Tennis Debate

Session 2
Using Debating as a Teaching
Strategy to Develop Language
Skills and Critical Thinking
June 2013
English Language Education Section
Curriculum Development Institute, EDB

Useful Resources

Debate.org
Useful Sites
BBC homepage- Student Life (debate)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/debate/
Debatabase by IDEA (International Debate Education
Association)
http://idebate.org/debatabase
http://www.debate.org/debates/cell-phones-should-be-allowedin-school/5/
http://idebate.org/debatabase/debates/education/housebelieves-single-sex-schools-are-good-education

Hong Kong Public Libraries
Resource
http://www.hkpl.gov.hk/tc_chi/coll
ections/services_er/services_er_wa
e/services_er_wae.html

Integrating Debating into the Compulsory
Part and Other Elective Modules
Benefits:
• Encourage more participation, interaction and
impromptu responses in class
• Allow students to experience debating without
necessarily taking the elective module
• Ease students’ fear by doing without the formal
set-up and procedure of debating
• Help students see how debating-related skills are
embedded in and transferrable to different
aspects of their English Language learning
• Develop students’ ability to think critically and
consider an issue from multiple perspectives

Useful and Common Debate Games
• Balloon Debate
• Four-corner Game
• Stakeholder Debate Game
• X vs. Y Comparison Debate
• Devil’s Advocate
• Tennis Debate
• Angels and Devils (conscience
alley)

Balloon Debate
• Speakers are flying in a hot-air balloon which is
sinking
• Someone must be thrown out for the others to
survive
This activity allows teachers to design characters
based on what students have been learning (e.g.
historical figures, characters in a story).
• Each speaker (usually in the role of a famous person,
profession, fictional character) has to persuade the
audience why he/she should not be thrown out
• The audience vote to decide who can stay
• Other perilous situations such a shipwrecked raft, or
a nuclear bunker may be used to replace a sinking
balloon

Four-corner Game
• Place four separate signs: Strongly Agree, Somewhat
Agree, Somewhat Disagree and Strongly Disagree in
each of the corners of the classroom
• Pose different topics/statements to the class based
on students’ level of maturity
This activity encourages all students, even the
passive ones, to take side and express their views.
• Ask students to walk to the corner that best
describes how they feel about the topic
• Ask the group to discuss the topic and share the
reasons for their decisions with the class
• Repeat with another topic

Stakeholder Debate Game
• Set up a topic for the class to debate (e.g. Secondary students
should stay at school for lunch)
• Ask students to list the stakeholders involved (e.g. parents,
teachers, students, janitors, restaurant owners nearby)
This role play activity encourages students to
think out of the box and consider issues from
multiple perspectives.
• Write the names of stakeholders on index cards. Give each
student a card. Students of the same role form a group
• Ask students to make a list of arguments for or against the
situation, based on the stakeholder they represent
• Each stakeholder group takes turn to present their arguments.
Other groups can ask questions to challenge their stance.
An example using a topic related to social issues
Stakeholder debate - Compensated dating.doc

X vs. Y Comparison Debate
• Choose some students to serve as judges
• Split the rest of the class into two groups. Each group
will represent one item/figure
This • Ask activity each group allows to students brainstorm to at practise least 10 reasons using
rhetorical why their devices item is and better persuasive than the other language, team’s as well
as making creative arguments.
• Students vote on the three strongest points for each
side, then develop them into solid arguments with
support and elaboration
• Representatives from both groups argue about the
items’ worth
• The three judges will determine the winner

An Example: Pen and Pencil Debate

The Devil’s Advocate
• Prepare some motions that do not need much
research or preparation (e.g. It is better to be
This a man activity than encourages a woman.) students to challenge
their • Ask own students arguments, to speak which for two often minutes helps them on one
realise side of their flaws issue and assumptions and build
stronger • Announce arguments. "SWITCH," they have to argue the
opposite side of the issue and challenge the
arguments they themselves have just made

Tennis Debate
• Announce a topic and give students suitable preparation
time. Do some groundwork to familiarise students with the
topic
• Divide the class into two sides, one FOR and one AGAINST
the topic.
• A student from the FOR side “serves” by making an
argument for their side. Then, the AGAINST side “returns”
the serve by responding to the argument and making new
points.
• Each student can only speak once. No arguments/points
can be repeated without additional information
• The process continues until one team drops the ball and
cannot continue

Tennis Debate
This activity can be conducted with both
impromptu or researched topics. It encourages
the participation of everyone in the class and
caters for learner diversity as great room for
flexibility is allowed in terms of the length of
speeches and peer support is allowed.

Angels and Devils (Alley Debate)
• The teacher presents a situation where a person stands
at the crossroads
• The class forms two lines facing each other. One person
This
(a teacher/student)
activity allows
plays
students
the role
to
of
explore
an indecisive
the
character and walks between the lines, while students
moral
on both
dilemma
sides take
and
turn
inner
to give
struggle
opposing
of
advice
a
character, which is useful for teaching literary
• The character will lean towards the side he/she finds
texts. more convincing along the alley
• When the character reaches the end of the alley,
he/she has to consider the arguments/reasons from
both sides, announce the decision and explain why

Using Debating Activities in the English
Language Classroom: An Example
Text: My Sister’s Keeper
• A novel written by Jodi Picoult
• A film directed by Nick Cassavetes

Story Synopsis:
• Anna Fitzgerald was brought into the world through
in vitro fertilization to be a genetic match for her
older sister, Kate, who suffers from leukemia.
• When Kate turns 15, she goes into renal failure.
Eleven-year-old Anna is asked by her parents to
donate one of her kidneys.
• Anna knows that she may not be able to live the life
she wants to after the operation – to be the cheerleader,
soccer player or a mother. She rebels against
her parents and proceeds to sue them for the rights
to her own body.

Debate on a Moral Dilemma
• Mr and Mrs Liu’s son suffers from
Leukemia. They need suitable bone
marrow to save the boy’s life. While
parents cannot provide it and there is
limited bone marrow that matches him in
the world, one possible way to ensure a
reliable supply of bone marrow for
transplant to save his son would be to
give birth to another baby.

What Should the Liu’s Choose?
1. Have another baby to provide the son’s
suitable bone marrow to save his life.
2. Rely on bone-marrow from unlikely donors
and wait for miracles.

Questions to Consider
• Who will be affected in this issue? How are
they affected?
• Whose interest should come first (the
survival of the first son / the right of the
baby) in this situation?
• What is the right and responsibility of
parents? Do they have the right to dictate
their child’s life?
• Should parents try their best to protect their
children and save their lives?

Debating Activities
• As a variation of the four corner game, have
students choose between options 1 and 2 and
walk to one side of the classroom. They can
discuss the reasons for their decision as a group.
• The teacher plays the role of Mrs Liu, students
standing on two sides to form the conscience
alley. Angels and Devils
• The teacher may ask students on the two sides to
switch halfway through the alley. Devil’s
Advocate

Hands-on Practice
In groups, with reference to the learning and
teaching material provided, plan a lesson that
involve the use of debating as a teaching strategy :
You should:
• think about the objectives and expected
outcomes of the lesson
• show how the debate activity can help students
achieve the learning objectives/complete the task
• outline the teaching steps (e.g. the sequence of
tasks that comes before or/and after the debate)

Assessment of the Debating Module
in the HKDSE
Public Examination
Component
Weighting
15%
Paper 2 Writing – Part B
‣ A longer and more open-ended writing task of
about 400 words
School-based Assessment
Part B – The Elective Part
‣ A group interaction or an individual
presentation based on the modules in the
Elective Part
5%
29

Paper 2 Writing
Questions specifically set for the debating module:
Module Text type Role Task
Debating
(2013
HKDSE
Exam
Paper)
A letter to the
editor
[descriptive,
persuasive]
A reader of
the Hong
Kong Post
• describe some unreasonable complaints
you have heard
• explain why you think those people
making complaints are unreasonable
Debating
(2012
HKDSE
Exam
Paper)
A speech to
students at the
school assembly
[persuasive,
expository]
A student –
debating
club
organiser
• explain the debating club activities
• explain the benefits of being in the club
and the importance of debating skills in
life

Paper 2 Writing Topics
from 2013 HKDSE Exam Paper
Other questions involving arguments and persuasion:
Module Text type Role Task
Social
Issues
Workplace
Communication
A letter to the
Bus Operators
Association of
Hong Kong
[expository,
persuasive]
An article for
the company
newsletter
[descriptive,
expository,
persuasive]
A local
citizen
A human
resource
assistant
• express your concerns about private school
bus service operators who do not follow
proper safety procedures when dealing with
young children
• give recommendations for how private
school bus services could be improved
• describe the issue of your colleagues leaving
the office very late
• discuss the negative effects
• give suggestions to improve the situation

Paper 2 Writing Topics
from 2012 HKDSE Examination Paper
Module Text type Role Task
Sports
Communication
A response to a
debate on an
online forum
[argumentative]
A reader of
a e-
magazine
• express views on the value of doing
virtual sports (e.g. games on a Wii)
versus real sports
• give reasons to support your views
Drama
A response to a
debate on an
online forum
[argumentative,
descriptive]
A websurfer
and
reader of an
online
forum
• express views on whether using drama
techniques in class brings educational
benefits and whether serious learning
can take place through drama
• share personal experience of learning
through drama
Popular
Culture
A Letter to the
Editor
[persuasive]
A reader of
Hong Kong
Express
• express views on the obsession with
physical beauty and cosmetic surgery
• give examples and explanation

Paper 2 Writing
General assessment criteria for writing
Content Language Organisation
• Fulfilment of
requirements of
question
• Relevance of
content
• Development of
ideas
• Creativity/imaginati
on
• Ability to engage
readers (i.e. interest)
& audience
awareness
• Accuracy, range &
complexity of
sentence
structures
• Grammar
accuracy
• Word choice
• Accuracy of
spelling &
punctuation
• Appropriateness
of register, tone &
style
• Effectiveness of
text organisation &
logical
development of
ideas
• Cohesion of text
(i.e. appropriate
use of cohesive ties)
• Coherence of
overall writing

EDB One-stop Portal for Learning & Teaching
Resources Assessment Tasks Bank
http://minisite.proj.hkedcity.net/edbosp-eng/eng/home.html

Topic:
A Sample Assessment Task
Your cousin in Vancouver, Vince, has sent an email to tell you, with
both excitement and anxiety, that he has joined the school debating
team and will take part in his first debate next month. The motion is
“Every secondary school student should take a gap year (a year off to
work or travel) before starting university”. Your cousin is the first
speaker of the affirmative side.
As an experienced debater yourself, write a reply to tell him how he
can prepare for this debate. You should include some information
about:
• what he can say in his role;
• the arguments he can use in his rebuttal; and
• how he can be a more persuasive speaker.
Sign your name “Chris”.

Step 1: Understanding the Topic
Text Type:
Email
Purpose:
To advise
Role of the Writer: A secondary student
Target Reader:
Cousin, who is also a
secondary student

Detailed Analysis of the Question
Requirements

Pre-writing Preparation and Prior Knowledge
Content Language Organisation
• Researching on the
issue of gap year and
find out arguments for
and against taking a
gap year before
university
• Participating in an oral
discussion on an issue
related to teenage life
• Watching a live or
recorded debate to
identify the role of
each speaker and
procedure of a debate
• Discussing what makes
a persuasive debater
based on a debate
watched
• Introducing debaterelated
vocabulary to
describe a debate (e.g.
affirmative, negative,
rebuttal)
• Introducing vocabulary
related to study and
employment (e.g. career,
prospect, skills)
• Introducing modals,
imperatives and other
sentence patterns to
give suggestions and
advice (e.g. You
should/may…; I suggest
you …)
• Discussing tone in
personal emails (i.e.
personal, friendly,
encouraging)
• Discussing the structure of
an advice email (i.e. an
opening to greet the
reader and show empathy,
a body section to detail the
advice, and a final section
to give reassurance)
• Introducing appropriate
cohesive devices and
expressions to link up
advice and suggestions (e.g.
It’s not enough to just
know the arguments in
favour of taking a gap year.
You’ll also need to be
prepared to rebut…; Finally,
let me say something
about arguing persuasively)

Suggested Teaching Procedures
Leading to Assessment

Suggested Activities for More
Advanced Students
• To expand students repertoire of knowledge, T may
introduce other more advanced persuasive skills and
strategies and examine their use in successful
speeches, e.g.
– emotional appeal
– personal appeal
– logical appeal
– rhetorical questions
– parallel structure
– repetition

Assessment Form for the Task
A task-specific
assessment
form for
clarifying the
task
requirements

Analysis of Students’ Work

Providing Quality Feedback
Hand-on Practice
With the use of the assessment criteria, review
the three pieces of argumentative writing:
You should:
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the
writing
• Make suggestions for improvement
• Think of a follow-up activity based on the
student’s strengths and weaknesses

A general
assessment
form for
argumentative
writing