How to Write a Good Conference Proposal

1. How to Write a Good Conference Proposal Limin Zheng Foreign Service Institute zhengl@state.gov

2. To be Discussed • Purpose of proposal • Key elements of a good proposal • Look at three samples during discussion

3. Sample 1 Challenges and solutions for the mastery of Chinese pronunciation by American learners As more and more Americans become interested in learning Chinese, very few are fully prepared for one of the first challenges they face, i.e. how to master the pronunciation and tones within a relatively short period of time. This presentation explores both the positive and the negative influences from English that affect learners’ Chinese pronunciations and tones. Based on these insights, this presentation will propose some feasible solutions for the teachers to teach tones and pronunciation more effectively and for the learners to master the Chinese tones and pronunciations successfully.

4. Purpose of proposal • Inform • Persuade • Organize

5. Sample 1 Challenges and solutions for the mastery of Chinese pronunciation by American learners As more and more Americans become interested in learning Chinese, very few are fully prepared for one of the first challenges they face, i.e. how to master the pronunciation and tones within a relatively short period of time. This presentation explores both the positive and the negative influences from English that affect learners’ Chinese pronunciations and tones. Based on these insights, this presentation will propose some feasible solutions for the teachers to teach tones and pronunciation more effectively and for the learners to master the Chinese tones and pronunciations successfully.

6. Some Key elements of a good proposal 0. Theme and requirements • Good organization • Thesis upfront (clear, well-organized) • Background info/definition of unfamiliar concepts (inform, organize) • The major points (inform and persuade) • Sufficient supporting details!!! (inform and persuade)

7. Sample 2 Teaching Strategies of Use vs. Teaching Grammar: A Case Study of “Unable to” structures [1] Based on a case study of grammatical structures involved in expressing the notion “unable to”, this presentation proposes that, for some complex grammatical phenomena, it is more efficient to teach “the strategies for use” than the actual grammatical rules. [2] The phrase “Strategies for use” refers to a set of guidelines regarding the use of certain grammatical structures in verbal communication.[3]These strategies are not a means to avoid teaching grammar but are based on and extracted from grammatical rules; they are simplified guidelines regarding when to and when not to use certain grammatical structures. The purpose of teaching these strategies is to help students sort out the complex, sometimes entangled mess of grammar rules, reduce the chance of confusion and unnecessary complexity, and provide simplified guidelines for using the sentence structures correctly.[4]The presentation will use the structures expressing the grammatical concept “unable to” as a case study to illustrate the point. [5]The notion “unable to” can be expressed by several grammatical structures such “bú huì (不会)”, “bù néng (不能)”, and the negative potential complements (verb + bù 不 + resultative / descriptive complements). These grammatical entities have distinctive functions as well as some overlaps. A few strategies are proposed regarding when to and when not to use of potential complements, 不會/不会 (buhuì), 不能 (bùnéng) /不可以 ((bù kěy), and ba-structure in relation to potential complements. [6]Some translation exercise is also provided to illustrate how to help students understand, practice and reinforce the use of these strategies. [7] It is hoped that the simplified strategies will help improve students’ ability to use grammatical entities correctly.

8. Organization of Sample 2 [1] Thesis [2] Definition [3] Background information and justification/rationale [4] How (method) the presentation is going to make the point [5] Further detail about the grammatical structures involved [6] How to teach the “strategies (one of the activities to do to help students understand, practice and grasp the strategies) [7] Repeat the purpose or intended effect of the strategies or the presentation

9. Sample 3—Diagnostic exercise How to Help Students Increase Their Reading Vocabulary Rapidly One of the difficulties in developing the reading skill is the huge number of new words students encounter in the reading materials. Without sufficient vocabulary, it will be difficult for the students to study and perceive sentence and discourse structures. Therefore, lack of vocabulary can be a bottleneck in developing their reading skill. Developing a sizable reading vocabulary takes time. First of all, no matter how smart a learner is, s/he has a limited capacity as to how many vocabulary items s/he can take in each day. Secondly, Chinese authentic texts even at very rudimentary level contain the amount of vocabulary way above a beginner’s ability to handle. As a result, students often go through a huge number of authentic texts quickly without improving their reading skill much due to lack of vocabulary. So one of the most important tasks for the teachers is to help students develop sufficient reading vocabulary. This presentation will provide reasons why sufficient vocabulary is the premise for developing the reading skill. It will also demonstrate how to use 5 classroom activities to help students increase their reading vocabulary rapidly so as to lay a foundation for developing reading comprehension skills.

10. To conclude: An effective proposal is one that provides well organized, and sufficient information to help the reviewers to make an accurate judgment about the value of the presentation.

11. Thank you!