VV064 Week 3
Seminar Discussion
1) You are going to take part in a seminar discussion. Work in groups and select one of the
statements on education to discuss.
a. Students in higher education should be required to learn a foreign language.
b. Having a university education is necessary for a person’s success in life.
c. With the rise of modern technologies people should be able to understand these
technologies and know how to use them.
2) Work alone and prepare for the discussion. Note down your views on the selected statement
using the following headings.
a. Topic and focus
b. Your view
c. Main arguments for
d. Main arguments against
e. Examples and reasons
f. Conclusions
3) Work in groups and discuss your selected statement. Use the following stages to help you.
a. Express your main points
b. Get reactions
c. Allow others to make their points
d. Listen and respond
4) Select one person from your group to take notes of the main points from your discussion and
then present them to the class.
5) Expanding notes into sentences: look at your notes from the previous exercise. Can you
expand them into sentences?
Preparing to Present Information
1) You will be given a short text. Read the text and take down notes. Focus on important
information in each paragraph.
2) Work in pairs and prepare a short presentation (a few minutes) on one of the two texts. Be
sure you deliver the important information in each text accurately. If you are listening to a
presentation, take notes.
3) Compare the two presentations. Do you agree or disagree?
4) Look back to your notes. Were they useful in preparing the presentation? Why/why not?