OAP 22

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194 presentation may be defined as giving indications of the structure of the presentation.

However, it would be an understatement to label this initial part as a simple list of informative items on what to expect during the talk, as the presenter does in fact succeed in performing several other discursive functions, or in some cases creates conditions conducive to the realisation of further functions in the subsequent structural unit. More specifically, the introduction, besides references to structuring, contains utterances suggesting a sense of immediacy, the purposive use of visual support and a degree of audience involvement: So I’m going to speak about what motivation is because we have to know, and then I’m going to speak about the language factor, which is also very import, as you can see it on the handout, and then I’m going to speak about some pedagogical considerations.

In the explication of the first major content point the presenter embeds information into context that carries attributes associated with aspects of relevance and a sense of novelty: So, I have to say that as we’re talking about second language acquisition, motivation is very important in second language acquisition because it has a positive correlation with second language proficiency. The diction employed in this section, in particular, is prosodically marked by the presenter’s personal enthusiasm about the subject matter, occasionally verging on stylistic solutions perceived to be rather extraneous to the register and discourse conventions traditionally associated with OAPs.

As a consequence, the prevalence of second person pronouns in this section does not seem to be directly linked to an attempt at audience involvement but may be regarded as pertinent to the passionate tone used by the speaker: And this is a very nice process: the more you are motivated, the higher goal you are able to achieve. Because if you lack motivation, no goal can be achieved. I think that’s very important.

195 Although the presenter’s predominantly enthusiastic attitude to the subject matter continues to be felt in the section meant to elucidate the theoretical foundations informing the study she is reporting on, a number of features pointing to the emergence of the speaker’s awareness of her audience as well as to several personal renderings of rather complex theoretical discussions, combined with the purposive employment of visual materials, are also present: And now I’m going to define what motivation is.

There are several types of motivation. I’m going to give you one definition. So motivation is energy and direction. And you can see on your handout a quotation about motivation. The addition of her own individual and apparently audience-tailored interpretation is even more prominent in the continuation of her theoretical summary, delineating various classifications of motivation types, with special attention to two kinds, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation: And I think, as you are human beings, and we all go through this dual process, these two types of motivation become one, because if any person wants to reach a goal, this is an extrinsic motivation, but he or she will come to like it because this is a psychological process in my opinion. Moreover, this utterance testifies to the presenter’s efforts to bridge the gap between the subject matter and her audience by underscoring the relevance of the issue concerned, a feature reinforced by interactive instruments, such as personal deictics, enabling the speaker to address her listeners in a direct way as well as to give her message an inclusive embedding. Furthermore, the evaluative nature of this utterance also provides indications of the presenter’s epistemic stance.

In presenting another major theoretical strand, the speaker continues to rely on techniques of audience involvement, including not only the personalised use of visual aids but also emotional engagement. This tendency is patently manifested in the utilisation of a humorous tick figure for visual demonstrational purposes, whereby the

196 presenter manages to prepare a familiar and convivial context allowing audience members to identify with the particular content point in a very informal way and to move to a higher level of social collaboration where the initial separation of voices and roles associated with the presenter and the audience respectively becomes less rigid:

Yeah. And there’s a very interesting thing (the presenter holds up a visual that triggers laughter and amusement on the audience’s part) because when you are motivated, you are not like that because you can see this guy, he is totally out of energy, a totally negative example. And Bloomberg said that (...).

In a further section of this detailed summary of theoretical underpinnings, the presenter furnishes an additional instance of the articulation of her epistemic stance.

Whereas in her previous indication of an epistemic stance, a single and not particularly elaborate evaluative remark did not prove to be sufficient to pass judgement on the presenter’s degree of epistemic cognisance, the following utterance is clearly capable of assigning her to a position approximating the relative expert on account of the allusions she makes to prior theoretical points to emphasise contextual connections: And now I’m going to speak about the language learning motivating factors. Yeah, but this is again intrinsic motivation. Subsequently, to enhance textual coherence within her discourse, she adds a cataphoric reference, which is combined with an implication further improving audience involvement: As I’ve mentioned before, intrinsic motivation is the power in yourself, and this is the highest motivation of all. So be motivated! Yeah. This markedly audience-centred tone is maintained in the remainder of the talk, facilitating the communication of a sense of immediacy specifically suited to the circumstances of audience members: The second thing is the learner related level. I think this is the most important level because without motivation maybe you cannot achieve anything, And the most important thing when you are learner is that you have a strong sense of

self-197 efficacy, self-confidence and goal-orientation. And self-efficacy means that you are aware of your own ability. So it’s very important in my opinion that (...). At the same time, stressing aspects of relevance by means of personalisation, very often even transcending the epistemic framework of the presentation, continues to be an outstanding characteristic of the final section of OAP 22, leading to a punch-line more typical of business presentations: And I think these motivational factors are not just related to second language learning but to all situations of your life. So my last message is be self-confident, have a strong sense of this self-efficacy and you can manage whatever you want to do.

The presenter’s genuine enthusiasm about the subject matter and the unusually personal tone in establishing links between content points and the audience’s reality are also reflected in the types and quantity of interactive devices applied in OAP 22.

Besides the ubiquity of personal deictics, mostly represented by first person singular and second person plural pronouns, this presentation displays extensive use of single-word marker, including so, now, and thing, underscoring the collaborative and occasionally casual stylistic attitude of the speaker.

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