Secondary 3 – English: Debate
Secondary 3 students had a speaking activity: debate. The reclamation project in Jakarta was taken as the topic of the debate. The reclamation project in Jakarta has been a controversy following the reclamation project in Bali. The topic has become the news headlines in many media. From the topic, the students were expected to be aware of the popular issues around them and to practice their skills in sharing their points of view with others.
Before the debate, the teacher introduced the topic. The students were asked to study the topic from some references provided by the teacher. Then, they were asked to continue studying the topic; they might browse the information from trusted sources. After all students understood the topic, they were asked to decide whether they agreed with the idea of the reclamation project or disagreed with it. Next, they were divided into a proposition team and an opposition team. For the debate, the students were divided into two big teams. In each team, they had a moderator, speakers, note taker, and timer. The students showed great enthusiasm in preparing for the debate. The debate can improve the students’ critical thinking and develop their speaking fluency. ***
