Debate Brings Many Benefits to Students
2023-05-07
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1Nearly three hours after midnight, Tajaih Robinson and Iyana Trotman of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina finally heard the judges' decision.
2They had defeated the University of Michigan in the finals on April 4.
3After 12 debates over four straight days, the Wake Forest team won the 2023 National Debate Tournament (NDT).
4Their coach, Justin Green, described the moment as: "Hugging, yelling, crying, and laughing..."
5Over 500 colleges and universities in the United States have competitive debate programs.
6The program gives students a chance to work together to argue for or against an issue or statement.
7Students and their coaches point to several benefits of the activity.
8They say debate helps develop research skills, critical thinking skills, time management, and public speaking.
9John Turner is Director of Debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
10He said debaters research issues in detail and across many different areas of knowledge.
11"We are drawing from academic materials from so many different subfields, many of which are never in conversation with each other. . . we are bringing this full variety of perspectives to bear on a common point."
12Turner added that debaters can bring knowledge that other students might not have to their classes, especially in the social sciences.
13And undergraduate debaters often do as much research in a year as graduate students in master's and doctoral programs.
14Kelly Phil is a member of the Michigan team that reached the NDT finals.
15She said research for her classes seems "incredibly easy" compared to the research for debate.
16Phil studies political science and history.
17Like Turner, she said debate research is useful for classes.
18"Debate gives you this big... background reservoir of knowledge that you can draw on at any point when you're writing a paper. . ."
19Ana Bittner is another debater from Wake Forest.
20She thinks she is "more well-read than other students" and that debate has improved her ability to quickly process large amounts of information.
21For example, Bittner said she quickly looked through a 550-page book in about one hour to find information to support her debate arguments.
22Mikaela Malsin is Director of Debate at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
23She said debate helps students think about both sides of an issue and learn respect for others:
24"Not many activities or areas that you encounter... really challenge you to think differently and to take on different perspectives... the switch-side nature of policy debate is really significant."
25Like student-athletes, top debaters travel to competitions on weekends.
26And they can spend up to 30 or 40 hours a week preparing for important tournaments.
27Ari Davidson of Wake Forest said a debater might miss up to 10 classes each semester.
28This makes it very difficult for some students to debate, especially if they have science classes that require time in laboratories.
29Phil, of Michigan, said the extra time she spends on debate feels like "just another part of academic life."
30She also finds that debating makes her more willing to speak in class.
31She says that when she has a clear idea of what she wants to say, "it's really not that difficult to speak in public."
32Both Malsin and Turner said the best debaters can combine large amounts of information and explore many different arguments.
33Above all, Davidson and Turner said the activity acts as a laboratory for testing ideas and looking for solutions to big problems.
34Kamal Belmihoud came from Algeria to study at Clarion University in Pennsylvania.
35English is not his first language.
36In fact, it was his fourth.
37But that did not stop him from joining the debate team.
38For the first year and a half, Belmihoud lost every debate.
39But his coaches kept supporting him, and he enjoyed the travel and being a member of the debate community.
40Over time, Belmihoud increased his language skill and confidence. In his last semester, he won several debates.
41Now Belmihoud teaches writing at Baruch College of the City University of New York.
42He includes in-class debates as part of his teaching.
43Belmihoud says international students should not let fear stop them from trying debate or other activities.
44Instead, they should center on the progress they are making and being part of a team.
45I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Caty Weaver.
1Nearly three hours after midnight, Tajaih Robinson and Iyana Trotman of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina finally heard the judges' decision. They had defeated the University of Michigan in the finals on April 4. 2After 12 debates over four straight days, the Wake Forest team won the 2023 National Debate Tournament (NDT). Their coach, Justin Green, described the moment as: "Hugging, yelling, crying, and laughing..." 3Over 500 colleges and universities in the United States have competitive debate programs. The program gives students a chance to work together to argue for or against an issue or statement. 4Benefits of debate 5Students and their coaches point to several benefits of the activity. They say debate helps develop research skills, critical thinking skills, time management, and public speaking. 6John Turner is Director of Debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He said debaters research issues in detail and across many different areas of knowledge. 7"We are drawing from academic materials from so many different subfields, many of which are never in conversation with each other. . . we are bringing this full variety of perspectives to bear on a common point." 8Turner added that debaters can bring knowledge that other students might not have to their classes, especially in the social sciences. And undergraduate debaters often do as much research in a year as graduate students in master's and doctoral programs. 9Kelly Phil is a member of the Michigan team that reached the NDT finals. She said research for her classes seems "incredibly easy" compared to the research for debate. Phil studies political science and history. 10Like Turner, she said debate research is useful for classes. 11"Debate gives you this big... background reservoir of knowledge that you can draw on at any point when you're writing a paper. . ." 12Ana Bittner is another debater from Wake Forest. She thinks she is "more well-read than other students" and that debate has improved her ability to quickly process large amounts of information. For example, Bittner said she quickly looked through a 550-page book in about one hour to find information to support her debate arguments. 13Mikaela Malsin is Director of Debate at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She said debate helps students think about both sides of an issue and learn respect for others: 14"Not many activities or areas that you encounter... really challenge you to think differently and to take on different perspectives... the switch-side nature of policy debate is really significant." 15Like student-athletes, top debaters travel to competitions on weekends. And they can spend up to 30 or 40 hours a week preparing for important tournaments. 16Ari Davidson of Wake Forest said a debater might miss up to 10 classes each semester. This makes it very difficult for some students to debate, especially if they have science classes that require time in laboratories. 17Phil, of Michigan, said the extra time she spends on debate feels like "just another part of academic life." She also finds that debating makes her more willing to speak in class. She says that when she has a clear idea of what she wants to say, "it's really not that difficult to speak in public." 18Both Malsin and Turner said the best debaters can combine large amounts of information and explore many different arguments. 19Above all, Davidson and Turner said the activity acts as a laboratory for testing ideas and looking for solutions to big problems. 20An international student learns to debate 21Kamal Belmihoud came from Algeria to study at Clarion University in Pennsylvania. English is not his first language. In fact, it was his fourth. But that did not stop him from joining the debate team. 22For the first year and a half, Belmihoud lost every debate. But his coaches kept supporting him, and he enjoyed the travel and being a member of the debate community. Over time, Belmihoud increased his language skill and confidence. In his last semester, he won several debates. 23Now Belmihoud teaches writing at Baruch College of the City University of New York. He includes in-class debates as part of his teaching. 24Belmihoud says international students should not let fear stop them from trying debate or other activities. Instead, they should center on the progress they are making and being part of a team. 25I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Caty Weaver. 26Andrew Smith wrote this story for VOA Learning English. 27__________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29coach -n. a leader or trainer of a team 30hug -v. to embrace or put one's arms around something 31yell -v. to shout or call out in a loud voice 32benefits -n. positive aspects or helpful results 33management -n. ability to control or organize 34academic -adj. relating to schools, colleges, and universities 35perspective -n. a point of view or way of thinking about things 36bring (something) to bear on -(idiomatic) to cause to have an effect on 37undergraduate -adj. referring to students at universities who study for associate's or bachelor's degrees 38graduate -adj. referring to students at universities who study for masters or doctorate degrees 39reservoir -n. a large container holding water, such as a lake, or a source of large amounts of information 40encounter -v. to meet or experience something 41challenge -v. to require special effort to do a task or achieve a goal 42significant -adj. of special importance 43semester -n.In colleges and universities in some countries, one of the two main periods into which the year is divided. 44________________________________________________________________ 45We want to hear from you. 46We have a new comment system. 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