UNIVERSIDAD JAVERIANA MODERN LANGUAGES INTERMEDIATE SPEAKING PROJECT The purpose of this Project is to develop your skills in argumentation and to practice speaking. The teacher will give you some topics, so every student has a different subject. In this Project you will have to investigate about the topic, state a point of view and support it with at least 3 different arguments (3 minutes). For this activity you will have to think of the possible counterarguments your classmates can use to attack your arguments, and in this way be prepared for defending your view. After your speech, some students will attack your arguments and you will have to defend them against the counterarguments. The students who voluntarily attack the arguments of the speaker will get points in the final speaking grade. The assessment will include self-evaluation, peer-evaluation (in groups) and teacher’s evaluation using the following chart: SPEAKING PROJECT ASSESSMENT CRITERIA Speaker: __________________________________

Evaluate the speaker using 1 being poor or bad and 5 being excellent.

The point of view was clearly, fairly clearly, not clearly stated

The arguments used were strong, fairly strong, weak

The defense of the arguments was good, fairly god, poor

Grammar and vocabulary were excellent, good, fairly good, bad

Pronunciation was excellent, good, fairly good, bad

Fluency was excellent, good, fairly good, bad

Average

Comments:

________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Choose one topic for your speaking project and e-mail me the corresponding number. In case two students have the same number the first one who sends the e-mail takes the topic.

1. Is legalizing marihuana in Colombia effective?

2. Is the death penalty effective? 3. Is torture ever acceptable?

4. Are we too dependent on computers?

5. Should animals be used for research? 6. Are law enforcement cameras an invasion of privacy?

7. Are test scores a good indication of a school's competency? 8. Is child behaviour better or worse than it was years ago?

9. Should companies market to children? 10. Should the government have a say in our diets?

11. Does access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy? 12. Are actors and professional athletes paid too much?

13. Do violent video games cause behaviour problems? 14. Should creationism be taught in public schools?

15. When should parents let teens make their own decisions? 16. Should the military be allowed to recruit at high schools?

17. Should the alcoholic drinking age be increased or decreased?

18. Does age matter in relationships? 19. What age is appropriate for dating?

20. Should gay couples be able to marry? 21. Are there benefits to attending a single-sex school?

22. Does participation in sports keep teens out of trouble?

23. Is competition good? 24. Is fashion important?

25. Should students be allowed to grade their teachers? http://homeworktips.about.com/od/essaywriting/a/argumenttopics.htm