Date: Saturday 18 April 2015

Participants (from 10 countries)

Team A: (Yes) Miranda, Haru, Dora, Amine, Sunita

Team B: (No) Mohamed, Anas, Oscar, Yi Chen, Qiuqiu, Alina, Mohammad, Rick

Team C: (On the fence) Trista, Selly, Johny

Others that briefly joined: Eshaal, Sandra

Moderator: N/A

Team A Summary:

Grammar provides the basic foundation, gives confidence when speaking. Knowing the rules of grammar are more important in other languages (other than English) where there may be more rules and considerations
Grammar provides the structure and meaning of the sentence
Like building a home, you need to lay the foundation, and grammar is like the mother of language
Without knowing grammar, a person cannot communicate effectively
Knowing the grammar is important to pass exams
In a business environment, or in other specific areas, especially if you are writing correspondence etc., it is very important to have great grammar skills in order to be credible and professional

Team B Summary:

Unless a person is studying to become a linguistics expert, it’s not as important to emphasize the grammar
One of the participants said his grandmother was illiterate, she could not read or write, but because of her conversational skills, she was able to still be functional in society
The ability to communicate in a company is very important, even if it is verbal communication
Young children learn communication skills before they learn grammar
Basic grammar is important, but communication is more important (except for teachers or people providing lectures etc.)

Team C Summary:

Trista= Team B
Selly= Team B
Johny= Undecided

Team B won the Debate

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For people who did not join the live discussion, feel free to contribute the ideas in comment blanks below.