This activity has become a go to in most of my classes. It goes over how to agree to disagree, but it also focuses on how to support your argument. Supporting a statement contributes to writing and speaking in many ways, but this activity particularly leads students to think in a critical manner.
Anytime I ask for the student’s opinion about a topic, they usually need a little prompting to get anything out! I found that when we practiced this “closed form” activity, it safely guides them to support their argument with examples or facts. It ends with a concrete example of “I think/believe that smoking should be banned in public places..…because/since secondhand smoke is harmful for nonsmokers.” I have even used this sentence as a lead to writing a thesis for an essay!
ESL Instructor