Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

2202208  English Conversation and Discussion

Puckpan Tipayamontri

Office: BRK 1106

Office Hours: M 1–3 and by appointment

Phone: 0 2218 4703

puckpan.t@chula.ac.th

Section 2 (BRK 414)

MW 11:00–12:30

Leading Discussion

You will be working with another student in leading a class discussion on a topic based on an article of your choice.

Instructions: You will need to choose a classmate to work with on this assignment and sign up for one of the designated Wednesdays to lead the class discussion together. You will choose the topic and the article that you would like to discuss with the class. Provide your classmates and instructor with copies of and/or links to the article on the Monday of the week of your discussion at the latest. In the case of URLs to online articles, I will post the links on our detailed schedule when I receive them. On the day you have signed up for, you and your partner(s) will lead the class in discussing the chosen topic and article for sixty minutes of the class period, so be sure to prepare adequately.

Requirements: You are expected to work together with your partner in choosing the topic (It can be on the unit topic or on another issue of interest.) and an article/essay to discuss, and in leading the class discussion for sixty minutes. A fun and interesting article is a good choice, but also one that is rich, deep or provocative enough to spark a lively and rewarding conversation. Some topics, though at first glance feels intriguing, may be exhausted after five minutes and would not be helpful to you as discussion leaders. Choose your article from a publication that produces high quality prose, provides accurate information, and presents well-argued and well-supported ideas. Here is a list of a few to start you off:

• The Atlantic
• Harper's Magazine
• National Geographic
  
• The New Yorker
  
• The New York Times Magazine
  
• The Observer
  
• The Walrus
• Wired
  

Through well-thought out questions and stimulating prompts, engage your classmates in talking about the chosen topic and article. This—getting a conversation going, keeping it flowing, and engaging as many of your friends as possible—is critical as it is the whole point of the exercise.

Grading: Your grade will primarily depend on your ability to start the conversation and keep it going as well as how successfully you have inspired every one of your classmates to jump in and engage.

Moreover, we will be looking at the quality of the conversation, the "meat" and difficulty of the material, and the level of discourse (vocabulary, pronunciation, knowledge, insight, etc.) achieved.

Have fun!

Leading Discussion Guidelines

• Why Discuss?
  In brainstorms about discussion, people mentioned various real-life situations when conversation and discussion is useful like meeting new people, getting a job, planning and completing a project, negotiating business, asking for help and flirting. One might say that in each of these cases, discussion helps you to
• learn something new
• build relationships
• achieve a goal
• Characteristics of Good Discussion
  Think about these qualities, some of which we have mentioned and tested in previous classes, and how such an environment and conduct can be fostered during your session.
• Environment
• Safe space: The discussion should be a safe place where people feel they can share their ideas sincerely without being unfairly judged, ignored, attacked or ridiculed.
• Seating: Sitting in a circle allows everyone to be seen and heard more easily.
• Audio-visual: Making sure that media equipment you will use during discussion operates properly helps the discussion run smoothly.
• Content
  We strive to be open-minded critical and creative and might say any topic is worth discussing, but consider why we discuss and the qualities that make discussion exciting and rewarding. With this in mind, what you choose to talk about might encourage
• meaningful conversation
• broader horizons
• new insights
• open input from individuals
• Participants and Facilitators
• active listening
• adding value with your comments
• being sincere
• being respectful
• being open-minded
• natural turntaking
• being attentive to body language
• acknowledge others' ideas
• Rules and Roles
• Preparation
• Read the article(s) before class
• Note down questions or ideas about the reading to contribute in class
• Familiarize yourself with relevant vocabulary and background information
• Facilitators
• Have a goal: Why does your article need discussing? What do you hope to achieve with the interaction your classmates can provide?
• Introduce the article
• Provide relevant background, information, and vocabulary
• Initiate discussion; get the ball rolling
• Listen actively
• Ask questions that encourage critical engagement with the article and creative exploration of the topic ex. questions that prompt looking at issues from different angles, considering different individuals/parties/sectors involved, a variety of perspectives, roles, advantages, and limitations, probing underlying assumptions, possible solutions or options
• Clarify unclear contributions ex. by rephrasing, requesting explanation of unfamiliar ideas or terms
• Give positive feedback and constructive criticism
• Connect, contrast ideas
• Encourage everyone to share their ideas and interact with others' while being sensitive to individual style and personalities
• Allow participants to respond directly to each other
• Encourage development of an idea or issue brought up with pertinent follow up questions
• Bring the group back on track if discussion strays too far afield
• Move to a fresh point if discussion gets repetitive or rambling
• Keep time
• Wrap up the discussion
• Participants
• Voice your questions, information, ideas and give others a chance to speak
• Listen carefully, take notes to keep track of points made and issues unexplored
• Respect facilitators' lead
• Use appropriate language
• Keep an open mind
• Time: 60 minutes per student-led discussion session
• 10-minute combined introduction and wrap-up
• 50-minute discussion

Facilitating Discussion Links

• "The Art of Discussion Leading: A Class with Chris Christensen," Derek Bok Center, Harvard University (1995; video clip, 29:50 min.)
• "Role of the Participants," Study Circles
• Ann Porteus, "Roles People Play in Groups," Stanford University
• Discussions
• Janet Johnson, "Twitter and the Classroom" (2010; video clip, 9:58 min.; A discussion with students in my Introduction to Computer-Mediated class about using Twitter. Is it useful? How would students like to use it?)
• Overtime with Bill Maher, HBO
• "Evangelicals, Facebook, Cultural Suicide" (2018; video clip, 12:41 min.)
• "Ronan Farrow, Rick Stengel, Christina Bellantoni, Dennis Prager, Dr. Jay Gordon" (2019; video clip, 11:44 min.)

Current Signed-Up Schedule (see also Detailed Schedule)

Sep. 9: Naruepanat and Mingkamol

• Scott Detrow, "What Did Cambridge Analytica Do During the 2016 Election?," NPR (2018)

Sep. 30: Thanyachanok and Sasayamon

• Article

Oct. 14: Artittaya and Nattacha

• Article

Oct. 21: Pailin

• Article

Oct. 28: Renuvajra and Piengpaj

• Article

Nov. 4: Phoomin

• Article

Nov. 11: Thunrada and Warisa

• Article

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Last updated September 8, 2020