Presented as an extended MyShare for the Yokohama Chapter of JALT on December 18 2011.
Alternately titled “How to climb a mountain in 90 minutes or less”, this presentation reviews the obstacles (and solutions) to applications of English debate at the JHS level. Drawing on five years of experience across 57 schools, the results are clear – debate is an appropriate, attainable, and natural conclusion to compulsory English education.
I gave this MyShare while sweating profusely, as I had made the foolish mistake of packing a day's worth of content into an unbelievable 25 minutes.
The best takeaway-point was employing the "Reason Relay" activity in your classroom. Starting from zero, teams or individuals add points to their score through constructive reasoning.
If asked to compare the seasons, you might see some plays like so:
"We can go swimming in summer." 1 point added to Summer's score
"Fall doesn't have many fruits." 1 point subtracted from Fall's score
"Spring is the most beautiful season, because we can see many flowers" 2 points added..
"Spring is the most beautiful season, because we can see many flowers, for example roses, daffodils, and daisies." 3 points added...
And so on. By changing the arrangement or scale of point scores, you can provide some structure and extrinsic motivation for students as they get comfortable with their arguments and statements required for debate.
Click here for the entry on the altsjapan web page.
Alternately titled “How to climb a mountain in 90 minutes or less”, this presentation reviews the obstacles (and solutions) to applications of English debate at the JHS level. Drawing on five years of experience across 57 schools, the results are clear – debate is an appropriate, attainable, and natural conclusion to compulsory English education.
I gave this MyShare while sweating profusely, as I had made the foolish mistake of packing a day's worth of content into an unbelievable 25 minutes.
The best takeaway-point was employing the "Reason Relay" activity in your classroom. Starting from zero, teams or individuals add points to their score through constructive reasoning.
If asked to compare the seasons, you might see some plays like so:
"We can go swimming in summer." 1 point added to Summer's score
"Fall doesn't have many fruits." 1 point subtracted from Fall's score
"Spring is the most beautiful season, because we can see many flowers" 2 points added..
"Spring is the most beautiful season, because we can see many flowers, for example roses, daffodils, and daisies." 3 points added...
And so on. By changing the arrangement or scale of point scores, you can provide some structure and extrinsic motivation for students as they get comfortable with their arguments and statements required for debate.
Click here for the entry on the altsjapan web page.
