Debate and discussion activities are said to be effective activities that allow students to practice English speaking skills. Debate and discussion activities are also considered to be an important part of English classes in Japanese secondary schools; this is especially since MEXT has been placing emphasis on both activities in order to encourage students to increase their language output. However, practicing these communicative activities can be challenging for teachers for various reasons, such as a large class size, time constraints, lack of student motivation, and pressure to prepare for high school/university entrance exams.
During this event, four language educators from different teaching backgrounds will be sharing their teaching practice in debate and discussion activities. These speakers will talk about both the benefits and challenges of putting into practice debate and discussion activities in their own teaching context in junior and senior high schools.
