DEBATE A FU DAME TAL TOOL I DEVELOPI G LA GUAGE PROFICIE CY

JASBIR KAUR SIDHU

ABSTRACT
In the teaching and learning of English, one of the most glaring weaknesses faced by students is that they do not see the learning of language as a holistic and integrated approach. They tend to learn the language in the various components that is either as grammar, comprehension, summary writing and essay writing. In essence, the approach to the teaching of English in the Malaysian context has been to fulfill exam requirements. The NEP states clearly that education in Malaysia stresses the creation of a holistic individual an individual who will be able to fulfill the requirements of both the social as well as the economic aspects of a developing nation. This paper seeks to address this development of the individual via debating and its related skills. The art of Debate is by itself an integrated approach to language teaching. In this paper, I will share the various manipulations of this skill in language teaching. The classroom teacher can utilise debate as a tool to help students to enhance language proficiency. Objectives such as critical thinking, problem solving, enhancing of self-esteem and the art of communication are all merged in every aspect of debate from its preparation to its presentation.

Debates date back over 4,000 years to the Egyptians (2080 BC) and debates as a teaching strategy date back over 2,400 years to Protagorus in Athens (481 411 BC), the Father of Debate. Combs & Bourne 1994 Snider & Schnurer 2002
Yet, in most schools and universities, the only students who participate in debates are those on competitive debate teams. Bellon 2000 So why Debate? Debate is an excellent activity to promote proficiency in language development because it engages students in a variety of cognitive and linguistic ways. In addition to providing meaningful listening, speaking, reading and writing practice, Debate is also highly effective for the development of argumentative skills for persuasive writing. Students learn in diverse ways. Therefore, as practitioners (educators), we must utilize a wide variety of instructional strategies that can promote active engagement.. Active engagement as defined by Meyers & Jones (1993) is anything that provides opportunities for students to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course content Our Malaysian English Language Syllabus for secondary schools aims to extend learners English Language proficiency in order to meet their needs to use English in current situations in everyday life; for knowledge acquisition and for future workplace needs. The syllabus also requires students to acquire the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Besides this, the syllabus in its educational emphases aspires to develop their critical thinking skills, inculcate problem solving skills using real life problems to prepare the students for the real world. With that backdrop scenario and my personal penchant for debates, I have decided to present this paper so that students who are our Very Important Clients can enjoy their learning experiences in a stimulating, challenging and informative manner. Our ultimate goal must be to do a better job every day, using tools that improve and perfect our teaching skills. Malaysian students have poor understanding of debating as it is not taught in schools. Some students think that they must speak loudly while debating in order to get their ideas across effectively. Good debating involves an effective blend of argument, rebuttal, speaking ability and teamwork. Mrs Jagjeet Singh (arguably the most experienced debating adjudicator in the country.) This statement brings to mind Roy & Macchiettes 2005 quote, Debate involves not only determining what to say but how you say it. That being the scenario in most Malaysian schools today, I was challenged to introduce the Art of Debate as an integrated approach to enhance language proficiency and teaching. I strongly believe that all students, not only those linguistically inclined be taught debating skills. The greater challenge I feel is to make debaters out of those who seem not to have the potential. A tall order to take on but it was worth the effort. Hence, my introduction of classroom Debate while teaching the writing component on argumentative writing. Many students fight shy of this essay type as they believe its the hardest. My experience and expertise as an Adjudicator of 12 years made a Good Trainer of Me. My school teams participated six times at National Level competitions. This proved to me that training the debaters had enhanced proficiency and made them confident speakers. Rebuttals and Arguments are the essence of a Debate and in argumentative writing, its a key feature too.

Features

Argumentative writing
To present a viewpoint (ie argue for or against a topic) To argue in such a way so as to persuade the reader to agree with you

Debate
Emphasis is on spontaneous rebuttal skills Core business is rebuttal or clash Battle of intelligence Test debaters oratory & public speaking skills Helps create progressive and thinking society in line with Vision 2020 Pitting of two teams (Government Vs Opposition or Affirmative vs Negative

Argumentative Writing A Process Writing Approach (Group Work) Stage 1:Paragraph Strategy Introduction - state your stand - give a definition

Main idea/argument & supporting details Main idea/argument & supporting details Main idea/argument & supporting details Conclusion

- justify arguments with facts examples reasons

- restate your stand

Stage 2:Step by Step Approach Step 1

- Pre writing Brainstorm technique Analyse the question Make a stand

Step 2

- Planning Tackle three arguments Add supporting details Paragraph strategy

Step 3

- Writing Draft

Step 4

- Editing Check for grammar & spelling mistakes Improve vocabulary & sentence structures

Step 5

Rewriting Final essay

That was my approach in teaching my students argumentative writing. Lessons were meaningful but the element of excitement, fun and interest was missing until I introduced classroom Debate and SPAR debates and that made all the difference. A more active learning environment was created and it was pedagogically effective. It fostered students engagement and deep learning. The students played Knowledge Roles like Researcher, Script writer, Speaker, Facilitator, Progress-chaser, Presenters and Time-keeper as they did their group presentations(Appendix 1A) Students conversational skills and language used to express opinions/preferences, disagreeing and giving reasons and offering explanations was enhanced ( Appendix 1B) Before the classroom Debate, only a handful of students were not afraid to express their opinions when they differed from others. After the debate, the figure rose to almost half the class. The knowledge and skills acquired from the debate practices led them to become more accustomed to expressing opinions. Debating strategies can be developed and a plan to achieve this was done by a step by step guide. This guide can be adapted to suit a variety of teaching contexts besides argumentative writing. Through trial and error a weekly 80 minutes writing period was tried and tested many times: until it was deemed an effective lesson. 4

Classroom Debate: Step by Step Approach

Step 1 Introduction to Debate (Appendix 2) Basic terms Opinions & reasons Activity

Step 2

Supporting your opinions ( Appendix 3) Warm up Giving support for your reasons Practice

Step 3

- Debate structure(Appendix 4) Warm up Form teams Consider resolutions Select resolutions & sides Formal debate structure(Appendix 5A) Brainstorming arguments Practice

Speaking is naturally the language skill used most but as (Appendix 5B) indicates, competency in listening, note-taking and writing are also essential. Debaters must be able to read and synthesize information and then summarise and support their ideas. Once the language skills are assimilated, the activities become more debate-specific.

Step 4

Predicting & Refining the other teams arguments(Appendix 6)

Warm up Predicting other teams arguments Four step rebuttal Writing rebuttals Giving feedback

Step 5

Judging and final Practice (Appendix 7) Warm up Judging Practice Final practice

Step 6 5

The Debate (Appendix 8,9,10,11)

This six-step guide depicts an outline, principles and materials for conducting a classroom debate. Teachers need to develop and adapt materials to suit their situational needs. Debate can be creatively applied to teaching English. These debating skills are used as a springboard for introducing other fluency activities which in turn prepares students for the culminating Formal Debate. (Appendix 12: Fun Debate Strategies).The fun debate strategies like Classification Tree, Hot Seat, The Devil Advocate, Four -Corner Debate, Role -Play Debate, Fishbowl Debate, Think-Pair-Share Debate and Problem -Solving Debate can be used to engage students and vary the debate structure involving the entire class in different ways. These activities are useful for organizing ideas gleaned from readings and for formulating written arguments as well as for developing confidence in listening and speaking and thus fluency. They are generic discussion format and can be used in most classes and settings as they deal with the full range of language skills

Classroom Debate: Its attractions

As an instructional strategy, classroom debate fosters: o Mastery of content o Development of critical thinking skills o Oral communication skills o Empathy By gradually introducing these language proficiency and fluency activities; recycling them throughout the term and using familiar discussion topics students anxiety is reduced. Why so? Their control over the content is assured. As a result they become increasingly confident and are willing to attempt more complex activities. Debates afford many benefits besides promoting active engagement & mastery of content. They require listeners and participants to evaluate competing choices (Freely & Steinberg 2005) calls for social interaction that develops higher order psychological functions as well as critical thinking skills by moving up Blooms 1956 taxonomy. The lower order thinking skills of: o Knowledge o Comprehension o Application focus on rote learning or WHAT STUDE TS SHOULD THI K whereas the higher order thinking skills of o Analysis o Synthesis o Evaluation focus on HOW TO THI K. The short-term objective of acquiring knowledge should be tempered with the long-term role of training the mind to think A ALYTICALLY A D CRITICALLY.(Vo & Morris 2006) According to Freely & Steinberg 2005, academic debate has been recognised as one of the best methods of learning critical thinking skills. With the onslaught of information glut and the rapid pace of globalization ; it is imperative that we, practitioners focus less on teaching facts and more on teaching students HOW to use this information. Vocations in the past were passed on from generation to generation but NOW most individuals have several different careers 6

in their lifetime. Hence, this mastery of critical thinking skills can be applied to changing situations and new information. In addition to critical thinking skills, debates also demand the development of oral communication skills which are vital for success in most careers. Studies have shown oral presentations as the most prominent gap in educational experiences. Dundes 2001 and Steinfatt 1986 argue that embedding oral communication exercises in various courses across the curriculum increases the students oral communication skills as well as their learning of the discipline specific subject matter. Debate fosters the development of empathy. Students listen to both sides of the argument. This accounts for the main strength of the argument; that they see BOTH sides rather than just one point of view. They put on their critical thinking hats to analyse the argument. Questions that come to mind are: o Is the argument sound o What is the point of the argument? o What statement is the argument trying to convince you to believe? o What is the conclusion? o Is the conclusion stated or implied? o What reason are given? o Is the reasoning complete? As the debate progresses, students hear things out before making a final decision. They listen with an open mind and respect the view of others. This asserts that debate is one to minimise instructor bias. Furthermore when students defend a position they oppose, they must at least temporarily transcend their own bias. By learning both sides of an argument of a controversial topic, students are more open-minded and better able to see another persons viewpoint. (Berdine 1987) Aside from essential critical thinking skills classroom debate adds value with its presentation skills: among which are: o Abstract thinking o Analytical thinking o Identifying bias o Persuasion o Citizenship/ethics/etiquette o Cross examination/questioning o Point of view o Public speaking Therein lies the appeal of classroom debate.

Debate Assessment
What is the criteria for assessing the debaters performance? More often, a debate rubric is utilized.This is divided into categories such as evidence, organisation, delivery and teamwork. (Appendix 13)The sample questions (Glantz and Gorman 1997) (Appendix 14) could be considered when formulating a rubric. For the effort taken, those who struggle in the oral communication skills can still be assessed through preparing excellent written notes which are later used in their essay assignments. A second consideration for assessment is whether to assess individually or as a team. Moeller (1985) gives students both an individual and a team grade. The individual grade is based on diction, eye contact, insight into the issue and overall effectiveness, whereas the team grade is based on their organisation, preparation, use of supporting evidence and use of rebuttal. (Appendix 15).Individual assessment co-relates with some aspects of the school-based Oral English Test set by the Examination Syndicate. Hence, it is a twin-fold assessment for the teachers to consider. Regardless of who is doing the assessing or how it is done, the evaluation procedure should be explained to the students when the debate is assigned. If their use of resources is to be assessed, then we use a different rubric as an assessment tool(Appendix 16) 7

Summary
Active learning fosters complex thinking processes and improves retention, assimilation, understanding and proper application of course content (Scannapieco 1997) Therefore, students benefit when educators use instructional strategies that promote active engagement. Classroom debate cultivate the active engagement of students by placing the responsibility of comprehension on the shoulders of the students. Students plays a higher value on learning by participating than on learning by being lectured at and receiving information passively. We take the scaffolding of teacher control away and students take opportunity to interrelate with the subject and they actually TEACH each other. This paper, Debate as a fundamental tool in developing language proficiency, gives an insight into the practicality of using debate in the classroom. It is a tool independent of class- size and a breakaway from the traditional chalk and talk. It is evident that students do enjoy debate activities. Debate develops academic language skills along with fluency and public speaking skills. Students perform admirably in debates. Even the passive students enjoy it. It is a platform for them to speak out. In debates, when students are willing to communicate openly with one another, a healthy climate will emerge and an effective learning process takes place. Group dynamics becomes experiential as members are assigned various knowledge tasks. As Allison (2002) quotes, Debating is the ultimate multi-task school activity since it involves research, writing, speaking, listening and TEAMWORK.

Conclusion
Interest in using debate in Japan as a language teaching tool is growing because students are motivated by debate. (Resolved 1997). It is part of the English Language curriculum. Progress can be made in our education system and beneficial lessons learnt. There is a dire need to write, share opinions and ideas of ELT. Too often, we practitioners and educators tend to work alone. We can make a difference by sharing our innovative strategies and techniques that we have developed to make the teaching of English more meaningful and effective. My parting reflection: I believe that education is a mission of service. Thats why Im in the field of teaching. I respect and consider my students as important clients. They come to the classroom to receive the best education and our job is to make their optimal learning experience a stimulating one. So, do join me in my crusade in introducing in-class debates to mould a holistic individual of every student. Humanistic education starts with the idea that students are different, and it strives to help students become more like themselves and less like each other. (Hamachek 1977)

References
Allison S (2002): Debating With Talented and Gifted Students Baker, P, & Hudson, F (1997): How and Why Do A Classroom Debate Bellon J (2000): Argumentation and Advocacy Bloom, B (Ed 1956): Taxonomy of Educational Objectives Bosworth K (1994): Developing Collaborative Skills Breslo L (1998): Teaching Teamwork Skills Cohen, R, Een J, Ferree T, May-Landy: Debate From A-Z: Strategies For All Levels Combs H, & Bourne S (1994): The Renaissance of Educational Debate Davidson, Bruce (1995): Critical Thinking Education Faces the Challenges of Japan Freely A & Steinberg D (2005): Argumentation and Debate 8

Hamachek, D. E. 1977.Humanistic Psychology: Theoretical-philosophical Framework and Implication for Teaching [M]. NewYork: Academic Press. Hopkins J (2003a): For Corner Debate Hopkins J (2003b): Role Play Debate LeBeu, Charles & Harrington, David & Lubetski: Discover Debate: Basic Skills for Supporting and Refuting Opinions Mayers and Jones (1993) Nesbett, Richard E (2003): The Geography of Thought The Daily Yomiuri, 17: Resoved: The Debate Works (1997, March 3)

APPENDIX 1B

PHRASES TO USE IN DEBATE

It is important to remember that you have been placed in your group based on what seem 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., Id like to,Id rather,Id prefer.,The way I see it.., As far as Im concerned,if it were up to me,I suppose,I suspect thatIm pretty sure That,it is fairly certain that,Im convinced that,I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that,without a doubt,,I advocate that.,I maintain that,I
assert

DISAGREEING:
I dont think that,dont you think it would be better,I dont agree ,Id prefer.., Shouldnt we consider,but what about,Im afraid I dont agree,frankly, I doubt if,lets face it ,the truth of the matter is.. ,the problem with your point of view is thaton the contrary.

GIVING REASONS AND OFFERING EXPLANATIONS:

To start with, the reason why,thats why..,for this reason,thats the reason whymany people think..,considering..,allowing for the fact that..,when you consider thatallow me to convince

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Appendix 2

STEP ONE: Introduction to Debate 1.Basic terms

Debate: a game in which two opposing teams make speeches to support their arguments and disagree with those of the other team. Resolution: the opinion about which two teams argue. Affirmative team: agrees with the resolution. Negative team :disagrees with the resolution Rebuttal :explains why one team disagrees with other team. Judges: decide the winner.

2.Opinion and reasons

A resolution is an opinion about which there can be valid disagreement .The student either agree or disagree either the resolution regardless of what they personally believe. An opinion can be introduced by and opinion indicator: o I think/believe that smoking be banned in public places.. A reason explains why that opinion is held and can be introduced by a reason indicator: o because/since secondhand smoke is harmful for nonsmokers.

3.Strong Reasons Versus Weak Reasons:

According to LeBeau , Harrington, Lubesky ( 2000),a strong reason has the following qualities: o It logically supports the opinion. o It is specific and states the idea clearly. o It is convincing to a majority of people. To give examples of strong reasons versus weak reasons ,the teacher can develop multiple-choice exercise such as the following: It is bad. It gives people bad breath and makes their teeth yellow Secondhand smoke is harmful for nonsmokers The student ought to explain why some reasons are strong and others are weak based on the above criteria. 11

In pairs , have student practice generating reasons for opinions. The resolution/opinion can be generated by the students or the teacher

ACITIVITY ONE: With Your Partner, Think of at least One Strong Reason For Each Resolution
1.Women should quit their job after they get married. REASON: 2.Love is more important than money. REASON: 3.It is better to be married than single. REASON: 4.Writing by hand is better than writing by computer. REASON:

4.Generating Resolutions: The Students Generate Their Own Resolutions

Explain that issues about which people are likely to disagree work best for debate. They can be controversial :the death penalty should be banned; or less divisive: love is more important than money. For homework or in class, the students brainstorm a list of resolutions Students can get their ideas from topics discussed or read about in class or topics which interest them personally .Then the students hand in their list of resolutions and the teacher selects the most suitable ones which the student later choose from.

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Appendix 3

STEP TWO: Supporting Your Opinion

1.Warm-up Begin each lesson with a fun practice activity which gets the students generating reasons for opinions. An argumentation exercise like the one that I developed Called The Devils Advocate (appendix 17) is useful for this purpose and can be used multiple times simply by changing the resolutions. Another good kind of activity for giving reasons is any prioritization task which the student rank items on a list, giving reason for their choices.

2.Giving support for Your Reasons

Support consists of evidence. The four kinds of evidence ,adapted from LeBeau, Harrington ,Lubetsky(2000),are: Example: from your own experience or from what you heard or read Common Sense: things that you believe everybody knows Expert Opinion: the opinions of experts- -this comes from research Statistics: numbers - -this also comes from research

Smoking should be banned in all public places Example: for example/for instance/let me give an example Whenever I go to a restaurant or bar and there are people smoking near me ,I feel that I am breathing their smoke. This makes me a smoker even though I dont want to be. Common Sense: everyone knows/ifthen/its common knowledge that Secondhand smoke is very unhealthy for nonsmokers Statistics: Secondhand smoke causes about 250,000 respiratory infections in infants and children every year, resulting in about 15,000 hospitalizations each year Expert opinion: According to/to quote/the book___ says According to the Environmental Protection Agency, secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmokers each year. 3.PracticeHave the student practice making example/common sense support. They can develop these from reasons hat they came up with in the prior class(Activity One)

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APPENDIX 4

STEP THREE : Debate Structure

1.Warm-up Do argumentation exercise (see step two warm up) 2.From Teams Two or three students form a team 3.Considering Resolutions Give each team the resolution culled by the teacher from the ones generated by the students .Instruct students to mark the resolutions which interest them. 4.Selecting Resolution and Sides Pair up two teams and have them compare their lists and decide on a resolution for their debate .They then pick sides-affirmative or negative 5.Formal Debate Structure Give student the following debate structure ,adapted from LeBeau ,Harrington ,Lubetsky(2000) See( Appendix 5A) for an additional debate format option which I developed Speech 1:The first affirmative speaker introduces the topic and states the affirmative teams first argument Speech 2:The first negative speaker states their argument Speech 3:The second affirmative speaker states their second argument Speech 4:The second negative speaker states their second argument Give a 5-10 minute break for each team to prepare their rebuttal speech Speech 5:The negative team states two rebuttals for the affirmative teams two arguments and summarizes their own two reasons Speech 6:The affirmative team states two rebuttals for the negative teams two arguments and summarizes their own two reasons

6.Brainstorming Arguments
Clarify for the students that each argument consists of a stated reason followed by ample support .Get students to brainstorm reasons for their resolution and then select the best two which will be used for their arguments. The teacher should model brainstorming on the board with a simple resolution to demonstrate how the brainstorming process works.

7.Homework
Have the students complete two arguments . Arguments should be written in clear and simple English that can be easily understood by peers

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Appendix 5A

Debate Format
INTRODUCTION -Affirmative Teams Introduction -Negative Teams Introduction -Affirmative Teams First Argument(clarification/comprehension questions) -Negative Teams First Argument(clarification/comprehension questions) -Affirmative Teams Second Argument(clarification/comprehension questions) -Negative Teams Second Argument(clarification/comprehension questions) -Affirmative Teams Third Argument(clarification/comprehension questions) -Negative Teams Third Argument(clarification/comprehension questions) 1 min 1 min 2 min 2 min 2 min 2 min 2 min 2 min

INITIAL FOCUS QUESTIONS (Break to prepare questions) 3 min -3 Initial Focus Questions-Affirmative Team(clarification questions 3 min from Negative Team) -3 Initial Focus Questions from Negative Team(clarification 3 min questions from Affirmative Team)

CROSS-EXAMINATION (break to prepare responses) -Affirmative Teams Responses(follow-up questions from Negative Team) -Negative Teams Responses(follow-up questions from Affirmative Team) CLOSING STATEMENT -Affirmative Teams Closing Statement -Negative Teams Closing Statement 5 min 6 min 6 min

1 min 1 min

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Appendix 5B

Debate Sections Introduction

Major Arguments

Focus Questions

Cross-Examination Closing Statement

Skills Related to Debate Language Skills Tasks -writing, speaking, -Introduce listening -Clarify -Summarize -reading ,writing, -define speaking, listening, -Support note-taking -Validate -listening ,speaking -Explain -Restate -Synthesize -Query -speaking, listening. -React Note-taking -Undermine -writing, speaking -Restate -Paraphrase -Summarize

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APPENDIX 6

STEP FOUR :Predicting and Refuting the Other Teams

Arguments 1.Warm-up
Do argumentation exercise(see step two warm up).

2.Predicting the Other Teams Arguments

Each team brainstorms a list of strong reasons that their opponents could use.

3.Four Step Rebuttal

STEP 1:They say o State the argument that you are about to refute so that the judges can follow easily. Take notes during your opponents speech so you will be clear about what they argued. The other team said that smoking is harmful for nonsmokers. STEP 2:But I disagreeOr That may be true, but o That may be true ,but I think that if nonsmokers want to avoid cigarette smoke, they can walk away from it. STEP 3.Because o Because nonsmokers should look out for their own health. STEP 4.Therefore o Therefore it is not the responsibility of smokers to protect nonsmokers.

4.Writing Rebuttals
The students compose short rebuttals for the strongest three opposing teams arguments that they predicted.

5.Giving Feedback
The teacher meets with each group and reviews their arguments and rebuttals ,challenging students to question their reasoning.

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Appendix 7

STEP Five: Judging and Final Practice

1.Warm-up
Do argumentation exercise(see step 2 warm up).

2.Judging
The students will be the judges .In the judging form below ,the student must show evidence that they have listened carefully .The teacher can evaluate the judging form to give students an incentive to put effort into their judging.

DEBATE JUDGING FORM

Speech 1:The Affirmative Teams First Argument ( ote :the same format is used for speech 1-4) Summarize the REASO here: It this reason clear?____/Is this reason strong? ____/I Summarize the SUPPORT here: Is the support clear?____ /I Good example/common sense:___/I Expert opinion/statistics:___/I Speech 5.The egative Teams Rebuttal ( ote :the same format is used for speech 5-6 (four rebuttals) REBUTTAL for the first argument: They disagree because Therefore. Is this rebuttal clear?____/I Did they use a strong because and therefore statement?____/I

3.Judging Practice
To give the students practice in judging ,the teacher performs speeches of a mock debate .Students listen ,fill in the form ,and then compare results.

4.Final Practice
The students practice delivering their argument speeches and doing rebuttals against their own arguments. NOTE: If students have no experience or are shaky in public speaking , the teacher could devote an additional class before the debate to provide training in essentials such as; eye contact, pacing, pausing and gesture.
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Appendix 8

STEP Six: The Debate

During the debate: students fill in the judging form during the debate and the students can consult with a partner for help with clarification after each debate(Appendix 9 classroom Debate) Following the debate: the students submit the judging forms ,the teacher adds up the scores and announces the winners. The students hand in their argument and rebuttal speeches for which the teacher provides feedback on strong points and things to work on(appendix 10 Debate Judging Form).For an example of a students debate speech (appendix 11)

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Appendix 10

DEBATE JUDGI G FORM

Judges name ____________________________________ Date ____________ Debate Proposition:_______________________________________________________ My opinion before the debate: FOR AGAINST NO OPINION

CONSTRUCTIVE PHASE AFFIRMATIVE ARGUMENTS NEGATIVE ARGUMENTS

REBUTTAL PHASE AFFRIMATIVE IDEAS REINFORCED NEGATIVE IDEAS REINFORCED Includes areas of disagreement ,ideas refuted ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

Which team had the strongest points, facts ,reasons ,examples ,etc (not necessarily what you believe); ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

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Appendix 11

A Students Debate Speech (edited)

Resolution :Personality is more important than looks(Affirmative argument) Reason: People never lose interest in looking at a person who has a good personality and living with them always makes us feel pleasant. Support:

o Example
For example ,my friendly neighbour in China has twin brothers.The elder brother married a very beautiful girl .But after the first month, he had a quarrel with her because the beautiful wife spent all of her time dressing herself up without doing any housework .And she always went out on dates with many boyfriends .Finally he divorced his beautiful wife last year .But the youngest brother who married an ordinary looking girl with a good personality has a very happy married life now and they have a lovely 3 year old baby now

o Common sense
In China it is said, Dont choose a beautiful person to be your wife. Because the beautiful wife spends more time dressing herself up without doing housework or child care than the not beautiful wife. And the beautiful wife always spends a lot of money on clothing and cosmetics .

o Expert opinion & Statistics

Psycologists at Yale University investigated 3,519 married mens life spans .According to the report ,the men who married beautiful wives had a shorter life than the men who married not beautiful wives .The degree of beauty was in direct proportion to the husbands life-spans. In the study ,there was a scale of 1-20 points:20 points is the most beautiful wife and 1 point the least beautiful wife. The result was that men who had scored 1-12 points lived 12 years longer than men whose wife scored 13-20 points.

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Appendix 9

CLASSROOM DEBATE RUBRIC

Criteria Organization and Clarity : Viewpoints and responses are outlined both clearly and orderly Use of Arguments: Reasons are given to support viewpoints Use of example and facts: Examples and facts are given to support reasons Use of Rebuttal: Arguments made by the other team are responded to and dealt with effectively 1 Unclear in most parts Levels of Performance 2 3 Clear in some Most clear and parts but not orderly in all over all parts 4 Completely clear and orderly presentation

Few or no Some relevant relevant reasons reasons given given

Most Most relevant relevant reasons reasons given given :most in support relevant

Few or relevant supporting examples/facts

Some relevant examples/facts given

Many examples/facts given :most relevant

Some relevant supporting examples and facts given

No effective counterarguments made

Few effective counterarguments made

Some effective counterarguments made

Many effective counterarguments made

Presentation Style: Use of voice use of sentences structures ,and level of enthusiasm are convincing to the audience
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Few style features were used ;not convincingly

Few style features were used ;not convincingly

All style features were used ;not convincingly

Al l style features were used ;not convincingly

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Appendix 17

The Devils Advocate

You have two minutes to argue one side of each resolution. When you hear SWITCH, you will have two minutes to argue the opposite side of the resolution Then move on to the next one 1.Examinations are necessary 2.Watching television is good 3.One-session schools should be implemented 4.Women make better teachers 5.Corporal Punishment instils discipline in students

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Appendix 13

Class Debate Rubric

Category Information Excellent All information was accurate and clear Good Most information was accurate and clear Satisfactory eeds Improvement Information had several inaccuracies or was usually unclear Counterarguments were not accurate, relevant

Rebuttal

All counterarguments were accurate, relevant and strong All arguments were logical and clearly followed a premise The team clearly understood the topic fully and presented convincingly Showed high respect for other team in language, responses, and body language

Organization

Understanding of Topic

Respect for Other Team

Most information was accurate and clear,but not usually thorough Most counterMost counterarguments were arguments were accurate, accurate, relevant and relevant but strong several were weak Most arguments Arguments were logical were logical, and clearly but did not followed a always follow a premise premise The team The team clearly clearly understood the understood the topic fully and main points of presented with the topic and ease presented those well Showed good Showed respect for moderate other team in respect for language, other team in responses, and language, body language responses, and body language

Arguments were illogical but did not follow a premise The team did not exhibit an adequate understanding of the topic

Language, responses, and body language were consistently disrepectful

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Appendix 15

Debate Scoring Sheet

Debate Topic:____________________________________ Date:__________ Pro or Con (circle one) Names of Team members: (1)________________________ (2)________________________ (3)________________________ (4)________________________ Criteria Rate:1-10 Opening statement was clear,well organized,factual,and relevant. First argument in support of its position was stated clearly,was relevant,well informed Rebuttal to opposing sides first argument was clear,relevant ,and well informed Second argument in support of its position was stated clearly,was relevant, and well informed Rebuttal to opposing sides second argument was clear,relevant ,well informed,and effective Third argument in support of its position was stated clearly,was relevant,and well informed Rebuttal to opposing side argument was clear,relevant ,well informed,and effective Closing statement was stated clearly ,was relevant,and effectively summarized the teams position Answers to audience questions were clear,well-informed,and relevant Overall preparedness,effectiveness and professionalism in the debate Comments

Total points score:_______________________divided by 10=_______ (score for debate)

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Appendix 16

CRITICAL READI G O DEBATE ISSUES

Team members____________________________________ As you research your debate issue keep the following in mind Fact and Opinion Propaganda Techniques: Bandwagon, Scare Tactics, Slanted Words Cause and effect Source Reliability Bias or Stereotype Facts

Opinions?

Causes followed by effects?

How reliable is the source(qualifications of author,date of publication)?

Propaganda,Bias,or Stereotype?

Title________________________

Author_________________________ URL________________

Publication date____________

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Appendix 1A

DEBATE ROLES
Opening Statement Presenter: Gather the main arguments into an introductory statement. Does not give specific Information ;just says this is true because of A and B and C. 1.___________________________________ Topic Presenters: Present the main argument for the team .Each presenter give specific details that prove A and B and C. (2 or 3) 1.___________________________________ 2.___________________________________ 3.___________________________________ Rebuttal Presenters: Answer the argument of the other team. These presenters must takes notes as the other team is presenting their arguments and respond to every argument, using specific information to disprove them. (1 or 2) 1.__________________________________ 2.__________________________________ Closing Statement Presenter: Presents the closing argument for the team. Repeats the main idea for this and the reasons. 1._________________________________

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Appendix 14

Questions to Formulate a Debate Rubric

Is the student persuasive? Is the student well organized? Does the student focus on the central ideas of the debate? Is every statement supported by cited researched evidence? Is the research recent? Is the research complete or three large gaps of knowledge? Are an adequate number of sources used? Is the evidence presented biased in some way? Does the student make frequent eye contact with the audience? Does the student respond to all of the opponents points? Does the student challenge flaws in the oppositions arguments? Does the student avoid making faulty generalizations, distorting information ,and oversimplifying issues?

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Appendix 12

Fun Debate Strategies

The following fun strategies can be used to engage students and vary the debate structure by involving the entire class in different ways. Activity 1 For and Against Fluency Pairs For and Against S1 S2 Argument S1 S2 Argument

This simple pair speaking activity helps learners build confidence and fluency by recycling familiar material orally without the aid of notes.Students work over material a number of times so that vocabulary expansion exercises,comprehension questions,and note-taking practice.Then students prepare written arguments.Even students at a basic proficiency level can participate in this activity after completing these assignments,although lower level students were likely have mostly one-way communication at first with one speaker and one listener(see Figure 1,Activity 1).Intermediate or advance learners should be able to engage in exchanges which are more like discussions/arguments

Procedure
1.Explain the purpose of the activity which is to express opinions and recognize contrasting arguments 2.Seat the student in pairs facing one another or back-to-back,in two rows or concentric circles 3.Tell either the for or the against side to begin by stating their argument to their partner.Stress eye contact for students facing each other and comprehension check questions(e.g..,Pardon me?) for those sitting back-to-back .If partners need clarification or further explanation,they must ask the speaker. 4.Use a stopwatch and set a limit or allow the speaker to continue until everyone arguing for one side has finished . 5.Change partners and repeat steps four and five,after both partners have had a chance to speak.Continue with this rotation until the students can state their arguments with reasonable fluency.By reducing the length of speaking time after each rotation,students must restate the same information in increasingly shorter time periods

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Appendix 12

Acitivity 2 Classification Tree

Classification Tree Question yes points points point no point

support support support support

Acitivity 2:Classfication Tree The classification tree (figure 2) has many uses as an organizational tool.For example, teachers who use brainstorming as a pre-writing technique will find it can help students organize their thoughts during brainstorming sessions.In addition,it can be used for both writing and speaking exercises once students have organized ideas in a classification tree structure.When organizing their writing,students can be shown that the classification tree is a schematic representation of the paragraph.

Procedure
1.Assign some reading and writing on a familiar topic,such as homework before introducing the tree organization activity. 2.Pose a question to the class on the topic they have studied and write it at the top of the board(e.g.,Should?:)Assign half of the yes side,and half to the no side.Give them time to generate arguments. 3.Group students according to their position on the issue.Ask the yes side to supply one of their main points and write this on the board below yesThen,they should give supporting details to exemplify/clarify this point(e.g.,yes,homework is necessary)Homework reinforces learning.As in this example,each main point must have at least one supporting detail. 4.Write up two or three points like this for both sides.With this information organized on the board as a classification tree,explain how the tree structure can be used to organize ideas in brainstorm sessions,and how it mirrors the organization of a paragraph.The question at the top of a classsfication tree can easily become the topic of a topic sentence for a paragraph.A stated position (yes or no)become the controlling idea.Then,the paragraph is filled out with one or more main points along with supporting information. 5.Divide the class into small groups of three or four,tell them that they will develop a classification tree for a new topic(e.g.,childabuse).Pass out a new reading and address any comprehension problems 6.Begin the construction of another classification tree on the board by writing up a question for the new topic.Assign half of the yes side,and the other half to the no side or have them choose sides.Ask them,either as a again for main points and supporting details.They should also try to come up with at least one idea of their own.

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7.Have them complete their tree diagram and write a paragraph based on it for homework.Collect them for assessment and/or discussion in student-teacher conferencing sessions

Activity 3 The Hot Seat

The Hot Seat S4 Questions S3 or Arguments S2 reply S1 hot seat

The Hot Seat

This final activity is conducted after the teams have decided on the position they will take concerning the debate proposition.As a final debate simulation activity,The Hot Seat develops academic language skills,fosters peer collaboration and trains students to perform under pressure.The Hot Seat encourages the spontaneity required to participate effectively in cross-examination section of the debate event.Students practice formulating as well as anticipating and responding to possible debate questions.They review their knowledge of the topic and their arguments while practicing in a debate-like format

Procedure
1.Each debate team selects one of their members to sit the hot seat 2.Debate team members ask questions or present an argument to the person in the hot seat which they anticipate their opponents will use in the debate.One can leave the hot seat only after giving suitable responses.

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