MUET Speaking: Maintaining a Discussion

Maintaining a Discussion

This is the more important part of the group discussion.  At this stage, you put forth your suggestion and opinion as you discus the causes, effects, problems, solutions or issues. You argue for your point and weigh what others have to say in order to come to decision.  Remember another person’s opinion is as valid as yours especially if there is supporting evidence!

Useful Expressions to Maintain a Discussion

Function	Expression
To make a strong suggestion	·      The only solution to this problem is . . . ·      There is no other way except . . . ·      There is no alternative but to . . . ·      We must . . .
To make a suggestion	·      I recommend that . . . ·      I would suggestion that . . . ·      My recommendation . . . ·      My suggestion is . . . ·      I would like to propose that . . . ·      I think we should . . . ·      I propose that . . . ·      It might be a good idea to . . . ·      How about . . . ·      Do you think we should . . . ·      What about . . .
To make a tentative suggestion	·      It might be a good idea if . . . ·      It would be a good way to . . . ·      One solution would be . . . ·      We could way . . . ·      What we could do is . . . ·      Perhaps we should . . .
To ask for a suggestion	·      What is your suggestion? ·      What would you suggest? ·      What would you suggestion be? ·      Would you like to give your suggestion? ·      What is your opinion? ·      Do you have any suggestion? ·      Do you have any other way? ·      What your views regarding this? ·      Is there anything you would like to say about this issue? ·      Would you like to comment on this?
To present solution	·      One solution is to . . . ·      Another solution would be to . . . ·      There are two ways to solve this problem.  Firstly . . . ·      One possibility is . . . ·      Alternatively we could . . . ·      One way is to . . . ·      We would either . . . or . . .
To justify choices	·      One advantage is . . . ·      Another advantage is . . . ·      XX has the advantage of . . . but ZZ . . . ·      XX would be able to . . . but ZZ . . . ·      The best solution is . . . because . . .
To contrast choices	·      While XX has some advantage, YY is still a better choices because . . . ·      XX is a better solution due to . . . ·      If we choices XX, we could have to encounter the problem of . . . ·      XX sounds good but YY can prove to be more effective . . .
To accept idea/ opinion/suggestion	·      Excellent! ·      That sounds great! ·      That’s a good idea. ·      That’s fine with me. ·      That’s fantastic suggestion ·      I support your suggestion. ·      I have no objection to that. ·      I am completely in favour of your recommendation . ·      That certainly sounds like a good idea. ·      Your suggestion is acceptable to me. ·       I am in favour of Candidate C’s suggestion. ·      I can’t agree more.

To reject ideas/ opinion/ suggestion	·      I appreciate your opinion but . . . ·      I understand your concern but . . . ·      I appreciate your point of view but . . . ·      I do see your point but . . . ·      That is certainly very interesting but . . . ·      You have a good point there but . . . ·      I am sorry but that is not practical . . . ·      I am sorry I can’t agree with you. ·      I am afraid we do not share the same opinion. ·      I am sorry I can’t accept what you have just said . . . ·      I am sorry but I doubt what you have just said . . . ·      That is totally unacceptable. ·      That is not practical it all. ·      It doesn’t make any sense to me. ·      That sounds rather impossible. ·      That’s out of the question. ·      I am against your opinion. ·      I accept your argument but I feel that . . .
To ask clarification	·      What did you mean when you said . . .? ·      What do you mean by . . .? ·      I sorry I am missed your point. Could you please explain . . .? ·      Could you elaborate on what you mean by . . .? ·      Do you mean to say that . . .? ·      Are you implying that . . .? ·      I am afraid I don’t quite understand you.  Could you please clarify . .  . ·      I am afraid I don’t quite sure what you meant by that. ·      Sorry, I don’t follow you.   Would you mind giving an example? ·      Sorry, but I didn’t quite get you. ·      Could you please explain that to me again? ·      Can you please explain further on . . .? ·      May I know why . . .? ·      Do you mind telling me more about  . . .?
To give clarification	·      What I mean was . . . ·      Sure, I was trying to point out that . . . ·      I was trying to emphasize that . . . ·       I was merely saying that . . . ·      I was actually highlighting the . . . ·      Certainly.  One good example would be . . . ·      Let me explain how . . .
To persuade	·      I wonder if you have thought of . . . ·      Don’t you think . . . ·      Maybe you should consider . . . ·      Have you considered . . . ·      I can assure you that . . . ·      Wouldn’t it be a good idea to . . .
To interrupt	·      Excuse me, can you please repeat what you have just said? ·      Excuse me, can you please clarify that? ·      Excuse me, can I say something? ·      Allow me to interrupt . . . ·      May I add something here? ·      Sorry to interrupt but I have to say this . . . ·      Excuse me, could just ask you a quick question? ·      Excuse me, but isn’t it true that . . .? ·      I am sorry but I think we need to get back to the topic. ·      I am sorry I have to stop you from continuing.  Can we return to our topic? ·      I am sorry to interrupt.  You observation is not connected to our discussion.  Shall we get back to . . . ·      I am sorry I don’t see the relevance of your point.  Let’s get back to our topic on. ·      To return to our point . . . ·        Getting back to the original point mentioned earlier . . .