pronunciation of presentation in british

how to pronounce presentation

/ˌpɹɛzənˈtɛɪʃən/.

audio example by a male speaker

audio example by a female speaker

the above transcription of presentation is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

presentation is pronounced in four syllables

press buttons with phonetic symbols to learn how to precisely pronounce each sound of presentation

example pitch curve for pronunciation of presentation

Test your pronunciation of presentation.

press the "test" button to check how closely you can replicate the pitch of a native speaker in your pronunciation of presentation

video examples of presentation pronunciation

An example use of presentation in a speech by a native speaker of british english:

“… to make the presentation as effective as …”

meaning of presentation

Presentation is the act of formally sharing information about something to someone.

presentation frequency in english - B2 level of CEFR

the word presentation occurs in english on average 32.1 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for B2 level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.

topics presentation can be related to

it is hard to perfectly classify words into specific topics since each word can have many context of its use, but our machine-learning models believe that presentation can be often used in the following areas:

1) communication, information, and media;

2) people, society, and culture;

words that rhyme with presentation

Did this page help you.

Words and phrases

Personal account.

• Access or purchase personal subscriptions
• Get our newsletter
• Save searches
• Set display preferences

Institutional access

Sign in with library card

Sign in with username / password

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Sign in as administrator on Oxford Academic

Information

British english pronunciations, key to pronunciation.

Pronunciation Model

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence petal /ˈpɛtl/ but petally /ˈpɛtl̩i/ .

Other symbols

The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that the syllable is pronounced with primary stress. The symbol ˌ indicates secondary stress. Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within is optional.

The Third Edition of the  OED  gives British English pronunciations rooted largely in the model of Received Pronunciation’ (RP) developed by Professor Clive Upton for Oxford Dictionaries since the 1990s. In the following section, we provide an overview and definition of the term ‘RP’, but there are several key points which encapsulate our broad approach to OED British English pronunciation. Perhaps most importantly, RP for  OED  is not concerned with prescribing ‘correctness’, nor is it an intentionally ‘prestigious’ or class-linked variety but, as Upton describes in  The Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English  (Upton & Kretzschmar 2017, hereafter  RDP ), ‘that accent which will be most widely acceptable, as well as most intelligible’ to native British English speakers, ‘and to which the speech of very many of them will in turn approximate closely’ (p.xiv). Both in the model and in the range of variant pronunciations provided,  OED  holds to the same principle as Jones (1917, p.viii-ix), who concisely explained:

‘I should like here to state that I have no intention of becoming either a reformer of pronunciation or a judge who decides what pronunciations are “good and what are “bad. The proper function of the phonetician is to observe and record accurately, to be, in fact, a kind of living phonograph. It may be as well to add that I am not one of those who believe in the desirability or the feasibility of setting up any one form of pronunciation as a standard for the English-speaking world.’

Upton’s model as described in  RDP  is similarly broad in this respect: ‘the criterion for inclusion being what is heard to be used by educated, non-regionally-marked speakers rather than what is “allowed by a preconceived model.’ With that in mind, for an  OED  user to fully appreciate the variety being described by  OED ’s British English pronunciation model, several points need to be made clear:

• the form of RP being described is still an ‘accent’. It is one variety of English pronunciation, not attempting to span all feasible ‘British’ pronunciations;
• regionally, it remains more prevalent in south-east England, but is found across Great Britain and the use of these forms will not immediately associate the speaker with being from any specific geographical location;
• the inclusion of systematic variants, e.g., both /bɑːθ/ and /baθ/ for  bath , are in part reflective of regional influence on the variety as a whole. ‘RP’ speakers may vary in this respect, and though there are tendencies for RP speakers from certain geographical roots to prefer one variant over another (legitimately covered by an RP which is not exclusively southern-British), a direct correspondence cannot entirely be claimed.

It is also vital to appreciate that transcriptions are phonological or ‘phonemic’, rather than phonetic per se . Although the adopted symbols for each sound attempt to reflect something of their phonetic (articulatory) nature in correspondence with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), they are inherently phonemes: the minimally  contrastive  speech sound units in a variety, highlighting where the substitution of one sound for another may make a difference to the meaning of the word. Each phoneme has a range of possible allophones (ways of realizing or articulating it) depending on context and/or speaker preference. Consequently, RP transcriptions should not be viewed as representing one individual’s pronunciation. Even though there will be a single sound file attached to each, the sound file demonstrates just one feasible way of realizing the string of phonemes which constitute the transcription.

Defining RP

The term RP is much debated. Many linguists argue that it is outdated, reflecting the prestigious standard of the socially and economically elite; a socially acceptable (i.e., ‘received’) form based on the speech of privately-educated men and their families (the ‘Public School Pronunciation’ described by Jones 1917). In his analysis and deconstruction of RP, Wells (1982) highlighted the variation within it, distinguishing between ‘mainstream RP’, ‘U-RP’ (‘upper crust’ RP), ‘adoptive RP’ (for speakers who did not acquire RP as children) and even ‘quasi-RP’ (varying from adoptive RP in certain allophonic respects), and ‘near-RP’ (not falling with the definition of RP but with few clearly regional features).

In attempts to steer towards a broader and more contemporary conceptualization free of the more objectionable social connotations of ‘RP’, many alternative names have been proposed, including ‘Modern Received Pronunciation’, ‘Standard Southern British English’, ‘BBC English’ (see, e.g., Roach 2004), and ‘Non-Regional Pronunciation’. The last of these is described by Collins & Mees (2013, p.4) as reflecting ‘a more encompassing neutral type of modern British English but one which nevertheless lacks obvious local accent features’, one which allows ‘for the present-day range of variation to be heard from educated middle and younger generation speakers in England who have a pronunciation which cannot be pinned down to a specific area’. Yet another term experiencing some revival is that of ‘General British’ (GB), first proposed by Windsor Lewis (1972) but more recently adopted by Cruttenden (2014) and Carley, Mees & Collins (2018). Maidment’s (2016)  Speech Internet Dictionary  focuses its definition of GB on it being the ‘British accent whose varieties are least associated with any specific areas of Great Britain’ and notes it is the variety which is the ‘most frequent model employed in the teaching of British English as an additional language’. There is a locus of GB speakers in south-east England, but GB can readily be found in smaller numbers across Great Britain, including in Wales and Scotland (Cruttenden 2014), which offers some justification for referring to  OED ’s variety as British rather than English. It is the lack of specifically regional accent features which perhaps best characterizes the variety of British English represented in  OED .

All of these attempts to redefined and re-encapsulate this British variety have merit, but an alternative is to view RP as a more flexible concept which evolves with societal views of standard or regionally neutral forms. Upton’s view of RP followed the lead of A.C. Gimson in looking to a redefined, ‘diluted’ RP which is not so narrow in social and geographical representation (see Upton 2008, which is also a useful summary of much of the  OED  model). His description of vowel qualities reflects the symbols he adopted for  OED , for  The Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English  (Upton, Kretzschmar & Konopka 2001, hereafter  CDP ), and its second edition  RDP  (Upton & Kretzschmar 2017).

Except for the final four keywords in the table above, the British vowels correspond to Upton 2008’s vowel qualities. Several choices are worthy of comment here. dress and trap reflect a general lowering of RP’s short front vowels, particularly the use of /a/ rather than /æ/ (as historically and even often contemporarily used, and the symbol chosen for OED ’s U.S. English model). bath words have been addressed briefly above, though Upton further details the increasing centralization and shortening of the /ɑː/ variant as well as the influence of otherwise RP speakers who diverge only in use of bath /a/ . Upton et al.’s justification for including both within CDP is that the variety is not exclusively southern-British, and explains that its inclusion fits the ‘diluted’ RP form being described. In this model, entries that would have traditionally been included in Wells’ cloth set are losing their more traditional /ɔː/ transcriptions as words such as  cross  and  soft  are now typically /ɒ/ for the vast majority of RP speakers. Upton adopts the broader central mid quality of /əː/ for nurse rather than the /ɜː/ common in many RP transcriptions.

For many RP speakers, square is not diphthongal as traditionally regarded but a tense monophthong in the region of the dress vowel. price begins with a quality between centralized front and centralized back, better reflected as /ʌɪ/ than the traditional and still widely-used /aɪ/ . Although retraction of the start quality is noted in mouth words too (as Cruttenden 2014, p.149 explains, ‘at a point between the back and front open positions, more fronted than the position for GB /ɑː/ ’), the extent of retraction from front is not necessarily very significant, and no alternative representation to /aʊ/ has gained widespread attraction. cure , traditionally and still not infrequently /ʊə/ , is joined by monophthongal /ɔː/ , leading to homophones such as  moor  and  more  for some RP speakers.

Supplementing the strong vowels are a range of weak vowel qualities. Weak vowels in RP have traditionally included /ɪ/ , /ə/ , and /ʊ/ . Word-final /ɪ/ in happy is now more often /i/ , though in non-utterance-final flowing speech may be less close and front, a possibility covered by the use of /ɪ/ in such cases (e.g.,  Betty Crocker ). It should not be assumed that the use of /ɪ/ here implies the same as a ‘trad-RP’ happy vowel.  CDP ’s novel approach to vowel qualities falling on the continuum between /ɪ/ and /ə/ and between /ə/ and /ʊ/ has been adopted into  OED , using the symbols /ᵻ/ and /ᵿ/ respectively.

Finally, the above table includes two accepted nasalized vowels in the British English model, /ã/ (as in  gratin ) and /ɒ̃/ (as in  bouillon ). Nasalized vowels are exclusively found within loan words that have not become fully naturalized in English, but where anglicization is evident and speakers are not code-switching. The common RP pronunciation retains a nod to its etymology in the form of a nasalized vowel quality (i.e., airflow directed through oral and nasal cavities simultaneously).

Several consonant features warrant discussion here: ‘non-English’ sounds, glottal stops, /r/ , /j/ , nasal assimilation,  wh , and syllabic consonants. RP consonants are consistently described as a set of 24: six plosives ( /p, t, k, b, d, ɡ/ ), nine fricatives ( /f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h/ ), two affricates ( /tʃ, dʒ/ ), three nasals ( /m, n, ŋ/ ), and four approximants of which one is lateral ( /r, w, j/ and /l/ ). To these  OED  adds two other consonants which, like nasalized vowels, are routinely accepted in otherwise anglicized loans depending on the root. The voiceless velar fricative /x/ is preserved by many RP speakers in Irish and Scottish Gaelic loans such as  loch/lough , and the voiceless alveolar lateral fricative /ɬ/ may similarly appear in Welsh loans such as  penillion .

British English in  OED  is non-rhotic, so /r/ does not pattern as it does in, say, U.S. English. ‘Linking’ /r/ , i.e. ‘retained historical post-vocalic word-final /r/ occurring before a vowel in the following word’ (Upton 2008, p.249) or more broadly where there is an orthographic ‘r’ not pronounced when the word is pronounced in isolation, is routinely included in  OED . ‘Intrusive’ /r/ , where no ‘underlying’ /r/ or orthographic ‘r’ exists and which does not factor in traditional RP, is nonetheless commonplace and is represented by /(r)/ .

Coalescence of /tj/ , /dj/ , /sj/ , and /zj/ to /tʃ/ , /dʒ/ , /ʃ/ , and /ʒ/ respectively is represented by the inclusion of both forms, e.g.,  traduce  as both /trəˈdjuːs/ and /trəˈdʒuːs/ . Historical /lj/ and /sj/ syllable onsets, such as in  lucid  and  suit , are increasingly without /j/ in RP, and for this reason are either bracketed or presented as separate variants (in part with view to the sound files, which by default record all bracketed segments as articulated; separate entries permit the more common pronunciation to have its own sound file).

Segments that are frequently elided in natural speech are bracketed (e.g.  softness   /ˈsɒf(t)nəs/ ). Representation of assimilation (the tendency for certain consonants to assume features of neighbouring ones in particular contexts) is limited, as these are often predictable by rule (see, e.g., Roach 2009) and to do so would introduce considerable numbers of additional and potentially unnecessary variants. Consequently, despite  light bulb  being frequently [ˈlʌɪp bʌlb] and  handbag  being [ˈhambaɡ] , they remain /ˈlʌɪt bʌlb/ and /ˈhan(d)baɡ/ respectively. One form of assimilation that is explicitly recognized is the assimilation of /n/ to /ŋ/ , in words such as  ungallant . Factors of stress and the salience of any morpheme boundary are evaluated in determining between /n/ only, /ŋ/ only, or both.

The sequence  wh  in words such as  when  and  which  is historically more of a voiceless labial-velar fricative, often transcribed lexicographically as /hw/ . Though this remains a feature of Scottish English and a variable feature of U.S. English, it has dropped rapidly as a feature of RP, and all such  OED  entries are purely /w/ .

Syllabic consonants are extremely common in RP, though generally limited in British English to /n/ , /l/ and /m/ (very rarely /ŋ/ ).  OED  indicates these with a subscript diacritic syllabic marker, not shown if the only logical articulation would be to syllabify such a consonant, hence  little  as /ˈlɪtl/ (the final /l/ must be syllabic).

Prosodically, British English is described with one primary stress in each entry, barring some interjections which may have multiple primary stresses where more than one syllable is equally weighted (and monosyllables, where no stress mark is appropriate). Compared with some of the other  OED  Englishes, the primary stressed syllable often has considerably greater prominence than other syllables and so secondary stresses are less frequently marked (e.g., British English blackbird   /ˈblakbəːd/ is marked with a primary only, compared with U.S. /ˈblækˌbərd/ ). Affixes and combining forms do not have their ‘partial’ pronunciations transcribed, but instead supply a statement of their typical effect on primary stress placement. Adjectives are given their predicative stress pattern, rather than with attributive stress-shift (hence  overpaid  as in  the manager was  /ˌəʊvəˈpeɪd/ , not with the stress on the first syllable as in  the  /ˌəʊvəpeɪd ˈmanᵻdʒə/ ).

Exclusions and/or Audio-Only Features

The use of a glottal stop [ʔ] as an allophone of /t/ between vowels in RP is still not widespread (e.g.  butter  is usually [ˈbʌtə] not [ˈbʌʔə] ). However, the glottal stop is often found as a /t/ allophone before nonsyllabic consonants such as in  Gatwick ,  Rottweiler  (Upton 2008). There are can also be glottally – reinforced /p, t, k, tʃ/ sounds in which a glottal stop supports the closure in the oral cavity, as in  stop ,  wait, hike, much . Glottal closures may also support vowels in some contexts.  OED  does not represent glottal stops in transcriptions, even though they may even be present in the soundfiles, because they are not phonemically distinctive. That is, they never make a difference to the meaning of a word in and of themselves ( [ˈbʌʔə] and [ˈbʌtə] both always mean  butter , just as [ˈneɪtʃə] and [ˈneɪ ʔ tʃə] both mean  nature ), because glottal stops or glottal reinforcement simply contribute to the range of allophones of one of the English phonemes.

British English Pronunciations throughout the OED’s History

Transcribed pronunciations were a feature of James Murray’s original  A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles  ( NED ), known from the 1890s onwards as the first edition of the  OED . To Murray, such transcriptions were an essential inclusion, since they sought to represent ‘the actual living form or forms of a word, that is,  the word itself , of which the current spelling is only a symbolization’ (Vol. I, p.xxiv). Pronunciations have consequently retained a special status in  OED , such that the aim is not to encompass an evolution of pronunciations nor prescribe pronunciations faithful to entries’ etymologies, but to give the current form(s) of each ‘living word’; ‘the  latest fact  in the form-history of the word’.

Pronunciations in  OED  are therefore reflective of the principle that language is first and foremost  spoken . And yet new words may be formed on orthographic bases, leading to challenges such as those Murray describes: ‘On several occasions, the Editor has applied directly to the introducer of a word, to know how he pronounces it, or means it to be pronounced, and has received the answer, that he has never thought of its pronunciation, does not presume to say how it ought to be pronounced, and leave it to people to pronounce as they like, or to the Dictionary to say what is the  right  pronunciation. This, of course, reverses the natural order of language, in which speech comes first, and writing is only its symbolization; for here the first thing is the written symbol addressed to the eye […], while, for ‘pronunciation’, anything passes muster which suffices to recall the written symbol in question, just as any reading of a mathematical formula passes muster, if it enables an auditor to write down the formula again.’ (Vol. I, p.xi)

The transcriptions of  NED  would not be fully recognizable to modern  OED  users. Murray’s attempt to represent all ‘simple’ sounds by one symbol apiece remains very much part of modern segmental phonetics and phonology, but accepted notation has evolved, largely in light of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) which came along just too late for the beginnings of the dictionary’s publication in 1884 (the first version of the IPA was published in 1888). A key to  NED ’s pronunciations is reproduced  here . The Second Edition of  OED  converted Murray’s notation to a more IPA-based system (a key to these unrevised transcriptions can be found  here ), and the model for the Third Edition is broadened and reformulated as discussed above. Minor refinements continue to be introduced as the Dictionary evolves. Since OED does not set out to trace the pronunciation developments of each entry in great detail but primarily to provide current pronunciations, not every alteration is systematically noted. However, where there is a significant change between editions, editorial notes in the etymology of an entry record the earlier pronunciation.

Carley, P., Mees, I.M. & Collins, B. 2018.  English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice . London: Routledge.

Collins, B. & Mees, I.M. 2013.  Practical Phonetics and Phonology . 3 rd  edn. Abingdon: Routledge.

Cruttenden, A. 2014.  Gimson’s Pronunciation of English . 8 th  edn. Abingdon: Routledge.

Jones, D. 1917.  English Pronouncing Dictionary . London: Dent.

Jones, D. 2011.  Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary . 18 th  edn. Edited by P. Roach, J. Setter, & J. Esling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Maidment, J. 2016.  Speech Internet Dictionary  [Online Resource]. Accessed 17/06/20 at http://blogjam.name/sid/  

Roach, P. 2004. British English: Received Pronunciation.  Journal of the International Phonetic Association , 34(2), pp.239-245.

Roach, P. 2009.  English Phonetics and Phonology . 4 th  edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Upton, C. & Kretzschmar, W. 2017.  The Routledge Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English.  Abingdon: Routledge.

Upton, C. 2008. Received Pronunciation.  In:  B. Kortmann & C. Upton, eds.  Varieties of English 1: the British Isles.  Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp.237-252.

Upton, C., Kretzschmar, W. & Konopka, R. 2001.  Oxford Dictionary of Pronunciation for Current English.  Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wells, J. C. 2008.  Longman Pronouncing Dictionary . 3 rd  edn. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Wells, J.C. 1982.  Accents of English 2: The British Isles . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Windsor Lewis, J. 1972.  A Concise Pronouncing Dictionary of British and American English . London: Oxford University Press.

Browse information

• Dictionaries home
• American English
• Collocations
• German-English
• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Recent additions
• Resources home
• Text Checker

Definition of presentation noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

presentation

• presentation on/about somebody/something The sales manager will give a presentation on the new products.
• Several speakers will be making short presentations .
• The conference will begin with a keynote presentation by a leading industry figure.
• a slide/video/multimedia presentation
• presentation on

Questions about grammar and vocabulary?

Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.

• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court.
• The presentation of prizes began after the speeches.
• The Mayor will make the presentation (= hand over the gift) herself.
• on presentation of something Members will be admitted on presentation of a membership card.
• a presentation copy (= a free book given by the author or publisher )
• a presentation ceremony/evening
• presentation to
• Improving the product's presentation (= the way it is wrapped, advertised, etc.) should increase sales.
• I admire the clear, logical presentation of her arguments.
• The main emphasis of the training will be on presentation skills .
• I've put my presentation on a memory stick.
• the school's annual presentation evening
• [countable] a performance of a play, etc. in a theatre
• [countable, uncountable] ( medical ) the position in which a baby is lying in the mother’s body just before birth

Nearby words

To support our work, we invite you to accept cookies or to subscribe.

You have chosen not to accept cookies when visiting our site.

The content available on our site is the result of the daily efforts of our editors. They all work towards a single goal: to provide you with rich, high-quality content. All this is possible thanks to the income generated by advertising and subscriptions.

By giving your consent or subscribing, you are supporting the work of our editorial team and ensuring the long-term future of our site.

If you already have purchased a subscription, please log in

What is the pronunciation of 'presentation' in English?

Phonetics content data source explained in this page .

Collocations

Culture & travel, pronunciation.

Context sentences

• open_in_new Link to source
• warning Request revision
• prescribing
• prescription
• prescriptions
• presentable
• presentation
• presentations
• presentment
• preservation
• preservationist
• preservationists

Social Login

Presentation - pronunciation: audio and phonetic transcription

Presentation, american english:, [ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃən] ipa, /prezntayshuhn/ phonetic spelling.

British English:

[ˌprezənˈteɪʃən] ipa, /prezuhntayshuhn/ phonetic spelling.

Watch my latest YouTube video "Don't use a dictionary when you learn a language!"

Practice pronunciation of presentation and other English words with our Pronunciation Trainer. Try it for free! No registration required.

American English British English

Do you learn or teach English?

We know sometimes English may seem complicated. We don't want you to waste your time.

Check all our tools and learn English faster!

Add the word to a word list

Edit transcription, save text and transcription in a note, we invite you to sign up, check subscription options.

Sign up for a trial and get a free access to this feature!

Please buy a subscription to get access to this feature!

In order to get access to all lessons, you need to buy the subscription Premium .

Phonetic symbols cheat sheet

presentation - transcription, translation and pronunciation online

Transcription and pronunciation of the word " presentation " in British and American variants. Detailed translation and examples.

Definition of 'presentation'

• presentation

presentation in British English

Presentation in american english, examples of 'presentation' in a sentence presentation, cobuild collocations presentation, trends of presentation.

View usage for: All Years Last 10 years Last 50 years Last 100 years Last 300 years

Browse alphabetically presentation

• present-day
• present-day reality
• presentable
• presentation box
• presentation ceremony
• presentation copy
• All ENGLISH words that begin with 'P'

Related terms of presentation

• award presentation
• brief presentation
• medal presentation
• oral presentation
• View more related words

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Score: 0 / 5

Wordle Helper

Scrabble Tools

• Professional development
• Planning lessons and courses

Student presentations

In this article I would like to give you a few tips and some advice on what I've learned from helping students prepare and deliver presentations.

• Why I get students to do presentations
• Syllabus fit
• Planning a presentation lesson
• Classroom Management

Why I get students to do presentations Presentations are a great way to have students practise all language systems areas (vocabulary, grammar, discourse and phonology) and skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening). They also build confidence, and presenting is a skill that most people will need in the world of work. I find that students who are good presenters are better communicators all round, since they are able to structure and express their ideas clearly.

• Presentation skills are extremely useful both in and outside the classroom. After completing a project, a presentation is a channel for students to share with others what they have learned. It is also a chance to challenge and expand on their understanding of the topic by having others ask questions. And in the world of work, a confident presenter is able to inform and persuade colleagues effectively.
• Presentations can also form a natural part of task based learning. By focussing on a particular language point or skill, the presentation is a very practical way to revise and extend book, pair and group work. The audience can also be set a task, for example, a set of questions to answer on the presentation, which is a way of getting students to listen to each other.

Syllabus fit Normally the presentation will come towards the end of a lesson or series of lessons that focus on a particular language or skill area. It is a type of freer practice. This is because the students need to feel relatively confident about what they are doing before they stand up and do it in front of other people. If I have been teaching the past simple plus time phrases to tell a story, for example, I give my students plenty of controlled and semi controlled practice activities, such as gapfills, drills and information swaps before I ask them to present on, say, an important event in their country's history, which involves much freer use of the target grammar point.

Planning a presentation lesson Normally a presentation lesson will have an outline like this:

• Revision of key language areas
• Example presentation, which could be from a textbook or given by the teacher
• Students are given a transcript or outline of the presentation
• Students identify key stages of the example presentation – greeting, introduction, main points in order of importance, conclusion
• Focus on linking and signalling words ('Next…', 'Now I'd like you to look at…', etc.). Students underline these in the transcript/place them in the correct order
• Students are put into small groups and write down aims
• Students then write down key points which they order, as in the example
• Students decide who is going to say what and how
• Students prepare visuals (keep the time for this limited as too many visuals become distracting)
• Students practise at their tables
• Students deliver the presentations in front of the class, with the audience having an observation task to complete (see 'Assessment' below)
• The teacher takes notes for feedback later

It is important that the students plan and deliver the presentations in groups at first, unless they are extremely confident and/or fluent. This is because:

• Shy students cannot present alone
• Students can support each other before, during and after the presentation
• Getting ready for the presentation is a practice task in itself
• When you have a large class, it takes a very long time for everyone to present individually!

I find it's a good idea to spend time training students in setting clear aims. It is also important that as teachers we think clearly about why we are asking students to present.

Aims Presentations normally have one or more of the following aims:

• To inform/ raise awareness of an important issue
• To persuade people to do something
• Form part of an exam, demonstrating public speaking/presentation skills in a first or second language

I set students a task where they answer these questions:

• Why are you making the presentation?
• What do you want people to learn?
• How are you going to make it interesting?

Let's say I want to tell people about volcanoes. I want people to know about why volcanoes form and why they erupt. This would be an informative/awareness-raising presentation. So by the end, everyone should know something new about volcanoes, and they should be able to tell others about them. My plan might look like this:

• Introduction - what is a volcano? (2 minutes)
• Types of volcano (5 minutes)
• Volcanoes around the world (2 minutes)
• My favourite volcano (2 minutes)
• Conclusion (2-3 minutes)
• Questions (2 minutes)

Classroom Management I find that presentation lessons pass very quickly, due the large amount of preparation involved. With a class of 20 students, it will probably take at least 3 hours. With feedback and follow-up tasks, it can last even longer. I try to put students into groups of 3 or 4 with classes of up to 20 students, and larger groups of 5 or 6 with classes up to 40. If you have a class larger than 40, it would be a good idea to do the presentation in a hall or even outside.

Classroom management can become difficult during a presentations lesson, especially during the final presenting stage, as the presenters are partly responsible for managing the class! There are a few points I find effective here:

• Training students to stand near people who are chatting and talk 'through' the chatter, by demonstration
• Training students to stop talking if chatter continues, again by demonstration
• Asking for the audience's attention ('Can I have your attention please?')
• Setting the audience an observation task, which is also assessed by the teacher
• Limiting the amount of time spent preparing visuals
• Arranging furniture so everyone is facing the front

Most of these points are self-explanatory, but I will cover the observation task in more detail in the next section, which deals with assessment. 

Assessment The teacher needs to carefully consider the assessment criteria, so that s/he can give meaningful feedback. I usually run through a checklist that covers:

• Level - I can't expect Elementary students to use a wide range of tenses or vocabulary, for example, but I'd expect Advanced students to have clear pronunciation and to use a wide range of vocabulary and grammar
• Age - Younger learners do not (normally) have the maturity or general knowledge of adults, and the teacher's expectations need to reflect this
• Needs - What kind of students are they? Business English students need to have much more sophisticated communication skills than others. Students who are preparing for an exam need to practise the skills that will be assessed in the exam.

I write a list of language related points I'm looking for. This covers:

• Range / accuracy of vocabulary
• Range / accuracy of grammar
• Presentation / discourse management- is it well structured? What linking words are used and how?
• Use of visuals- Do they help or hinder the presentation?
• Paralinguistic features

'Paralinguistics' refers to non-verbal communication. This is important in a presentation because eye contact, directing your voice to all parts of the room, using pitch and tone to keep attention and so on are all part of engaging an audience.

I find it's a good idea to let students in on the assessment process by setting them a peer observation task. The simplest way to do this is to write a checklist that relates to the aims of the lesson. A task for presentations on major historical events might have a checklist like this:

• Does the presenter greet the audience? YES/NO
• Does the presenter use the past tense? YES/NO

And so on. This normally helps me to keep all members of the audience awake. To be really sure, though, I include a question that involves personal response to the presentation such as 'What did you like about this presentation and why?'. If working with young learners, it's a good idea to tell them you will look at their answers to the observation task. Otherwise they might simply tick random answers!

Conclusion Presentations are a great way to practise a wide range of skills and to build the general confidence of your students. Due to problems with timing, I would recommend one lesson per term, building confidence bit by bit throughout the year. In a school curriculum this leaves time to get through the core syllabus and prepare for exams.

Presentations - Adult students

• Log in or register to post comments

Presentation Article

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight

• Pronunciation
• Try to pronounce
• Collections

Learn how to pronounce presentation

Presentation.

• Very difficult

Show more fewer Voices

IPA : prez(ə)nˈteɪʃn

Have you finished your recording?

Phonetic spelling of presentation

p-resent-a-tion 0 rating rating ratings Marcos McClure p-re-sen-ta-tion 0 rating rating ratings Private pre-sen-ta-tion 0 rating rating ratings Gerrit Mabaso prez-uh n-tey-shuh n 0 rating rating ratings Fredy Willms

Thanks for contributing

You are not logged in..

Please Log in or Register or post as a guest

Meanings for presentation

Show more fewer Meanings

Synonyms for presentation

Show more fewer Synonyms

Learn more about the word "presentation" , its origin, alternative forms, and usage from Wiktionary.

Quiz on presentation

{{ quiz.name }}

{{ quiz.questions_count }} Questions

Show more fewer Quiz

Collections on presentation

-{{collection.uname}}

Show more fewer Collections

Examples of in a sentence

Show more fewer Sentence

presentation should be in sentence

Add presentation details

presentation pronunciation with meanings, synonyms, antonyms, translations, sentences and more

Correct way to pronounce chinche in spanish is, popular collections, olympique lyon squad / player list 2020-21, manchester united players list 2020, french words, popular quizzes.

Trending on HowToPronounce

• lakers [en]
• Adrian Newey [en]
• Menai Bridge [en]
• Raleigh [en]
• Adrian [en]
• rwanda [en]
• SCOTT MORRISON [en]
• Azotus [en]
• Feyenoord [en]
• Chris Philp [en]
• Charlotte [en]
• Ricky Pearsall [en]

Word of the day

Latest word submissions, recently viewed words, flag word/pronunciation, create a quiz.

• Expressions
• Musical terms
• Nationality
• Swear words
• Common Phrases
• Text to Speech

Auto Sound ---

• Common phrases

Improve Your English Pronunciation with Howjsay - The Free Online Audio Dictionary and Translation Tool .top_section { min-height:300px; }

Instantly hear a word pronounced on enter. one word per entry..

pronunciation of

Search form

• Speaking exams
• Typical speaking tasks

Oral presentation

Giving an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam can be quite scary, but we're here to help you. Watch two students giving presentations and then read the tips carefully. Which tips do they follow? Which ones don’t they follow?

Instructions

Watch the video of two students doing an oral presentation as part of a speaking exam. Then read the tips below.

Melissa: Hi, everyone! Today I would like to talk about how to become the most popular teen in school.

Firstly, I think getting good academic results is the first factor to make you become popular since, having a good academic result, your teacher will award you in front of your schoolmates. Then, your schoolmates will know who you are and maybe they would like to get to know you because they want to learn something good from you.

Secondly, I think participating in school clubs and student unions can help to make you become popular, since after participating in these school clubs or student union, people will know who you are and it can help you to make friends all around the school, no matter senior forms or junior forms.

In conclusion, I think to become the most popular teen in school we need to have good academic results and also participate in school clubs and student union. Thank you!

Kelvin: Good evening, everyone! So, today I want to talk about whether the sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.

As we all know, cigarettes are not good for our health, not only oneself but also other people around. Moreover, many people die of lung cancer every year because of smoking cigarettes.

But, should the government make it illegal? I don’t think so, because Hong Kong is a place where people can enjoy lots of freedom and if the government banned the sale of cigarettes, many people would disagree with this and stand up to fight for their freedom.

Moreover, Hong Kong is a free market. If there's such a huge government intervention, I think it’s not good for Hong Kong’s economy.

So, if the government wants people to stop smoking cigarettes, what should it do? I think the government can use other administrative ways to do so, for example education and increasing the tax on cigarettes. Also, the government can ban the smokers smoking in public areas. So, this is the end of my presentation. Thank you.

It’s not easy to give a good oral presentation but these tips will help you. Here are our top tips for oral presentations.

• Use the planning time to prepare what you’re going to say. 
• If you are allowed to have a note card, write short notes in point form.
• Use more formal language.
• Use short, simple sentences to express your ideas clearly.
• Pause from time to time and don’t speak too quickly. This allows the listener to understand your ideas. Include a short pause after each idea.
• Speak clearly and at the right volume.
• Have your notes ready in case you forget anything.
• Practise your presentation. If possible record yourself and listen to your presentation. If you can’t record yourself, ask a friend to listen to you. Does your friend understand you?
• Make your opinions very clear. Use expressions to give your opinion .
• Look at the people who are listening to you.
• Write out the whole presentation and learn every word by heart. 
• Write out the whole presentation and read it aloud.
• Use very informal language.
• Only look at your note card. It’s important to look up at your listeners when you are speaking.

Useful language for presentations

Explain what your presentation is about at the beginning:

I’m going to talk about ... I’d like to talk about ... The main focus of this presentation is ...

Use these expressions to order your ideas:

First of all, ... Firstly, ... Then, ... Secondly, ... Next, ... Finally, ... Lastly, ... To sum up, ... In conclusion, ...

Use these expressions to add more ideas from the same point of view:

In addition, ... What’s more, ... Also, ... Added to this, ...

To introduce the opposite point of view you can use these words and expressions:

However, ... On the other hand, ... Then again, ...

Example presentation topics

• Violent computer games should be banned.
• The sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
• Homework should be limited to just two nights a week.
• Should school students be required to wear a school uniform?
• How to become the most popular teen in school.
• Dogs should be banned from cities.

Check your language: ordering - parts of a presentation

Check your understanding: grouping - useful phrases, worksheets and downloads.

Do you think these tips will help you in your next speaking exam? Remember to tell us how well you do in future speaking exams!  

Sign up to our newsletter for LearnEnglish Teens

We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. Read our privacy policy for more information.

Business English

• How to answer the telephone in English
• How to give a company tour in English
• Giving presentations
• Pronunciation of technical vocabulary
• Planning your presentation
• Presentation software
• Phrases for presentations
• English grammar and vocabulary
• English grammar exercises
• B2 level materials
• Listen and read - stories
• Listen and read - grammar
• Practising English podcasts
• Games and activities

Presentations in English: part 1

Using the correct technical language and adequate pronunciation..

Most professionals already know the technical language or English "jargon" relevant to their particular field. However, many may be more proficient with reading technical terminology and could be less familiar with pronouncing the expressions correctly in English.

If the words you need to know are long or complicated to pronounce, you could practise them before giving the presentation in English. One way to do this is by using a free Text to Speech programme (TTS). Insert sentences into the box which include the technical words and select a British English or American English voice if possible. Do not worry that the voice is machine generated. For pronunciation practice of individual words the quality is usually adequate.* You can often download an Mp3 version to keep.

Practice makes perfect

If you want your audience to understand you correctly during the presentation, practise your own pronunciation of technical vocabulary by copying the TTS extracts as mp3 files and then recording and listening to your own voice and comparing the two versions. Keep the TTS extracts on your laptop or mobile device for listening practice on the day the presentation starts, if possible.

Part 2 - Planning your presentation

*Machine generated TTS software often has problems with intonation (rising or falling voice in questions or stressing particular words etc.) but if you use it only for practice of how to pronounce particular words in English, you should find it very useful.

Copyright © 2023 Practising English All rights reserved

• More from M-W
• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

presentation

Definition of presentation

• fairing [ British ]
• freebee
• largess

Examples of presentation in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'presentation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing presentation

• breech presentation

Dictionary Entries Near presentation

present arms

presentation copy

Cite this Entry

“Presentation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/presentation. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of presentation, medical definition, medical definition of presentation, more from merriam-webster on presentation.

Nglish: Translation of presentation for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of presentation for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about presentation

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

English pronunciation of British

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

(English pronunciations of British from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus and from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary , both sources © Cambridge University Press)

Word of the Day

anonymously

without the name of someone who has done a particular thing being known or made public

Dead ringers and peas in pods (Talking about similarities, Part 2)

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• All translations

To add ${headword} to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.