Speaking: Debate Practice Motion Cards
Debate practice motion cards is the B2 structured-debate skill that combines analytical thinking with rhetorical performance. Each motion card presents a debate topic (This house would ban single-use plastics, This house believes that social media has done more harm than good) and asks teams to argue for or against. The worksheet provides full debate structure: opening statement, supporting arguments, rebuttal, summary. Learners build the formal-debate fluency that university and professional contexts increasingly require.
This worksheet builds B2 speaking fluency through structured debate.
Worksheet preview
What’s inside:
- 15 debate motion cards on contemporary topics
- A phrase bank for opening, supporting, rebutting, summarising
- Debate-structure template with timing for each speaker
- Pair-work and four-person team setups
- Teacher Notes with role allocation and assessment
Common challenges: Rebuttal at B2 — strong debaters address the opposing argument directly, weak debaters just state their own position again. Maintaining role: arguing the assigned side regardless of personal view. Time discipline: short, focused turns beat long, meandering ones.
For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B2, in upper-intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study with partners. Maps onto Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Speaking and C1 Advanced (CAE) Speaking. Part of the Discussion & Debate collection — the natural next step is Storytelling: Tell Me About a Time.
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