Debate - a new intellectual pastime for young people in Vinh City.

Debate is not the same as arguing.

In recent years, many debate clubs have been formed in high schools. Photo: Chu Thanh

Over the past 7 or 8 years, the debate movement has begun to enter Vietnam and has quickly gained popularity among young people in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Although it emerged later, over the past 3 years, the debate movement in Vinh City has gradually become a favorite intellectual activity for many young people.

As the first debate club established in Vinh City three years ago, Phan Debate Club (PDC) currently has nearly 40 members who meet regularly one or two times a week. Tran Hoai Thuong, a student in the 11C5 English specialized class at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted and the head of PDC, said that debate is an intellectual sport that utilizes the process of thinking and expressing thoughts by collecting, analyzing, and processing information to build, systematize, and organize arguments to make decisions.

The most common understanding of the concept of debate is that it is a discussion or argument in which more than two sides present their opinions on a given issue. Each side defends its own viewpoint on that issue.

Debate is divided into many types such as Academic Debate, Public Forum Debate, Presidential Debate, Informal Debate, and Debate in MUN (a type of simulated United Nations conference). Currently, most debate activities among young people in Vinh City revolve around Academic Debate.

Having learned about and loved debating since the 9th grade, Hoai Thuong shared that many people equate the concepts of debating and arguing, but this is completely wrong. Both involve expressing one's own opinion, but in an argument, the speaker can express their opinion freely as long as it supports their viewpoint, regardless of whether the information presented is right or wrong.

In debate, however, speakers must explain their opinions specifically and provide clear evidence and accurate information. The purpose of debate and argument also differs. While argument aims to overwhelm the opponent and achieve personal victory, debate aims to find the best solution, persuading others to believe and follow it for the common good.

Debate is a popular intellectual sport in many developed countries, with large and small competitions and exchanges between teams from different countries. It has its own set of rules governing how to play and determine winners. When it comes to Vietnam, the rules commonly applied by young people in debates are the AP rules.

Hoài Thương explained that a debate involves three parties: the judges; two participating teams (each with three members), divided into a support team and an opposition team; and the audience. At the start of the debate, each team has two main tasks: presenting their viewpoints (three viewpoints corresponding to three turns of speech by three members) and asking and answering questions between turns. Each presentation lasts only seven minutes. After the debate concludes, the two teams wait for the judges to announce the final results. On average, a debate lasts about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Spreading among young people

A debate between debate clubs in Vinh City. Photo: Chu Thanh

Nguyen Van Binh, a student in class 12A3 at Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School and a member of the PDC (Project Debate Club), said that he joined the club in 10th grade. Initially, Binh didn't fully understand debate, but the more he learned, the more he discovered the interesting aspects of this intellectual sport.

“What I learned from participating in PDC is that it enhances my ability to think about an issue from multiple perspectives; improves my persuasive skills; and builds confidence in public speaking… Especially for myself, I also learned the ability to listen to opposing viewpoints in debates,” Binh shared. Therefore, despite being busy studying for final exams, Binh still tries to make time to participate in debate sessions, even if not as frequently as before.

While in 2016 there was only the PDC Debate Club at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, now new debate clubs have emerged such as the Thunder Debate Club at Vinh University High School for the Gifted and the debate club at Huynh Thuc Khang High School.

Hoang Thi Hai An, a student in class 11A8 at Vinh University High School for Gifted Students and the head of the Thunder Debate Club, said that the club was newly established in early August 2018 with 8 core members who are passionate about debating and nearly 20 new members. Because the club is newly established, not many students know about it yet.

Nevertheless, the Thunder Debate Club has begun organizing its first debate sessions and training members on debate rules and concepts. In the future, the club plans to meet twice a month and further promote debate sessions among members, according to Hai An.

Overall, the debate movement is increasingly developing and spreading in Vietnam through debate programs such as "I Speak Up" and "Teen School" broadcast on VTV6. In Vinh City, although this movement is directly sponsored by the school's student union, most activities are run by the students themselves, from forming clubs to organizing debates.

Therefore, although debate is an activity that brings many positive aspects to students, the quality and long-term sustainability of this activity still depend heavily on the core members of the clubs.

Perhaps it's time for the debate movement to receive more attention in order to develop in a more qualitative, quantitative, and sustainable way. This would give young people in Nghe An more opportunities to hone their multi-dimensional thinking and critical thinking skills, not only in their studies but also in their daily lives.