Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

Just curious, for those of you who have taught any sort of debating classes for the high school age students, what topics did you use with success? I'm interested in short-term drills as well as long-term productions.

Thanks in advance.

[dmb]

Football!!!!! Glenski I guess culture will have alot to do with the success of a debate. I mean I had success with a debate about Abdullah Ocalan and wether he should have got the death penalty. I am guessing that wouldn't work too well in Japan.

[Glenski]

52 reads in two days and only ONE response?

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Konichiwa Glenski-san


The link below looks pretty decent as a starter.

In addition to providing a few interesting topics, you'll also find

some useful teaching content & tips within the navigation box:


1. Some Debate Rules
2. How to Agree and Disagree
3. Advice on Debating with Others


http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Teach/English-debate.html

[Glenski]

I appreciate the responses so far, but I have to bump this up to the top. C'mon, people. 118 readers and only two of you have any suggestions?

I find it hard to believe that nobody teaches debating over the globe.

[dmb]

When I was at school we had a debating society. Usually the guest speakers were local stuffy politicians. Maybe others had the same experience and it is now out of fashion.

'Debating as an art form belongs in the past'?

Just out of interest why and with who do you want to use debates? A university I once worked used debating. Students had to hand in a portfolio at the end of term and in this they could include the grades they had received for their oral performance in a debate, very few did.

PS do you know a book called Taboos and Issues, MacAndrew and Martinez, LTP? A good introduction for a debate topics.

[Glenski]

dmb,
I have a projects class for 3rd year high school students (seniors, to those of you who aren't familiar with that terminology). Half of our class this year is devoted to teaching them how to debate in English.

I've developed quite a bit of the course already. Some of it is still finding its way onto the drawing board. What comes as a huge chore is creating topics suitable for debating. Their level of English is still abominably abyssmal, but their maturity is above that of debating childish topics. So, it is a real chore to find suitable things that they WANT to debate vs. what they CAN debate without a lot of dictionary work.

Not familiar with that book offhand. Will look into it, although there really isn't enough time for me to order any reference books anymore. Hence, coming here for a "quick fix".

Thanks.

[dmb]

this is the book
http://www.eslgold.com/site.jsp?resource=pag_ex_resources_links_res_games_tab_iss
However as you see from the contents , maybe not suitable for high school.

[valley_girl]

I occasionally use debating exercises in some of my classes. I don't feel that I "teach" debating per se, but I do try to follow the basic format of debating. I like to use these exercises as a means of getting them to speak at length. The students generally get so wrapped up in arguing their side of the debate that they don't even seem to realize they are speaking a foreign language.

As for the topics, I like to get the students to brainstorm some ideas and I write them on the board. They then vote for one of the topics. Majority wins. For a larger class, we'll use two or three of the topics (highest number of votes selects the topics). I make sure to ask if anyone objects to the topic(s) chosen and if anyone does, the topic(s) is/are not used. These are university students, not high school, although I'm not sure if that makes a difference. They are also mixed nationalities, although predominantly Asian.

I then randomly select (by name draw or some mini-competition) which students are the "pro" team and which are the "con" team. Ergo, topics must be controversial and have two distinct "pro" and "con" sides. (It's especially challenging for them when they have to debate a side that doesn't mesh with their personal beliefs!) I also randomly select the chairperson who will get the debate started and will also make sure everyone follows the rules.

Here are some of the topics we have done:

the death penalty
euthanasia
traditional gender roles
married life vs. single life
same-sex marriage
cloning humans
banning guns for citizens
Sunday shopping (very controversial where I live & teach)
smoking in public places
population control (e.g. China's "one child" policy)


Here are some rules I give them (most require some explanation):

no name-calling/insults
no grandstanding
no shouting
no foul language
no interrupting another speaker

debaters may keep notes in front of them
all debaters should get their "floor" time (or "air" time)
debaters must stay on topic
members of the audience may not join in the debate


As I have said, the chairperson is the one who keeps everyone on task. If someone breaks one of the aforementioned rules, it is the chairperson's job to intervene.

The students have a day or two to research their topic and prepare their arguments before the debate(s). All students have a turn being on a debate team and this sometimes means we spread the debates over a couple of days.

Non-debaters not only watch and listen but they also must vote at the end for the team they think 'won' the debate. It's kind of a "fishbowl" technique, I suppose. The idea behind it is that it keeps the 'audience' interested because they know that they are actually acting as the judges. This gives them an active, rather than passive, role.

[dajiang]

Some topics I've used:
� A woman's place is in the home.
� Fare-dodging on a train or bus is ok if you can get away with it.
� A foreign language cannot be taught. It must be learned.
� A country gets the government it deserves.
� Murderers should be executed (death penalty)
� Soft drugs like marijuana should be legalized.
� Beauty is only a matter of taste.
� We are all basically selfish.
� Punishment never has any good effect.
� Committing suicide should be made legal.

I've done some current topics as well. For instance, in Holland there was a primanry school teacher that posed nude in an erotic magazine. So we had an entertaining discussion about if this should be allowed or not.

Crazy Debate: (from the cookbook)
Works best in small classes. Divide class in 2 groups, don't say what you're about to do.
Give each member a slip of paper on which (s)he has to write an item, a noun of a thing. Could be anything. Then collect the slips of each group, and put them upside down on your desk.
Now, Take the above slip of each team and say the words you have: eg. Towel and Desk. Each group has to try to convince why their word is 'better' than the other team's word.
You as moderator have to keep track of arguments each group gives. Good arguments get a point, and in the end see who gave the best arguments. Work through the pile of slips, each discussion lasts for about 5/6 minutes.
Next time you do it, the groups are prepared, they know what will happen, so you could switch the piles of paperslips. Then they have to defend each other's things.

Another good source for interesting topics is the Oddly enough section in Yahoo news.

Nice post from Valley girl btw.

regards,
Dajiang

[JimDunlop2]

Just get your students onto Dave's China Off-topic forum... That'll give em' an education for sure!

[Boy Wonder]

Some ideas for debating and discussing topics..

Was Geoff Hurst's goal over the line in 1966( should work well in Germany or scotland)?

Is Slobodan Milosevic a raving nutter for handling his own defence in the Hague trial?

Coca Cola or Pepsi?

What would you have done to you for a million pounds?

Is Antono Banderas permantly drunk for marrying the plastic faced Melanie Griffith?

Should prostitution be legalised?

Should Sly make a Rocky 6 or a Rambo 5?

Are major supermarket firms robbing, swindling cheats?

Burt Reynolds or Tom Selleck( one for the laydees )?

Is Samantha Fox being a ladylover a waste for the worlds population of men?

To mayonnaise or not a toasted beef sandwich?

Which religion is the best?

Hitler/Stalin/Noel Edmonds...who would you rather be stuck in a lift with for 24 hours?

Hang people who take up two parking spaces...right or wrong?

Will the Americans ever elect a president who knows what he is doing?

Instead or learning English we should all learn chinese?

Is Cherie Blair human or a groteque creation by a complete crossed eyed sadist that went badly wrong?

[dmb]

A nice list Boy Wonder. Can I make one suggestion?

[merlin]

There's a book called "For and Against"
Lots of Debate topics and it beraks down the language, too.
Upper-Intermediate to Advanced level.

[Glenski]

merlin,
Thanks, I think I have that one. My students, despite being 3rd year high school students, are not even close to upper-intermediate. I can glean only a couple of topics from that book. These kids have problems making a simple subject-verb connection, let alone defending a rebuttal.