978-1260412932 Persuasive Speeches Multicultural Multilingual

424 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Multicultural, Multilingual

1 Perdóneme señor; me perdí. Podría decirme cómo ir al Hotel del Sol?

2 A few of you may know what I just said, “Excuse me, sir. I’m lost. Could you tell me

how to get to the Sun Hotel?” However, some of you may not, even though you had three to four

years of Spanish in high school. I have one question for you: Would you be able to get around in

a foreign country where the language you studied was spoken?

3 According to a class survey I conducted, all of you said that you studied a foreign language

in high school, the majority of you for three to four years. Yet most of you do not have enough

knowledge of the language to use it correctly. In addition, 92 percent of you said you thought it

would have been more helpful to have started your foreign language study earlier.

4 Today I hope to convince you that knowledge of a foreign language is important and that it

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426 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

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Multicultural, Multilingual

Commentary

By analyzing the use of supporting materials in a speech, students often get a better idea of how to use

them in their own speeches. “Multicultural, Multilingual” has a variety of supporting materials and illus-

trates how they can be employed to clarify and bolster a speaker’s ideas. It also provides an opportunity

for students to discuss how the speaker could have employed supporting materials more effectively.

Here is a synopsis of the speech.

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that foreign language instruction should be mandatory in

all U.S. elementary schools.

Central Idea: Mandatory foreign language instruction in all U.S. elementary schools will help prepare

today’s students for interaction in the global economy and in the increasingly multicultural con-

text of the United States itself.

Method of Organization: Problem–solution

Introduction: The introduction consists of paragraphs 1–4. Posing the opening question in Spanish is

428 PERSUASIVE SPEECHES FOR ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

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