Language Learning and Educational Linguistics 2015-2016
言語学習と教育言語学:2015 年度版

Presentation practices:Re-construction of identity and intercultural communication
Ayako NAMBA
Language Education Center, Okayama University
2-1-1, Tsushima Naka, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan
E-mail: anamba@okayama-u.ac.jp
Abstract This study aims to explore effective ways of preparing and delivering persuasive presentations. Japanese people
are often considered as having low proficiency in intercultural communication, especially public speaking in such settings as
business meetings. A common phenomenon is that consensus building among business partners who come from different
cultures tends to be challenging in Japan. As many Japanese people struggle to communicate in English in various internationalsettings, Japanese college students have been greatly encouraged to develop more practical English skills, as prerequisites toplaying an active role in global society. In developing such skills related to intercultural communication, however, students
should also be supported in considering their own identity. Thus, I will demonstrate the relationship between presentation
practices and identity issues through class activities using case studies. Students need to develop “communicative flexibility”(Gumperz and Gumperz, 1982) in dealing with both their own cultural perspective and the different views that are directly
connected to their target language and culture to cope with both local and global contexts.
Keywords: presentation practice, identity, communicative flexibility, intercultural communication, public space

プレゼンテーションの実践―アイデンティティの再構築と異文化コミュニケーション―
難波 彩子
岡山大学言語教育センター〒700-8530 岡山市北区津島中 2-1-1
E-mail: anamba@okayama-u.ac.jp
あらまし 一般的に日本人は外国人とのコミュニケーションが関わる仕事の会議など，いわゆる公共の場におけるコミュニケーションに対して苦手意識が強いと言われることが多い．その結果，日本人にとって海外の取引先な
どのやりとりを通して何も問題なく取引の合意に至ることは非常に難しい．多くの日本人が国際的な場所で，英語でやりとりを上手くこなしていくことに奮闘している．このような苦い背景に基づいて，現在日本の大学生はこうしたグローバルな社会で活躍するために，より実践的な英語力を養うことが大きく求められている．異文化コミュ
ニケーションが関連づけられたこのような力を培うには，学生が自分のアイデンティティを考慮することも非常に重要である．従って本稿では，説得力のあるプレゼンテーションが可能となる効果的な方法を検討し，プレゼンテーションの授業で行った授業活動を通して，プレゼンテーションの実践とアイデンティティ問題の関連性について述べる．ローカルとグローバルの両方を組み込むことによって，学生自身の持つ文化的視点と目標言語文化，つまり自分とは異なる文化的視点，の両方を上手く扱うことで「対話の柔軟性 (communicative flexibility) 」（Gumperz andGumperz, 1982）を養うことが重要であることを示唆する．
キーワード プレゼンテーションの実践，アイデンティティ，コミュニケーションの柔軟性，異文化コミュニケーション，公共での空間
Ayako NAMBA, " Presentation practices: Re-construction of identity and intercultural communication,"
言語学習と教育言語学 2015 年度版, pp. 45-51, 日本英語教育学会編集委員会編集, 早稲田大学情報教育研究所発行, 2016 年 3 月 31 日.
Copyright © 2015-2016 by Ayako NAMBA, All rights reserved.

1. Introductionpoor

His quotation suggests the importance of understanding

intercultural communicators, especially in public speaking.

one’s identity deeply by associating it with one’s method

Despite such a shortcoming, Japanese college students arefor communication.

The

Japanesearecommonly

deemedas

encouraged to study abroad or participate in internship

Identity has two distinctive features. The first feature

programs overseas to increase the number of the students

is social identity. In this regard, Berstein (1964, 1996)

who can play an important role in international settings.

distinguished between two languages in a society. The

As the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andfirst type is called “restricted code,” which is used inTechnology (MEXT) actively promotes such students,

public, mainly by working class people. The second typestudents’“elaborated code” is used in more formal situations,communicative skills for them to thrive in global society.

mainly by middle class people. Certain facets of identity

One such skill would be presenting in English. However,are revealed by focusing on the relationship between the

English programs that provide such training remainsocial system and people’s language use.

each

university

is

urged

to

develop

The second feature, cultural aspects, gives in-depth

unavailable to many students. In addition, although
identity issues are significant for students when dealing

detailsonidentity.

Barnlund(1975)

identifiedawith intercultural communication, few studies have dealt

distinction between the cultural identity of the Japanesewith such a perspective focusing on presentation practices.

and American:

This study thus aims to explore effective ways ofdelivering persuasive presentations. In examining these

Japanese

AmericanUUmethods, the research clarifies the relationship between
identity issues and presentation practices through the cl ass
preparation and activities. The outcomes of this research
may thus contribute to the studies of English Education
andinterculturalcommunication,bysuggestingtheimportance of developing “communicative flexibi lity”(Gumperz

andGumperz,

1982)

in

relation

Private selftore-constructing one’s identity.

Public self
Figure 1. Japanese and American people tend to havedifferent views of their public and private selves.
(Barnlund, 1975, partly revised by the author.)

2. Identity
People are unlikely to be constantly self-aware in daily
life. However, grasping one’s identity is indispensable for

Figure 1 shows a contrast between “public self” anda deep consideration of the close relationship between the“private self” in the two cultures and languages: 1) the

self and social interaction. Joseph (2004) characterized

Japanese have a narrow range of public self, whereas

identity as follows:

Americans have the wide range of it; and 2) the Japanese
have a wide range of private self, whereas Americans have…[L]anguage and identity are ultimately

a narrow one.

inseparable ---again, independent from any

In

Japanese

communication,

such

a

distinction

considerations of ‘consciousness’[…]. Thinking

between the public and private self is also significant toabout language and identity ought to improvegrasp the relationship between the self and others in

our understanding of who we are, in our own

particular. Miyake (1994) illustrated three types of social

eyes and in other people’s, and consequently it

and personal relationships, namely, uchi (in-group), soto

should deepen our comprehension of social(out-group), and yoso (out-group of out-group), which areinteraction. Each of us, after all, is engaged withsensitively distinguished from one another in Japanese

language in a lifelong project of constructing

communication. These relationships also closely relate to

who we are, and who everyone is that we must,

language use. For instance, the Japanese are expected toor whose utterances we simply hear o r read.

use honorifics to show their respect to their interlocutor(s)(Joseph, 2004: 13-14)

in the case of soto (out-group) or yoso (out-group of46

out-group) relationships.

3. Learning

Another difference in identity recognition between
focusing on distinctive communication

andorganizationofacademic presentations

Japanese and American cultures is in communication style.
Inprocess

Practicing presentation skills by dealing with projects

styles inis an essential way of learning English communication

business meetings, Yamada (1997: 20) concluded thatstyles for the public space that can ultimately develop“implied” is better than “spoken” in Japanese interaction,

students’

whereas the other way around applies in American

regarded only as training output English skills, such as

interaction. She also suggests that interdependence isspeaking. However, views of these practices come frompreferred overindividuality in Japanese interaction,

developing all of the four English skills, namely, speaking,whereas independence is stronger than interdependence inlistening, reading, and writing, through preparing each

American interaction. However, Yamada (1997:21) also

project. It is also dispensable for Japanese learners who

noted that each speaker performs fair play in attempting tostudy English as a second language to experience al l of theachieve their goals in interaction, as each has a logic allprocesses of dealing with one project, and thus recognize aon its own.

different

Reflecting

suchcharacteristics

ofculturalcommunicative

logic

betweenflexibility.

the

This

Japanese

might

and

be

Englishlanguages.

identities on communicative performance could often
occur in learning a second language. The degree to which

3.1 Presentation processlearners can acquire a more flexible attitude in theirStudents must recognize the coherent process for theculturally different communication without ignoring the ir

achievement of a successful presentation b y experiencing

own identity is a most significant point. Sociolinguists

and dealing with their own project. This process has three

Gumperz and Gumperz (1982) mention ed that people

basic steps: planning, preparing, and presenting:facingintercultural

settings

needtoachieve“communicative flexibility. ” Communicative flexibility

Step 1: Planning (brainstorming, outlining)refers to the ability in adapting strategies depending on

Step 2: Preparing

the audience and cues, both direct and indirect, so that the(searching for references,

participants are able to monitor and understand at least

conducting detailed research, making

parts

of

one

another ’smeaning(Gumpertz

andslides, and practicing talking)Cook-Gumperz, 1982: 14). The ability to expose enough

Step 3: Presentingof the implicit meaning to make for a satisfactory
encounter

different

The first step always begins with planning. Brainstorming

speakers requires communicative flexibility (Gumperz andbetweenfor possible themes through group discussions is essential

Cook-Gumperz, 1982: 14). As for learning English at thein this phase. Indeed, brainstorming is indispensable

college level, the instruction needs to be underpinned by awhether beginning a new teamwork-based (Wood, 2011) or

focus on developing learners’ communicative flexibility inindividual project. The goal of this activity in -group work

additionis to come up with as many ideas as possible leading

tostrangers

helpingthemorculturally

recognize

their

own

communication style that reflects their cultural identity.

toward evaluative discussion (Wood, 2011). In individual

The discussion of identity issues encompasses suchprojects, students may adopt good ideas or discard

streams as gender, generation, and ethnicity. However, theimpractical ones after brainstorming. The next step incurrent work focuses on language, social interaction, andplanning is to prepare an outline of the project. Instructors

cultural diversities, as these directly relate to learning

must emphasize these two steps as invaluable to theEnglish as a second language. Attaining a balance between

success of students’ projects.

students’ own identity and the identity connected to the

Step

2

or

preparingcoversvariousactivities:

target language and culture must be highly challenging.

searching for references, conducting in-depth research,

Therefore, class activities blending these two identities

creating PowerPoint slides, and having a dry run as manyareusefultodevelopstudents’

input

and

communication skills. The detail on suchoutputtimes as possible, based on the outline. This step is in fact

activities

the same as writing an essay or paper, except the output isthrough presentation classes will be discussed below.

a PowerPoint slideshow.
Searching for references tends to be a daunting task

47

for students, as it is challenging to find and choose whichused to the logical structure associated with English

information is trustworthy or credible. Hence, how the

because

instructors

theircommunication styles between Japanese and English.

independent study outside classes is vital for such a work.

Kaplan (1966: 21) reported the variety of cultural thoughtStudents may need training in reading and collecting

patterns at play, particularly the two distinctions between

journal articles, especially those directly connected to“English” and “Oriental.” The English pattern is indicatedtheir specialty or what they would like to pursue in theirby an arrow, whereas the “Oriental” one, reflecting

future career. They can then become aware of theJapanese thought pattern, is described as a spiral with animportance of media literacy by developing analyticalarrow. In the English pattern, speakers start with anskills through experiencing and reading a variety ofimportant statement, which is then directly connected toin-depth materials.

the conclusion. In the Japanese pattern, however, theencourage

students

to

work

on

of

the

significant

differences

in

the

In conducting research, students should not limit

important aspects come at the very last, after thethemselves to searching for useful references. Emphasis

introductory remarks and background. These patterns

should be given on conducting original research. Whether

suggest how such different cultural thought patterns

to have or skip this stage might rely on the students’

influence diverse communicative behaviors between them.

academic level, but it is a good opportunity for them to

In consideration for these differences , Japanese students

start organizing their own research. Recruiting classmates,

must adopt the different pattern and be flexible in English

instructors, and international students to participate in alearning.

questionnaire survey can be a good start as one of the

Toward this end, Japanese students are strongly

possible research methods. This method enables students

encouraged to master basic writing and presentation

to pursue both quantitative and qualitative research.

organization reflecting the English pattern , especially in

The PowerPoint slides prepared in the third phasedealing with an academic presentation. For instance,

should reflect the outline and the original research. Indeed,

students need to grasp the basics of the paragraphwhether or not the outline has a clear and logical structure

structure because it illustrates how a main point should be

influences the successful outcome of making the slides. In

stated in the beginning as a topic sentence. English

this sense, the outline organization cannot be overlooked.

speakers might take it for granted t hat this sentence should

The final preparation phase is practicing the actual

be noted at first. However, this practice is unfamiliar topresentation. Many students are likely to skip this final

Japanese speakers owing to their “Oriental” cultural

stage, perhaps because they tend to allocate nearly all

thought patterns. Instructors should be aware of the needtheir time to the previous steps in th e preparation process.

to

teach

this

basic

patterntostudents.

Becoming

acquainted to the English pattern is directly related to the

3.2 Organization of an academic presentation

successful outcome of delivering a clear and logicalThis part requires awareness of the difference in logic

presentation.

between Japanese and English and flexib ility to use suchOnce students understand the way of structuringawareness in accordance with the context. In other words,

paragraphs, the next step is instruction on the presentation

communicative flexibility, coupled with recognition of

structure (incorporated by the essay organization). The

one’s identity, is the foremost skill required. One way is tooverall organization is described below:

ensure logical and coherent organization in dealing withEnglish to help others, especially non-Japanese speakers,

1. Introduction

follow the discussion smoothly. As mentioned in Section 2,

Research question or motivation

the identity recognition between Japanese and American

Purpose of this study

speakers is different from one another in dealing with their

Thesis statement

communication styles. The characteristic of that “implied”

2. Body 1 (Topic sentence 1) 1

is better than “spoken” in Japanese interaction may

Evidence and findings

connect to the fact that Japanese speakers are poor

3. Body 2 (Topic sentence 2)

communicators in public speaking. In order to overcome

1 Parts of the body are based on the organization ofacademic presentations in general; however, anotheroption, such as “IMRAD,” should be noted to math andscience students in the advanced class.

this situation, to develop the logical skill is necessary.
Of course, it takes time for Japanese students to get

48

The

Evidence and findings

second-year students since 2013 at the university, where

4. Body 3 (Topic sentence 3)

the author teaches, and the classes are compulsory

Evidence, findings, and solutions

subjects. In addition to this class, presentation practice

5. Conclusion

has been introduced in other classes taught by the author,

Summarysuch as Advanced Class (elective course), Listening, andStrong conclusion

Writing, all offered to first- and second-year students. The

References

list of courses with presentation practices is as follows:

so-called

Englishpatternisreflected

in・ Compulsory courses (second-year students)

theintroduction section: it should b egin with the main points

Integrated English 5 (Presentation)and then state the research questions, purpose of the study,

Integrated English 5 (Writing)and thesis statement. Students need to understand theirIntegrated English 5 (Listening)
・ Compulsory courses (first-year students)

main points to grasp the larger picture of their theme.
Therefore, instructors are expected to emphasize theIntegrated English 1 (Speaking)importance of the purpose of the study and thesis

Integrated English 3 (Writing)statement in the introduction (Wood, 2011).

Integrated English 4 (Listening)
・ Elective course (all students)

The parts of the body should logically support what
was specified in the thesis statement. Students need to

Advanced English

note whether the beginning of each part starts with a topic
sentence, or the main idea of the part. Based on this,

Althoughsupporting details, such as statistics and quotations from

Advanced English fully cover presentation skills andprevious studies, must be provided. In the case of science-practices, other classes focusing on one skill (e .g.,based projects, this part should cover the overview oflistening and writing) also partly covers presentation

previous studies, methods including data collection andskills by dealing with a project that involves giving a

specific frameworks for the forthcoming analysis, findings,

presentation. Regarding the above compulsory classes,

and the related discussions or solutions toward thethey are divided into three groups (arts, natural science s,

research questions raised in the introduction. Lastly, theand life sciences). The arts group consists of the Faculties

paper

that

of Letters, Economics, Law, and Matching Program

summarizes the discussion in the body, followed by final(taking courses through multiple faculties) ; the natural

remarks that give a strong impact to the audience. A

sciencesnotable point should be whether the thesis statements in

Engineering, Agriculture, and Environmental Science; andthe introduction and what was described in the concl usion

the life sciences group covers the Faculties of Medicine,are coherent and closely connected. In understanding

Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical sciences. Advanced English

certain forms and patterns of each part in the academic

has no restrictions in terms of student major.

must

end

with

a

concluding

paragraph

Integrated

group

Englishincludesthe

5(Presentation)

FacultiesofandScience,presentation, students can apply the logical organization

The focus here will be on Integrated English

adopted in the English pattern. Grasping the basic(presentation) and Advanced English because presentation

organization of English communication through making

practices are fully covered in these classes.

such an outline and slides is the first step toward

4.1 Goals of the presentation course

recognizing the differences in logic between Japanese andEnglishandinidentityrecognition

betweenthese

The goals of Integrated English (presentation) are・ To help students learn effective ways of persuasive

speakers.

presentations

4. Case study(Organization, communication styles in public)
・To help students consider how they can be “themselves”

The case study will involve presentation classes theauthor taught in the past to highlight ways for students to(Adjusting and maintaining their own identities indevelop their communicative flexibility and consider theirintercultural contexts)

identity. As a background, presentation classes under・ To deepen students’ understanding and respect ofcoursescross-cultural perspectives

in

the

liberal

arts

have

been

offeredfor49second: individual presentation) 2 are held in the mid-term(Customs, habits, and communication styles)

and finals of each semester, respectively. Both types of
The class activities toward these goals are explained in thepresentation are based on a 10-minute talk and thenfollowing sub-sections.

followedbyaquestion-and-answer

portion.

Eachpresenter needs to prepare two discussion points to

4.2 Class activities

encourage the class to discuss the presentation theme. The

Integrated English (presentation) has five main

two presentations follow the process and organization ofactivities:

projects and presentations described in Section 3. As・ TED reports to learn presentation skills

regards the connection between the presentation themes

Listen to two favorite talks and write a report about themand identity issues, the first presentation is designed toevery other week.

consider certain local perspectives (e.g., culture and・ Super-mini talks

habits surrounding students) 3 to help students recognize

Prepare a three- to five-minute talk at home on a theme

their own identity. On the other hand, the second project isgiven in each class, and give the talk to a different partner

designed to give them an opportunity to deepen theirthree or four times by shuffling partners.

perspective in more global and intercultur al contexts by・ Class discussions and reflections

associating

Watch both non-Japanese and Japanese celebrities’

intended career path. The students are expected tospeeches and interviews and have group and classconsider different systems, values, custo ms and rules fromdiscussions.

their own ones and to understand the differences of

their discussion

with

their

specialty ortoidentity recognition between them 4 . By dealing with bothintercultural perspectives and have group and classlocal and global contexts, they can have opportunities todiscussions.

reflect on themselves and face issues on who they are andReadthroughnews

orjournalarticlesrelatedWrite down a 400-word reflection on the themes.

who they will be. This relates to “the self [as an]

・ Two presentations

ever-changing system of perspectives that is formed and

1) Organize a project under a couple of choices forsustained in communication with others and ourselves”

in-group presentation style (themes: my hometown, my(Wood, 2011: 181). Hence, the process of constructing orrole model, and ecology and environment) .

re-constructing the self or identity is not static but rather,

2) Organize a project on each student’s academic interest

dynamic. One student’s reflection on his project of “myassociated with intercultural perspectives and their own

hometown” revealed a connection between the project andspecialty.

his own identity issue:

・ Essay writing
Write two academic essays on the themes dealing with the[B]y talking to my friend about my hometown,

above two presentations in more than 500 words.

I realized why I love Osaka now […]. Actually I
didn’t like Osaka when I lived there because it

The rationale for these activities come from the following

was [a] noisy place. But [after] leaving Osaka

aspects: 1) to help students utilize all of the four English

and living in Okayama, I noticed that I liked theskills, 2) to develop students’ input and output skills

kind of “mess” of Osaka which consists of many

related to delivering presentations, and 3) to deepensounds…like the noises of trains or cars andstudents’ understanding and knowledge of various themes

voices of people who speak [the] Osaka dialect.

featured in each class, and to encourage them to have their

I don’t know why I like it, but it is somehow a

own creative and critical views for each theme. TED
reports, super-mini talks, and group and class discussions

2

Each form of presentation depends on class size. If
the number of the students is small, the two presentations
are individual in nature. Otherwise, both presentations aredone according to the in -group presentation style.
3 Some examples of the first project are, “My
hometown,” “My role model,” and so on.
4 The examples of the second project are, “Deathpenalty,” “Same-sex marriage,” “Different medical
systems between Japan and America,” “Social security
program in Sweden,” and so on.

on various themes are designed to lead the students todevelopcertainbasic

skillstoperform

their

two

presentations successfully.

4.3 Presentations
Two class presentations (first: in-group presentation;

50

part of me. I like Osaka since it’s a messy place.

Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science,

In conclusion, this presentation gave me the

2014-2017 (Grant No. 26770142 , “The role of listenership

opportunity to think about my hometown and myin modern Japanese society: The intersection between

presentation style […].

generation, gender, and cross-culture”). In addition, I
would like to express thanks to two anonymous reviewers

Working on such a project has posed to students thewho gave me precious comments.

significant issue of who they are though merely one
assignment in English class. In this regard, instructors canReferences

indirectly tell their students that their identity will be
re-constructed

throughvariousencounters[1]

Gumperz,

John,

and

Jenny

Cook-Gumperz.

andIntroduction: Language and the communication of social

communication with others when facing different cultures,

identity. In John Gumperz (ed.), Language and social

values, and customs. Recognizing their own identity andidentity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1-21,

respecting others’ cultural values would be indispensable

1982.

under such a circumstance. In this sense, learning students’[2] Joseph, John, E. 2004. Language and identity.

communicative flexibility would be key to their success inPalgrave Macmillan, New York, 2004.

diverse intercultural settings.

[3] Berstein, Basil. Social class, speech systems andpsycho-therapy. British Journal of Sociology 15, 54-64,

5. Concluding remarks
The

discussion

1964.

has

addressed

howacademic[4] Bernstein, Basil. Pedagogy, symbolic control andpresentation practices could relate to the (re-) construction

identity: theory, research, critique . Taylor and Francis,of college students’ identity by helping them consider

London, 1996.

intercultural perspectives. Further, the study has proposed[5]

Barnlund, Dean C. Public and private self in

learning English as a second language as a means toJapan and the United States. The Simul Press, Tokyo,

develop communicative flexibility. As specific steps, the1975.

work has presented both the essential preparations and[6] Miyake, Kazuko. Nihonjin no gengo kodou pataan –effective ways of delivering persuasive presentationsuchi, soto, yoso ishiki –[Patterns of Japanese language

through dealing with an academic project. The actual

behaviors: In-group, out-group, out-group of out-group].

practices in the author’s presentation classes clarified how

Proceedings of Japanese Language Education at the

specially designed activities could give students theForeign Students Center, Tsukuba University 9, Tokyo,

precious opportunity to consider the ir own identity at

29-39, 1994.

present or who they are and in the future time or who they[7] Yamada, Haru. Different games, different rules.

will be. The first project could tell students the importanceOxford University Press, Oxford, 1997.

of recognizing their own identity under local contexts[8]

surrounding themselves, and the second project could thenWood, Julia. Communication mosaics. Wadsworth,

M.A., 2011.

show them the pleasure to discover certain distinctive[9]

Kaplan, Robert B. Cultural thought patterns inways which derive from different cultures and societies byinter-cultural education. Language Learning 16 (1-2),

dealing with more global contexts. As further issues, it

1-20, 1966.

would be necessary to give the students a task t o take[10]

notes on their identity recognition and communicative
flexibility through those two projects. To conclude, thepresentation

experiencesandsignificanceof developing

practices

indicate

communicative

theflexibility

associated with re-constructing one’s identity in dealing
with certain intercultural perspectives.

Acknowledgements
This study is supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific

51

TED. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com.