It's an informal debate, but you can easily change it to a more formal one.

The idea with the

DS was to put in practice the useful phrases and be able to support their statements with
data or/and develop their ideas more effectively like in the video. This is really good for
writing as well.

First, I put them in pairs and asked them to discuss if they were a dog or a cat person. What
are the advantages and disadvantages of having a dog/cat? What are the most common
misconceptions about having these pets?

Afterwards, I ask them to take a sheet of paper and a pen. Now tell students they’re going to
watch an informal debate about dogs vs. cats. They watch the video and write down the
arguments and useful phrases that the two people give to support their animal and to
introduce their ideas. You can brainstorm some ideas before playing the video.

The debate is long, so I only play it once. Go through the sentences they managed to write
down and ask if they express the same ideas as the students - when they were in pairs.
Present the handout with useful phrases, go through it with them.

You can either ask the students to vote (as I did) or pick a topic for the debate. Here are
some ideas for an informal debate. (Feel free to add more formal ones):

Superpowers: Flying vs. Invisibility Whisky vs. Rum

Pancakes vs. Waffles Are ghosts real?
Hot dogs vs. Hamburgers Does the internet do more good or bad?
French fries vs. Patatas bravas Camping, good or bad?
Beer vs. Wine Tea vs. Coffee

Divide the students into 3 groups: moderators, topic 1 and topic 2. Give them some minutes
to prepare their arguments, highlight that they must use the phrases to present their
arguments. The role of the moderators is to keep track of time, control the discussion and
also ask following questions to the groups. Plus, they must choose a winner based on best
arguments, who used more useful phrases and most of the team participated in the debate.

And pre-teach the vocabularies for debate (opening/closing statement, cross examination,
examination

Debate Structure (allow more time for bigger groups)

Opening statement (2 mins)
Cross examination (1 min)
Moderator questions team 1 (2 mins)
Moderator questions team 2 (2 mins)
Rebuttal #1 (1 min each)
Rebuttal #2 (1 min each)
Closing Statements (1 min each)
 Advanced Debates
Language
Opinion
The way I see it,
In my view,
In my opinion, I think that
My view on the matter is…
As far as I understand it,
As far as I’m concerned,
I’d say that…
I personally am (not) a big fan of…
Main arguments
I support/oppose the notion that… for the
following reason: Firstly,…
The key issue here is…
The real question/dilemma is… (question form)
The critical/crucial factor here is…
It’s vital to remember that…
By far and away the most important point is…
Rebutting/Cross-Examining
So what you’re saying is…
So let me get this straight…
Correct me if I’m wrong but…
You’re not seriously suggesting that…, are you?
You can’t possibly be saying that…
I feel I must also disagree with you about…
Conclusion
In a nutshell,
So to sum up,
So in summary,
So to wrap up,
So as I was saying,
All in all,
Evidence/Popular Opinion
All the evidence points to/suggests…
I think you’ll find that…
If you ask anyone,…
The vast majority of people would say…
We have no evidence that…
9 out of 10 people would say that…
There’s no evidence to support that whatsoever.
Adding points
What’s more,
On top of that,
Besides that,
Apart from that,
Another thing to consider is…
We shouldn’t forget that…
It’s also worth bearing in mind that…
Conceding/Partially Agreeing
I admit that your point about… may be true,
however,
I take/see your point about…
Let’s say I agree with the idea of…
I hear what you’re saying, but…
Debate Structure
1. Opening statement (2 mins)
2. Cross examination (1 min)
3. (repeat)
4. Rebuttal #1 (1 min each)
5. Rebuttal #2 (1 min each)
6. Closing Statements (1 min each)