Linking words and phrases, introducing pros & cons Listing ■■ First(ly) … Second(ly) … Third(ly) … ■■ In the first place, … ■■ To begin with, … ■■ In addition, … ■■ Moreover, … ■■ Besides, … ■■ Furthermore, … ■■ Another aspect worth considering is that … ■■ Also, there’s the question of whether … ■■ Finally, … ■■ In conclusion, … ■■ Summing up, … Weighing arguments, looking at both sides of an issue ■■ On the one hand … (but) on the other hand … ■■ Then again, … ■■ However, … Introducing advantages ■■ What many people like about … is that … ■■ There are some things that are undeniably very good about this. For example, … ■■ In some ways, this is a very positive development because … ■■ Another clear benefit of … is … ■■ Another argument in favour of … is … ■■ An additional advantage of … is that it … ■■ Then there’s the added bonus of … Introducing disadvantages ■■ What some people don’t like about …, however, is that … ■■ One point against … ■■ In spite of the numerous advantages of this technology, not everything is great about it. For instance, … ■■ What should be kept in mind, however, is that there is a price to pay for this … ■■ Another aspect that many potential customers are unhappy with is that … ■■ The problem with this, though, is that … ■■ Besides, the fact remains that … ■■ On the other hand, there are some definite drawbacks to … because … Introducing a conclusion at the end ■■ In conclusion, … ■■ To sum up, … ■■ All in all, … ■■ All things considered, … ■■ Taking everything into account, … Methods & strategies: Disagreeing with others With all due respect … It’s a wonderful feeling to talk to someone who expresses exactly what you feel. However, some conversations are not like that. We do not always see eye to eye1 in every respect with our discussion partners. Sometimes, we prefer not to mention the fact that we see things differently, but at other times it is useful and necessary to speak out. In the dialogue part of your exam, an opportunity may present itself to demonstrate that you can express your disagreement with someone in a polite yet firm manner. This is an important life skill, too. To do so effectively, it is often helpful to meet someone half-way, i.e. to acknowledge the validity of their point of view, at least to a certain extent. That way, your discussion partner will feel understood and taken seriously, and they will be more open to your arguments. If you are doing the dialogue with your teacher, you may be worried because you do not feel comfortable disagreeing with him or her. Perhaps you believe that he or she does not like being contradicted. However, the vast majority of teachers like a good, substantial, and possibly even controversial discussion with a student. Being ready, willing and able to present counterarguments and disagree with others in a discussion is a sign of maturity – as is the ability to listen to other people’s arguments without being offended if they don’t agree with you. Below you will find some useful phrases for this kind of situation. 1 to see eye to eye: einer Meinung sein, derselben Ansicht sein Phrases & structures [B] [C] [J] 2.5 How-to [C] [F] [J] 2.6 These phrases will tie the different elements of your speech into a coherent whole. 22 Key aspects Strategies Sample task 2 Smart homes, smart lives Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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