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ББК Ш 143.21 X 12

Debating and discussing social, political and economic issues. Английский язык : учебное пособие для студентов старших курсов факультетов и специальностей с углублённым изучением иностранных языков / сост. Н. В. Никулина – Хабаровск: РИЦ ХГАЭП, 2008. – 80 с.

Рецензенты: Е.А.Яшкина, канд. филолог. наук, доцент, завкафедрой иностранных языков ДВГУПС Т. И. Лаптева,

канд. филолог. наук, доцент, ректор ДВИИЯ

Debating and discussing social, political and economic issues

Английский язык

Учебное пособие

Редактор Г.С. Одинцова

680042, Хабаровск, ул. Тихоокеанская, 134, ХГАЭП, РИЦ © Хабаровская государственная академия экономики и права, 2008

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Предисловие

Настоящее учебное пособие предназначено для студентов старших курсов специальностей с углубленным изучением английского языка, в учебную программу которых входит курс Debating and discussing social, political and economic issues.

Пособие состоит из двух частей – теоретических вопросов и правил составления речей, презентация, ведения дискуссий и дебатов и практикума, куда включены тексты различной тематики. Практикум содержит лексический минимум тематического характера, а также устойчивые выражения и клише, необходимые для успешного ведения бесед, дискуссий и переговоров.

Цель упражнений, включённых в пособие, – пополнить словарный запас и активизировать устную речь студентов.

Впособие включены упражнения следующего характера:

-использование пройденной лексики в ситуациях;

-описание и комментирование эпизодов с использованием активной лексики;

-перевод;

-выражение контрастных суждений;

-ролевая игра;

-коммуникативная игра;

-обсуждение проблемных вопросов;

-дискуссии и дебаты на заданную тему;

-составление проектов.

Пособие включает новые слова и выражения, их синонимы и дефиниции, тексты на различные темы для активного обсуждения с лексическими разработками, а также тексты для самостоятельного чтения и изучения, материал которых может быть использован студентами во время дискуссий как дополнительный.

Основная цель пособия – развитие навыков ведения дискуссий и дебатирования на английском языке, составления публичных речей и презентаций, а также пополнение словарного запаса студентов.

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Part I. The Basic Rules of Presenting, Debating and

Discussing in English

1.1. Developing a presentation

A presentation is a report one gives to others. Typically, it is an oral report given to an audience. It can also be a short report, a long analysis, a narrative of any length, formal or informal. Whether oral or written, the presentation format should be clear and organized.

In many countries, a business executive is expected to use sophisticated language, but the American workplace prizes simplicity, clarity, and brevity. If you want to make a perfect presentation, organize your thought. At the end of your report, your listeners should be able to repeat it backto you .

Assessing the Speaking Situation

In starting to develop a presentation, you need to consider your speaking situation in terms of the following: selecting your subject, narrowing your subject to a topic, analyzing your audience, and meeting special guidelines.

Narrowing Your Subject to a Topic

In preparing a presentation, it is important to narrow your subject into a specific topic you can cover in the time available. For example, you might be asked to give a presentation on the subject of drug abuse. This, however, is a very broad area. You need to develop this subject into a specific topic, such as causes of teen drug abuse in the United States, consequences of drug abuse, ways to stop drug abuse, or types of drug abuse. In fact, one mistake that many inexperienced speakers make is to choose a topic that is much too broad. Here are three ways to begin limiting your subject to a specific topic with a clear, limited focus:

1. Restricting your purpose: In identifying a topic, ask yourself, "What exactly do I want to do in this presentation?" That is, what do you want your listeners to understand, to believe, to feel, or to do as a result of your presentation? In academic and professional situations, most speakers have one of two purposes: to inform or to persuade.

If your purpose is to inform your listeners, you want them to understand and remember the information you present. In an informative presentation, your purpose may be to:

If your purpose is to persuade your listeners, you want them to agree with your point of view. In a persuasive presentation, your purpose may be to:

2. Asking focus questions:

Focus questions can help you shape a broad subject into a specific topic. Consider the following list of questions, using your general subject in place of S. You should skip any questions that do not apply to your subject.

•What are the causes of S?

•What are the effects or consequences of S?

•What are the advantages or benefits of S?

•What are the disadvantages or drawbacks of S?

•What are the dangers of S?

•What are problems or difficulties associated with S?

•What are ways to prevent or reduce S?

•What are ways to encourage or increase S?

•What are the important qualities or characteristics of S?

•What are different types of S?

•What are reasons to oppose S?

- What are reasons to support S?

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3. Limiting the scope:

You can also narrow your subject by limiting the scope of your presentation. You can do this by including on or more of the following in your topic:

•A specific place: in this city or at this school

•A specific time: recent advances or future developments

•A specific number: three main effects or four basic reasons

•A specific type: prescription drugs (not all drugs)

Of course, it takes time to shape your ideas into the best possible topic. In planning your presentation, you may have to adjust your topic to suit your information, your time limits, and your listeners. As you develop your pre - sentation further, you should feel free to rethink and change the focus of your topic.

Analyzing Your Audience.

In a speaking class, you may be unsure of your "real" audience—the teacher or the other students. Generally, you should speak to the other students since they form the majority of your audience. Before selecting a topic, try to find out what kind of information your listeners might find interesting, useful, or necessary. To analyze your audience, consider the following points:

1.Background information: What characteristics do your listeners share: nationality, field of study, occupation, age, sex, etc.? As much as possible, try to relate your message directly to their common characteristics.

2.Current situation: What goals, experiences, or problems do your listeners

3. Wants and needs: What are your listeners' wants and needs? According to psychologists, many people want or need:

•To have friends, family, romance, and companionship

•To enjoy success—personally, professionally, emotionally

•To be valued and appreciated by others

•To have self-respect and self-confidence

•To earn or save money

•To be safe and secure

•To save time and/or effort

•To be happy

•

Of course, these wants and needs vary from person to person, group to group, and culture to culture, so you should try to decide which of these apply to your listeners.

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4. Level of English: If your listeners are mainly nonnative speakers of English, are they all at the same level of ability or of mixed abilities? To make your message clear, you need to use language that everyone can understand.

5.Knowledge of the subject: How much do your listeners already know about your proposed subject? What new information or insights can you provide? Clearly, you do not want to waste your listeners' time by repeating information they already know. Furthermore, you do not want to present a topic that is too technical or too specialized for them.

Meeting Special Guidelines

When planning a presentation, be sure to follow any guidelines you have been given, such as the following:

1.Due date: When exactly is the presentation due?

2.Time limits: What is the time limit? Can you speak longer than the

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mum, or will you be cut off at the end of this time?

3. Other guidelines: Are there any other requirements that you should follow? For example, did your teacher assign a specific topic or purpose for your presentation (such as to explain a process), or ask you to hand in presentation notes?

Exploring Your Topic

To find out whether you have chosen a suitable topic, you need to spend some time exploring it further. Two strategies—listing and clustering—can help you remember or discover what you know about a topic. After using these strategies, you may discover that you want to use a different topic. That's great! You should always be searching for the best possible topic.

Listing

Listing is an individual brainstorming activity. The goal is to discover all the ideas you have on a particular topic. You can then select those ideas that you might use in your presentation. Here is how listing works:

•At the top of a sheet of paper, write the topic you want to explore.

•Set a time limit of five to ten minutes.

•Write every idea that comes to mind. Do not stop to consider whether each idea is good or bad, useful or not.

•Write quickly, using words or short phrases. Do not worry about grammar or spelling.

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•Use your imagination, and let your ideas flow. List every idea that comes to mind!

At the end of the time period, stop to review the ideas you have listed. At this point you may want to:

•Cross out any ideas that do not seem to fit.

•Put a check next to the most useful or interesting ideas.

Imagine that you have decided to give a presentation on the disadvan tages of living in a city. Here is a possible list of ideas that you might develop:

Disadvantages of Living in a City

Murders, robberies

Subway is dangerous at night.

Rents are very expensive.

One can't afford to buy a place to live.

No parking

Buses, streets are crowded.

Rude, unfriendly people

Many accidents

Worry about being mugged.

Dirty streets—litter

Too much noise

Not enough trees or flowers—concrete!

Crime

Traffic jams

Afraid to go out at night

Taxis are expensive.

Homeless people on streets

Ugly buildings

Litter in streets

Clustering

Clustering is a way of seeing possible relationships among your ideas. It is easier to use this strategy if you have some sense of the main points you want to present. Here is how clustering works:

• In a word or short phrase, 'write your topic in the middle of a sheet of paper. Circle this topic.

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•Write the main points, each in a word or short phrase. Place these main points around the circled topic. Circle each main point and then use a line to connect each one to the topic in the center.

•Now think of supporting information (explanations, examples, details, etc.) that relates to each main point. Write these ideas around the related main point. Again, circle each idea and connect it to the related main point with a line.

Organizing Your Ideas

After you have chosen a topic, you can begin developing the body, or main section, of your presentation. Basically, you develop the body by breaking down your topic into several main points. You then support each main point with specific information such as examples, explanations, facts, and details. In developing your topic, it is important to use from two to five main points. By limiting the number of main points, you will make it easier for listeners to understand and remember the information you present. If you use more than five main points, your listeners may have difficulty trying to follow your ideas.

Using Transitions to Connect Ideas

1. Work individually. Imagine that you are giving a brief presentation using the following information. Write brief notes on index cards, using only key words to help you remember the information. Leave enough space on each note card to add transitional expressions as you plan your presentation.

Ways of Coping with Stress

I. Physical

A.Exercise: jog, go bike riding, play tennis

B.Eat regular, healthy meals: limit salt and sugar, control caffeine

C. Avoid unhealthy habits: smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs

II. Emotional

A.Spend time with friends and family for emotional support and understanding

B.Try to let go of bad feelings, anger

C.Keep a positive outlook by looking at the good side of things

D.Be ready to laugh at yourself and your mistakes

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III.Mental

B.Ignore things that you can't control: traffic jams, flat tires, delayed meetings, rude drivers

IV. Mix of Physical, Emotional, Mental

A.Get a pet

presentation. How can you gain your listeners' interest? Here are several strategies:

1. Relate your topic to your listeners' concerns. Consider the audience

analysis that you did earlier in this unit. What goals, problems, or experiences do your listeners have in common? To get their attention, you might explain how you can help them achieve a goal, solve a problem, or improve their lives. What about their wants and needs? You might ex plain how you can help them make new friends, save money, or get better grades.

2.Tell an anecdote that relates to your topic. People seem to have a natural interest in hearing stories about people they know or have heard of.

3.Ask your listeners one or more questions. These questions will involve them and keep them interested in your presentation.

4.Use a quotation from an expert.

5.Offer an interesting or surprising fact, opinion, or statement.

Of course, your "attention grabber" must relate directly to your topic. In any case, try not to begin with, "The subject of my presentation is . . . " or "I'm going to talk to you about . . . ," since these are not interesting ways to start a presentation.

Developing an introduction

Here are some sample introductions that attract attention and preview the content: Relating Your Topic to Your Listeners' Concerns and Asking Questions

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How many of you have flown across the ocean in the past year? How did you feel when you arrived at your destination? If you're like me, you felt tired, you couldn't think very clearly, and you had a lot of trouble sleeping for several days. These feelings are known as jet Jag. Jet lag happens when you cross several time zones on a trip, and then you have to eat, sleep, and work at times when your body wants to do something else. Today I'm going to tell you how you can avoid jet lag by controlling four main factors—food, drink, activity, and light.

Telling an Anecdote

Yesterday evening, I took a bus home from work, as I usually do. I had had a good day at work, and was looking forward to a relaxing evening with my family. Well, the trip usually takes twenty minutes, but yesterday it took me more than an hour—all because of a traffic jam! By the time 1 got home, I was tired, hungry, and angry. And why was I in such a terrible mood? Because of traffic! This experience made me realize how traffic problems affect all of us. Today I'd like to talk to you about three ways of improving the traffic problem in our city. First, I'll talk about banning parking in the city; second, about banning cars fro m the center of town; and last, about improving public transportation.

Offering an Interesting Fact

I read an interesting article in the newspaper yesterday: the average American teenager watches five to six hours of television every day. Can this much television be good for anyone? In my opinion, spending so much time in front of the television has many negative consequences. Today I'd like to focus on three consequences that I think are especially harmful. First, television encourages teenagers to waste their time. Second, television makes teenagers passive.

And, finally, television gives teenagers very unrealistic view of life.

Using a Quotation

In 1787 Thomas Jefferson said, and I quote,

"Travelling. This makes men wiser, but less happy." I think if Jefferson were speaking today, he might say, "Traveling makes men and worthy and wiser, but less happy." However, the message would be the same. Traveling certainly has its difficulties, but today I'd like to look at the ways it makes people wiser. I'll discuss three major benefits of traveling: first, educational benefits; then, cultural benefits; and finally, social benefits”.

Developing a Strong Conclusion

The conclusion of your presentation is important because you want to leave a strong impression on your listeners. You should be brief and to the point in concluding your presentation. You don't want to surprise people by suddenly

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announcing, "That's all," or "I guess I'm finished." That kind of ending shows that you have not organized your ideas very well. Generally, in your conclusion, you want to:

•Signal that you are about to finish the presentation

•Make concluding comments

•Thank the audience

•Ask whether the listeners have any questions

You can use one of the following strategies in your concluding comments:

1.Summarize or review the main points you have presented.

2.Remind listeners of the importance of what you have said.

3.Predict future consequences of what you have described.

4.Ask your listeners to take appropriate action.

1.2. The language of meetings and discussions

1.2.1. Presenting an argument

Beginning

I would like to begin by…

I would like to make a few remarks concerning…

I would like to comment on the problem…

I would like to mention briefly…

There are three points I’d like to make…

The most important points seem to me to be…

Ordering

First of all we must bear in mind..

At the outset…

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To begin with…

Firstly… Secondly… Thirdly… Finally…

Introducing a new point

I would now like to turn briefly to the problem of…

The next issue I would like to focus on is… Turning to…

Adding

In addition…

I might add that…

As well as…, there is also…

Not only …, but also …

Furthermore…

Moreover..

Giving an example

Let me give an example…

To illustrate this point, let us consider…

A case in point is…

Balancing

On the one hand…, but on the other hand… Although …we mustn’t forget…

Whereas … , we have to remember…

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In spite of.. , I still think…

Despite the fact that…, I …

Generalizing

On the whole..

In general..

Generally speaking…

By and large…

All in all…

All things considered…

Stating preferences

.I’d rather.. than..

I prefer.. to..

I tend to favour.. as opposed to..

.. has advantages over .. in that.. The main advantage of.. is that..

Concluding

Let me conclude by saying…

I’d like to conclude by stating that…

Allow me to conclude by highlighting the fact that…

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that..

I would now like to conclude my comments by reassuring you that we are fully aware of the fact that…

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1.2.2. Expressing opinions

Giving strong opinions

I firmly believe that…

I’m absolutely convinced that..

It’s my belief that…

There’s no doubt in my mind that..

It’s quite clear that…

I’m certain that…

It’s my considered opinion that…

Giving Neutral Opinions

I think that..

In my opinion…

It’s my opinion that..

As I see it..

As far as I’m concerned…

From my point of view..

Giving Tentative Opinions

It seems to me that..

I would say that..

As far as I’m able to judge…

I think it would be fair to say that…

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Summarizing

Well, if I could just sum up the decision…

To summarize, I think we are in agreement on…

To sum up, there seems to be..

In short..

Briefly, the main points that have been made are..

Well, the main points that have been made are..

Well, at this stage I feel I should summarize the matter as it stands…

I f I may just go over the main points raised so far?

1.2.3. Agreeing and Disagreeing.

Strong Agreement

I completely agree.

I agree entirely with your point of view.

I am of exactly the same opinion.

I am in total agreement.

Neutral Agreement

I agree.

I think we are in agreement on that.

I think you are right.

I think we can accept your position on that.

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Partial Agreement

I would tend to agree with you on that.

I agree with you on the whole, but it could be said that….

I agree in principle, but…

By and large I would accept your views, but…

Although I agree with most of what you’ve said, I find it difficult to agree with your point about…

Softening Strong Disagreement

Frankly,..

To be quite frank,..

To put it bluntly,…

With respect,…

Strong Disagreement

I totally disagree with you.

I don’t agree at all.

You are completely mistaken.

I disagree entirely.

Under no circumstances could I agree to that.

What you are saying is just not feasible.

Softening Neutral Disagreement

I’m afraid…

I’m sorry…

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With respect…

I respect your opinion, of course, however…

Neutral Disagreements

I don’t completely agree with you on that. I really can’t agree with you on that.

I can’t say that I share your view.

I’m not totally convinced by your argument. I can’t accept you point of view.

I feel I must disagree.

Tactful Disagreement

I agree up to a point , but…

To a certain extent I agree with you, but… You have a point there, but…

I have some sympathy with your position, but…

1.2.4. Interrupting

May I interrupt you for a moment?

Sorry to interrupt you , but..

If I may just interrupt you for a moment? I’d like to … I don’t want to interrupt, but…

Could I come in at this point?

Could I say something about…?

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If I could just come in here …?

If no one objects, I’d like to say a few words about…

I have a point to make here.

Excuse me, but I’d just like to point out that…

I’d like to add something here, if I may?

May I draw your attention to the fact that…

Before we go any further, may I point out …

Coming back to what I was saying…

Your question leads us back to…

1.2.5. Clarifying

Asking for Confirmation

Would I be correct in saying that…?

If I understood you correctly, you’re saying that…?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but…

When you say… do you mean that…?

Are you saying that…?

Asking for a Repetition

I’m afraid I’m not quite clear what you mean by that.

I’m sorry, I didn’t quite follow what you said about …

I’m afraid i don’t understand what you mean.

I’m afraid I didn’t quite get your last poin. Could you go over it again please?

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Correcting misunderstandings

I’m afraid there seems to have been a slight misunderstanding.

We seem to be talking at cross purposes.

I think you’ve misunderstood me.

That isn’t quite what I meant.

With respect, that is not what I said.

Re-phrasing

Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear. Basically, what i am trying to say is… Sorry, I’m probably not making myself clear. Let me put it another way… Perhaps i should make that clearer by saying…

Allow me to rephrase that.

To be more specific,…

1.2.6. Questioning

Would you mind…?

I was wondering if you…?

I wonder if you could…?

May I ask..?

Could you be a little more precise?

I/m sorry, but could you explain in a little more detail?

Could you give us more details about..?

Would you care to elaborate on that?

Could you expand on that?

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1.2.7. Compromising

Offering a compromise

We are prepared to.. , on condition that…

I think we could … provided that…

We are ready to … on the understanding that …

We are willing to .. with the proviso that…

We are more than ready to… , as long as …

I believe we can…, if…

Asking if it’s acceptable

Is that acceptable?

Would that be acceptable?

Would that be satisfactory?

Is that acceptable as compromise solution?

We hope that this will be acceptable.

Accepting a compromise.

I think that would be perfectly acceptable.

We see no objection to that.

That seems to be a reasonable compromise.

In a spirit of a compromise, we would be willing to accept your offer. To meet you halfway on this, I think we could agree to your condition.

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1.2.8. Procedures for a formal meeting

Language Checklist

Chairing and leading discussion

Opening the meeting

Ladies and Gentlemen, I declare the meeting open.

Thank you for coming…

We’ve received apologies from…

Any comments on our previous meetings?

Right, shall we get started?

Let’s get down to business, shall we?

The Minutes

May I remind the minutes?

Would someone move that the minutes of the last meeting be accapted? Has everyone seen the minutes?

Can we take the minutes as read?

Introducing the agenda

Has everyone seen the agenda?

You’ve all seen the agenda…

On the agenda, you’ll see there are three items.

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There is one main item to discuss…

The first item on the agenda today is…

I would like to add an item to the agenda.

Could we delete item 5 from the agenda?

Stating objectives

We are here today to hear about plans for…

Our objective is to discuss different ideas…

What we want to do today is to reach a decision…

The purpose of today’s meeting is…

Perhaps we should first look at…

Introducing discussion

The background to the problem is…

This issue is about…

The point we have to understand is…

Calling on a speaker, giving a floor

I’d like to ask Mr.X to tell us about…

Can we hear from Mr.Passas on this?

I know that you have prepared a statement on your Department’s views… I’d like to give the floor to miss Hinton.

Mrs.Williams, would you like to say something about this?

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Mr.Brown, I think you know something about this problem. Have you got anything to say, John?

What are your views on this,Anne?

Taking the floor

Excuse me, Mr.Chair, may I say something, please?

With the Chair’s permission, I’d like to take up the point about…

Could I just make a point about?

Could I say something here, please?

Finishing a point

Has anyone anything further they wish to add before we move on to the next item on the agenda?

Has anyone anything further to add?

Directing

We seem to be losing sight of the main point. The question is…

This isn’t really relevant ot our discussion. What we are trying to do is…

Could you stick to the subject, please?

Let’s not get sidetracked. The issue under discussion is…

Controlling the meeting and keeping order

Sorry, Hans,can we let Magda finish?

Er, Henry, we can’t talk about that.

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We can’t all speak at once; Mr.Newby, would you like to speak first? Mrs.Wilson , would you mind addressing your remarks to the chair, please.

Postponing discussion

Well, Ladies and Genlemen, with your approval, I propose to defer this matter until we have more information at our disposal.

If no-one has any objections, I suggest that we leave this matter until our next meeting.

Perhaps we could leave this for the time being. We can come back to it later.

Proposing

With the Chair’s permission, I move that…

Mr. Chair, I’ll second that motion.

I would like to propose the motion that…

Would anyone like to second the motion?

Moving to a Vote

Perhaps we should take a formal vote on this.

Can I ask for a show of hands?

Let’s put it to the vote.

Could we take a vote on it?

Can we move to a vote on this?

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Voting

In the event of a tie, I would like to remind you that I have a casting vote. Those for the motion, please?

Those against?

Any abstentions?

The motion is carried unanimously.

The motion has been rejected by 6 voted to 5.

Consensus

It seems that we have a consensus

Can I take it everyone in favour?

Are we all agreed on that?

Well, it looks as if we are broadly in agreement on this.

Any other business

Is there any other business?

Any further points?

Is there anyhting else to discuss?

Moving the discussion on

Can we go on to think about…

Let’s move to the next point.

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Summarizing

So, what you are saying is…

Can I summarize that? You mean…

So, the main point is…

Closing the meeting

I think we have covered everything.

I declare the meeting closed. Thank you Ladies and Genlemen. That concludes our business for today. Thank you.

Well, I think that covers everything.

That’s all for today. Thank you.

1.3. Discover Debates

1.3.1.Explaining an opinion

The basis for a successful debate is explaining your opinion in a right way. An opinion is also called a Resolution, which can be:

-the resolution of FACT

-the resolution of VALUE

-the resolution of POLICY

To support a resolution one has to provide good and strong reasons. A strong reason has the following qualities:

-A strong reason must logically support the opinion

-A strong reason must be specific and state the idea clearly

-A strong reason must be convincing to a majority of people

The reasons, however, must have solid support to stand strong and support an opinion.

There are several types of reasons and supports that can be used to organize an opinion during the debate. They are presented in the following scheme: