Rhetorical potential of prosodic means in English academic presentation in the context of intercultural communication

Aim. To identify and describe the prosodic features of academic presentations in English in the form of Three Minute Thesis (3MT), taking into account its genre specific characteristics.

Methodology. Rhetorical and phonetic (auditory) analysis was conducted. The research materials comprised 20 public presentations delivered by 11 native (L1) and 9 non-native (L2) speakers of English. The approach used in the study consisted in viewing the prosodic realization of the public speech with regard to such factors as its rhetorical organization, speaker / audience interaction, international participation.

Results. Basing on the study, prosodic features of 3MT presentations were identified and outlined. It was demonstrated that appropriate and goal-oriented choice of prosodic means (as recommended in classical and present-day rhetoric) contributes to speaker / audience interaction and optimizes the transmission of information.

Research implications. The study reveals the rhetorical and linguistic and didactic potential of 3MT presentations. This genre of academic public speech demonstrates the ways and means of overcom­ing communication barriers caused by the national and linguistic and cultural differences, which de­termines the perspectives of its application in teaching English to future participants of multicultural communication.

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