実践ビジネス英語 ディクテーション (6/16,17)

こんにちは。NHKラジオ「実践ビジネス英語」”Talk the Talk”のディクテーションです。
Lesson5のテーマは、‘Fostering Soft Skills’（ソフトスキルを育む）でした。Vignetteでは、コミュニケーション、批判的な思考、自己管理、チームワークなどのソフトスキルの重要性が増していること、学校の宿題は子供たちがそのスキルを培うのに役立つことなどが話題になりました。
“Talk the Talk”では、Heatherさんが出そうと思う宿題や、重要だと考えるスキルなどについて話されています。

Fostering Soft Skills
（S: 杉田敏先生　H: Heather Howardさん）

S: Our current vignette starts off with questions about Johnny Appleseed, an American figure I’m sure you’re familiar with, Heather.

H: Well, I certainly knew the name and the famous image Johnny Appleseed is an iconic figure in American history.
In the name of full disclosure, however, I’ll admit that I didn’t know much about the specific details of his life.
I had a vague image of a man who planted the trees that produced succulent apples for people to eat.
However, I did some checking for today’s talk and found that wasn’t actually the case.

S: Oh? What do you mean?

H: Johnny Appleseed did plant many trees.
But according to an article I read, their apples weren’t primarily used for eating.
They were for making hard apple cider, an alcoholic drink popular at that time.
Also his planting was part of a specific business plan―to make a long story short, settlers in a certain area were required to plant 50 apple trees and 20 peach trees in three years to prove their settlement was permanent.
Chapman, to use Mr. Appleseed’s real name, cultivated these orchards and then sold them to settlers when they arrived.

S: Interesting. As I recall, you were initially confused by the time reference regarding the Magna Carta.

H: I was. I didn’t realize that was a mnemonic device for remembering the year the Magna Carta was signed.
I’d never heard that one before.
So I actually looked online trying to find information that would corroborate its being signed at that exact time.

S: The conversation soon moves on to the merits and demerits of homework.
Do you feel it’s beneficial for young people, Heather?

H: I do. Of course, too much is never good, but dispensed in proper amounts, homework helps students burnish a wide range of skills.
That includes researching topics, choosing the most important information, and conveying it in lucid, interesting terms.
Students also learn time management―they have to plan when to get everything done―and personal discipline.
If I was a teacher assigning homework, I’d try to get the kids to do as much as possible on their own initiative.
Give them general areas and tasks as guidelines, but let them choose the specifics of what they want to present and how.
Creative thinking is so important in adult life, it’s never too soon to start developing that skill.
Extra points for really original ideas, like presenting your entire report as a rap song.

S: What other kinds of things would you want them to do?

H: I’d strongly emphasize public speaking and presentations.
Being able to grab people’s attention straightaway, and hold it, is a highly valuable skill in the grown-up world.
As part of that, students should practice being concise.
I don’t know how many rambling presentations I’ve sat through in my life, and they’re just murder.
In an ideal world, I’d ask kids to submit a rough draft and then get them to trim off, say, 20 percent of the length.
Though I suppose actual classes wouldn’t have the time for that.
Good visual aids are also vital, and they too should be concise, simple, to the point.
My mother’s rule in fashion applies to presentations as well: “When in doubt, take something away”.

お読みくださり、ありがとうございました♪