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  • 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!" "How are you?"

  • "Good" "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." "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 place.

  • 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

  • Uh, that's true, but if you're going to study online... Ronnie: "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."

  • "Okay. Don't get me wrong. I mean, there are good resources on the Internet, like engVid.com.

  • However" "I'm sorry, did you say engVid.com?

  • "I did say engVid.com." "Oh, I've heard of engVid.com."

  • "I think I have too." "Me too."'

  • "Check it out. Anyway." "It's a good website."

  • "So as I was saying, don't get me wrong, I think there are excellent resources online.

  • However, some students who are just learning English for the first time might not know how to judge the quality of the resources.

  • So I think if you go to a school, if you're inside a classroom,

  • you're with a teacher who is trained, is a professional,

  • who can give you the resources you need to improve your English.

  • "Well, it's a good thing you said about professional teachers because at engVid.com"

  • "engVid.com?" "engVid.com" "engVid.com" "Yeah, EngVid"

  • We have professional teachers ready to teach you.

  • So in conclusion, in a nutshell, can we just, kind of, sum up and say that

  • studying online or in a classroom will help everyone?"

  • "Sure." "I think so." "I can agree with that." "Okay."

  • "All right. Thank you very much for your help guys." "Okay" "No problem."

  • So now, I'll review some of the phrases and expressions that you heard in the discussion.

  • I think that it's actually very good to study online.

  • "I think" is used when you're going to express your opinion.

  • You could also say "I believe" and so on.

  • Next. -- That's true, but if you're going to study online --

  • -- However, focus is a good thing -- --

  • Yeah, but sometimes the resources that you get in a classroom are boring.

  • -- Okay, these three phrases, "That's true, but"; or "However"; or "Yeah, but", are used

  • -- What do you think? They're used when we want to contradict what someone else has said,

  • when we disagree with what someone else has said. Okay?

  • Next. -- You make a very good point, but I would also like to add that sometimes having classmates

  • takes you away from your focus."

  • -- "You made a good point but I'd also like to add", is a very nice expression.

  • It shows that you recognize the contribution that someone else has made to the discussion in the first part,

  • and you're also going to add your own opinion, which is different from what the first person said.

  • Next.

  • -- But if you're going to study online -- -- Sorry, but --

  • -- Well, I would like to add. May I say something?

  • -- "Sorry but", which Ronnie says, or "May I say something?", which James said,

  • are two different ways in which you can interrupt a discussion.

  • You see that the first one was purposely done for you not in a very polite way to show you how not to do it.

  • And James says, "May I say something?", which is a very polite way to enter a discussion.

  • Next. -- Sorry, but -- -- Please let me finish. Let me finish.

  • -- "Please let me finish" is a very nice way to hold the floor.

  • What does it mean to "hold the floor" in a discussion? It means to establish your position as the speaker, all right?

  • So someone else is trying to interrupt, but you want a chance to finish whatever argument you're presenting,

  • so you say, "Please let me finish", okay? Very nice.

  • Next. -- As I was saying, that's true, but if you're studying online --

  • -- "As I was saying" is used when you're returning to your -- to speaking, to whatever you were saying when someone has interrupted you, okay?

  • It's a way of saying, "Okay, now I'm talking again"

  • . "As I was saying." All right?

  • Next. -- Okay. Don't get me wrong. I mean, there are good resources on the Internet.

  • -- Alex uses, "don't get me wrong". Now, this is an interesting expression

  • because when we say this, what we're saying is that,

  • "I've been explaining something, I've been presenting a certain point of view, but I do understand that there is another point of view,

  • and I accept that, and I understand that. However, I do still have my opinion."

  • So we use that when we are taking into account the other opinion as well.

  • Next. -- So in conclusion, in a nutshell, can we just, kind of, sum up and say that --

  • -- Okay, the last three phrases were used by Ronnie to end the discussion,

  • so "in conclusion","in a nutshell". "In a nutshell" just means "in short"

  • or "Can we sum up by saying..." "Can we sum up?" means "Can we summarize?" All right?

  • So that's a nice way to end a discussion by including everyone in it. It's not as if one person is deciding to end the discussion.

  • She's sort of asking everyone's permission by saying, "can we sum up by saying", okay?

  • I hope this lesson has given you a number of different expressions that you can use when you're taking part in a discussion, all right?

  • If you'd like to do a quiz on this subject, please go to our website, www.engvid.com.

  • Thanks very much for watching, and good luck with your English.

Hi! My name is Rebecca, and in today's lesson you'll learn how to participate effectively in a discussion in English,

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