Developing discussion skills in the ESL classroom

Despite the clear benefits of developing the ability of students to discuss issues of importance and interest through the medium of English, many teachers quickly abandon planned discussion programmes. This usually happens when students display a lack of interest in developing suggested discussion topics. In this article, we argue that the use of a learner-centred and cognitive approach, which allows students to choose and organize their own topics, carry out peer and self-observation and evaluation, and analyse findings, is likely to produce more positive results for both learner and teacher.