Mastering English through Global Debate brings together rhetorical traditions and the best practices of ESL instruction to facilitate superior-level proficiency in the English language. Each chapter addresses a rich topic of debate, providing students with a set of prereading activities, texts covering both sides of a debate topic, and postreading comprehension and lexical development exercises—all of which foster the language and critical thinking skills needed for successful debates. A rhetorical methods section in each chapter integrates language and practice and prepares students for end-of-chapter debates. Using debate to develop advanced competency in a second language is a method that is finding increased interest among instructors and students alike, in both synchronous online teaching and the individual classroom. Students are prepared to participate fully in debates with their classmates—at home, abroad, or both.

Ekaterina Talalakina is an associate professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. She is a certified ACTFL OPI tester in English. In addition to publishing articles in Russian and English on TESOL, lexicology, and e-learning, she is actively involved in collaborative learning projects that connect classrooms in Russia and the US via technology.

Tony Brown is a professor in the Department of German and Russian at Brigham Young University. He has published articles in the Foreign Language Annals, Modern Language Journal, Russian Language Journal, and Language Policy.

Jennifer Bown is an associate professor in the Department of German and Russian at Brigham Young University. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Language Teaching, Foreign Language Annals, Modern Language Journal, and Innovation in Language Teaching and Learning.

William Eggington is professor and chair of the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Brigham Young University. He is editor of five books and over thirty articles and book chapters.

"This book will support advanced students preparing for debates in English in ESL classes. Well-structured and logically progressive, it is a very worthy contribution to the field." -- Rob Waring, associate professor, Notre Dame Seishin University, Okayama, Japan

"Language experts say that good communication and public speaking skills are central to student success at university and in the workplace. This engaging textbook replete with timely, relevant themes combines authentic communicative experiences and the important skill of debate to facilitate advanced to superior-level language proficiency." -- Christine Coombe, President of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), 2011-2012