Oral expression in the classroom of languages for specific purposes: a proposal of argumentation in French and English for tourism

Abstract

Higher Education teaching of foreign languages for specific purposes places great emphasis on the development of oral skills. This study had as a main goal to use debate as a tool in the teaching and learning of the oral production of French and English for Tourism, incorporating objectives related to content, lexis and argumentative skills. With that aim in mind, we introduced activities focused on the learning of the strategy of argumentation itself, on the preparation of the topic proposed and on the creation of a well-defined set of arguments to conclude with a final debate. Through direct observation of the procedure and employing a feedback questionnaire delivered afterwards, we studied the process and practice of both argumentation and debate in both classes. The results showed that, through debate, we succeeded in widening our students' linguistic background and critical thinking, apart from fostering significantly their degree of motivation, proactive attitude and level of collaboration.