Using Debates in English

Lessons
A Communicative Approach

Why Debate?
Debate activities...
Develop students creative ability,
logic, teamwork, and critical thinking
skills
Are interesting and engaging for
students
Involve all students regardless of
level
Improve students self-confidence

Methodological Note 1
In debate activities, students practice each
of the four skills:
Reading: research, preparation work
Writing: taking notes, preparing
arguments
Listening: understanding opposing
arguments in order to respond
Speaking: making arguments and
counter-arguments

Methodological Note 2
Debate activities help students practice
various language structures, including
those for:
Expressing agreement/disagreement
Asking and answering questions
Expressing opinions and reasons

Sample Debate Activity

The following outline shows one way to
incorporate a debate activity into an English
lesson. The format can be changed or
expanded to work with any group.

I. Introduce Debate Structure

There are many possible structures for a debate. Your
ideal structure depends on your groups, your topic
and your time limit. However, most debates look
something like this:
Introduction (A/B)
Argument 1 (A/B)
Rebuttal 1 (A/B)
Additional argument/rebuttal phases can be added as
time permits.
Concluding Arguments (A/B)
You will want to explain the various phases if the
students are unfamiliar with debating

II. Model Phrases for Use in

Debates
Choose level-appropriate language
structures
Make sure students can pronounce and
understand each phrase
Encourage students to expand their
vocabularies and use new structures (i.e.,
The way I see it instead of I think)
Allow students to reference these phrases
(on board, handouts, posters)

Expressing Opinion
In my opinion...
The way I see it,...
As far as I'm
concerned,...
I'm convinced
that...
I honestly feel
that...
I strongly believe
that...

It is fairly certain
that...
Without a doubt,...
As is widely
known,...
As everyone
knows,...

Expressing Disagreement
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 and Explaining Reasons

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...

III. Introduce the Topic

Your topic should be controversial: there
should be good arguments for both sides.
The topic should be expressed as a
statement. For instance:
English is the most important subject for
students in todays world.

Students will be divided into two groups

that will argue either the affirmative or the
negative sides of this statement.

Statement: English is the Most

Important Subject for Students
in Todays World

Affirmative position:
English is the most
important subject
for students in
todays world.

Negative position:
English is not the
most important
subject for
students in todays
world.

IV. Brainstorming Arguments and

Counter-Arguments
Give the students time to work as a group
to come up with arguments to support both
the affirmative and the negative
statements.
They will need to know not only the
strong arguments for their side, but also
anticipate the other sides arguments in
order to refute them effectively.
Remind students that their personal opinion
on the issue is irrelevant. They must argue
for their side even if it goes against their
personal beliefs!

Brainstorm...

What are your ideas? Work with your

group to find strong affirmative and
negative arguments.

Sample Arguments
Affirmative
English is the worlds
most-spoken language,
so knowing English will
give our students the
ability to travel anywhere
in the world
English is the language
of international business,
so students need it for
their future careers.
(etc.)

Negative
Not everyone can have a
career in international
business. English is not
for everyone.
Science and math are
the true international
language and are more
important than English.
We need scientists and
engineers to develop our
economy.
(etc.)

V. Organize for the Debate

Students should divide responsibilities.
(One person will give the introduction,
another the 1st argument, etc.)
Remind students that each team member
must speak. Arguments and rebuttals can
be split between two team members if the
groups are too big.
Students should work together to refine
their ideas from the brainstorming phase
into logical, strong arguments.

Organize...

Make sure your team is ready for the

big debate!

VI. Conduct the Debate

The teacher can act as the judge,
awarding points for effective
arguments and rebuttals.
Remind students to stick closely to
the predetermined debate structure,
to be polite, and to use the debate
phrases.

Debate...

Ladies and gentlemen, may the best

team win!

VII. Wrap-Up
Draw conclusions from the debate. Which arguments
were strong? Which were weak? Was it easy to refute
the other teams argument? Did your personal opinion
about this issue change because of the debate?
The teacher could assign a home task connected with
the debate. For instance:
Summarize the debate over this issue, including
the affirmative and negative arguments.
Write a paper on your thoughts about this issue.
Do
you agree with the affirmative or the
negative
side? Did you learn anything or
change your
opinion because of the debate?

Scaling the Debates

Single Class Debates

Your class time is limited, but debate activities
can still be useful in class. If you only have
10-15 minutes:
Try a rapid-fire debate. Teams have 5 minutes
to brainstorm. Then, any student may jump in to
give an argument or a rebuttal. The key is to
keep things orderly and to make sure that all
students are participating.
To practice debate structure and phrases, you
could have students debate using prepared
information (on cards or on the board) rather
than brainstorming.

Multi-Class Period Debates

Debates can be stretched over parts of several class periods. A
sample schedule:
Class 1: Introduce structure, practice key phrases (10-15 min.)
Home task: practice key phrases
(write
sentences?)
Class 2: Introduce debate topic; split into affirmative and
negative sides; begin brainstorming process (15-20 min.)
Home task: brainstorm +/- arguments. Choose
the
3-4 strongest arguments for each side. and
write
sentences using key phrases.
Class 3: Organizing for debates (7-10 min.) and debating (1520 min.)
Home task: Write a wrap-up of the debate.

Debate Clubs or Camps

Debate Clubs or a Debate Camp could
be a great way to help your students
become more confident in speaking
and using English.

Case Study: Kremenchuk Debate

Camp, June 2010

A Week of Fun and Learning

35 10th-form students, 7 American Peace
Corps Volunteer teachers, and 3 Ukrainian
English teachers participated
Students spent four days learning about
debates, practicing effective techniques,
researching, and preparing
The culmination of camp, on the fifth day,
was a series of three debates on
controversial topics like Ukrainian should
be the only official language in Ukraine
and Fast food should be banned.

Learning about debate structure

Making strong, effective arguments

Researching the topic

Presenting the argument

Preparing the rebuttal

Final Thoughts
If interested, I have some debate-related
materials in .doc format that I can share.
Give me your e-mail address or contact me
at patrick.gardner.smith@gmail.com
Questions?
Comments?
Thanks to everyone for coming and
participating! Good luck using debates in
your classes.