7 metodika indd

For
Against
too much eff ort, much time, little time for the 
family, sometimes dangerous, little free time, 
special food, unhappy if they don’t win, create 
problems for their body
good for the country, famous in your 
country, much money and prizes, travelling 
a lot, meet new friends, visit a lot of 
countries, buy souvenirs, keep fi t
Step V
Once groups have started on their lists and you are confi dent they know what to 
do, brief the chairperson on his/her role and give him/her a slip of paper with some 
of the things she/he can say, e.g.
Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to class .... We are here today to debate the 
motion ............ Pupils for the motion are sitting on my left, pupils against the 
motion are sitting on my right. We have ... minutes for the debate. Please raise 
your hand when you wish to speak. I decide the person to speak. Please be polite 
and don’t interrupt. No-one may speak for more than 1 minute. At the end we are 
going to have a vote. Let’s begin.
(Turns to the “For” group).
Your time is up.
Next speaker please.
Order! Order!
That’s all we have time for.
Please vote now. If you are for the motion, raise your hand. (Counts.) If you 
are against, raise your hands. (Counts). 
The Fors/Againsts are the winners.
Step VI
Revise  how  to  give  an  opinion,  if  necessary,  and  how  to  agree/disagree.  If 
necessary, write the phrases on the blackboard.
e.g. I think that........
Sorry, I don’t agree. We know that..... so .....
It’s true that....... but .........
Step VII
Ask the pupils to arrange the classroom with the “Fors” opposite the “Againsts” 
and the chairman in the middle. Give each person except the chairman a small piece 
of paper. When a pupil speaks, s/he puts the paper in a box.
Every pupil must get rid of the paper, no pupil can speak if s/he has used her 
paper. This ensures that all pupils take part and no pupil dominates.
Explain that you will not take part in the debate. The chairperson is in charge 
and the pupils must do what he/she says. Explain that at the end of the debate the 
chairperson will ask everyone to vote. At that point they may vote according to their 
own ideas, not according to their role in the debate.

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Step VIII
Ask the chairman to begin the debate by reading from the paper you have given 
him/her. Do not interrupt the debate, try to sit in an inconspicuous place and note 
down any repeated mistakes pupils make, any particularly good things they say, any 
things they want to say but can’t/or say in mother tongue.
You will need these notes for feedback at the end of the debate.
Make  sure  that  after  the  given  minutes  the  chairperson  ends  the  debate  and 
organises the vote.
Step IX
After the vote bring the debate to a close. Let the pupils return to their proper 
seats. Then ask them for feedback on the activity. You could ask:
Did you enjoy the debate?
Why?/Why not?
Then you can tell them your feedback on their performance.