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English Firsthand Cafe: Supplementary Activities
EF2 UNIT 11
For
and against
Background information – English
Firsthand is most popular in Asia.
Students from a number of Asian countries
sometimes find expressing their own
opinions challenging because they
have been taught culturally not to
say anything that disturb group harmony.
This puts them at a disadvantage when
speaking English, especially with
native speakers or people from cultures
where stating one’s opinion
is more valued.
Preparation: none but it is useful
to review/preview the phrases and
in the language map on page 104.
Procedure: As a full
class, brainstorm at least 5 controversial
issues. These can be from news and
current events, from changes in youth
culture or anything else. It is important
that they be things that one can agree/disagree
about. (For example, “Smoking
is bad for your health.” is
not a good topic because it is almost
impossible to disagree. Even smokers
know it is true. So if you want smoking
as a topic, consider something like
“Restaurant should have to provide
a non-smoking section” or “Prices
of cigarettes should be doubled.”
Once you have at least 5 issues, students
work in groups of 2-3. They choose
one topic. They must think of at least
3 arguments or examples for BOTH sides
of the issue -- more than 3 if possible.
The key is to be looking at argument
from both sides.
When they finish, they can go on to
another issue. You may want them to
join a team who worked on the same
topic and compare their arguments.