PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

Listening Skills
You probably spend more time using your listening skills than any other kind of
skill. Like other skills, listening takes practice.
What does it mean to really listen?
Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps.

Hearing. Hearing just means listening enough to catch what the speaker is
saying. For example, say you were listening to a report on zebras, and the
speaker mentioned that no two are alike. If you can repeat the fact, then you
have heard what has been said.

Understanding. The next part of listening happens when you take what
you have heard and understand it in your own way. Let's go back to that report
on zebras. When you hear that no two are alike, think about what that might
mean. You might think, "Maybe this means that the pattern of stripes is different
for each zebra."

Judging. After you are sure you understand what the speaker has said, think
about whether it makes sense. Do you believe what you have heard? You might
think, "How could the stripes to be different for every zebra? But then again, the
fingerprints are different for every person. I think this seems believable."

Tips for being a good listener

Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don't look out the window
or at what else is going on in the room.
Make sure your mind is focused, too. It can be easy to let your mind wander if
you think you know what the person is going to say next, but you might be
wrong! If you feel your mind wandering, change the position of your body and try
to concentrate on the speaker's words.
Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the
chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When
you interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are.
Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You can't really listen if
you are busy thinking about what you want say next.
Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most important points the speaker
wants to get across. They may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and
repeated a number of times. Pay special attention to statements that begin with
phrases such as "My point is..." or "The thing to remember is..."
Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the speaker has said, just
ask. It is a good idea to repeat in your own words what the speaker said so that
you can be sure your understanding is correct. For example, you might say,
"When you said that no two zebras are alike, did you mean that the stripes are
different on each one?"

PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now and then,
nod to show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also smile,
frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all ways to let the speaker know that you are
really listening. Remember, you listen with your face as well as your ears!
Thinking fast
Remember: time is on your side! Thoughts move about four times as
fast as speech. With practice, while you are listening you will also be
able to think about what you are hearing, really understand it, and give
feedback to the speaker.

PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

Introducing debate in the Classroom

A version of this article by Debbie Newman, Director of the Noisy

Classroom, originally appeared in the Association for Citizenship
Teaching's Teaching Citizenship magazine in summer 2012, an issue
which also included an article on using debating techniques to compare
parliamentary procedure.

Where do debates fit in?

Its hard to think of a single issue which you cover in the Citizenship
classroom which couldnt be approached through debate. Should we
lower the voting age? Do we need quotas for women and ethnic
minorities in parliament, business or our universities? Should we
support local causes over international ones? Can young people effect
change in their communities? All three of the Key Concepts can be
explored in this way. Formal debate is also a Key Process (Advocacy and
Representation 2.2a explicitly and 2.2b,c and d implicitly) it is both
the means and the end.

Every unit could be started with a debate to introduce the issues and
get the pupils thinking. Or you might choose to end your unit with a
debate to consolidate and review your learning. Select a different group
of pupils each time and make sure everyone gets a turn through the
year. Assess the speakers' contributions as you would a piece of written
work and use the mark towards their overall grade to ensure that
spoken tasks are taken just as seriously as written ones. If you are
doing examined Citizenship a debate makes an excellent revision
lesson.
What do you need for a formal debate?
First you need a topic, which we call a MOTION. This stays the same
throughout the debate as opposed to a discussion which might start on
one issue and meander into something related or even totally different.
An example of a motion might be This house would ban religious
symbols in school or This house believes that one person can make a
difference to the world. We phrase the motion This house as we
are modelling the debate on the debates in the Houses of Parliament.

Then you need two teams a for and an against which we call the
PROPOSITION and the OPPOSITION. The teams should have three
speakers each and might also have additional members who are helping
to prepare but not speaking in the debate. It is up to you if you let
pupils choose their sides personally I allocate the sides regardless of
their own opinions.

PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

Finally you need a CHAIRPERSON (who will keep order and call on the
speakers to speak in turn), a TIMEKEEPER (who will time the speeches
we recommend three minutes for KS3, four minutes for KS4 and five
minutes for KS5) and an audience (the rest of the class and/or another
class who will listen, make points in the audience debate and ultimately
vote to carry or defeat the motion.

When setting up the classroom for a formal debate you need three
tables at the front of the room one in the middle with two chairs for
the chairperson and timekeeper, and one on each side with three chairs
for the speakers. The tables should be in a V shape to show that the
speakers are sparring against each other but ultimately hoping to win
over the audience.

The speaking order is as follows:

First proposition
First opposition
Second proposition
Second opposition
Audience points
Opposition summary
Proposition summary
Apart from the first proposition speaker, everyone is expected to listen
and respond to the arguments of the previous speaker. This is called
REBUTTAL. The second speakers on each side should have new
arguments rather than repeating their team mate's points. The
summary speakers respond to the points of the audience and sum up
the main arguments in the debate but do not introduce any new ideas.

You can watch videos of debate in the classroom elsewhere on this site.

PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

A formal debate is a flexible tool which can be adapted for the age
group you are working with, the size of your class, the time you have
available and the size of your classroom. We have described one
format here which has been shown to be effective in a classroom
setting but once you are confident you can shorten speeches, add
speakers or tinker in any way which suits your objectives just
remember to keep the same number of speakers and the same overall
time for both sides to keep it fair. One easy change to make is to leave
out the summary speeches and to finish with a question and answer
session between the audience and the speakers instead.

More interaction?
If you want to further develop the active listening and critical thinking
skills of your pupils, introduce POINTS OF INFORMATION. These allow
the debaters to try and interrupt the speaker with a piece of rebuttal
and therefore incentivise continual close listening. To do this any
speaker on the other side should stand up and say "point of
information" and wait. The speaker decides whether to say "accepted"
or "rejected". If they reject the offerer must sit down quietly. If they
accept the offerer has 5-15 seconds to make their point and then sit
down. The speaker should address the point directly before returning to
their speech. Points of information are not allowed during the first
thirty and last thirty seconds of speeches (the timekeeper should knock
at these times) or at any point during the summary speeches. It helps
pupils to understand this tool if they can see it in action, so why not
show them a couple of speeches from the website?
What do the rest of the class do during the debate?
The class constitute the audience. They have the opportunity to take
part in the audience debate (or you could mandate certain pupils to
contribute) and they ultimately decide the debate in the vote. In some
classes this is enough but in most situations you will want to incentivise
and facilitate greater attention and participation. You could do this in a
number of ways including:

use peer assessment sheets to enable the pupils to judge the debate
make the class journalists who will write up a report of the debate
afterwards (or news reporters who will record reports)
You will need to decide whether you want your audience to be silent or
whether they are allowed to clap and/or give verbal feedback in the
form of hear, hear or shame and brief them accordingly in advance.
In the Noisy Classroom we like a bit of audience participation to keep
everyone awake!
How do you prepare the class for a debate?

PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

Before the first debate the class will need to be introduced to the
format and rules of debate and given support in how to prepare. For
any subsequent debates they can prepare themselves either in class or
as homework. Use our pro forma sheets which scaffold the speeches
and encourage a clear structure. Encourage and reward speaking
naturally from notes rather than reading out scripts.

Two debating lesson plans

Lesson 1: Planning for the debate

Learning objectives
To form arguments on issues relating to rights and identity (key
concepts 1.2 and 1.3)
To use critical thinking to engage with different ideas on controversial
issues (key process 2.1a)
Starter
In pairs discuss what can you tell about somebody based on what they
wear? Give one example of an outfit or uniform and what you think you
can tell about a person from this? Is it important to be able to express
yourself through clothes?

Main Activity
Group Work

Split the class into up to 4 groups.

Give each group one of the following positions

PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

For and against the motion "This house would ban hoodies in shopping
areas
For and against the motion "This house would not allow religious
symbols or clothing to be worn in schools
Allow the group time to brainstorm arguments for their position.
Get the groups to form their ideas into between 4 and 6 big points.
Get the groups to split those points between the two allotted main
speakers for their group. The summary speakers remind the audience of
the key points rather than raise any new ones (you may wish to choose
the speakers and repeat the activity with different topics to allow
everyone the chance to be a speaker).
Plenary
If you were running a campaign for your group's position what would its
slogan be?

Homework
The main speakers need to do any further research and work to prepare
the speeches on the provided pro formas (3-5 minute speeches
depending on level) and the others must prepare questions to ask from
the audience.

Lesson Two: the debates

Learning objectives
To form arguments (2.2) relating to rights (1.2) and identity (1.3)
To take part in a formal debate (2.2a)
Starter
Take a vote (regardless of what group they are in) of their positions on
the two topics.
Main Activity
The two debates

PT SAI GLOBAL ENGLISH LESSON

Appoint two students to act as chairperson and timekeeper. The order

of speakers goes:

Propostition (for) One

Opposition (against) One
Proposition (for) Two
Opposition (against) Two
Points from the audience.
Opposition Summary
Proposition Summary
Depending on age and experience levels speeches should be between 3
and 5 minutes long.

Once the first debate is finished, swap over.

Plenary
Take the votes again - have the debates changed anybody's mind and
why?

Homework
Write a newspaper report of the debate summarising the key points
(N.B. you might want to let the speakers off!)