applied to my own paper. These comments included making the overall report more concise, adding a references page, double checking APA format, and having more structure to the introduction section. In the introduction section, I could try blending my sources into the other words better. Also some grammatical errors could be found in my paper as well and I could try to fix some run on sentences! Most of the feedback that I gave can be put into my own paper and I can look back at them when reviewing my report.

peer review !!

Introduction and Methods Sections

Introduction 

Greek life on college campuses is something that is constantly debated. Whether it be the party scene, philanthropy events, or members involved in other things, there’s always a lot going on – and not everyone may agree. If “fraternity and sorority life” is put into any search engine, almost every single result is negatively speaking about Greek life. This is something that is extremely controversial and definitely needs to be pulled apart to further understand the other side that many don’t look at upon first glance, the benefits of being a member in Greek life, specifically sororities. Incidents such as hazing are a threat to our community and the bad news reports that surround it. How do members actually a part of this “Greek life” phenomenon view these issues? Many would disagree with the outside eye and bad news reports that are clogging the news today. 

Methods

Participants 

The participants in my survey were members of sororities across campus located at the University of Iowa. The women surveyed all were between freshman and seniors in college, ages 18-24, and all had similar (but different) experiences with Greek life. All surveyed women had come from slightly different backgrounds, had different majors and areas of study, but all shared a common eye for what Greek life is really like. 

Procedures 

The women I surveyed participated in a questionnaire online composed of only 5 questions. All of the questions could be answered on a scale from strongly agreed to strongly disagreed, with agree, neutral, and disagree falling in between the two extreme ends. The questions were simply assessments of whether or not the women felt that different aspects of sorority life were beneficial to their overall college experience and gained a sense of what women thought benefitted them the most. The survey was completely anonymous, only was sent to women of a variety of different chapters at the school, and they knew it was pertaining to Greek life, specifically sororities. 

Synthesis Chart

Sources	USA Today	New Mexico State University	Thought Co.	Greek U
Prepare for careers	Paragraph 11	Paragraph 1 under “academics”	Point 7	Point 1
Friendship	Paragraph 16	“social activities” section	Point 2	Point 2
Giving back to the community	Paragraph 3 under “giving back”	“community service” section	Point 8	Point 5

https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2012/05/08/examining-the-benefits-of-greek-life/37392651/

https://greeklife.nmsu.edu/advantages-of-greek-life/

https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-life-benefits-and-advantages-3570274

https://www.greeku.com/blog/benefits-of-greek-life/

Survey Questions: 

1.    Overall, has your experience in Greek Life bettered your college experience? 

2.    Have your grades improved because of being in a sorority? 

3.    Do you feel like you’re a part of a stronger network that will aid you in finding a job after graduation? 

4.    Have philanthropic events helped you to be more involved in the community?

5.    Do you feel like you’re a part of a social network that makes you more extroverted? 

Topic Proposal

My topic is going to be centered around Greek Life, primarily looking at whether or not members of the Greek community, specifically sororities, found it to be beneficial to their college experience or not. I'm going to send out a survey to women in a chapter here at Iowa and ask around ten questions, some of which may be the following:
- do you feel that being involved in greek life has influenced your academics in a positive way?
- do you feel that being involved in greek life has made you feel more connected to the university?
- do you feel that greek life has better helped you understand philanthropy or community service?
- do you feel that diversity is present in greek life, and how has that changed your views on the community?
- educational sessions provided by greek life have helped me develop more life skills
- I am proud to be a part of greek life at my school
- I am happy I joined the greek community

This topic is important because greek life is something that is very controversial and especially at Iowa may have some negative connotation. I think showing how the members feel and react to certain standards is crucial to the development of the Greek community.

1st Speech.

In the first major speech I thought I did well. I think that everything the rubric was asking for was included in my presentation. I think I did well presenting all the information in a good order so it's understandable and clear. I was confused on the feedback I got back because it was opposite from each other after the rehearsal and the final speech. Some things I was told I did good on during the rehearsal that I didn't change were things I got negative feedback on on my final one. So maybe figuring out what I need to do exactly and having it be more clear would be helpful on the next one. 2 aspects of delivery I need to improve are vocal fillers and not looking at the board. I'll just be more aware of it.

IMRaD vs. Argumentative Essays

There are a few key differences between the IMRaD and a normal argumentative essay like I've written in the past. To start, IMRaD essays are formatted differently, which is the main thing that sets them apart from other types of essays. It goes Introduction, Methods, results, and discussion. Then these can be broken down further into what each of those sections means.

Another difference is that it's often used for lab analyses or other things regarding sciences and analyzing those. Also, including a graph or data is something that I've never had to do in previous writing. Including an abstract is a part of this as well. These things set the IMRaD apart from other types of writing.

Speech #1 Outline

Outline for Speech #1 

Title: Rhetorical Analysis of a Budweiser Commercial 

Introduction 

I.              Dogs are a huge part of our society today and how a family connects. They identify pets as part of their family and without them their family wouldn’t be the same. Picking out a puppy as a little kid and growing up with that dog by your side is a critical part of some people’s childhoods and what they remember from it. Dogs are something that 9 times out of 10 people fall for instantly. This commercial is more about raising awareness for drunk driving than selling their own product, making it a campaign. 

A.   Purpose statement: I want to talk about the connection that Budweiser makes between the dog and beer, which they associate with making the idea of drinking and driving more spoken about in this campaign. To start, I’ll talk about how the dog draws the viewers in from the very beginning. Then I’ll analyze more of the technical aspects, like camera angles and movements the owner and the dog are shown in. To finish, I’ll express how the music and slogan bring a lot of emotion to the campaign. 

B.   Thesis statement: The purpose of this commercial is to raise awareness on the issue of drinking and driving. This is given through the relationship between a man and his best friend, his dog. It ends up being effective because it establishes an emotional connection between the viewers and the dog, ending in relief when they realize the owner made it home, making it relatable to their personal lives. The slogan for this campaign is “Friends Are Waiting”, which totally embodies what this commercial stands for. 

Main Points and Sub Points of Body 

I.              Dogs can be relied on, but they also really rely on you. 

A.   The dog and the owner are playing catch in the opening scene. This shows the playful and fun aspect of the friendship they share. It shows how they’ve grown together. 

B.   The dog is confused but excited when all of the owner’s friends and him leave for a party, carrying the drinks. The dog is shown looking after them from the window, then laying down on the floor, bored. This is the waiting aspect. 

C.    The dog is heard whimpering, sadly waiting all night for the owner to come home. He gets excited when he sees car lights, only to realize it’s not the owner. This is Budweiser highlighting that drinking and driving always leaves someone unaccounted for, and it shows the impacts a stupid decision could make on other people/animals besides yourself. 

Transition: Your dog/pet is always by your side, really highlighting the meaning of a man’s best friend. Budweiser is trying to portray the idea that drinking and driving will always leave someone waiting, and that it’s simply not worth it. 

II.             The camera angles emphasize how the dog appeals to the viewers and the relationship between the owner and pet grows and maintains itself over time. 

A.   The first scene shows the man carrying the puppy, the puppy making eye contact with the audience. This establishes not only a male appeal with “a man’s best friend”, but also makes a very emotional connection with females, appealing to both audiences. 

B.   The slow motion effect of the beginning of the commercial drags the audience in to highlight the good times the owner and puppy have shared and making these valuable to establish pathos. 

Transition: 

III.           The words that appear on the screen and the music are underlying important elements that add to the credibility that Budweiser establishes for itself. 

A.   The music literally says “A lifetime is not long enough to show you what you mean to me”, “I’ll be waiting here for you when you come home to me”, all explaining the storyline. It adds even more emotional importance to the commercial. 

B.   The words that appear on the screen after the owner comes home: “For some, the waiting never ended”, and “But we can change that” establishes credibility for Budweiser. It exemplifies the idea that Budweiser supports having a good time but being responsible, and therefore reinforces the brand. It claims that they are responsible and don’t tolerate drinking and driving. 

Transition: 

Effectiveness 

I.              The main impression the commercial leaves viewers with is the relationships we maintain with pets and others, making it unacceptable to condone drunk driving, which would ruin those friendships and connections. 

A.   The commercial leaves an impression on the viewer’s emotions, at first making them sad and sympathetic for the dog when it has to wait all night. Then, Budweiser is able to turn it around and leave the viewers feeling relief when the owner comes home and explains that he didn’t think driving was a good idea. 

B.   The music and wording towards the end establish extra pathos, only deepening the argument they’re making and using those elements to back it up. 

Transition: 

Conclusion 

I.              Budweiser is able to make a really strong connection between the viewers and feeling sympathetic for the situation they watch unfold. Budweiser raised awareness for the issue of drunk driving and makes sure the viewers are left with the impression that Budweiser does not support drunk driving and considers themselves a responsible and respectable brand. All of the elements I discussed come together to leave the idea that “friends are waiting”, or “friends are counting on you”. 

Analyze My Commercial

The purpose of this commercial is to drink responsibly. It uses the main slogan "friends are waiting", or "friends are counting on you". The commercial is based around making Budweiser seem like a trustworthy brand, because people buy things that make them feel a certain way, particularly good. The sympathetic aspect of this commercial is meaningful and key to the development of the argument it makes.
Some main reasons of why this is effective is because it uses pathos. My commercial is effective because it appeals to both men and women. It appeals to men because of the initial "man's best friend" idea in regards to the dog, but it has such an emotional storyline that it appeals to women as well with the dog looking sad as his owner leaves for the night and he waits all lonely. It appeals to anyone with pets, or anyone that likes pets in general.
The idea behind the campaign is that not many people really take their pets into consideration when they are debating whether to drive home after drinking or not. This is showing that we need to realize we would leave things behind, like a dog, and they would miss us too because we're all they have.
All of this turns Budweiser into a brand that cares, and this makes it more obvious as to why we should buy their products. They care.