From Thunberg to the L2 Classroom: Public Speaking Techniques

To participate in the global conversation on how to combat climate change, Japanese university students need to better utilise their English for Academic Purposes (EAP) skills outside the second language (L2) classroom. Therefore, this study seeks to enhance the public speaking skills of Japanese university students by analysing and drawing from a series of recent speeches by Swedish climate-change activist Greta Thunberg. Being of a similar age and speaking in a second language, Thunberg resonates as a public speaker that Japanese university students can model. The research design for this study consisted of two phases. Initially, a structural analysis of Thunberg’s speech transcripts was conducted, exploring her use of positive and negative message framing approaches. Secondly, an analysis of the persuasive discursive techniques (PDTs) used in her speeches was conducted, focusing on identifying established rhetorical devices such as tripling, contrasting, and personalising, as well as the use of inclusive language and exclusive language. This paper details and analyses the approaches and techniques used by Thunberg (framing and rhetorical) and then discusses how they can be taught to Japanese university students seeking to move beyond generic English language classroom presentations.