Speech
7 courses · Rio Hondo College · 2026-2027 Catalog
Classes: Summer 2026 · Fall 2026 · Spring 2027
SPCH 110 Forensics: Speech & Debate Team
- Units
- 2-4
- Hours
- 18 Lecture, 54-162 Lab
- Transfers to
- CSU
- C-ID
- COMM 160B
This course trains students to participate in Rio Hondo College’s Forensic Speech and Debate Team. Emphasis is placed on preparation, including research and writing; practice; and participation in intercollegiate speech and debate tournaments and/or community events. Students learn debate, oral interpretation, limited preparation, and platform speaking. The course is appropriate for students specializing in areas involving public speaking such as law, political science, drama, and instruction. Students who sign up for the lab hours are required to compete. This course may be taken once and repeated three times for credit.
SPCH 120 Small Group Communication
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 54 Lecture
- Advisory
- ENGL C1000
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
- C-ID
- COMM 140
This course focuses on oral communication in small group settings. Emphasis is placed on rhetorical principles and practices relating to small groups. Additionally, the focus is on the assessment of the efficacy of communication processes such as problem-solving, conflict management, decision-making, and leadership. The course is intended for students pursuing a Communication Studies degree or any discipline requiring effective communication in group settings. Throughout the course, students are expected to speak their own words, not recite words written by others. This course includes faculty-supervised, faculty-evaluated oral presentations in the presence of others (physically or virtually). As a primary focus, this course provides students with the foundational knowledge and practice of public speaking in a democratic society to enable students to successfully communicate ideas of an informative and persuasive nature in the public speaking mode and to critically evaluate the speeches of others.
SPCH 130 Oral Interpretation
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 54 Lecture
- Advisory
- It is advised that students be able to engage in written composition at a college level and read college-level texts.
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
- C-ID
- COMM 170
This course focuses on the oral performance aspects of various forms of literature, including poetry, prose, and drama. The skills needed for making such public performances are addressed and students’ knowledge of the various forms of literature will be enhanced. Emphasis is placed on creating the essence of characters in a text through facial, vocal, and kinetic methods. This course is appropriate for speech majors or anyone interested in public performance and literature.
SPCH 132 Readers Theatre
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 54 Lecture
- Advisory
- It is advised that students be able to engage in written composition at a college level and read college-level texts.
- Transfers to
- CSU
This is a creative communication course focusing on group presentations of literature. Students will perform prose, drama, and/or poetry in groups so that a communicative message emerges and fosters imaginative responses in the minds of an audience. Emphasis is placed on the fusion between rhetoric, interpretation, and acting. Readers Theatre is designed for Speech Communication majors and those interested in literature and performance.
SPCH 140 Argumentation and Debate
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 54 Lecture
- Advisory
- ENGL C1000
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
- C-ID
- COMM 120
This course provides students with the foundational knowledge of argumentation and debate concepts and theories to successfully dissect and deliver arguments in distinct contexts and public speaking settings and to critically evaluate the arguments of others. The course emphasizes Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos, audience analysis, ethics, critical listening, and effective verbal and nonverbal practices for effective argumentation. Lastly, the course includes analysis of strong evidence and the process of reasoning needed for effective arguing and presentation of arguments to live audiences. Central to this course is the learning of the foundational knowledge and practice of public speaking in a democratic society to communicate ideas through speaking in debate contexts such as to audience’s expected to refute or question the speaker’s central thesis and/or arguments.
SPCH 150 Intercultural Communication
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 54 Lecture
- Advisory
- It is advised that students be able to engage in written composition at a college level and read college-level texts.
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
- C-ID
- COMM 150
This course is an introduction to intercultural communication. Emphasis is placed on applying intercultural theories and concepts to understand the influence of cultural membership upon communicative situations. Students who complete the course improve their intercultural communication competence. This course is recommended for students in all fields, but particularly for students majoring in communication studies and students who anticipate high levels of interaction with people from diverse cultures.
SPCH 240 Argumentation and Discussion
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 54 Lecture
- Prerequisite
- SPCH 140
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
- C-ID
- COMM 120, COMM 190
This course provides students with expanded practice and theory in argumentation. Students further develop their argumentation knowledge and skills through debate participation, observation, and discussion. The course is particularly appropriate for students anticipating entering occupations that involve extensive argumentation and deliberation such as law, communication, negotiation, and any area where argumentation and debate occur frequently.