Attachment 3. Debate guidelines

 

I. Definition. Debate is a formal argument, in which two opposing teams propose or attack a given resolution in a series of speeches. Examples of debate resolutions: “The digital divide in Kazakhstan is bridgeable”, “In 2030 Kazakhstan will join the ranks of 50 most IT developed countries of the world”, “Artificial intelligence will one day get the upper hand over human brain”.

 

II. Rationale. Debate serves the goal of developing students’ skills of information search and processing; communication in the target language; public speech; argumentation; defence of one’s own viewpoint and teamwork. Debate also fosters tolerance, respect for other people’s opinions, active social stand, critical thinking. Educational debate allows to eliminate such drawbacks of academic discussions as deviations, over-emotionality, spontaneity, dominance of some students.

 

III. Stages of debate organization:

1. Choice of the resolution

2. Collection of materials

3. Compilation of debate cards (see a sample below)

4. Distribution of roles

5. Training fore the debate (see “fill-in the debate case card” below)

6. Conduct of the debate

IV. Debate procedure

DEBATE ON THE RESOLUTION _______ Participants:   Team 1 (3 people) – the Government Team 2 (3 people) – the Opposition Time-keeper (1 person) Judges (1-3) Secretary – (debate flowing) – 1 person Procedure: 1. Preparation – 15 min. 2. Case presentation: (presentation of major arguments) a) Team 1 (Speaker 1) – 5 min b) Team 2 (Speaker 1) – 5 min 3. Refutation: (counter-arguments) a) Team 1 (Speaker 2) – 5 min. b) Team 2 (Speaker 2) – 5 min. 4. Rebuttal: (re-statement of major counter/arguments, summary) a) Team 1 (Speaker 3) – 5 min. b) Team 2 (Speaker 3) – 5 min. 5. Judges' verdict – 5 min analysis of the teams' counter-argumentation, declaration of the winner Criteria: language, weight of evidence, logical consistency, relevance

V. Evidence card format

 

DEBATE RESOLUTION   Author, title, source date AFF/NEG/ Subtopic “QUOTATION”

 

 

Evidence card sample

KAZAKHSTAN 2030 IS AN ATTAINABLE GOAL

 

Roman Vassilenko IS 0906 NEGATIVE

Low living standards in Kz

 

The unemployment rate in Kz is about 8 percent and

about 19 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

The U.S. figures are less than 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Official site of the RK Embassy in the US www.kazakhembus.com

 

 

VI. Speaker duties

 

Affirmative Constructive:

1) Intro (quote/state the resolution)

2) Define terms

3) State narrowed topic, if applicable

4) Preview in outline terms

5) State Contention 1 (preview subpoints)

6) State source and read evidence card

7) State Contention 2 (preview subpoints)

8) State source and read evidence card

9) Review main contentions

10) Give plan in terms of main planks/points

11) Point out its advantages/benefits

12) Summarize and ask for the ballot/vote

 

Negative Constructive:

1) Intro (quote/state the resolution)

2) Respond to definitions of terms (Grant or refute)

3) Respond to narrowed topic (if don’t agree, run the topicality argument)

4) Give generic preview

5) Refute Contention 1 and subpoints (see 4 points of refutation)

6) Attack evidence for Contention 1

7) Refute Contention 2 and subpoints (see 4 points of refutation)

8) Attack evidence for Contention 2

9) Sum up main points

10) Attack plan point by point

11) Attack advantages or give disadvantages

12) Sum up whole debate quickly and ask judge to vote for you

 

Refutation:

1) State word-for-word the opponent’s contention or point

2) State your response (I dis/agree…)

3) Introduce evidence and read source and tag,

4) Read evidence

5) Link your evidence to their argument

6) Tell judge that you destroyed or torpedoed their argument

7) Tell judge that the point goes to you

 

VII. Debate training. "Fill-In-the-Blank" Debate Case

 

Introduction State resolution	Because this is such an important and relevant topic to the future of Kz, I stand resolved: that Kz should…
Preview	In support of this Resolution I offer 2 contentions Contention 1_____ and Contention 2_____
The following definitions of terms will be applied during this debate: Kz:______ Should_____ Start_____ A space tourism program_____
Actual Contention 1	Now it is important to turn to Contention No 1 ______
Preview subpoints	For which I offer two subpoints Subpoint A:_____ Subpoint B:_____
Evidence	Let's look at Subpoint A In support of this point I offer one piece of evidence
	(name who) in the (where, when) said (quotation)
Explain evidence	And this evidence means that…
	And subpoint B states that_____
Evidence	(name who) in the (where, when) said (quotation)
Explain evidence	And this evidence means that…
Actual Contention 2	Now it is important to turn to Contention No 2 ______
Preview subpoints	For which I offer two subpoints Subpoint A:_____ Subpoint B:_____
Evidence	Let's look at Subpoint A In support of this point I offer one piece of evidence
	(name who) in the (where, when) said (quotation)
Explain evidence	And this evidence means that…
	And subpoint B states that_____
Evidence	(name who) in the (where, when) said (quotation)
Explain evidence	And this evidence means that…
Plan	To implement this, I offer the following plan: Plank 1: Plank 2: Plank 3: Plank 4:
Conclusion	Please cast an affirmative ballot given these contentions ands the evidence offered
I now stand open for cross-examination

VIII. DEBATE LANGUAGE

 

Greeting all parties	Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Good afternoon, everyone!
Addressing a) the judge(s) b) the opponent(s)	Honorable Judge! Dear Opponent(s)! Dear all!
Stating purpose (judge)	We are here today to listen to.. The purpose of the debate is..
Stating the resolution (judge)	The resolution for today’s debate is… I declare the resolution for this debate as stated..
Introducing a key sentence (case presentation)	Because this is an important and relevant topic (issue).. I stand resolved:
Presenting main points	Our first contention is.. Our second contention is.. We offer two sub-points for contention 1 (2)
Presenting arguments Sequencing	First of all, let us look at sub-point 1, which states that.. Now it is important to look at sub-point 2 which states that … Another argument is that.. Finally, we think that…
Stating facts, giving examples	In support of this point we offer one piece of evidence.. As quotes… According to the latest survey held by... It is a well-known fact that.. Based on recent research data presented by... we can definitely state that… As recent research shows… For example… For instance…
Making deductions	This evidence testifies to the fact that.. This evidence means.. This explains why… Therefore… This is why … Consequently.. This fact proves the idea that..
Offering solutions	To implement this we offer the following plan.. Plank 1.. Plank 2.(3,4..). The best solution for this.. is.. From our point of view the most constructive solution is as follows…
Confirming information	Are you saying that…..? So, you are stating that... Right?
Expressing certainty, confidence	We are most convinced that… It stands to the ground that.. We are sure that… There is no denying that..
Interrupting politely	Sorry, may I ask you a question? Could I just come in here for a second, please?
Refusing questions Preventing interruptions	Let me just finish my speech.. Can you bear with me for a moment, please? I’ll deal with your question later on… Could you wait a moment, please?
Expressing disagreement (refuting, making a rebuttal)	Your arguments do not stand a chance because… Your way of reasoning does not hold water.. You are contradicting yourselves saying that..
Clarifying a point	Could you be more specific about…? Could you explain what you mean by saying that..? Could you provide us with examples or facts that justify your argument, please?
Making backward reference	As you have previously said (mentioned)…
Ending up a speech	I now stand open for cross-examination. That covers everything I wanted to say. Let me finish my speech by saying that...

 

REFERENCES

1. Bogapova N. Debates as effective means of reinforcing learning. Proceedings of the VI International Scientific-Practical Conference, NATEK Almaty-Kokshetau, 2006

2. Л.Н. Вахрушева, С.В. Савинова. Технология подготовки и проведения дебатов. Справочник классного руководителя, № 9, 2008. http://menobr.ru/material/default.aspx?control=15&id=9994&catalogid=27 (дата обращения 19 декабря 2011)

3. Гаркуша С.С. Дебаты. http://eng.1september.ru/view_article.php?ID=201000507 (дата обращения 19 декабря 2011) Формат игры парламентских дебатов. Всероссийская академия внешней торговли. URL: http://life.vavt.ru/site/LSPFEF0DC (дата обращения 24 декабря 2011)

4. Черкесова Н.М.Активные формы обучения на уроках истории. http://nadeshdahistory.siteedit.su/page2 (дата обращения 19 декабря 2011)