Discussions that Work Series: Cambridge Handbooks for L

How can you make a discussion really work? What sort of activities produce genuine and enthusiastic exchanges of ideas? How can you prepare such exercises quickly and easily? These are some of the questions that Discussions that Work sets out to answer. The first part provides some general guidelines on the organisation of successful task-centred activities. The second part consists of some fifty practical examples which have been tried and found effective in the classroom. They range from fairly simple to complex and sophisticated, and can thus be used with a wide range of learners, from elementary to the most advanced, in both secondary and adult education.

Contents: Preface; Part I. General Principles: 1. What is a discussion?; 2. Some factors in a good discussion: topic, group-work, role-play; 3. Giving the discussion a purpose: the task; 4. Organization; Part II. Practical Examples: 5. Introduction; 6. Brainstorming activities; 7. Organizing activities; 8. Compound activities; Bibliography; Index.