classroom debates

[medo1960]

Classroom Debates :

Men and Women - Equal at Last?

This debate can easily be carried out between the men and women in the class, or those who believe the statement is true and those who do not. Another variation is based on the idea that having students support opinions that are not necessarily their own during debates can help improve students fluency. In this manner, students pragmatically focus on correct production skills in conversation rather than striving to "win" the argument. For more information on this approach please see the following feature:

Aim: Improve conversational skills when supporting a point of view

Activity: Debate about the question of whether men and women are truly equal.

Level: Upper-intermediate to advanced

Outline:

·Review language used when expressing opinions, disagreeing, making comments on other person's point of view, etc. (See work sheet)

·Write a few ideas on the board to encourage discussion of the equality between men and women: the workplace, the home, government, etc.

·Ask students if they feel that women are truly equal to men in these various roles and places.

·Based on students' responses, divide groups up into two groups. One group arguing that equality has been achieved for women and one that feels that women have not yet attained true equality to men. Idea: Put students into the group with the opposite opinion of what they seemed to believe in the warm-up conversation.

·Give students worksheets including ideas pro and con. Have students develop arguments using the ideas on the worksheet as a springboard for further ideas and discussion.

·Once students have prepared their opening arguments, begin with the debate. Each team has 5 minutes to present their principal ideas.

·Have students prepare notes and make rebuttal to the expressed opinions.

·While the debate is in progress, take notes on common errors made by the students.

·At the end of debate, take time for a short focus on common mistakes. This is important, as students should not be too involved emotionally and therefore will be quite capable of recognizing language problems - as opposed to problems in beliefs!

Men and Women - Equal at Last?

You are going to debate whether women are finally truly equal to men. Use the clues and ideas below to help you create an argument for your appointed point of view with your team members. Below you will find phrases and language helpful in expressing opinions, offering explanations and disagreeing.

Opinions, Preferences:

I think..., In my opinion..., I'd like to..., I'd rather..., I'd prefer..., The way I see it..., As far as I'm concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect that..., I'm pretty sure that..., It is fairly certain that..., I'm convinced that..., I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that..., Without a doubt,...,

Disagreeing:

I don't think that..., Don't you think it would be better..., I don't agree, I'd prefer..., Shouldn't we consider..., But what about..., I'm afraid I don't agree..., Frankly, I doubt if..., Let's face it, The truth of the matter is..., The problem with your point of view is that...

Giving Reasons and offering explanations: To start with, The reason why..., That's why..., For this reason..., That's the reason why..., Many people think...., Considering..., Allowing for the fact that..., When you consider that...

Yes, Women Are Now Equal To Men.

·Many governments have both male and female representatives.

·Many companies are now owned or managed by women.

·A lot of progress has been made since the 1960s.

·Television series now portray women as successful career makers.

·Men now share in the raising of children and household responsibilities.

·Many important laws have been passed to ensure equality in the workplace.

·In many places, a married couple can choose whether the man or the women takes leave from work to look after the newly arrived baby.

·People aren't discussing equality anymore. It has become a reality.

·Have you ever heard of Margaret Thatcher?

Excuse Me? Women Still Have A Long Way to Go Before They Are Equal To Men.

·Women still earn less than men in many work situations.

·Women are still portrayed in a superficial manner in many television shows.

·Look at international sporting. How many professional female leagues are as successful as their male counterparts?

·Most governments still are made up in their majority of men.

·We are having this debate because women are not equal. Otherwise, there would be no need to discuss the matter.

·Women are often not given enough responsibility based on the possibility that they might become pregnant.

·The number of ***ual harassment suits have increased over the past 10 years.

·Hundreds of years of history can't have been changed in a mere 30 odd years.

·Have you ever watched Bay Watch?

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The Necessity of Grammar

This lesson plan is based on the idea that having students support opinions that are not necessarily their own during debates can help improve students fluency. In this manner, students pragmatically focus on correct production skills in conversation rather than striving to "win" the argument. For more information on this approach please see the following feature

Of course, once students have become confident in their production skills, the can obviously argue the point they truly believe in.

Aim: Improve conversational skills when supporting a point of view

Activity: Debate concerning the necessity of concentrating on grammar - and not games, conversation, etc. - when learning English

Level: Intermediate

Outline:

• Review language used when expressing opinions, disagreeing, making comments on other person's point of view, etc. (See work sheet).
• Lead a short discussion asking the student's opinion on what they consider to be the most important aspects of learning English well.
• Ask students to consider the following statement: The most important ingredient of learning English is Grammar. Playing games, discussing problems, and having a good time is important. However, if we don't focus on grammar it is all a waste of time.
• Based on students' responses, divide groups up into two groups. One group arguing for the prime importance of learning grammar, one group for the idea that learning just grammar doesn't mean that you are able to use English effectively. Important: Make sure that groups are put into the group with the opposite opinion of what they seemed to believe in the warm-up conversation.
• Give students worksheets including ideas pro and con. Have students develop arguments using the ideas on the worksheet as a springboard for further ideas and discussion.
• Once students have prepared their opening arguments, begin with the debate. Each team has 5 minutes to present their principal ideas.
• Have students prepare notes and make rebuttal to the expressed opinions.
• While the debate is in progress, take notes on common errors made by the students.
• At the end of debate, take time for a short focus on common mistakes. This is important, as students should not be too involved emotionally and therefore will be quite capable of recognizing language problems - as opposed to problems in beliefs!

First World Obligation

You are going to debate the correctness of the following statement:

The most important ingredient of learning English is Grammar. Playing games, discussing problems, and having a good time is important. However, if we don't focus on grammar it is all a waste of time.

It is important to remember that you have been placed in your group based on what seems to be the opposite of what you really think. Use the clues and ideas below to help you create an argument for your appointed point of view with your team members. Below you will find phrases and language helpful in expressing opinions, offering explanations and disagreeing.

Opinions, Preferences:

I think..., In my opinion..., I'd like to..., I'd rather..., I'd prefer..., The way I see it..., As far as I'm concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect that..., I'm pretty sure that..., It is fairly certain that..., I'm convinced that..., I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that..., Without a doubt,...,

Disagreeing:

I don't think that..., Don't you think it would be better..., I don't agree, I'd prefer..., Shouldn't we consider..., But what about..., I'm afraid I don't agree..., Frankly, I doubt if..., Let's face it, The truth of the matter is..., The problem with your point of view is that...

Giving Reasons and offering explanations: To start with, The reason why..., That's why..., For this reason..., That's the reason why..., Many people think...., Considering..., Allowing for the fact that..., When you consider that... For the Importance of Focusing on Grammar

• Without grammar, language doesn't exist.
• How can I feel confident about using grammar if I don't understand the rules?
• A solid knowledge of all the rules is necessary to speak a language well.
• The best way to learn a language is practice, practice, practice the correct usage.
• Good English means correct English.
• Games do not promote learning, they promote having fun and nothing else.
• Making mistakes reflect poor learning.
• If we don't learn the rules we will not be able to improve our English when we are not attending English classes.

Communication Means More than Understanding Rules

• Communication is possible even when we make mistakes
• Understanding rules in my head doesn't mean that I can communicate.
• There are many different styles of learning, some of which do not include "grammar banging".
• The only thing that is important is that people can understand me and I can understand them.
• Many native speakers make mistakes in grammar usage.
• Doing grammar exercises all the time is boring and therefore leads to lack of attention.
• Playing games is a great way to actually use the language - not just study it.
• It is difficult to become fluent if the teacher interrupts me every 30 seconds to correct a grammar mistake.
• Grammar is boring!

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Violence In The Media Needs To Be Regulated

This debate can easily turn into a debate about what 'Free Speech' really means, and can therefore be extremely interesting to students who are living in countries where the right to 'Free Speech' is considered a fundamental right. You can choose groups based on the students' opinions. However, you can also have students support opinions that are not necessarily their own to help improve fluency. In this manner, students pragmatically focus on correct production skills in conversation rather than striving to "win" the argument. For more information on this approach please see the following feature:

Aim: Improve conversational skills when supporting a point of view

Activity: Debate about the question of whether violence in the media (Television, newspapers, magazines, internet, etc.) needs to be more tightly regulated.

Level: Upper-intermediate to advanced

Outline:

• Review language used when expressing opinions, disagreeing, making comments on other person's point of view, etc. (See work sheet)
• Ask students for examples of violence in various media forms and ask them how much violence they experience second hand through the media every day.
• Have students consider which positive or negative effects this amount of violence in the media has on society.
• Based on students' responses, divide groups up into two groups. One group arguing that government needs to more strictly regulate the media and one arguing that there is no need for government intervention or regulation. Idea: Put students into the group with the opposite opinion of what they seemed to believe in the warm-up conversation.
• Give students worksheets including ideas pro and con. Have students develop arguments using the ideas on the worksheet as a springboard for further ideas and discussion.
• Once students have prepared their opening arguments, begin with the debate. Each team has 5 minutes to present their principal ideas.
• Have students prepare notes and make rebuttal to the expressed opinions.
• While the debate is in progress, take notes on common errors made by the students.
• At the end of debate, take time for a short focus on common mistakes. This is important, as students should not be too involved emotionally and therefore will be quite capable of recognizing language problems - as opposed to problems in beliefs!

Violence In The Media Needs To Be Regulated

You are going to debate whether the government should take regulatory steps to control the amount of violence in the media. Use the clues and ideas below to help you create an argument for your appointed point of view with your team members. Below you will find phrases and language helpful in expressing opinions, offering explanations and disagreeing.

Opinions, Preferences:

I think..., In my opinion..., I'd like to..., I'd rather..., I'd prefer..., The way I see it..., As far as I'm concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect that..., I'm pretty sure that..., It is fairly certain that..., I'm convinced that..., I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that..., Without a doubt,...,

Disagreeing:

I don't think that..., Don't you think it would be better..., I don't agree, I'd prefer..., Shouldn't we consider..., But what about..., I'm afraid I don't agree..., Frankly, I doubt if..., Let's face it, The truth of the matter is..., The problem with your point of view is that...

Giving Reasons and offering explanations: To start with, The reason why..., That's why..., For this reason..., That's the reason why..., Many people think...., Considering..., Allowing for the fact that..., When you consider that... Yes, The Government Needs to Regulate the Media

• Violence begets violence.
• Children copy the violence seen on TV and in films.
• It is the responsibility of the government to take corrective measures when a situation becomes dangerous.
• It seems like there are only violent TV shows anymore.
• Media glorifies violence and sends the wrong message.
• By giving so much importance to violence, the media encourages crazy people to be violent in order to get a lot of attention.
• What is more important to the growth of our society: A murder or a good school teacher? Who gets more coverage in the media?
• Media is cynical and only worried about making money. The only way things will change is if the government intervenes.
• Does all this violence improve your life in any way?

No, The Government Should Leave the Media Deregulated

• Have you ever heard of the right to 'Free Speech'.
• The Media only reflects what society as a whole does.
• It is quite obvious that these films are made for entertainment purposes and anyone can tell the difference between a film and reality.
• Governments only make matters worse by introducing bureaucracy - they don't really improve a situation.
• True change needs to come from within and not be imposed from without.
• We need to be kept informed about the true nature of the society that we live in.
• Parents do quite a good job of regulating their own children's behavior.
• There are already rating systems in place.
• Wake up. Humanity has always been violent and government regulation is not going to change that.