Using ESL Debate Topics in Advanced English Classes:

An In-Depth Guide

Using ESL debate topics in an advanced-level English class is an effective way to enhance language
proficiency, critical thinking, and public speaking skills among students. The goal is to engage
students in meaningful discussions where they can express their opinions, argue constructively, and
listen actively to others, all while improving their English speaking skills. Remember, the aim is to build
better English classes, not better debaters.

Selection of Topics:
• Criteria for Selection: Choose topics that are relevant, thought-provoking, and have clear
contention points. Make sure they are appropriate for the age group of your students, their
interests, or trendy topics.
• Suggested Topics:
Globalization: Pros and cons.
The impact of social media on society.
Climate change and individual responsibility.
The ethics of artificial intelligence.
The future of work: Remote vs. office settings.
The role of genetic engineering in food production.
The influence of advertisements on consumer behavior.
Privacy vs. security in the digital age.
Space exploration: Is it worth the cost?

Preparation:
• Background Reading: Assign diverse resources such as academic articles, opinion pieces,
and multimedia content to provide a well-rounded view of the topic.
For example: Social Media:

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 Articles: From platforms like Harvard Business Review or Journal of Social Media Studies
discussing impacts on mental health, privacy issues, and economic effects.
Reports: Pew Research Center studies on social media trends and their societal impacts.
Videos and Documentaries: TED Talks and documentaries available on platforms like YouTube
or educational sites that explore both benefits and challenges of social media.

• Vocabulary Building: Compile a comprehensive list of vocabulary and phrases specific to the
debate topic and general debate terminology.

• General Debate Vocabulary: Argument, rebuttal, stance, advocacy, bias, premise, contention.
Topic-Specific Vocabulary (e.g., Social Media): Digital footprint, privacy settings, influencer,
viral marketing, data mining, cyberbullying.

• Expressions for Debating:

Introducing Points: "To begin with...", "Firstly...", "One important aspect...", "I'd like to begin
by addressing...", "Let's consider the fact that...", "It's important to understand that..."
Agreeing: "I support the idea that...", "I concur with...", "Absolutely correct...", "I
wholeheartedly agree with...", "There's substantial evidence supporting...", "Indeed, we
cannot overlook..."
Disagreeing: "On the contrary...", "I beg to differ because...", "That may not be entirely
accurate...", "However, we must not ignore the counterargument that...", "Contrary to what
has been suggested...", "While I understand the point, it's crucial to consider..."
Presenting Evidence: "Evidence suggests...", "Studies show that...", "According to data
from...", "Research demonstrates that...", "Statistics show..."
Concluding Arguments: "In conclusion...", "To sum up...", "Thus, we can see that..."
Inviting Opinions: "I'm curious to hear your thoughts on...", "How do you reconcile this
with...", "Could you elaborate on your stance regarding..."

*Suggested reading material in Annex 1

Organization:
• Divide into Teams: Organize students into two teams (pro and con) to argue for and against
the motion. Ensure diversity in team composition to balance skill levels and perspectives.
• Role Assignments: Assign clear roles within each team to promote inclusivity and ensure each
member contributes.
• Roles:
- Lead Speaker (First Speaker): Introduces the team’s thesis and outlines the main
arguments.
- Second Speaker: Elaborates on points introduced by the lead speaker, adding detailed
evidence and examples.
- Third Speaker (Rebuttal Lead): Focuses primarily on rebutting the arguments made by the
opposing team.

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 - Conclusion Speaker (Summary Speaker): Summarizes the key points made by their team
throughout the debate.
- Moderator: Facilitates the debate, manages timing, and ensures rules are followed.
- Judge: Evaluates the debate based on criteria such as clarity of arguments, use of
evidence, and persuasive communication.

*Suggested organization for a 6-student class in Annex 2.

• Time Allocation: Define specific times for each part of the debate to keep discussions focused
and efficient.
- Lead Speaker (First Speaker): 3 minutes
- Second Speaker: 3 minutes
- Third Speaker (Rebuttal Lead): 3 minutes
- Conclusion Speaker (Summary Speaker): 3 minutes

*The above is just a suggestion for a small class and it can vary depending on the size of the student.

Conducting the Debate:

• Moderator Role: The teacher moderates the debate, enforcing rules, keeping time, and
ensuring a respectful exchange of ideas.
• Use of Evidence: Stress the importance of using factual data from the assigned readings to
back up arguments.
• Active Listening: Emphasize the need for debaters to listen carefully to their opponents to
effectively counter their arguments.

Post-Debate Activities:
• Reflection: Encourage students to write a reflection on what they learned from the debate and
how their views were challenged or changed.
• Feedback Session: Provide individual and team feedback focusing on the usage of language,
strength of arguments, and presentation skills.
• Discussion: Hold a post-debate discussion to allow students to decompress and discuss the
topic casually, further exploring any unresolved thoughts.

Evaluation:
• Criteria: Use a detailed rubric to assess students on fluency, content management, accuracy,
vocabulary, and organization of ideas.
• Self-Evaluation: Ask students to evaluate their own performances to identify strengths and
areas for improvement.

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Score Criteria 0.5 1 1.5 2
The speaker is generally
The speaker sometimes accurate, with minor The speaker provides an
Speaker frequently makes includes inaccurate errors that do not accurate and detailed
factual errors, leading to details, which might mislead the audience understanding of the topic,
misunderstandings of the question their argument's about the overall with key facts presented
Accuracy topic. reliability. argument. correctly and effectively.
The speaker's content The speaker delivers The speaker's content is
The speaker's content is shows a basic level of content that is clearly well-structured and
notably disorganized, organization but lacks reasonably well- tightly organized, effectively
frequently straying from the smooth transitions and organized, supporting supporting the main points
Content main topic, and lacks coherent sequence in presenting the main points with a with logical and compelling
Management argumentation. arguments. mostly logical flow. arguments.
The speaker has
The speaker has frequent occasional hesitations or The speaker shows a The speaker is fluent, with
hesitations, restarts often, and uneven speech, which generally smooth flow speech flowing naturally and
speaks too slowly, causing a may somewhat affect with minor hesitations, maintaining an engaging and
significant disruption to the clarity and listener maintaining a mostly steady pace throughout the
Fluency flow of speech. engagement. consistent pace. debate.
The speaker's ideas are
The speaker's ideas have The speaker's ideas are excellently organized, each
The speaker's ideas lack some organization but organized in a logical connecting smoothly to the
structure, with unclear need clearer connections sequence, with clear next, effectively strengthening
Organization beginnings, middles, or ends, and more cohesive progression but minor the argument's
of Ideas leading to audience confusion. presentation. room for improvement. persuasiveness.
The speaker has a good
command of vocabulary, The speaker demonstrates a
The speaker's vocabulary is The speaker uses basic generally using strong and varied vocabulary,
very limited, often impeding vocabulary correctly and appropriate language consistently using precise
the effective communication of occasionally uses more that supports the language that significantly
Vocabulary complex concepts. complex terms properly. argument. enhances the argument.

Continuous Improvement:

• Solicit Feedback: Regularly ask for student feedback on the debate format and topics to refine
future debates.
• Variation: Introduce new formats like panel discussions, persuasive speeches, or town hall
meetings to maintain interest and challenge.

By following this guide, you can create a dynamic and engaging debate environment that helps
students improve their English language skills while also developing their critical thinking and public
speaking abilities.

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 ANNEX 1
Video: The Power of Debate In The Classroom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjCVgOa5Wuc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljHhesCzH98

Material to read and/or watch videos about Globalization, Social Media and Climate Change:

• Globalization:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ted+talks+about+globalization
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/globalization/

• Social Media:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ted+talks+about+social+media

Influencers: The Modern Entrepreneur:

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/influencers-modern-entrepreneur/3rd-
grade/

Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7364393/

• Climate change:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ted+talks+about+climate+change

• Others: https://esldiscussions.com https://noisyclassroom.com/debate-topics/

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 ANNEX 2

Debate Setup for 6 Students

You could organize the students into two teams of three each. This allows each student to
take on a clear role in the debate, ensuring active participation.

Team A and Team B (3 students per team) Roles within Each Team:
Lead Speaker: Opens the debate by introducing the team's primary arguments and thesis.
Second Speaker: Expands on the arguments provided by the lead speaker and begins
addressing points made by the opposing team's lead speaker.
Conclusion Speaker: Summarizes the team's arguments and focuses on rebutting the key
points made by the opponents throughout the debate.

Adjusted Roles for Smaller TeamsLead Speaker also acts as the Rebuttal Lead,
incorporating some rebuttal into both their introduction and further into the debate as needed.

Second Speaker provides additional evidence and support for the arguments and begins the
rebuttal process.

Conclusion Speaker not only summarizes but also ensures a strong final emphasis on why
their team's viewpoint is superior, considering the debate’s progression.

Moderator
The teacher usually takes on the role of the moderator, managing the flow of the debate,
keeping time, and ensuring that rules are followed.

Judge
The teacher can also act as the judge unless there is an opportunity to invite another staff
member or advanced student to watch and provide an unbiased judgment. Alternatively, the
class could also participate in evaluating each other based on predefined criteria, promoting
critical listening and fair assessment.

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Benefits of This Setup in a Small Class:Maximum Participation: Each student has a clear
role and multiple opportunities
to speak, ensuring they are engaged and actively contributing.
Skill Development: Smaller teams mean each student’s contribution is significant,
encouraging them to develop their speaking, reasoning, and rebuttal skills more intensely.
Feedback Opportunities: With fewer students, the teacher can provide more detailed,
personalized feedback to each participant, aiding their development in specific areas of public
speaking and argumentation.

Conducting the Debate:

Introduction by the Moderator: Explain the topic and the structure of the debate.

Opening Statements: Each lead speaker presents.

Expansion of Arguments: Second speakers add depth to the team's arguments.

Rebuttals and Summaries: Conclusion speakers wrap up and focus on countering the
opposing arguments.

Closing by the Moderator: Summarize the debate’s proceedings and declare a pause for
deliberation before announcing results.

Feedback Session: Discuss what was done well and what could be improved.

Note:

You could organize the students into two teams of three each. This allows each student to
take on a clear role in the debate, ensuring active participation. It’s important to provide
students with the topic and reading material in advance, but assign them to the pro or con
group on the same day of the debate. Make sure to emphasize that it is vital for them to read
and come to class well-prepared, as they will not have time to read during class on the day of
the debate.

Once the teacher has created the pro and con groups, allocate about 20 minutes for each
group to organize their ideas among themselves. During this preparation time, the teacher
should monitor the groups, offering guidance as needed but allowing students to lead their
own discussions. Each student will have exactly 3 minutes to express themselves during the
debate on the roles given—no less, no more.

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