This past week I did a lesson on how to argue, disagree, agree and express your opinion in English. We debated some issues in pairs and groups and then did a final opinion poll/survey called "Convince Me" in which students wrote down an opinion/belief that they held and asked their classmates how they felt about it. I had done a similar activity in classes with college students in the U.S. and the results were very hilarious and creative and ranged from the politically absurd to mildly offensive generalizations and stereotypes about a variety of topics. I was hoping that this would be an equally entertaining activity with the Chinese students but it was a little more of a challenge to get them to think of something creative and different to share and many just copied a version of their neighbor's idea.

After each student wrote down an opinion, they had to have a brief conversation with every other student in the class which included them reading the opinion, asking whether he/she agreed or disagreed and then requiring a reason why. Some of the opinions were kind of lame and boring like the following: (Results are shown as Agree / Disagree)

"Sleeping is more comfortable than studying" (27/1)
"Sunny is better than rainy" (22/4)
"Meat is better than vegetables" (8/10)
"Playing computer games is better than studying" (7/14)

But other opinions were actually kind of funny and interesting. It gave me a glimpse into what kinds of things are important and thought about by my students.

"There's no need for women to have a husband" (13/15)
"China is better than Japan" (27/1)
"Thinner is more beautiful and attractive than those fat persons" (22/4)
"Aliens exist in the world" (13/14)
"France is more romantic than any other country in the world" (19/7)
"China is stronger than Japan" (23/4)
"Chinese is the most beautiful language" (21/7)
"Getting more experience is more important than getting more knowledge" (23/0)
"Shirley is the most beautiful girl in our class" (15/7)
"Students should need less classes but more activities, right?" (20/0)
"Parents are more important than lovers" (20/3)
"Do some sports when you are free is very important" (22/3)
"Money is more important than love in modern society" (9/16)
"Chocolate is more delicious than cake" (8/19)
"Health is more important than fashion" (21/1)
"Milk is the most tasty drink" (14/15)
"It's more comfortable to live a independent live than live together with family" (14/3)
"Basketball is more exciting than football [soccer]" (19/5)
"English song is better than Chinese song" (9/12)
"Chinese food is more delicious than Western food" (21/0)
"Food in our cafeteria is the worst" (17/7)
"Snoopy is better than [Hello] Kitty" (18/10)
"Appearance is more useful than ability" (2/21)
"Parents are more important than husbands" (20/4)
"Bush is more handsome than Obama" (4/20)
"Western buildings are more beautiful than ancient Chinese buildings" (2/18)
"Edward [from Twilight] is more handsome than Harry [Potter]" (10/9)
"American English sounds better than British English" (15/3)
"Long hair is better than short hair for girl" (18/4)
"Chinese family is better than American family" (19/2)
"I think being single is better than having a boyfriend or girlfriend" (11/12)
"Looking after baby is the worst thing in the world" (11/12)
"Women is more outstanding than men" (16/3)

1 Comment

1. Kate VanDerKolk on November 10, 2009 at 2:10 PM

   haha...I love reading your posts and totally agree with your students, Milk is the most tasty drink. Miss you and wish you were coming home for Christmas! Kate