Preface
Would you like your students to develop the ability to engage in debates in English? Debate to
Go: Essential Methods for Discussion and Debate is a distinctive textbook designed to aid students
in cultivating critical thinking, research, and speaking skills crucial for participating in English

debates. This textbook presents carefully streamlined activities that guide students in becoming
proficient debaters through active and collaborative learning. Each lesson outlines specific learning

objectives along with corresponding activities aimed at constructing knowledge and competencies
for conducting debates in either group or pair settings.

This textbook leverages a perspective that transcends the conventional understanding of English

language skills and proficiency; it is more than a collection of linguistic knowledge. Rather, it
is a participatory and functional competence in social acts involving language use. From thisvantage point, debating is perceived as a social act, akin to any other form of communicativeinteraction. Within the framework of this textbook, the objective is to achieve effectiveengagement in a debate. The focus shifts towards identifying what needs to be learned by back-tracking from the requirements a student must comprehend and accomplish in order to engage
in a debate. Consequently, the acquisition of vocabulary, grammar, and other linguistic elements

becomes incidental. These components depend entirely on what students recognize as crucial

for comprehending the dynamics of a debate, adopting specific roles during the discourse, andeffectively fulfilling those roles. This particular approach empowers students to take charge of theirown learning journey. Simultaneously, it guides them to seek out any necessary linguistic resources
to facilitate debates through collaboration and negotiation.

This textbook caters to English learners at the CEFR B1 ( ≒ TOEIC score 500) level or above. The

content of this textbook intentionally avoids being contingent on students’ English language

proficiency, as its purpose is to teach the art of conducting debates in a highly accessible manner.
Consequently, with appropriate support, it can cater to students with a diverse range of proficiency

levels. Furthermore, this textbook has undergone rigorous field-testing over the course of several
years within the English program at the Center for Foreign Language Education and Research,
Rikkyo University. The outcomes have been exceptionally positive; students have developed

the capability to engage in debates in English across a spectrum of topics, irrespective of theirproficiency levels.

With this innovative resource, students are not only equipped to engage in English debates but

also empowered to shape their own learning journey and confidently navigate the complexities ofeffective communication.

Masakazu Mishima

Textbook Overview
In each lesson, students can learn and train the following four Skills/Competences:

1. Debate Knowledge Essential knowledge for participating in a debate
2. Speaking Language expressions useful for effective participation in debates

Debate Knowledge

Speaking

Lesson 1

・Learn about debate and its
・Show reactions
structure・Check understanding・Learn about essential terms and ・ Ask for explanation and repetition, andphases of a debate
paraphrase others and yourself

Lesson 2

・Learn about Propositions
・Learn about Constructing
Arguments

・Present arguments

・Support your statement with sources

Lesson 3・Learn how to evaluate sources
・Learn how to find reliable sources
・Learn how to use sources in yourdebate
・Learn about Cross Examination

・Ask questions when cross-examining
・Respond to questions whencross-examining

・Learn about Rebuttal

・Present your counterargument

Lesson 6・Learn about “Flowing”
・Learn about a summary in adebate

・Present a summary

Lesson 7・Learn about judging a debate
・Learn about Debate Performance
Assessment Rubric

・Present your debate assessment

Lesson 8-9

・Demonstrate a debate

・Fulfill your role as a debater

・Review Constructing Arguments

・Present Arguments (Review)
・Learn Advanced Expressions forConstructing Arguments

・Review Cross Examination

・Ask questions when cross-examining(Review)・Respond to questions whencross-examining (Review)
・Learn Advanced Expressions for
Cross Examination

・Review Debate Terminologies
・Review Rebuttal
・Review Summary

・Present counterarguments (Review)
・Present a summary (Review)

・Demonstrate a debate

・Fulfill your role as a debater

Lesson 4
Lesson 5

Lesson 10

Lesson 11

Lesson 12
Lesson 13-14

Textbook Overview

3. Critical Thinking

Activities/Tasks require critical thinking

4. Interpersonal Communication (Collaborative Learning) Activities/Tasks require collaboration

Critical Thinking

Interpersonal Communication(Collaborative Learning)・Analyze a sample debate・Work together to learn the essential terms andphases of a debate

・Construct an affirmative/negative argument

・Work together to prepare an argument

・Evaluate sources

・Share your argument supported by a sourcewith your classmates・Analyze the opposing side of argument

・Practice Cross Examination with classmates・Identify weaknesses in arguments

・Work together to choose a topic and decide on
a proposition for the mid-term debate

・Evaluate debate summaries

・Share your notes with your classmates

・Evaluate a debate・Work together to review your arguments,counterarguments, and your roles in your teamfor the mid-term debate

・Debate Reflection/Reaction

・Work together to conduct a debate

・Construct Arguments

・Work together to prepare for the final debate

・Analyze the opposing side of argument

・Work together to prepare for the final debate

・Analyze the opposing side of argument

・Work together to prepare for the final debate

・Debate Reflection/Reaction

・Work together to conduct a debate

CONTENTS
Lesson 1 What is Debate?

Course Introduction …………………………………… 1

Lesson 2 Food I		

Understanding Propositions / Constructing Arguments ………… 8

Lesson 3 Food II		

Research: Finding and Using Sources ……………………… 14

Lesson 4 Environment I

What is Cross Examination? …………………………… 19

Lesson 5 Environment II

What is Rebuttal?

Lesson 6 Technology I

Taking Notes / Making Summaries

Lesson 7 Technology II

Judging a Debate

Lesson 8-9		…………………………………… 24……………………… 29…………………………………… 35

Mid-term Debate …………………………………… 42

Lesson 10 Gender		Debate Skills Review………………………………… 44Lesson 11 Media I 		

Debate Skills Review………………………………… 48

Lesson 12 Media II		

Debate Skills Review………………………………… 53

Lesson 13-14		…………………………………… 57
Final Debate		

APPENDIX…………………………………… 60
B. Debate Performance Assessment Rubric …………………………………… 64
C. Sample Debate Script…………………………………… 66
D. Debate Skills Glossary with Japanese Explanations …………………………… 70
E. References by Topic…………………………………… 71
A. Useful Expressions for Debate Skills

Feedback Form & Worksheets…………………………………… 81

Lesson 1What is Debate?
Lesson Goals:
Practice Communication Skills: Comprehension,
Clarification, and Paraphrasing
Practice sample topics
Learn about debate and its structure
Learn about essential terms and phases of adebate

Warm-up Activity
Talk to a partner. Say as much as you can. Don’t worry about grammar or vocabulary!
1. Talk about your hometown and family.
2. Talk about your hobbies and interests.
3. Talk about a place that you want to visit and why.

Discussion Skills
Comprehension
Reactions
I see.
Right.
Sure.
Okay.
Uh-huh.
Really?

Yes, I understand.
Sorry, I understand.

Checking Understanding
Do you understand?
Do you follow me?
Do you see what I mean?

Sorry, I don’t followyou.

Remember!

Reactions help you show the speakerthat you’re listening, and to tell them when
you don’t understand.
Checking Understanding helps you
make sure that others understand you. Ifa listener doesn’t understand, explain youridea again.

Clarification
Listener:
Asking for Explanation
Can you explain?
What does {X} mean?

Listener:
Asking for Repetition
Could you repeat that,please?
Could you say that again,
please?

Remember!
Asking for Explanation helps you tellspeakers that more information is needed
to make something clearer.
Asking for Repetition helps you show
when you want something to be said
again because you didn’t hear it clearly or
didn’t understand.

Debate to Go

1

Paraphrasing
Listener:
Paraphrasing Others

Speaker:
Paraphrasing Yourself

Do you mean…?

I mean…

So, are you saying…?

What I’m saying is…

So, in other words, …?

In other words, …

Practice

Remember!
Paraphrasing Others helps you checkthat you understand other people’s ideas.
Paraphrasing Yourself helps you explain
your ideas so everyone can understand
them.

DL 02

Analyzing a Discussion

CD 02

1. Listen to the short disucussion below and fill in the blanks. Next, read the script andanswer the following questions.
Nami: Is it important to eat breakfast every day? What does everyone think?
Sota: I don’t think it’s important to eat breakfast every single day. 1?
Hina:

2

Sota:4. 3.5?

that there are some days when there is no timeto eat breakfast. For example, if I wake up late and have to hurry to class, I
don’t have time to eat breakfast. 6
Hina:

7?

. I live far away from campus, so because of a long train

commute, I don’t have time to eat breakfast some mornings.
Nami: I’m sorry, but I disagree. I think it’s still important to eat breakfast every day.
Iori:

I agree with Nami. I read online that eating breakfast every day helps withweight control and metabolism.

Hina:8.9

Iori:

Metabolism means how the body turns food into energy.

Hina: 11

“metabolism” 10, Iori, 12?

. 13?
Iori:

Yes, of course.

Hina:

15

14

eating breakfast every day helps withweight control and helps turn food into energy.

2

Debate to Go. Thank you.

Sota:

16

Iori:

That’s right. I try my best to eat breakfast every day so I have energy for

Lesson 1

eating breakfast can give you energy for the day?

morning classes.
Nami: I completely agree!
Sota:

17, I see what you mean, but it’s still difficult to do that every day.

I just try to eat quickly between classes.
Hina:I agree with you, Sota. In my opinion, if you can’t do breakfast every day, atleast try to do an early lunch!

Questions(1) Does Hina ask for more information?			

Yes / No

(2) Does Hina ask to hear something again?			

Yes / No

(3) Who repeats their own idea to make it clearer? (2 people) Nami / Sota / Hina / Iori
(4) Who repeats someone else’s idea to check their own understanding? (1 person)									Nami / Sota / Hina / Iori

2. Discuss the following topics. Use Communication Skills to help your partner(s)understand your ideas and show you understand theirs.

FoodEnvironment

Technology

Is it important toIs Japan an eco-

Is it okay to use AI,

Is it okay foreat breakfast every

friendly country?

such as ChatGPT,

elementary schoolday?

Why or why not?

for studying?

students to use

Why or why not?

social media?

Why or why not?

Media

Why or why not?

Debate to Go

3

Debate Skills
What is Debate?
1. Think about what you know about debate. Make a list of things you know about
debate using the worksheet on Page 91. Share it with your classmates.
2. Read the definition of debate below, and prepare to explain what each of theunderlined words mean.
Debate Definition
A debate is a timed and structured academic speaking activity where two opposing
teams make speeches to make an argument about a controversial topic.
How is Debate Organized?
A full debate in thisclass follows theAffirmative Team (AT)

Negative Team (NT)structure below.

The AT constructs their arguments.

The NT listens to the AS and takes notes.

Cross Examination (CE)
Prep
3 min

The AT predicts the NT’s questions andprepare answers.

NT prepares to question.

Cross Examination (CE)The AT responds to the NT’s questions.

The NT questions the AT to clarify andbetter understand the arguments.

Negative Speech (NS) 5 min

The AT listens to the NS and takes notes.

The NT constructs their arguments.

Cross Examination (CE)
3 min
Prep

AT prepares to question.

The NT predicts the AT’s questions andprepare answers.

Cross Examination (CE)The AT questions the NT to clarify andbetter understand the arguments.

The NT responds to the AT’s questions.

Affirmative Speech (AS)
5 min

3 min

3 min

10-minute break for each team to prepare their rebuttals.
Negative rebuttal (NR) 2 min The AT listens and takes notes.
Affirmative rebuttal (AR)The NT rebuts the AT’s arguments.

The AT rebuts the NT’s arguments.

The NT listens and takes notes.

The AT listens to the summary.

The NT summarize all of the argumentsfrom the Negative point of view.

2 min

Negative summary (NS)2 min

The AT summarizes all of the arguments
2 min from the Affirmative point of view.

Affirmative summary (AS)The NT listens to the summary.

Total: about 40 min*Each given time may be adjusted if necessary. Follow the time schedule that the instructor gives you.

4Debate to Go

Lesson 1

Debate Terminologies
Debaters need to understand the essential terms and phases of a debate to effectively
participate in a debate. In groups or pairs, review the following list of debate terms
and ask questions to your peers if you do not understand them.
Term

Definition

ExampleDebate Topic (DT)It is a topic of a debate.

Time management

Proposition

It is a debatable/controversial statement for andagainst which the twoteams will make arguments.

Time management is difficult for university
students.

The affirmative team (AT)makes arguments thatagree with the proposition.

We argue that time management can be difficult.
For instance, if university students have parttime jobs, they would be too busy to study.

The negative team(NT) makes argumentsthat disagree with theproposition.

Our team believes time management is notdifficult for university students because they
have had to follow schedules throughout highschool.

It is to question theother team to clarify andbet t er under s t a n d t h earguments.

Could you repeat the first reason?

After listening to the otherteam, you respond totheir arguments and makearguments against what
they said.

Your team said time management was notdifficult in high school, but in high school thoseschedules were often made by our schools, notourselves. Those schedules also did not include
part-time jobs. So, it is not easy to create ourown schedules in university.

Summarize all of thearguments from yourteam’s view.

Now, I will summarize the debate. We believe itis easy to manage time. While it is true that inhigh school we followed schedules made by ourschools, they still showed us how to effectively
manage our time, and we can continue that skill
into university, including with part-time workand club and circle activities. Therefore, we areagainst the proposition.

Affirmative Speech(AS)

Negative Speech(NS)

Cross Examination(CE)

Rebuttal
Negative Rebuttal(NR)
Affirmative Rebuttal(AR)

Summary
Negative Summary(NS)
Affirmative Summary(AS)

Debate to Go5DL 03

Practice

CD 03

Listen to the short debate script below and fill in the blanks. Next, read the debate
script and identify and highlight the following in the script:
1. Debate topic			

2. Affirmative Speech

3. Negative Speech		

4. Cross Examination

5. Rebuttal			

6. Negative Summary

7. Affirmative Summary
Maki:

Today we are debating the proposition, “ 1.” We strongly believe that living in the city is better
than living in the country. It is because there are more job opportunities.
2, according to a website called “Jogo Kigyo Search,” as ofApril 7th in 2021, Tokyo has 597,717 companies, but Tottori has only 5,170
companies. People in the city have more options. Therefore, we think livingin the city is better.
Tatsuya:

3? Do you know how many of those companies letworkers work from home?
Maki:

I’m not sure, but it is well known that many companies allowed 4Nao:

5from home during the pandemic.
that living in the city is better

than living in the countryside. 6

living in thecountryside is cheaper than living in the city. For instance, when I lived inNagasaki, I paid 35,000 yen for my apartment. However, I’m paying 60,000
yen for the same-sized apartment in Tokyo. 7, we thinkliving in the country is better.
Shota:

8Nao:

Sure. The rent in Nagasaki was 35,000 yen.

the rent you paid in Nagasaki? I couldn’t hear that.

Tatsuya: The other team argued that the city has more job opportunities. 9
a lot of people work from home now. 10,
an online

Mainichi news article published on January 30th in 2021, 113 out of 114
major companies in Japan said they wanted to continue working from homeeven after the pandemic ends. Therefore, people in the country can also findgood jobs.

6Debate to Go11

that living in the countryside is cheaper than

Lesson 1

Shota:

living in the city. It may be true that rent is usually cheaper in thecountryside. However, people usually get paid more in the city. For example,according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as of 2021, theminimum wage in Tokyo is 1013 yen while the minimum wage in Nagasaki
is 793 yen. Therefore, university students in the city may pay more rent, butthey usually earn more money.
Nao:

12. We think that living in the country is

better than living in the city because it is cheaper in the countryside. The
other team said there are more jobs in the city, but people can work fromhome in the countryside. Therefore, 13

living in

the country is better.
Maki:

In conclusion, we are for the proposition. Please remember that there are
more companies in the city and this helps people choose a job they like. The
other team argued that living in the countryside is cheaper, but people inthe city tend to earn more. 14, we think living in the cityis better than the countryside.
*See Appendix C (Page 66) for a full sample debate.

Homework
1. Review “How is a Debate Organized?”
2. Review “Debate Terminologies”

Debate to Go7