Checklist: Group discussion (Verbal functions)
Person assessed: _________________ Assessed by: _____________________ Function Language Checklist To begin/start a discussion
Let’s discuss about…. We need to talk about… We will first look at….
The main thing to discuss is…
It seems that we have to talk about… Let’s deal with the important issues… The question here is asking us to.. The problem to solve here is…. The first thing is that…
Asking for ideas/opinions What do you think about that…(name)? Do you have any ideas/opinions? How about you?
What is your take on this matter/issue? Anything you deem important? Any thoughts, anyone?
Asking for clarification What do you mean? Is that what you mean?
Will you elaborate on what you mean by…? I’m kind of confused about what you are saying….Do you mean…?
Could you explain more about..?
I don’t really understand. Will you care to elaborate?
So what you are really saying…
Asking for repetition Would you mind repeating…? Please mention that point you’ve just made…
Could you say it again? Pardon?
What is it? Please tell me again. Agreeing That’s good. You’re correct. I agree with you. Absolutely right. Definitely.
Disagreeing I see what you mean, but ... That's true, but on the other hand ... The problem with that is… That idea is not really good…
Rephrasing So, what you mean is…. That is like… In other words… Then, it is like….
Interrupting another speaker
Excuse me..but… I’m sorry …but… Wait a minute… Hang on….
Can I put my point across? May I interrupt….?
Sorry, could I just ask... Sorry to interrupt, but ... Sorry, could I just ask…
Excuse me for interrupting, but.. Can I add here that… Can I add something? Can I say something?
I’d like to say something if I may. Responding to someone interrupting you
Let me finish what I am saying… Hold on…
I haven’t said what I wanted to yet..
Hang on, let me finish what I have to say… Putting your
ideas/opinions across I think that…
What I believe is that… My point is that…
What I understand is that… It seems that… I suggest that we…
Illustrating your point For example,.. For instance,… Take for example… For one thing…
To give you an idea.. By way of illustration…
Going back to the topic of discussion
We are out of point. Let’s focus…
Is this the topic we are discussing about? Are we supposed to be talking about..? Let’s get back to the point of discussion… Moving on to the next issue
Let’s move on to…
What is the next thing we should be discussing about?
Let’s go on to what’s next… Should we go on to…? Taking things into consideration Bearing in mind… Considering… If you remember… Allowing for the fact..
When you consider that… Hesitating Well, um.. Well, let’s see..
Mmm, I’ll have to think about that. Good/interesting question. Well, what is your opinion? Checking Are you with me? Are you still with me? Is that clear? Okay so far?
Have you got it/that?
Do you understand so far?
Providing alternatives Also, … Another way of looking at this is… On the other hand…
Yes, but… Alternatively...
Adding ideas to others’ Yes, and also… Yes, and… Also, it is…
Checking for others’ agreement Do you agree?
Is this agreeable to everyone?
Backtracking Wait. Let’s go back to…
What was the point we’ve mentioned before? Let’s discuss that again..
Hang on, not so fast. Let’s go back to… Should we go back to the point you made earlier..?
Summarizing So, we have discussed about… In summary,…
Closing the discussion That’s all then. We’ve finished our discussion. Alright, we’re done.
