Debate: Liberal and Conservative Views on Xmas and New Year
Express your opinions on the end of the year and the beginning of the new year using the phrases below. See if your discussion partner agrees with your viewpoints.
Topics to Discuss:
- Alcohol
- Changes
- Charity/ Charities
- Children
- Commercialism/ Materialism
- Decorations
- Entertainment
- Families
- Food and drink
- Gifts/ Presents
- Giving/ Generosity
- Globalisation/ Americanisation
- Imported…
- Multiculturalism
- Music
- Parties
- Religion
- Shops/ Shopping
- Spending
- Superstitions
- The environment
- Traditions/ Customs
- Young people
- “The Xmas spirit”
Opinion Phrases to Consider:
- Changes in… are inevitable and so we should just accept them. – L
- I can’t bear… – C
- I don’t agree with… – C
- I don’t like changes in… – C
- I don’t mind if people… (but I wouldn’t do it myself). – L
- I don’t see any reason to change… – C
- I embrace/ welcome the changes in… – L
- I miss the… when I was a child. – C
- I object to… – C
- I prefer traditional… – C
- I think that it would be a shame if… disappeared/ became less popular/ died out/… – C
- I think that people have the right to… if they want to. – L
- I think… is (rather/ completely) inappropriate. – C
- I think that the changes in… are a positive thing. – L
- I wouldn’t agree to… – C
- I wouldn’t complain if people… – L
- I’d like to complain to someone about… – C
- I’m (really/ really quite) offended by…/… offends me. – C
- I’m against the new… – C
- I’m open-minded about… – L
- I’m upset by… – C
- It doesn’t matter whether people… or not. – L
- It’s nobody else’s business if people want to… – L
- More needs to be done to maintain… – C
- People should be discouraged from… – C
- People should be free to… (if they want to). – L
- The government shouldn’t allow… – C
- We should preserve… – C
- We should just accept… – L
- People should be allowed to express… – L
Discussion on Conservative and Liberal Views:
Select a topic from the list below and share your opinions. Listen to your partner’s viewpoints and engage in a discussion. Afterward, determine who holds more conservative or liberal views on the topic. See if your partner agrees with your assessment.
- Changing the education system
- Changing this country’s writing system
- Children born out of wedlock
- Children having mobile phones
- Classical music
- Divorce
- Immigration
- Mergers with foreign companies
- Multiculturalism
- Online dating
- Punishments and rehabilitation for criminals
- Same-sex marriage
- Sex and violence in movies
- Swearing on television
- Technology in schools
- Traditional dress
- Traditional food
- Using modern music in school music lessons
- Younger politicians
