A previous topic from our coursebook was Euthanasia. This included a debate between two teams of three on 22nd October who put the case for and against legalizing euthanasia in Japan. Here, Tsukasa and Akiko (audience members) discuss their views on the debating teams' performances:
Our current topic is capital punishment. On 12th November we had a debate on the issue of whether Japan should abolish the death penalty. After hearing the arguments, Sawa wrote,
"I want to support the affirmative group because their speech was so clear and I could understand it easily. They prepared a good handout to show us what they wanted to say. In addition, this group did the conclusion well. The intonation, speed and volume were effective in giving speeches. Their speeches won my heart."
In contrast, Hitomi wrote, "At first, the group supporting the motion was more persuasive for me because they prepared material and they used English effectively, for example in their posture and question intonation. Besides, their material was based on fact, not just opinion. However, at the second stage the opposing team was more persuasive because they effectively tried to rebut each of the other team's points. They also cooperated well with each other, so that finally they were the more persuasive."
