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ESL Conversation Topics — Debate
Written by Robert Vance on April 24, 2008 – 12:28 amLevel: Intermediate to Advanced
Holding a debate in conversation class is an excellent way to ‘mix things up a bit’ and get all of your students involved.
Warmup: Introduce the concept of ‘debating’ and explain its significance in the political arena. You should also introduce the expression “to play the devil’s advocate” and explain to your students that some of them will be taking that role in your class.
Holding the Debate: You should prepare a list of issues beforehand that have two clear sides (for or against) which can be debated. Here are some of the issues that I have used in the past.
- Gambling
- Gay Marriage
- Gun Control
- Euthanasia
- Legalization of Drugs
Now you must introduce the rules of the debate. Here are rules that I have used but of course you should change them as you see fit.
- Each group gets 10 minutes to prepare its arguments for the debate
- Each member of each group will receive 30 seconds to help argue its group’s position during the debate.
- After all of the members in each group have spoken, the groups will be given 2 minutes to gather and prepare a rebuttal. The groups will also choose a person from within its midst to deliver the rebuttal.
- Each group will be given 1 minute to deliver its rebuttal.
- If one group interrupts another group, the group that is currently speaking will receive an extra 30 seconds.
- At the end of the debate, the moderator (you) will announce the winner.
It is important to enforce your rules consistently for each group. These debates really can be quite exciting. Have fun!
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[...] Talking about one topic after another can become mundane for both you and your students. You can mix things up a little bit by holding a debate. Click here to read about how to hold your ESL debate. [...]