Language Assistant - Final Project
Topic: Informal Debate
Subject Area: Clauses of reason, clauses of purpose & result, clauses of contrast
Vocabulary: Science, technological advances & the future, politics
Student Grade: 2º de Bachillerato
Project and Learning Objects
The students will learn to use these grammatical topics within the context of an informal debate project. In pairs, the students will provide arguments for and against a debate topic of their choice. They must provide factual evidence, rational thinking, and compare and contrast the counter perspective.
Beyond teaching the grammatical concepts, the purpose of the project is to emphasize the importance of discourse and discussion as part of conversation, to “disagree productively”.
Project Organization and Timeline
First Class
The first class will present the topic, grammar, the project, and use the global ranking problems to begin the practice. Once students are done with the ranking, they should talk about their choices and why their order is more correct than another. Students should be asked to form pairs and choose a topic by the next class.
A video, such as the TedTalk below will provide a good introduction into the need for debate and why it is important to practice such skills. Depending on the English level of the students, alternative videos, subtitles in Spanish, or a comprehensive summary provided by the LA or teacher after the video would be helpful.
Next, a presentation that provides assignment details, examples of grammar expected, and links to resources and debate topics is needed to begin the project. A sample is included below. The LA should go over the presentation, discuss the grammar suggestions, and answer questions the students may have. Depending on the student's English levels, the grammar may need to be adjusted.
Lastly, a fun, in-class practice of ranking global issues can provide an initial understanding of how differently each student thinks about prioritizing limited resources. After completing this assignment, an open discussion can help expose why debate is necessary and how the students will be at a greater advantage being able to debate in multiple languages.
Second Class
During the next class, students should begin preparing their debate research and looking for statistics and arguments or counter arguments. When students know who their partner is and their debate topic, they should inform the LA and the teacher to ensure the topic is suitable. Then, they are to work on their contrasting arguments.
Students can use a comparison chart, found HERE, to help guide their arguments. Depending on the difficulty determined by the teacher, students can know their partner's arguments ahead of the debate (this will help prepare counter arguments in English). However, for a more difficult challenge, students should try to keep their key arguments secret and prepare counter-arguments for multiple scenarios.
Final Classes
The final classes (1-2 class periods) will be for the debate presentations. Depending on the preference of the students, LA, and teacher, students can have an organized order for presenting, volunteer, or be chosen randomly. Debate structures should remain the same for all students, and after each debate, the students not presenting should ask questions and vote on the winning position. A sample structure organization is provided below, modeled after the structure found HERE.
