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Jul.06.2019 KIP Forum: July English Debate Workshop
Mr. Inoue, the Representative of SPEECH & DEBATE INSTITUTE
We had a great opportunity of learning and practcing English debate by Mr. Inoue, the Representative of SPEECH & DEBATE INSTITUTE. Students learned a CERC model, which is helpful for speaking logically, and practiced one on one training and a debate. After the four hours practice, students noticed that they could speak out with confidence and felt importance of “Learn by Doing”.
Mr. Toshiyuki Inoue
The Representative of SPEECH & DEBATE INSTITUTE. He is a coach of speech and debate in English. He worked at a company of tobacco in the US. For 20 years and after that, he became a coach of training in some companies for 20 years. He won the Toastmasters of Japan many times and it is said that his speech has been popular by his unique sense of humor.
Speech summary
At the beginning of the session, Mr. Inoue explained how his impression toward debates changed after having them. It became more fun rather than something serious. And Mr. Inoue said that people need to practice a debate, in order to regard a debate as an enjoyable argument which uses wisdom and humor. In this time Mr. Inoue taught students what they should be conscious of when they discuss some arguments including debates and how to construct speech.
At first, Mr. Inoue said that students should try hard to “manage time”, “give feedback”, “ask question” and try “eye contact” when they discuss some arguments. Also, he said that giving feedback means evaluating good points and bad points. Asking questions and taking notes will show interest in the topic and support for the speaker. However, he taught us that even though taking notes is important to understand the main points in debate, at the same time we should take care to decrease eye contact.
After that, Mr. Inoue taught that the CREC model is suitable when speaches are about one minute and the OBC model is best for speaches of about ten minutes. The CREC model means composing Conclusion, Reason, Example and Conclusion. The OBC model means constructing Opening, Body and Conclusion.
Discussion
Students practiced “One On One Training” and debating.
In “One On One Training”, in a few minutes students stated their opinions on a theme and listeners summarized speakers’ opinions, asked questions and gave feedback. The students used the CREC model keeping eye contact and using gestures. Some students noticed that it was difficult to watch the time while they were speaking not only Japanese but also English.
After that, students debated one to one and three to three. When they debated one to one, Mr. Inoue emphasized the importance of summarizing the points and listening a companion’s speech in order to judge each other. And we debated three to three about “English should be the official language of big companies in Japan or not” “We should impose retirement age or not” and “We should teach Debate in Japanese elementary schools or not”. Students were aware of Mr. Inoue`s ideals of how to compose speeches. People who were judging seemed to focus on whether or not teammates had consistent values and whether or not they gave new ideas to each person.
After the practice session, Mr. Inoue stated that there are two sides to everything and people can get closer to the truth through debate. Also, he said that preparing two opinions about every single topic was important. I thought that debate practice was a good tool for stimulation of my thinking of the various opinions about one topic. Also, the debate way of thinking was useful of collecting and selecting information.(Azusa Kawaguchi, Sophomore, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Yokohama City University)