Expressing opinion

opinion

Cultural note

In most western cultures, people tend to separate their opinion of a person from their opinion of the person's views. That is not a universal tendency. In many other cultures, a person's opinions are an integral part of how we see the person as a whole. This means that showing disagreement may be akin to showing dislike of the person so this is an area to handle with a bit of sensitivity.

Three types of opinion

In many teaching handbooks, coursebooks and worthy websites, learners are simply presented with a phrase-book approach to giving opinions. Such phrases are often classified under headings such as Giving an opinion, Disagreeing with an opinion or Agreeing with an opinion. While the lists are probably helpful for some teaching purposes, learners need a bit more guidance. There is more than one sort of opinion and how we express an opinion often depends on what sort of opinion it is.

Here's short list for you to classify. What kinds of opinion are represented by these 5 sentences?
Click here when you have an answer.

Sorbet is better than ice-cream.
Doctor: You need to lose weight.
There is evidence of water on Mars.
Bakers are concerned with bread making.
Tigers ought not to be kept in zoos.

Sorbet is better than ice-cream.
This is clearly an unsupported opinion personal to the speaker for which no evidence is submitted. It can be seen simply as a personal value.
Doctor: You need to lose weight.
This is an expert opinion of some form for which no evidence is needed. The speaker is assuming that the comment will be accepted as a truth.
There is evidence of water on Mars.
This is a statement of fact but not one for which generally evidence will be expected unless one is writing a scientific paper. This may also be described as a general opinion (i.e., one held by many in the know about such things).
Bakers are concerned with bread making.
This, too, is a statement of fact but for which evidence may never be required. Such statements are usually somewhat trivial. We all know this is true.
Tigers ought not to be kept in zoos.
This is another value statement but one which, depending slightly on the audience, the speaker will be expected to support with some sort of reasoning.

The sort of language used to present an opinion will depend on the kind of opinion is being expressed.

Try dividing these into the sorts of language used to state a value, state a fact and state an expert opinion.
Click on the table for comment.

opinion 1

The key here is to distinguish between the following examples of opinions:

personal values: Statements such as
I like fish
or
Grey is a boring colour for a car
are facts of a sort but they are merely points of view rather than real opinions. They brook no argument and apart from bland agreement or disagreement will not form the basis for a productive exchange of views.
verifiable data: Statements such as
There is no evidence of life on the moon
or
Anne Boleyn was Henry VII's second wife
are also unlikely to form the basis for an exchange of views. They are disprovable statements which are either confirmed or not. End of argument.
arguments and theories: Statements such as
Earth has never been visited by aliens
or
A university degree is essential for everyone
are, however, proper arguments which can be backed up by an appeal to evidence or a reliance on personal experience or both. Such statements do form the basis for an exchange of views.

Arguments and Theories

It is the last of these three types of opinion which will produce the most language and enable learners to participate in exchanges of views.

However, before we can get on and analyse how opinions are given and responded to, there is one more distinction that needs to be made. It can be exemplified by the dual meaning of these sentences:

John must be in the meeting
Mary should come before 6
The wedding has to be held soon

All these sentences can be introduced by expressions of opinion such as I think ..., I imagine ... etc. but they are all ambiguous as they stand (i.e., out of context).
Click here when you have figured out the essential ambiguity.

John must be in the meeting
This can mean either:
1. I deduce from his absence (or some other information) that John is in the meeting (this is a theory)
  or
2. It is my opinion that it is strongly advisable that John is in the meeting (this is an argument)
Mary should come before 6
This can mean either:
1. I know something of her timetable and am fairly sure that Mary will arrive before 6 (this is a theory)
  or
2. My advice is that Mary's arriving before 6 would be a good thing (this is an argument)
The wedding has to be held soon
This can mean either:
1. My certainty is that the wedding will be held soon (this is a theory)
  or
2. I am strongly of the view that it would be good if the wedding were held soon (this is an argument)

The distinction to make is between:

Is my opinion concerned with what I believe the truth to be (i.e. a theory of the facts)?
or
Is my opinion concerned with what I believe to be a good thing (i.e., my appreciation of the value of something)?

In other words, are we talking about facts or duties? If that distinction is not made clear, there is almost no point in trying to teach the area.

Disjuncts and opinion

Often, opinions are prefaced by some kind of disjunct. (If you are concerned about what that word means, you should look at the guide to disjuncts, linked below, but you don't need to for our purposes here.) Disjuncts exist outside the clause they introduce and come in two flavours:

style: style disjuncts indicate what the speaker / writer thinks about the form of what is being said.
For example, personally shows that the speaker is not being general; seriously refers to lack of flippancy and so on.
attitude: attitude disjuncts indicate how the speaker / writer feels about what is being said.
For example, obviously makes it clear that the speaker thinks something is clear to see; of course implies that it is an obvious logical deduction and so on.

In our examples above we have both forms of disjunct.

In my experience
is a style disjunct and expresses the angle the speaker wants to make clear. It is similar to personally, in my view, as far as I'm concerned, from my perspective etc.
Scientifically speaking
is an attitude disjunct and expresses the speaker's feelings about what is said (in this case that the point is based on sound evidence). It is similar to obviously, in fact, politically speaking, historically, usually etc.

Disjuncts do not only fall in the initial position at the beginning of sentences, although they often do in this function.
They may interrupt a clause in medial position:
It is not, to me, just a matter of money
or be in the terminal position
That is not true, historically.

There is a separate guide on this site which deals with disjuncts and their meanings much more thoroughly linked in the list of related guides at the end.

Softening and strengthening

There are many strategies for softening or strengthening the nature of what one is saying. For example

Softening	Strengthening
adverbs of frequency: I sometimes think I frequently get the idea that I often notice that downtoners: You are slightly mistaken That's nearly right but That's roughly true but other modifiers: In my country at least Almost everyone agrees that	adverbs of frequency: It is invariably the case I always get the idea that I consistently notice that intensifiers: You are completely mistaken That's wholly wrong That's absolutely true other modifiers: Anywhere you go Absolutely nobody accepts that

Using authority

When giving an opinion, we often appeal to authority to back us up. The most frequent way to do that in English is to use a disjunct such as economically (see above) or by deploying the passive. For example

Instead of	We can use
I sometimes think I think People in my country think that	It is often stated that It is accepted that In Germany it is believed that

This is, also, a trick used by those who wish to give an air of authority (i.e., generally accepted opinion) to what is simply a personally value. In other words, we are dressing up a personal value as an expert opinion. Politicians and business people are adept at it but the assumption here is that our learners wish to present their views honestly.

Responding to opinion

Most phrase-book approaches to this area provide lists of expressions to use when agreeing or disagreeing but there is clearly a cline from whole disagreement to absolute agreement that needs to be taught.
Style and levels of politeness also play a large role. The more assertive the disagreement, the less well it is likely to be received.
For example:

response to statements

Much fun (and much usefulness) can be derived from getting learners to stick phrases onto a grid like this before they practise using the expressions.

Caution: when presenting, practising and using these sorts of realisations of the functions, bear in mind the cultural point made at the beginning. For some people from certain backgrounds, it may be advisable to include some less confrontational phrases and expressions such as
    I've also heard that some people think ...
    It is probably true but may I suggest ...
    I think you are usually correct but there may be times when ...

Picking the appropriate response type

A difficulty which immediately arises is that certain response types are more appropriate to certain statements of opinion.
For example, it is clearly inappropriate to respond to
I like coco-cola
with
What evidence do you have for that?
This is not a systematic area because much will depend on the intonation and the speaker's intent. However, there are rules of thumb.
Try matching the statement types on the left with the response types on the right and then click on the table. In other words, what should go where?
If you want to, you can download the task here in PDF format and work on it.

response type task

The rules of thumb:

personal value statements require only simple responses
statements of fact may require some suggestions
arguments require much more complex and complete responses and are often modified
most negative responses need softening and modification

Is it worth responding?

One of the many reasons why teaching this area often goes wrong is that course materials and their writers rarely take the time to distinguish between values, facts and arguments. Which of the following is it worth responding to, either in agreement or in disagreement?

I prefer the cinema to the theatre.
The English Civil War ended in 1651.
Male humans can't multi-task.
Democracy simply doesn't work in some countries.
The English are cold and distant people.
Mobile phones on buses and trains should be banned.
I painted my bedroom green because I love the colour.

Right. A moment's thought makes it clear that disagreeing with someone who prefers the cinema to the theatre or likes the colour green is unlikely to be very productive. There's little to be said after I agree or I disagree, So do I, Neither do I etc.
Equally, there is little point in arguing about a historical fact which a moment's research will confirm or deny.
However, ideas 3, 4, 5 and 6 in this list are suitable topics for an exchange of views because they are arguments rather than values or facts.

The phrase-book approach ...

... and why it should be avoided.

One website presents this list of opinion phrases, asserting that they all express a personal point of view:

"In my experience…
As far as I'm concerned…
Speaking for myself…
In my opinion…
Personally, I think…
I'd say that…
I'd suggest that…
I'd like to point out that…
I believe that…
What I mean is…"
http://www.vocabulary.cl/Lists/Opinions.htm

They do, of course, and these are undoubtedly useful expressions to learn. But it is becoming clear why simply presenting learners with a phrase book of expressions to use when giving their opinions can be a confusing and ineffective approach. Learners need to know what they are trying to do with the language and how their comments may be received. In other words:

Am I stating what I believe to be true or what I want to be true?

A 5-minute search of the web will identify well over 200 hundred expressions used in English to express an opinion. However, the sorts of opinion they are best used to express are variable and many of the items listed by well-meaning but ignorant people on such sites can't actually be used to express an opinion at all. Lists like these do a lot more harm than good because they positively encourage learner error.

If we don't make the distinctions clear, we'll encourage, for example,
    In my opinion, light travels faster than sound.
    I'd like to point out that sorbet is better than ice-cream.
    I'd say that confectioners sell sweets.
    Speaking for myself, Cromwell was the leader of the New Model Army.
    It is unjustifiable to say that the film was wonderful.
and so on.
We may also end up encouraging other kinds of error such as:
    A: Blue is my favourite colour.
    B: Well, I'm not so sure about that.
    A: Olive oil is very pleasant on salads.
    B: That's a bit different.

Learners need to identify:

what sorts of opinions they are giving. If they don't, they may pick the wrong phrase.
what sort of opinion they are hearing or they may respond inappropriately.

A more analytical approach ...

... and why it should be used.

Here's an example of what is meant by making sure we categorise the language we are presenting.

In this table, two sorts of categorisation are attempted:

By language form in the two left-hand columns
By function (i.e., type of opinion) in the remaining three columns

The terms epistemic (referring to the likely truth of a proposition) and deontic (referring to the advisability, obligatory nature or otherwise of an event) are used. You don't need to trouble your learners with the terminology but the categories are very important. You will instantly see that personal attitudes cannot be expressed at all using many formulations and they are highlighted in pink.

Language forms	Examples	Personal attitude	Epistemic	Deontic
Prepositional phrases	For me, ... From my perspective ... In my experience, ... By and large, ...	No From my perspective, I don't like sweet tea For me, I don't like sweet tea	No In my experience, the train will be here by 6 For me, the train will be here by 6 *From my perspective, the train will be here at 6	Yes In my opinion, cars should be banned in city centres According to the mayor, cars should be banned in city centres In my view, cars should be banned in city centres
Disjuncts	Quite frankly, ... Speaking personally, ... To be honest, ... According to ... In my view, ... In my opinion, ...	Yes Quite frankly, I don't like sweet tea Speaking personally, I don't like sweet tea BUT *According to me, I don't like sweet tea	No Speaking personally, the train will be here by 6 To be honest, the train will be here by 6	Yes (often with a projecting verb) Quite frankly, I think cars should be banned in city centres Plainly, cars should be banned in city centres
Projecting verbs	I think ... I believe ... Mary suggests ... I reckon ... I would argue ...	No I think I don't like sweet tea Mary suggests she doesn't like sweet tea	Yes I think the train will be here at 6 I reckon the train will be here at 6	Yes I believe cars should be banned in city centres Mary suggests cars should be banned in city centres
It + adjectival phrase	It is quite possible that ... It is certain that ... It's conceivable that ... It is probable that ...	No *It's possible that I don't like sweet tea ?It's conceivable that Mary doesn't like sweet tea	Yes It is certain that the train will be here by 6 It's conceivable that the train will be here by 6	No It's probable that cars should be banned in city centres It is possible that cars should be banned in city centres
Passives and non-personal statements	It is said that ... It has been suggested that ... It is asserted that ... Some people believe that ... Some would say that ...	No It is asserted that I don't like sweet tea It has been suggested that I don't like sweet tea	Not usually ?It is said that the train will be here by 6 *Some would say that the train will be here by 6	Yes It has been suggested that cars should be banned in city centres Some people believe that cars should be banned in city centres

Prefabrication

Although we have been somewhat dismissive of a phrase-book approach to this area, there are some prefabricated language chunks and sentence frames which can be helpful to teach.
However, we still have to analyse their functions carefully rather than present them as a mishmash of undifferentiated language items.
Many of these chunks and frames are most suitable in settings where opinion is being expressed orally and they are, therefore, mostly informal and avoided in any serious writing.
Here is a selection with three examples in each category:

Function	Examples	Strategy used
Agreement	That's spot on.	Asking for a turn
	Too right. And what's more ...	Taking a turn
	You are dead right.	Backchannelling
Qualified agreement	I wouldn’t go quite that that far because ...	Starting a long turn
	I see where you’re coming from, but …	Starting a short turn
	I’d go along with that but …	Staring a turn
Hedging	I may be wrong but ...	Inviting disagreement
	As a rule, ...	Limiting applicability
	It seems to me that ...	Limiting by person
Disagreement	Just because ... that doesn't mean that ...	Making a contrast
	I have to take issue with ...	defining the issue
	I beg to differ.	Asking for a turn
Disbelief	I can't see how that follows.	Identifying contradiction
	That can't be true because ...	Identifying flawed argument
	You can't be suggesting that ...	Rephrasing for effect

The admonitions above about being careful to present and practise these in a clear context with the roles and power relationships of the speakers firmly established apply.

Teaching

Raising awareness

Saying what you think is such an obvious language function that most learners have not given much thought to the fact that there are different classes of opinion giving. The first step, therefore, is to raise awareness.

Simple exercises such as which response goes with which statement are good places to start. For example,
Draw lines between the response and the statement:

Statement		Response
I like sugar in tea.		No, he wasn't.
Men are better at chess than women.		That's a bit extreme, don't you think?
Joseph Conrad was born in Poland.		I don't think that's a justifiable view.
I forbid my kids to watch TV.		Oh, do you? I don't.

Exercises like this, which can be longer and more challenging as well as having multiple possible solutions to discuss, alert learners to the types of opinion that are possible and the sorts of responses which are appropriate.

Presenting

Idea 1
Contrasts between poor and appropriate exchanges are sometimes helpful, especially if you focus on things such as intonation and stress as well as on communicative intent. For example,
Which of the following is more likely?
Why?

Dialogue 1	Dialogue 2	Dialogue 3
A: I think he was born in Nottingham. B: That's a ridiculous thing to claim! He was born in London. A: You may have a point but have you considered the other possibilities? B: OK. That's a good point but that's a bit different, isn't it? A: No, it's the same thing, in fact. B: Where's the evidence?	A: English people seem a bit cold and distant to me. B: Oh, I don't know that's generally true. My experience is a bit different. A: In what way? B: Well, I have managed to make some good friends here quite easily. A: You may have a point but that's not my experience.	A: I painted my house blue because I wanted it to stand out. B: That's just silly. There's no evidence for that. A: Yes, there is. It's a scientific fact that blue is better. B: Now you are making a different point. Don't change the subject. A: I'm not. It's a fact. B: I'd go along with that.

This can be a mildly entertaining task as well as giving you the opportunity to introduce and practise the language of giving and responding to points of view, discuss better alternatives and then go on to some freer productive work.

Idea 2
The task you did on picking appropriate response types to match statement of the three sorts can be used at higher levels or amended as appropriate for lower levels. Download it here.

Practising

Idea 1
If the groundwork has been laid and people can distinguish between the main types of opinion and the sorts of responses which are appropriate you can get on to some practice.
The following has proved productive:

Write down three statements which are true for you.

A fact you are not completely sure about such as Hitler was over 50 when he died.
A personal preference such as I enjoy science-fiction movies.
An argument you agree with such as I think people should go to prison for possessing cannabis.

Now get up and find someone to share opinions and views with. Remember that they have done the same task so think about how to respond to each type of opinion.
Try to find:

Two people who agree with each of your statements.
Two people who disagree with each of your statements.
One person who has no view either way.

Idea 2

This is a revision game.

Make an opinion statement of some kind while holding up a green, red or yellow card.
If the card is green, the learner(s) must respond with an agreement. If the card is red they must disagree and if it's yellow, they must accept what you say but go on to make a counter suggestion.
Hand over to the class and get them to play the game in groups.

Adjustments will have to be made to both these ideas for the level and interests of your learners. For idea 2, at lower levels, exclude the yellow card, for example.

Related guides
culture	there are two articles linked from this index concerned with cultural issues
disjuncts or sentence adverbials	for a specific guide to what is briefly covered above
matching task	for the matching task mentioned above as a PDF document
functions index	for the index to allied areas

Reference:
http://www.vocabulary.cl/Lists/Opinions.htm [accessed 29/05/2015]