How to discuss a topic in a group
Five English teachers come together to show you how to discuss a topic in a group. You’ll learn how to give your opinion, interrupt, contradict, and more. We’ll teach you how to use expressions like “in a nutshell”, “please let me finish”, and “don’t get me wrong”. You can use these expressions confidently in personal, social, and professional situations. Make sure to test your understanding of the lesson at https://www.engvid.com/how-to-discuss-a-topic-in-a-group/
To improve your English, subscribe to each of the teachers who appear in this lesson:
Ronnie – http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=EnglishLessons4U
James – http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=JamesESL
Alex – http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=AlexESLvid
Adam – http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=EnglishTeacherAdam
Rebecca – http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=RebeccaESL
TRANSCRIPT:
Hi! My name is Rebecca, and in today’s lesson you’ll learn how to participate effectively in a discussion in English, something you may need to do in your personal, professional, or academic life, okay? Now, the topic we’ll use as our sample is this one: Is it better to study online or in a regular classroom? Okay? You’ll have a chance to hear a discussion by native English speakers on this topic. What I’d like you to do is listen for any special expressions and phrases that they use during the discussion. Afterwards, I’ll review the expressions and phrases with you, okay? Now, today I have some special friends who have agreed to help me with this lesson, and they’re waiting in the classroom next door, so let’s go and say hello to them.
— Hello!
— Hello!
— Hi!
— Hi!
— Well, look who’s here. It’s —
— Ronnie.
— Alex.
— James.
— Adam.
— Thank you for joining me, and thanks for helping with this lesson, guys.
— No problem.
— No problem.
— So you know we’re talking about discussions, and the topic is: Is it better to study online or in a regular classroom? Okay, who wants to go first?
— Okay, so I’ll start, and I think that it’s actually very good to study online because it’s very convenient because you can study whenever you want and at your own pace. For example, someone like me, I like to study at nighttime. So for me, online works better because it’s quiet at night, no one disturbs me, and I can do what I need to do.
— Okay, that’s true, but if you’re going to study online —
— Sorry, but —
— Please let me finish. Let me finish. As I was saying, that’s true, but if you’re studying online you do need to motivate yourself, so I think it’s better to be in a classroom where you have other students and a teacher who can motivate you.
— That’s true, but some people can’t afford to go to a classroom and don’t have enough money or resources to actually go to a big school. So studying online, you can actually do it for free.
— Me? Well, I would like to add — May I say something?
— Sure.
— Soft skills. That’s not usually talked about in schools, but when we talk about “soft skills”, it’s actual interaction, utilizing your English when you’re with other people, and that’s hard to get online because you’re watching a screen and not actually interacting with other people.
— You make a very good point but I would also like to add that sometimes having classmates takes you away from your focus because you have to maybe review things many times for other people to catch up, or you have to do topics that are interesting to other people, not to yourself. So it’s a little distracting sometimes, too.
— However, focus is a good thing. I mean, it’s not a bad thing to repeat something because sometimes people don’t catch the material the first time. So that way, you go over the material, and they — you know, you get depth. So you get to learn more, and people who don’t understand get the opportunity to ask questions and learn from it again.
— Yeah, but sometimes the resources that you get in a classroom are boring, and online you can just look up whatever you need on the Internet, and you’ve got it right there. You don’t have to rely on a textbook. Sometimes it can be a bad textbook.
