[General] I'll talk about this topic...

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Silverobama

Key Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Gary is my friend and he's running a coffe shop. He invited me to talk about how to learn English without spending time in English-speaking countries. I've never been abroad and he stayed in Australia for 20 years. He thinks my spoken English is good to talk about this in his coffee shop. I'd love to. Before I start my talk, I'll say this to the audience:

I'll talk about this topic* for 90 minutes and use the rest time for Q&A.

*: "this topic" means "the topic I will talk about".

Is the italic sentence natural?
 
I'd very much like to hear you talk about that topic.
90 minutes is quite long, though.:)
 
I'll talk about this topic* for 90 minutes and use the rest time for Q&A.

*: "this topic" means "the topic I will talk about".

Is the italic sentence natural?
Not quite. I'd say either "I'll talk about this" or "I'll discuss this", omitting "topic" either way.

An hour and a half is more conversational. Are you really planning to talk for precisely 90 minutes?
 
... and are you expecting people to stay awake that long? :roll:
 
Gary is [STRIKE]my friend and he's running[/STRIKE] a friend of mine who runs a coffee shop. He invited me to give a talk about how to learn English without spending time in English-speaking countries. I've never been abroad and he [STRIKE]stayed[/STRIKE] lived in Australia for 20 years. He thinks my spoken English is good enough to give a talk about this in his coffee shop. I'd love to. Before I start my talk, I'll say this to the audience:

[STRIKE]I'll talk about this topic* for[/STRIKE] My talk will last 90 minutes and [STRIKE]use the rest time for[/STRIKE] then there will be a Q&A.

*: "this topic" means "the topic I will talk about".

Is the italic sentence natural?

See above.
 
I appreciate your input, everyone. I've seen that the main question is about the time. Hmm, it's the host Gary (the Australian-Chinese) who set it up. You know, the talk is called "an open lecture". It welcomes everyone to listen. Those participants are all English language lovers. Some of them are teachers who teach at language schools or public schools. Some of them are doctors, different walk of life, you know.

I need to prepare the talk well because they think that my spoken English fluent. However, I think I need to work harder and harder. The luckiest thing is I have so many teachers here who teach me and help me. In China, students stop learning after landing a job because they don't have time to further their studies. For me, I just don't want to speak Chinglish.

Anyway, much appreciated for your input. I plan to divide the talk into two parts: before I met our forum and after I met our forum.
 
I plan to divide the talk into two parts: before I [STRIKE]met our[/STRIKE] found this forum and after I [STRIKE]met our forum[/STRIKE] joined it.
That sounds like a good plan. Good luck!
 
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...before I found this forum and after I joined it?

You don't meet a forum.
 
If possible, please record the talk and share it with us.
 
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