The Art of Language Evaluation

"Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides." Rita Mae Brown

Most Toastmasters I know react with fear and trepidation when called upon to perform the role of Language Evaluator (LE). Why? They deem themselves inadequate to evaluate others' use of language. But as with everything else, practice makes better. The more you practice the art of language evaluation, the better you will become.

Why become an LE?

As a language evaluator, you will learn the invaluable skills of listening (Project 1), critical thinking (Project 2), giving feedback (Project 3) and time management (Project 4), as outlined in the Competent Leader (CL) Manual. Those embarking on the CL program will be required to take on the role of LE at least once.

What is the purpose of LE? The purpose of LE is threefold: to

expand - members' vocabulary through "Word of the Day";

commend - good usage of the English language; and

recommend - alternatives to incorrect usage of the English language.

Page 72 in the CL manual gives a good guide to the role of a language evaluator. What I would like to share are the dos and don'ts based on my experiences as an LE.

Dos

1. Listen carefully while taking notes. If you miss out something, leave it instead of fretting over it.

2. Instead of using an A4 sheet of paper for taking notes, I prefer to use smaller pieces of paper (notepad size), one or more for each category. This way I can organise my points easily and present more efficiently with palm-sized notes.

3. Point out impressive or impeccable use of the language. Highlight rhetorical devices such as alliteration, metaphors and triads that other speakers can incorporate in their speeches.

4. Only comment on what you are confident about. If, let's say, pronunciation is not your forte, then don't comment on mispronounced words. If you're not sure about a certain word, check the dictionary or leave it. Check it up for next time.

5. Explain how you will categorise your evaluation (e.g. First, I will comment on the use of the "word of the day", then present some recommendations followed by commendations.) That makes it easier for the audience to follow your presentation.

6. Remind the timer to give you the timing sequence (typically it's green at 8 min, amber at 9 min and red at 10 min). Many beginning LEs make the mistake of going overtime.

Donts

1. Don't read out a whole long list of examples for a category. For example, if you had noted 10 examples of alliteration, choose only 3-4 of the more outstanding ones to highlight. Incidental examples of alliteration such as 'sixty-six' are best left out.

2. Don't assume your audience knows what terms like 'alliteration', 'metaphors' and 'triads' mean. Explain their meaning and significance before giving the examples.

3. Don't focus so much on recommendations that you have no time left for commendations, or vice versa. A language evaluation should be balanced and provide learning points from both the correct and incorrect use of the language by speakers.

4. Don't name names for negative examples (e.g. Mary mispronounced the word 'rendezvous''.) unless you know the speaker well. Some speakers may take offence.

There are probably more dos and don'ts other experienced LEs will add to this list. You will too, as you gain more experience. To leave a good impression, always end off your LE on a positive note, either with a quotation you have prepared beforehand or with a statement gleaned from one of the speakers.

My favourite closing: "May we all learn to live well and live to learn well."