c. Introduce a discussion topic as a proposition in a way that allows for 'for and against' opinions such as, "Smoking should be banned on campus." Organize students into groups, select a secretary, and have them brainstorm and write down for and against reasons. Stress that the students' own opinions, as well as correct grammar or spelling, are unimportant at this stage. After ten minutes, have groups pass on their paper to the next group and have that group add any ideas of their own that are not currently written on the paper. Continue this until each paper has been cycled through each group and returned to the original students. Elicit the opinions from groups, correct the English (this is an excellent chance to introduce relevant words and expressions), and transcribe them on the board. Explain to students that they now have a pretty good idea of not only what opinions they or their partners might give, but pretty much all the potential' ideas are on the board it would be useful to rehearse them in a number of ways:
• Have students stand face to face with one facing the blackboard (the other with his/her back to the board). Have that person who can see the board read the opinions on the blackboard and their partner repeat what they say. Continue this until they have managed to repeat each opinion perfectly before changing places.
• Erase all but the first few words of each opinion. Have students compete to see who can correctly complete the sentences you point to the quickest. With a larger class let them work in pairs and randomly choose one of the partners (such as by using the game 'rock, paper and scissors') to respond for both of them.
• Encourage students to prepare for the next class by memorizing a certain number of opinions related to their position on the discussion question. The next class, have students test each other in pairs by seeing how many opinions they can relate from memory within a set time limit