Individual Oral Commentary: Do we need it?

Recently, the 9th graders had to do an IOC (Individual Oral Commentary) for a summative grade in their English classes. In the IB program, students study a wide variety of texts. For the test, one text (approximately 20-40 lines) is chosen, and students get 20 minutes to prepare for it. Students must then talk about their passage for 10-15 minutes. The IOC counts for 15% of their grade. But is it really worth making freshmen do an oral commentary two years before their actual one? I interviewed a variety of students and teachers alike to find out what they think.

Noya G., a freshman, thinks it is essential to our future learning and that “it is fun”. Cheryl Z., also a freshman, says, “It helps you organise your thoughts within a short time period, and it helped me get better at analysing.” However, she laments, “I don’t understand why it is a recording. It doesn’t help improve any public speaking skills. It’s pointless as it is in audio format, making it more work for other teachers to grade.”

Ben K., a ninth grader, says that it prepares us for future assessments, such as those in the IB program. Ishita A. agreed, saying, “It prepares us for IB and teaches us to think on our feet. It develops our speaking skills even if its not entirely public.” Chloe I. said, “We’re going to have to do it anyway in IB, so I guess it is good to practice now. However, I feel like this unit was very rushed. If they gave us more time to practice, it would definitely be better.” Marco L. said, “It improves your oral skills and it allows you to add tone to your voice. It also allows you to further analyse, and it isn’t as exhausting as the written commentary.”

I asked two juniors, who are going into their final year of IB next year, what they thought. Antonette L. said, “Future-wise, I doubt it is going to help me with my speaking skills.” Regina K. argued that “it helps you understand the text better” and “helps you get a better idea of the essay”. Antonette said that it is extremely stressful, and she always gets the passage she didn’t study for.

However, Antonette doesn’t think that it is necessary to do the IOC in 9th grade. She said, “I feel like it is better to do it in 10th grade as 9th grade is the only grade [where] we do the IOC. 10th grade is supposed to prep you more for IB, but by the time I got to 11th grade and had to do my IOC, I completely forgot the format. I think the English Department should switch it around to 10th grade instead.”

Ms Archer, a 9th grade English teacher who also teaches IB, said, “I think it’s really good practice to start [in 9th grade]. I think if you get used to that doing this type of thing in freshman year, it makes it easier to transition into IB so you don’t have quite the panic that can keep you from doing as well when you get to [IB].”

Ms Archer talked about how the IOC allows you to practice well-structured oral work and somewhat improvised public speaking. Although we are recording into our computers, we are forced to think on the spot, and this causes us to trust our instincts and shapes our ability to have better vocabulary and better reasoning. We learn the empirical evidence behind the text, which is going to help us for the rest of our lives with interviews, whether these be for college, scholarships or jobs. She said, “You’re going to be judged on how you communicate orally as well as [how you write]. I think this is a good practice to get you thinking within a stress filled environment, to communicate it a way that [shows] your intellect and perspective to its most benefit.”

For the real IOC, students usually draw a text out of a folder randomly to determine which passage they will comment on. However, perhaps because the IB recognises the unfairness and stressful nature of the IOC, the upcoming curriculum for the current 9th graders when they reach the IB will be dramatically altered in the way it is structured, and students will instead get to choose from an array of passages.

Do you think the IOC practice is necessary in 9th grade? Or do you think the IOC itself is unnecessary in general? Leave your comments down below!