Expressing Opinions and Taking Part in Debates.

This lesson trains you to express opinions clearly and to participate in discussions without sounding rude or too blunt. You listen to short debates, meetings and informal conversations where people agree, disagree and build on each others ideas. You notice useful phrases for giving opinions, softening strong views and responding to other speakers. Guided practice helps you use hedging language such as I tend to think and it seems to me when you want to be diplomatic. You also learn how to support your opinions with reasons, examples and possible results. Finally, you take part in a structured discussion or mini debate on a topic that matters to you. By the end, you can state your views, respond to others and keep a conversation going in a respectful way.

1. Joining a discussion about working from home.

Let us start by stepping into a very real situation. Imagine you have joined an online English discussion group after work. Today’s topic is: should more people work from home? The tutor asks everyone to share their views, and two people, Sara and Ben, speak first. Your job in this block is not to debate yet, but to listen and read carefully, and to notice how they express their opinions without sounding angry or too direct. You will see that they do not only say I think. They also use phrases like in my view and on balance, I tend to think. These expressions are very natural in English discussions and they help you sound calm and thoughtful. In a moment, you will read a short dialogue between Sara and Ben on the screen. After that, you will answer a few questions about who supports working from home, who is more doubtful, and which phrases they use to give their opinions. Focus on the language, not only the ideas. This will give you a strong foundation for the rest of the lesson, when you start joining the debate yourself.

Model discussion: should more people work from home?.

Read this short dialogue between two members of an online discussion group. The tutor has just asked: “So, what do you think about more people working from home?”

> Sara: In my view, working from home is generally a good thing. One reason is that people waste less time commuting. Also, many parents find it easier to balance work and family.

> Ben: I see your point, but I am not sure I agree. It seems to me that some people feel very lonely at home. Another important factor is that young employees learn a lot from watching colleagues in the office.

> Sara: That is a fair point. On balance, though, I still tend to think that a mix is best – maybe three days at home and two days in the office.

> Ben: Yes, I completely agree with you about having a mix. I just do not think everyone should be at home most of the week.

Noticing useful opinion language.

In this short exchange, the interesting part is how they speak, not only what they say.

Look at these phrases:

• In my view, working from home is generally a good thing.
• It seems to me that some people feel very lonely at home.
• On balance, I tend to think that a mix is best.
• I see your point, but I am not sure I agree.
• That is a fair point.
• I completely agree with you.

These expressions help Sara and Ben:

• introduce their opinion clearly;
• show respect for the other person;
• agree or disagree without sounding rude.

You will now check your understanding of the dialogue and begin to pay attention to who says what and why.

Practice & Feedback

Read the dialogue again in the reading text below. Then answer the questions in your own words. Write your answers in full sentences so you start using the opinion phrases yourself.

Please answer all four questions:

1. What is Sara’s main opinion about working from home?
2. What is Ben worried about, and which phrase does he use to introduce this worry?
3. What do Sara and Ben finally agree on?
4. Write one sentence about working from home using an opinion phrase from the dialogue, for example In my view or It seems to me that.

Try to write 2–3 sentences for questions 1–3 and one good sentence for question 4. Focus on being clear and polite, not perfect.

2. Using clear opinion and hedging phrases.

You have just seen how Sara and Ben expressed their ideas in a balanced, polite way. Now we are going to zoom in on the key expressions they used, and add a few more. At B2 level, it is important not to repeat I think all the time. You need a small toolkit of phrases to introduce your view, especially if you are in a meeting, a class discussion or even a friendly debate in the pub. Some phrases are quite strong, such as I completely agree or I firmly believe. Others are softer and more diplomatic, for example I tend to think or it seems to me. These softer expressions are called hedging language because they reduce the force of what you say. This can be very useful when you are not one hundred per cent sure, or when the topic is sensitive. In this block, you will look at a set of opinion and hedging phrases on the screen, and you will practise using them to talk about working from home and similar topics. Try to experiment a little. The aim is not to memorise a long list, but to find four or five phrases that feel natural for you and start using them actively in your own sentences.

Strong and soft ways of giving an opinion.

In discussions, you sometimes want to sound very sure, and sometimes a bit more careful and polite. Look at these examples.

Stronger opinions:

• I completely agree with you.
• I firmly believe that working from home is the future.
• I am convinced that a mix of home and office is best.

These sound confident and quite strong. They are great when you want to support someone clearly or when you want to show that your view is very definite.

Softer, more diplomatic opinions (hedging):

• In my view, working from home has more advantages than disadvantages.
• I tend to think that people are more productive at home.
• It seems to me that younger workers need more time in the office.
• On balance, I think a mix is probably the best solution.

These phrases show that you are open to other ideas. They are very useful when a topic is sensitive, or when you do not want to sound too direct.

Building longer opinion sentences.

Notice how we can combine the phrases above with reasons and examples:

• In my view, working from home has more advantages than disadvantages because people waste less time commuting.
• I tend to think that people are more productive at home, for instance when they can choose their own schedule.
• On balance, I think a mix is probably the best solution; one reason is that it keeps teams connected.

In the activity below, you will practise writing your own opinions using some of these phrases.

Practice & Feedback

Use the phrase bank in the reading box to help you. Your task is to write five opinion sentences on everyday topics similar to working from home.

Do this in three steps:

1. Choose a topic for each sentence, for example: working from home, online meetings, social media, long working hours, or studying online.
2. For each topic, choose one opinion or hedging phrase from the list, such as In my view, I tend to think that, On balance, I think, It seems to me that, or I completely agree that.
3. Write a full sentence giving your opinion about the topic.

For example: In my view, online meetings save a lot of time because people do not need to travel.

Try to vary the phrases. Do not use the same one in every sentence. Focus on sounding clear, polite and natural.

3. Agreeing and disagreeing politely in meetings.

Giving your own opinion is only half of the story in a discussion. The other half is how you respond to other people. Do you agree? Do you disagree a little, or a lot? And how can you say this without sounding rude or aggressive? In this block, we move into a typical workplace meeting. The team are talking about a new policy for working from home. You will listen to a short extract where three colleagues react to each other. As you listen, focus on the small phrases they use: I completely agree, I see your point, but, I am not sure I agree, and Let us agree to differ. These expressions show your attitude in a very clear but polite way. After listening, you will see the transcript on the screen and we will look at what each person is doing. Then you will do a task where you identify who agrees, who disagrees and who is somewhere in the middle. Finally, you will write a few of your own responses, using the phrases we have highlighted. This will prepare you for more realistic debates later in the lesson.

Listening scene: a team meeting.

You are now in a weekly team meeting. The manager has just suggested that everyone should work from home four days a week.

You will hear the audio in the activity section, then you can check the transcript here.

> Manager: So, what do you think about moving to four days a week at home?

> Alex: I completely agree with this idea. In my view, people get more done when they are not in the office all the time.

> Leila: I see your point, but I am not sure I agree. It seems to me that some colleagues really need face‑to‑face support.

> Tom: That is a fair point. On balance, though, I think we should try it for a few months and then review it.

> Leila: I am afraid I still have doubts, but let us agree to differ for now.

What are these phrases doing?.

Look at the key expressions:

• I completely agree with this idea. – strong support
• I see your point, but I am not sure I agree. – polite partial disagreement
• That is a fair point. – recognising the other person’s argument
• On balance, I think we should... – giving a careful conclusion
• Let us agree to differ. – ending a disagreement in a friendly way

These phrases are very useful in meetings, seminars and informal debates. They help you:

• show that you are listening;
• agree or disagree clearly;
• reduce tension when there is no complete agreement.

After listening again in the activity, you will practise using similar phrases in your own short responses.

Practice & Feedback

First, listen carefully to the short meeting in the audio below. You can listen more than once. Then, using both the audio and the transcript on the screen, answer the questions.

1. Who strongly agrees with the manager’s idea, and which phrase do they use?
2. Who politely disagrees, and which exact words show this?
3. How does Tom try to find a middle position in the discussion?
4. Imagine you are Leila at the end of the meeting. Write three short responses you could say, using phrases like I see your point, but..., I am not sure I agree, Let us agree to differ, That is a fair point.

Write your answers in clear sentences. For question 4, write them as if you are speaking in the meeting.

4. Supporting your opinions with reasons and results.

By now, you can give your opinion and respond politely to others. The next step is to **build your argument**, so that your ideas are more persuasive and easier to follow. In English discussions, we often expect people to give at least one clear reason and, if possible, a result or consequence. For example, you might say, "In my view, a mix of home and office is best, because people stay connected to their team. As a result, communication is smoother." Notice the small words: because, one reason is that, for example, as a result, therefore. These help your listener follow your logic. In this block, you will see how a very basic opinion can grow into a short, well‑supported paragraph. Then you will try this yourself. Do not worry about writing something long or academic. Focus on a simple structure: opinion, reason, example, possible result. This pattern is extremely useful in debates, meetings and even exam speaking tasks.

From simple opinions to developed arguments.

Look at these two versions of the same idea.

Very simple:

> In my view, working from home is a good idea.

This is clear, but it is too short for a real discussion. The listener may think, Why? or What is your evidence?

Developed opinion:

> In my view, working from home is a good idea, because people save time and money on commuting. For example, many of my colleagues used to travel an hour each way. As a result, they were often tired in the morning. Now they start work fresher and more focused.

Here we can clearly see:

• opinion – In my view, working from home is a good idea
• reason – because people save time and money on commuting
• example – for example, many of my colleagues used to travel an hour each way
• result – as a result, they were often tired in the morning

Useful phrases for reasons, examples and results.

You can mix and match these with the opinion phrases from earlier blocks:

• One reason is that ...
• Another important factor is that ...
• For example, / For instance, ...
• As a result, ...
• Therefore, ...
• This means that ...

Example:

> On balance, I think a mix of home and office is best. One reason is that new employees can learn faster in the office. For instance, they can easily ask questions. As a result, small problems do not become big problems.

In the activity below, you will improve a short, weak opinion text by adding reasons, an example and a result.

Practice & Feedback

Read the short text in the reading box. It gives a basic opinion about working from home, but the argument is not well developed yet.

Your task is to rewrite and expand this text as one short paragraph (about 5–7 sentences). Keep the same general opinion, but:

• add at least two clear reasons;
• include one specific example from real life (it can be your real situation or an invented one);
• add one result or consequence, using a phrase like as a result, therefore or this means that.

Try to use some of the opinion phrases from earlier blocks, such as In my view, I tend to think that, On balance, I think, and combine them with reason phrases like one reason is that or another important factor is that.

Write your final paragraph below.

5. Taking part in a mini chat debate.

So far, our discussions have sounded more like meetings or classroom debates. In real life, many discussions now happen in writing, in chat apps such as WhatsApp, Slack or Teams. In this block, you will practise a **chat‑style debate** with a colleague about the same topic: working from home. The advantage of chat is that you have a little more time to think and to choose polite, diplomatic language. The danger is that messages can look cold or rude if you are too direct. That is why our opinion phrases and hedging language are so useful here. On the screen, you will see a short example of a company chat between you and a colleague called Jamie. Then, in the activity, you will write your own side of a similar conversation. You will respond to Jamie’s messages, using phrases like in my view, I tend to think, I see your point, but, and that is a fair point. Imagine you are really trying to convince a colleague, but you still want to stay friendly so that you can work together tomorrow.

Example company chat.

You are chatting with your colleague Jamie about the new work‑from‑home policy.

> Jamie: Hi! What do you think about the idea of working from home four days a week?

> You: In my view, it sounds quite positive. One reason is that I will not waste so much time commuting.

> Jamie: I see your point, but I am not sure I agree. It seems to me that the team might stop talking informally.

> You: That is a fair point. On balance, though, I think we can stay connected if we plan regular online catch‑ups.

Notice how this short chat already includes:

• a clear opinion: In my view, it sounds quite positive.
• a reason: One reason is that I will not waste so much time commuting.
• polite partial disagreement: I see your point, but I am not sure I agree.
• recognition of the other view: That is a fair point.
• a careful conclusion: On balance, I think...

Your turn to lead the conversation.

In the activity below, you will continue a similar chat with Jamie. This time you will write your messages only, but imagine the conversation is really happening.

Try to:

• use at least three different opinion or hedging phrases;
• show agreement with one of Jamie’s points;
• show polite disagreement with another;
• add at least one reason and one possible result.

Keep your messages short and natural, like real chat posts, not long paragraphs.

Practice & Feedback

Read Jamie’s opening messages in the reading box. You are going to reply as yourself in a chat‑style mini debate.

1. Imagine this is a real company chat (for example in Slack or Teams).
2. Write 4–6 short messages from your side of the conversation, as if you are replying to Jamie in real time. Start each message on a new line.
3. Use a mix of phrases from this lesson, for example: In my view, It seems to me that, I tend to think that, I see your point, but..., That is a fair point, On balance, I think...
4. Include at least one reason, one example and one possible result.

Focus on being polite and natural. Do not worry if your ideas are different from Jamie’s. The important thing is to keep the conversation going in a respectful way.

6. Your mini debate contribution from start to finish.

You are ready for a small capstone task. In this final block, you will bring together everything from the lesson: giving your opinion, using hedging language, agreeing and disagreeing politely, and supporting your ideas with reasons, examples and consequences. Imagine that next week you will join a formal discussion in your company or study group about working from home. You will have a short turn to speak, perhaps one or two minutes. You want to sound clear, organised and respectful, even if you have strong views. On the screen, you will see a simple three‑part structure for your contribution: first, state your overall opinion; second, give two or three supporting points with reasons and examples; third, respond to one possible opposing view and finish with a short conclusion. In the activity, you will write a script for this contribution. This will help you prepare for real debates in English, and you could even record yourself reading it later. Aim for quality, not length. Use the chunks from your bank: in my view, I tend to think, it seems to me that, I see your point, but, on balance, I think, that is a fair point. Think of this as your personal voice, in English, on a real-life issue.

Planning your full contribution.

You are speaking in a short debate. The question is:

> “Should our organisation encourage people to work from home most of the week?”

Use this three‑part structure to plan your contribution.

1. Clear opening opinion.

Start with one strong sentence that gives your overall view.

Examples:

• In my view, our organisation should definitely encourage working from home most of the week.
• On balance, I think we should be careful about moving too quickly to home working.

You can soften your opinion if you wish:

• It seems to me that a flexible mix is probably the best option.

2. Reasons, examples and possible results.

Add two or three supporting points. For each point, try to include a reason, an example or a result.

Useful patterns:

• One reason is that ...
• Another important factor is that ...
• For example, / For instance, ...
• As a result, ...
• This means that ...

3. Respond to another view and conclude.

Show that you can see the other side:

• I see your point, but I am not sure I agree that ...
• That is a fair point. However, ...

Finish with a short conclusion:

• So, to sum up, ...
• On balance, I think ...
• Let us agree to differ on this, but ...

In the activity, you will now write your full contribution as a short, clear script.

Practice & Feedback

Use the structure and example phrases on the screen to write a short script for your own contribution to the debate.

Aim for 10–14 sentences, divided into three parts (you do not need to write headings, just follow the order):

1. Opening: 1–2 sentences with your overall opinion about encouraging people to work from home most of the week.
2. Support: 6–8 sentences giving 2–3 reasons, with examples and possible results. Try to use phrases like one reason is that, for example, as a result, this means that.
3. Response and conclusion: 3–4 sentences where you respond to one opposing view politely (using phrases like I see your point, but... or That is a fair point, however...) and then give a clear final sentence, for example On balance, I think... or To sum up, ....

Write it as if you are going to say it aloud in a real meeting or class debate.