Interaction orale : débat et discussion

1. a)She joined it to improve her spoken English rather than out of a taste for arguing. Her difficulty was that she could never place her three prepared arguments: somebody was always already speaking, so she never found a moment to start. (1)
2. b)The four sentences are not ideas but ways in: they allow a speaker to enter the conversation, to hold it or to answer. Once you know them, you can bring out the arguments you already have — hence the image of a door that lets something out. (1)
3. c)Success here is not winning the debate but taking part in it: she took the floor, was listened to, and made the other speaker admit that his own term was vague. Interaction, not victory, was what she had come to learn. (1)
4. d)In a real discussion nobody pauses politely to let you speak. Silences do not appear on their own, so the speaker has to create one by interrupting with a formula such as « Could I just come in here? » (1)

Repère — Une réponse de compréhension reformule le texte avec ses propres mots : recopier une phrase entière du document ne rapporte pas de point.

1. a)haven't you? — phrase affirmative avec l'auxiliaire have : le tag est négatif et reprend le même auxiliaire. (1)
2. b)does he? — rarely a déjà un sens négatif, la phrase compte donc comme négative : le tag est affirmatif. (1)
3. c)Could you tell me what « moderation » means? — pas d'inversion, pas de does, et la marque de 3e personne passe sur le verbe. (1)
4. d)I'd like to know where you found that figure. — l'auxiliaire did disparaît et le verbe se met au prétérit. (1)

Erreur fréquente — Dans une question indirecte, on garde l'ordre sujet + verbe : Could you tell me what it means, jamais what does it mean.

1. a)I agree with you on this point. — agree est un verbe : ni am, ni -ed. (1)
2. b)Neither do I. (ou Nor do I. / Me neither.) — après une phrase négative, jamais Me too ni So do I. (1)
3. c)I'm afraid I don't agree with you there. (ou I beg to differ. / I'm not sure I'd go that far.) (1)
4. d)Proposition : « I agree up to a point — final exams are stressful — but without them it would be very hard to compare students fairly. » On attend la formule d'accord partiel suivie d'une réserve introduite par but. (1)

À retenir — L'accord partiel (I agree up to a point, but…) est la structure la plus rentable du débat : elle montre qu'on a écouté avant d'objecter.

1. a)Actually, I've changed my mind since the last debate. — actually = en fait ; « actuellement » serait currently. (1)
2. b)If I understand you correctly, you're against this measure. — formule de vérification figée. (1)
3. c)That's a good question — let me think for a second. — amorce destinée à garder la parole. (1)
4. d)What do you call this in English? Let me put it another way. — jamais How do you call…? (1)

Attention — Trois faux amis reviennent chaque année : actually (en fait), eventually (finalement), to assist (aider).

1. a)Attendu : une formule de prise de parole (Could I just come in here?, Can I start?, Sorry to jump in…) suivie immédiatement d'un argument développé, et non d'une simple opinion. (1)
2. b)Attendu : une gradation explicite — I agree up to a point, but…, You have a point, though…, I'm not sure I'd go that far. Un I don't agree nu ne vaut pas le point. (1)
3. c)Attendu : So what you're saying is…, If I understand you correctly…, Could you tell me what you mean by…? — avec une réaction de l'autre locuteur (confirmation ou correction). (1)
4. d)Attendu : concession (That may be true / Admittedly / Point taken), connecteur d'opposition (but, still, even so) et appui concret (chiffre, exemple).
   
   Proposition rédigée :
   ALEX: Could I just come in here? I think uniforms should be compulsory, because they stop students being judged on what their families can afford.
   JO: I agree up to a point — nobody wants that kind of competition — but a uniform doesn't make inequality disappear; it just hides it.
   ALEX: So what you're saying is that the problem is somewhere else?
   JO: Exactly. Shoes, phones, holidays: the differences are still visible.
   ALEX: Point taken. Still, the schools in our town that introduced a uniform reported fewer conflicts in the playground within a year, and that is worth something. (1)

Le point clé — On évalue ici la langue de l'échange, pas la qualité de l'opinion : un dialogue sans formule de prise de parole, de reformulation ni de concession ne peut pas dépasser la moyenne.