Friday, July 13, 2007

debate in grade school


Grade school would be the best training ground for effecting good communication skills among students and one of the best methods of doing this is by making students argue and talk about issues that concern them and the world.


Start small. Start with topics that they can tackle even without any research. Just allow them to express themselves in simple English. Take the activity one step at a time until they get used to the language using it in presenting their views, and in asking and answering questions. As the pupils get more and more at home with the language and the method, they will be gaining more and more self-confidence and by the time they go to high school your students will be well-versed and language competent.


The problem here is this. Not all teachers can teach debate. Ergo, there is a need to train grade and high school English teachers into knowing the mechanics of debate as a teaching methodology. By doing so, students as well as teachers will be able to optimize teaching-learning situation.

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