TOPIC 1 - LISTENING COMPREHENSION (Semester 3 / Phase 1)
Choose one of the 30-to 60-minute programs and listen to it.
Identify the central theme (and thesis) of the podcast and use the show as a springboard to explore the theme: WHY does this topic matter? Why does it matter to YOU? What does it lead on to?
A tutorial lasts 22 minutes :
Introduce the topic/theme (what is it about?) and thesis (what is said about it?) : you may start with CONTEXT, or WHY YOU CARE, or an ANECDOTE, or a COMPELLING FIGURE OR PICTURE.
Discuss what YOU FIND COMPELLING and REMARKABLE, or QUESTIONABLE and DEBATABLE IN THE PROGRAM : compare with other sources, explore where this discussion leads you, what the implications may be...
Sum up what you have discovered, or debunked, and what you'd like to explore next
You may, but don't have to, use a slideshow.
You may structure your presentation in any other way you see fit, as long as there is a structure enabling your tutor to follow it and engage with the topic. In these tutorials we expect you to show a degree of autonomy, research (with references) and critical thinking, as well as social skills : making small talk on arriving, leading the conversation.
Tutorials are an opportunity for you to experience conversation, to become autonomous in your interactions, and to speak without a script. Tutors expect you to talk to them, to make regular eye contact, not read your notes.
Tutorials are not khôlles : students are expected to have a personal take on the podcast, based on their interests and obsessions.
Example :
Intro : I remember being scared because of an unexplained sound I heard as a child... (personal anecdote, 1 to 2')
Quick summary : This episode of Radiolab, Bigger Than Bacon, is like a mystery : we follow the producer as she investigates a mysterious underwater sound which turns out to be caused by a species of shrimps. This mystery has unexpected strategic implications : US submarines hid among pistol or snapping shrimp during WW2 to avoid detection. The producer goes on to disclose the Physics behind the sound. (1')
Exploration (6 to 7') : Here are several paths this first podcast can lead us onto, depending on what we're interested in (in your tutorial, you would choose one of them):
1. use of noises in music and discussion of "noise music" or “concrete music”
2. sounds that have served as camouflage, or have been weaponized
3. soundscapes (my school, my city, my country) and the impact they have on us
4. science research subjects that explore sounds (oceanography, communication between plants etc.)
5. ...
Wrap (30" to 1') : What a journey thanks to better listening! How to become more focused listeners? Upsides and downsides of paying attention to our soundscapes.
TOPIC 2 – Tutor the tutor (Semester 3 / Phase 2)
Engineers spend a fair amount of time learning about, explaining, improving and designing complex and lengthy processes. One difficulty, when describing a process, is gauging what your interlocutor already knows and adjusting your description of the process accordingly. Another difficulty is to avoid or explain jargon.
In this Topic 2 tutorial, you are expected to teach your tutor how to do something that you have become an expert at, or that you are good at doing. 15 out of the 22 minutes will consist in your teaching your tutor how to do something in detail, step by step, and answering their questions and requests for clarification.
Language : You are advised to be mindful of the following
· Action verbs / phrasal verbs
· Syntax: don’t separate verbs and their objects, put the adverbs in the adequate places, use adjectives in the right order
· Sequencing (first, second, next, then, afterwards...last)
· Hypotheses (if... then)
· Passive voice
· Emphasis, effective pauses
· Rephrasing, fielding questions